Come to Ukraine !

Uzhhorod. Ukraine May 10, 2016 6PM

My phone just buzzed and it was the girl I met in front of the train station earlier.  I had asked her about the bus back to the center of Uzhhorod and we got talking.  She was delighted to talk to me as young people are here as they get to practice their English.



She's just turning 17 and has plans to go to university in Moscow. She is of both Russian and Ukrainian ancestry.  We had a really interesting conversation talking about politics, ethnicity and lots else for which we had lots of time as we ended up on the same bus going into the city center.

The first thing I asked her was if she spoke English and she said "of course" which I find is a common answer here like when young people say "like" in the U.S..

Her first question to me was "where are you from" and when I told her she said "Oh my God".  Both the question and reaction to the answer are common here.






Like the church attendant  who earlier in the day let me into this great church tho it was locked after learning I was from the U.S.  I got to this church by walking down along the beautiful Uzh  (snake)  river  for which Uzhhorod is named along with "horod", town or city.






The reason she was texting me was to check my email address so she could send me the selfie she had taken of us.








Earlier in my walk on this May 9th day when they celebrate Victory in the Second World War, I passed a very decorated soldier.  I wanted to take his picture and was pleased when he consented. I was impressed  that he took his hat off for the picture.

I note her expression of pride and his of solemnity.

When I had arrived at the train station earlier I noticed the bus station was right near by. So I decided to check it out.  Not being able to quite figure out the bus schedule sign and as I was going to take the train tomorrow anyway I hesitated about asking for help. I hesitated but then did.  So glad I did,

He's trained as school teacher studied English which he speaks perfectly.  Now working in Ireland he was able to get a visa because of Hungarian ancestry otherwise he wouldn't be able to go there to work. There is little opportunity for young people here.  Sadly they have to go out of the country to get work. Ukraine is trying to get Visa's waived for going to Europe.  The downside is they will lose their best young people,

The economy here is in bad shape.  I had a long conversation with the young hotel manager about this and how things are actually economically worse than before the revolution with the currency losing 2/3's of its value. People find it hard to make ends meet. Imagine losing 2/3 or your savings because you had a courageous revolution.

There was great hope with the new government brought in by the revolution and now great disappointment.

The young guy at the train station told me he was back home visiting his mother and invited me to come and visit his town.  He said it has majority Hungarian population being close to the that border which has shifted over time .   Great mineral baths and he would like to show me around and is going to email me.  Sounds like it would be very interesting.

Uzhhorod is a beautiful small city.  With a great castle, churches, a fine art museum,  loads of cafes - my favorite place to hang out and drink coffee and eat chocolate.  Winding cobble stone streets to wander about and discover.  I may come back now I know how to get here easily.

Like everything in life I find it's easy,  once you know how.  Shame to not take advantage of that again? Next time if I do, I'll fly to Vienna take the bus to Bratislava, Slovakia, spend the night there and then take the train and the bus together in one day to be here one day after I land in Vienna.

I'll probably take the bus tomorrow as it's faster (more direct) and they run every 15 minutes or 1/2 hour vs 3 trains a day.  Like the young guy told me you just show up when you want to go.

But I do want to show you the train station.  It was the cleanest,  brightest most cheerful one I think I've ever seen.  Not the grandest, but incredibly clean and modern looking and bright yet of classical design. I love trains but I will be taking the train for the long trip from Mukachevo to Lviv in a few days.  Trains are best when they go in a straight line between two distant points which that train does and the train from here to Mukachevo doesn't. It winds around in a big semi-circle.


Oh another thing the girl asked me is if I'm afraid here. Others have asked me the same thing. But, not because it's dangerous just because that's the perception of foreigners and it is hurting tourism.  When I say "safe" I'm not referring to the war zone in Eastern, Ukraine but here in Western Ukraine.  And the Eastern part of the country is far away in this the largest country in Europe.

So if you like to visit great cultural historical sites in a beautiful country with very friendly people, enjoy great live classical music - symphony, opera and ballet, fine museums, see great architecture and hang out it in a vast selection of cafes with the best coffee and chocolate in world then  Come to Ukraine!

Oh and two other things,  you'll avoid the tourist crowds and do it all for a fraction of the price you'd spend elsewhere in crowded Europe.

And you'll further enjoy yourself with the realization that your making a contribution albeit a modest one by helping the tourist industry in this country whose people so truly deserve our support.