Bukovyna Part III: Prekarpaty, Kosiv, and a Farewell to Chernivtsi

On day three of our adventure, we got up early again to get a bus to Kosiv. Unfortunately, we went to the main bus station and not to the one our hostel owner had recommended, so it turned out there were no buses to Kosiv anytime soon. So instead, we hired a driver. Split four ways, this wasn't too expensive (about $24 each by the time all was said and done).

Kosiv is somewhere around 1-2 hours from Chernivtsi. To get there, you have to cross from Chernivts'ka Oblast into Ivano-Frankivs'ka Oblast. Kosiv is nestled in an area known as Prekarpaty-- that is, the foothills on the northern side of the Carpathian mountain range. It was great to have our own driver for this trip, because he took us along the scenic route.

He even stopped at one point to let us take pictures of the breathtakingly beautiful frosty Carpathian landscape, which was covered in snow that had just fallen the night before.

Little chapels like this one are everywhere in Western Ukraine

Fresh spring water from the mountains

This little church was up on a small hill in the middle of the valley... so beautiful.

Our driver took a group shot for us.

Then it was back in the car and off to Kosiv!

The reason we wanted to go to Kosiv so badly was to see their famous Hutsul craft market. This place is supposedly a mecca for travelers from all over the world, and gets hundreds of thousands of them yearly. The Hutsuls are a people who lived in this region of Ukraine, and a lot of their crafts became what we think of as iconic Ukrainian souvenirs. This market was enormous, and it was unfortunate we didn't have more time to spend there-- it closed at noon, and besides we were FREEZING. I definitely want to go back to this market in warmer weather someday, and wander around for a longer time. As it was, though, we had a pretty successful experience. I bought a vishyvanka-- a hand-embroidered shirt-- and some Carpathian herb tea.

Talia samples a headdress

Epic crafts market is epic.

After the crafts market, we had lunch in a little cafe, then went to the Hutsul Folk Art Museum (from which, unfortunately, I have no pictures, because we were not allowed to take them without paying an extra fee).

In the same building as the Hutsul Folk Art Museum was the museum of UPA... a Ukrainian nationalist organization which tends to be revered in Western Ukraine despite the fact that they were Nazi sympathizers... unfortunately the museum was closed when we were there.

Then we walked a little around Kosiv before heading back.

We got back to Chernivtsi in time to have dinner. Joel's train left that evening, so the next day it was just us girls. Charitie's train left midafternoon, so we did a little wandering and sightseeing before then.

When we first arrived, and got off the bus near this church, some random Ukrainian heard us speaking English and struck up a conversation. "Why did you come to Chernivtsi?" he asked. Without missing a beat, Talia answered: "Because your churches are PINK!!!"

I do believe this street is largely responsible for Chernivtsi's reputation as the "little Paris of Ukraine." You can't see it under the snow, but at the edge of the sidewalk there is a metal strip which has the name of Chernivtsi in several languages, including English, Ukrainian, Russian, and Hebrew.

It was quite cold. We stopped for hot chocolate to sip as we walked along the street.

Charitie and Talia basking in the rare winter sunlight.

Even the manhole covers in Chernivtsi were pretty. The city's logo-- the lantern-- reinforced the European feel of the city.

After Charitie caught her train, Talia and I went in search of St. Nicholas' Cathedral... otherwise known as "the Drunken Church." When we found it, we discovered why...

The Escher-like pattern of the spires' windows makes them look as though they are leaning in toward the steeple, when really they are not.

What a cool church!

The iconostasis at St. Nicholas' Cathedral.

Along the way to the drunken church, we also found a Ukrainian Greek Catholic church.

the frosty well outside the Ukrainian Greek Catholic church

And then we decided to go inside, and accidentally crashed a Ukrainian wedding.

OK, "crashed" is too strong a word. No one actually noticed we were there.

Candles in a little prayer shrine in an alcove near the entrance.

Then we walked along a little more, and found a park with a nice view of the valley.

At the park below this overlook, there was a ginormous statue of an old-timey bicycle. Talia climbed it, which may have resulted in the most steampunk picture ever.

On Yuriy Gagarin Street, however, we found a somber reminder of the city's past.

