ESL Blogs

My dear friends! I promised to post the blog about the Carpathians and I am keeping my word! It was an unforgettable rest and I'd like to share my impressions with you.

You may know, that the Carpathian Mountains are the oldest in Europe. They are not very high. The highest peak is about 2000 m tall. But they are so picturesque! I have already told you a little about those places. So, not to repeat myself, I will tell you about our trip to the area called Zakarpatye, i.e., the Western part of that mountain ridge.

There is a fantastic mountain lake Synewyr. The folks call it Sea Eye although the water is fresh there. It appeared right after the end of the Ice Age when glaciers were melting and the mountains were rising. Its square is about 5 hectares and there is a small island not far from the bank. I'd like to tell you the legend related to this lake. Once lived a girl whose name was Syn. In Ukrainian it means "blue'. She was a blue-eyed young girl, a daughter of the local count who owned that land. One day she heard the sound of a reed-pipe (national Ukrainian music instrument) coming from the woods. She followed the sound and saw a great guy playing it. His name was Wyr and they fell in love with each other. But Syn's father was against that union because Wyr was a shepherd. However, the young people didn't want to part and dated secretly. But one day the count ordered his people to kill Wyr, they threw a big stone over him and he died. When Syn saw that, she couldn't help crying. Her tears were so bitter and endless that they made the lake and she was buried in its waters together with her lover. So, that small island, Sea Eye, is the place where they died. Isn't it a romantic story!? 

Well, on our way back ve also visited the unique museum of timber and floatage. I hope, you know what TIMBER is. It is WOOD. But as to floatage, I believe I have to explain. It is a process of delivering timber by rivers from some highlands to the places where it can be loaded onto some transport. So, travelling in the Carpathians we saw such a museum where you can see the way those rafts were made and modern people demonstrating how to float that timber. It is beyoud of my common sense! I am posting one more picture for you to imagine what it is!

Also, we visited a few other interesting places. One of them is The Templars' Castle, the 11th-12th centuries. there left only ruins, but they are impressive anyway. Can you imagine what power Templars had if they reached not only Eastern Europe, but also Middle East?! The other interesting castle we saw is Soenborn's Castle, his hunting lodge. This castle is not old, the 19th century, but looks great anyway. It was reconstructed and is one of the greaterst Ukrainian resorts now. I can tell many stories about that fantastic land, but I do know where to stop. To conclude somehow, I had never had such great rest before this trip. I hope, you will visit the Carpathians one day!