May 17, 2007
David and I traveled to the Carpathian mountains in western Ukraine last week. I would like to describe that trip, and to tell you how it made me homesick.
Enough of city life. As exciting as it is, and as much as we love the trams, our hearts are really in the country. So as soon as the snow let up a bit, we went to the mountains and hired guides for four wonderful days of exploration and hiking.
The Carpathians are low mountains (6,000 feet) so we felt right at home. The economy is farming (mostly very small farms of one to five cows), lumbering and tourism (ditto). It is a place which was outside of many major world and national events of the past 100 years (you are talking my language). It also sports many different kinds of people, and at least five languages, which all seem to coexist and even to thrive together. Homesteads are lovely patches of the greenest green, with apple trees just blossoming and bees waking up. Enigmatic and colorful bee hives dot the yard. The family cow grazes next to the patio. The tiled stove holds treasures of pottery and embroidery, some more than 100 years old. The mountains in the near distance – they are just always there. It was, however, walking in pine forests next to streams which brought on a bout of homesickness.
There is a system of “home-stays” in this region, similar to our “B and Bs”. So we stayed in one home-stay for two nights, and another for two nights. This was a wonderful way to meet the local people (mostly, but not all, Hutsuls). Also, they fed us. Wow.
Our peak experiences on this trip, by far, were the three all-day hikes we did. Each was completely different. Each was equally wonderful. We had guides each day, which was well worth the (roughly) $80 per day cost. Guides could answer questions large and small, and also drove us to trailheads, and made sure we were equipped and safe.
The first was a steep climb to high mountain pastures near Verkovyna where 70-year-olds maintain a herd of five cows and probably some sheep. Water is from a well, hauled by hand. Still, this remote hut has electricity, grace a Stalin. I begged for mercy on this climb, but our local guide, Igor, helped us moving along. Great fun, spectacular views.
The second day we drove to a trailhead and climbed on a gradual set of fields and forest to Pip Ivash – a granite rock outcropping atop a mountain. We loved this hike, and we saw many, high elevation, mountain farmsteads. All had Stalin’s electricity. Our guideVasili reminded us of Lenin’s quote: “Communism is Socialism plus electricity”.
The third day we teamed up with friends Lisa and Chris Budzisz (both are Fulbrighters in Chernivitsi) and Vasili for a morning assault on Mt. Hoverla, Ukraine’s highest at just over 6,000 feet. The summit was snow-covered. We climbed 2,700 feet in two kilometers. We were pretty full of ourselves (and a bit winded) when we reached the summit, from which we could see several countries, and school groups (of 11 year olds) popping bottles of champagne to celebrate their climb. Don’t tell our sons, but several of these school groups lapped us on the ascent.
This steep but satisfying climb has become a tradition on August 24, Ukraine Independence Day.
The descent was exciting, as 11-year-olds love to glissade completely out of control, willing to take out any 40- or 50-year old who happens to be in their path (that would be us). We saw evidence of major avalanches and the snow-covered 60 meter waterfalls that make this area a scenic magnet.
Hutsul (mountain) folk have lots of crafts for sale, and I spent spare minutes cruising the booths near the Hoverla trailhead and the Vorokhta ski lift. This is a town where you can walk from your B and B to your ski lift. I did not take the ride in the chairlift, figuring climbing Hoverla was more of a “high” than any chairlift!
A long ride through Kosiv brought us to Vyzhnytsya, a former Jewish shtetl and an inspiration for Jewish folklore. Since the 1970s, Jews have emigrated to Israel en masse from these villages. Still, the former synagogue is recognizable (now a cultural center) and the slow pace of this narrow alley-ed village was a stroll through the past. Across the river is an Armenian village – remnants of an Armenian colony planted there. Different languages, dress, traditions and religions divide these neighboring towns.
Our visit to the city and university of Chernivitsi capped our trip. The university, built as a bishop’s residence, was extraordinary. We stepped inside a chapel which has been unchanged for 300 years, and heard recordings of choral music performed there every day. This bustling destination city for adventurous artsy Germans and Austrians was a delight, with baroque and Austrian influences at every turn.
Our train ride home deserves its own story – suffice it to say that drunken miners from Donetsk keep us awake and alert. We are readjusting to city life, and enjoying our last few weeks together here.
Next week we travel to Kiev (where we hope to see Ella Rezhnikova and her husband Bill, Ella was my student at Vermont College and now works at Karma Choling). Then we will go to Khmelnetsky (where I am the featured speaker – three times ---at an all day conference) and thence to Odessa. In Odessa, we will meet up with Bob and Mary Belenky, neighbors and friends from Marshfield. We are enjoying every minute, and think of you all often.
LBG
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