"The sign says: In this part of the city in 1941 was the Chernivetski Ghetto in which were imprisoned 50,000 Jews"

And now that you're all depressed, here's something more uplifting I saw on our way to the train station.

"Hakuna Matata: Clothes from Europe" Hahahaha....

Bukovyna Part II: The Land of Castles

Our second day in Chernivtsi, we got up bright and early to catch our bus to Khotyn, which is about an hour or so northeast of Chernivtsi. We disembarked in this small town, and asked around for directions to the fortress. Everyone pointed us in the same direction, but it was a long, cold, icy and treacherous walk through the town.

"Is that the fortress?" we joked.

Then, finally, we saw some signs.

Talia took this picture of us standing in front of the "Fortress" sign.
For some reason we all look really happy to be freezing!

After a bit more walking, we came to the crest of the hill where the fortress sits.

I believe that's St. Volodymyr guarding the entrance.

As Talia noted when she took this picture, Charitie and I got the posing sort of backwards. This little stray dog was our tour guide at Khotyn-- she followed us everywhere. Talia named her Jeanie.

"Khotyns'ka Fortetsya"

The main gate at the top of the hill.

Looking through the gate.

This landscape was so white that nearly all of us were snowblind by the time we returned. Not pleasant!

On the near side of the fortress, a church.

First view of the fortress. You can't see very well, but there are really neat whorl patterns in the brickwork.

Looking back at the entrance to the valley, a stunning view

 This is my "I'M AT A CASTLE!!!!" face :)

There was no one around, since we were the only people crazy enough to walk to this darn place in the depths of January. We paid the workers and then wandered around.

Inside the castle keep

The first tower we entered had torture instruments.

Talia stands in the Iron Maiden.

These signs had some great engrish. "Thorn could screw with the male screw and the victim of torture had to stand on the toe, till it had the force." XD

Then we went through the courtyard, and down into the dungeon.

Cool door.

Catapult, anyone?

Our faithful tour guide, Jeanie, followed us, even though these stairs were super steep and were taller than she was :)

During the spring and summer, this is apparently a cafe.

We spent quite a while at Khotyn, probably longer than we should have. Because of our time crunch (and also because of the really icy-dangerous roads) we hailed a taxi to take us back to the bus stop, where we jumped a bus for the hour-long trip to Kamyanets-Podilsky.

When we arrived in Kamyanets-Podilsky, we were all hungry and freezing. After taking a bus from the "new town" where we'd been dropped off to the "new town," we ducked into a cafe for some delicious Polish food. We didn't have much time before it would get dark, though, so we had to hurry on.

There were also some beautiful churches in Kamyanets-Podilsky.

Aside from L'viv, Kamyanets-Podilsky was probably the most magical place I've ever been. This entire city was built atop a fortress, many pieces of which can still be seen sticking up between buildings. The castle is high above the rest of the city, creating this uncanny sensation that you are stepping into a Van Helsing, or some other Dracula movie.

The fortress overlooks this valley city.

Beautiful church on the hill.

The other fun thing about Kamyanets-Podilsky is that you can climb all over the castle-- up in the turrets, along the battlements. AWESOME.

Talia told me to let down my hair, but it just wasn't long enough.
(also, this is possibly the coolest picture of all time.)

Along the battlements!

Through the arrow-slit window

Looking down over the valley from up on the battlements

Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend much time at the castle because it was getting dark and we didn't want to miss our bus. It is a place I definitely want to go back to, though, when the weather is warmer!

We made it back to the bus station only to learn that the next bus wouldn't be for another hour or more. So we went to a cafe beside the Avtovokzal (bus station) for a cup of tea. And this place was GREAT... they had a live chicken in a coop right inside the entrance. Probably the least sanitary thing. Ever.

Then our bus was late, and we had to wait in the freezing cold for about a half an hour. We were so cold and tired we started singing "if I had a hammer"...I really don't know why. Then when the bus finally came, we didn't get seats and had to stand for a while until enough people got off that we could sit down.

We finally got back to Chernivtsi around 8 or 9, then went out for some dinner. It had been a long day, and we needed some rest to get ready for our next adventure...