The American shared his impressions of the Ukrainian Carpathians. VIDEO

American traveler Peter Santenello and his girlfriend Natalia traveled to the Ukrainian Carpathians. Peter shared his impressions in a personal blog on YouTube.

Journalists VOA translated his story into Ukrainian, and we translated it into Russian. Over to Peter.

“I heard a lot about Western Ukraine almost from the first day in the country. Everyone says: Western Ukraine, Western Ukraine, you just have to visit it. And here it is, finally. Finally.

One of the first things I noticed in the Carpathians were the churches. I don't know why, but outwardly people seem more religious here. They are mostly Greek Catholics; there are fewer Orthodox Christians here. For Ukrainians this is a common thing, but for foreigners such a change of religions is unusual.

We got to our first destination. It was a beautiful house that belongs to the same family. We stayed there for a few days.

And we climbed the mountain! (Peter and Natalia climbed Hoverla).

It started to rain. Almost nothing was visible, but no one turned around, everyone continued to rise. Whom we just saw: from a man with a bag and a stick to an 4-year-old child. Not that the child was glowing with happiness, but still continued to climb the mountain with his parents.

Students came with us. Why I like Ukraine and local students is that they have a great time together and have fun together.

Even in the rain, families walked to the top and did not seem to mind that they were completely wet. At the top there was something resembling a party, a celebration. People were opening champagne. From my point of view, the greatest asset of this country is how relatable the society is.

On the third day we went south, deeper into the Carpathians. It was raining, it was raining, it was raining. And then it was still raining. Everything was beautiful. The villages were neat, lovely and beautiful.

Unexpectedly for Ukraine, the roads were really good, smooth and new. But as soon as I said it out loud, everything changed, and they became what people usually imagine them to be when it comes to roads in rural areas in Ukraine.

Gradually, the Romanian language began to dominate on the radio. Because of this Romanian influence, you begin to feel that you are approaching the border. And people look different. And in general, it seems that this is another Ukraine.

It seems to me that the Carpathians are very different from the Ukraine that I saw. The East, where I lived last summer, and the West are like two different worlds. I like both, but they are completely different.

Borders are strange: depending on the country. It was interesting to see the border areas, many of which are unfinished, but still there were many large houses. In this city there is nothing, nothing but the border. There is no industry, there are no cities around, there is nothing. It all looked like this: a big house, a big house, a big house.

I was struck by the hospitality of the locals.

Vitaly's house is located on a hill. He built it with his family. A house overlooking a mountain valley is something that money can’t buy. You can stay in the best 5-star hotel, but there will be no person nearby who will welcome you so warmly.

In both places where we stayed, people love their work and invest a lot in it. Yesterday, Vitaly took us with him for a walk in the mountains, a wonderful walk overlooking the valleys. We did not walk on the transcendental peaks. This is not the Himalayas, not the Caucasus or the Alps. But this is a special place, and it is very spiritual.

What this country offers is a real treasure lying beneath the surface. And it doesn’t matter what’s on the surface when there are such depths underneath. I understand that there is a dark side to everything, but in addition there is also a very bright human side.
So good to be a part of it.

Here's the story. I have to go back again and see more because I’ve only scratched the surface,” Peter concludes.

Full video of Peter Santenello with Ukrainian subtitles:

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