Cultural and historical gastro-alco extreme tour. Day 4-6: Transcarpathia. Mukachevo – Berehove – Koson.
"In a blooming, fragrant valley,
Where Latoritsi waters are blue,
Became in beauty solemnly
Ancient and modern city
(Mykhailo Shushkevich)"
Mukachevo is a very cozy medieval European town on the Latoritsa River with a rich history, culture and architecture. It was built around the fortress - Palanok Castle.
We walk through the quiet ancient streets, which give a long-lost feeling of protection and incredible peace. Neat low-rise houses, exquisite sculptural compositions in the center of the city are fascinating: mini-sculptures of geese, a monument to the soot shaker, Cyril and Methodius, Saint Martin, who is the patron saint of the city.
We admired the city hall and cathedrals, went to look for the White Palace of Rakotsi, which actually turned out to be pink.
The palace was built by the princes of the Transylvanian dynasty Rakotsi as a city residence.
They lived there until 1711. After the suppression of the National Liberation War of 1703-1711, which was led by Ferenc Rakoczi II, the palace first became the property of the Emperor of Austria, and then, in 1728, it was given as a gift to the German Count Schö nborn-Buchheim, together with huge land plots. The "White Palace" was used for ceremonial receptions of the nobility and foreign ambassadors. In 1979, the first children's art school named after Mihai Munkachi in Transcarpathia was opened in the palace. The school is open, we asked to come in. The artist Mihai Munkachi had not even heard of before, the school presented reproductions of his works, in our opinion, very deep and dramatic.
The nature of Mukachevo is also incredible: the emerald Carpathians rise not far away, the transparent Latoritsa glistens calmly under the sun. The air, unlike in industrial cities, is very clean and fresh.
We have lunch at "Kaftova pelmennaya", which is right on the central square near the Town Hall. Quite inexpensive and tasty. Transcarpathian Bograch conquers from the first spoonful, we decided to postpone the tasting of craft dumplings until the next time.
To be honest, contemplating beauty and studying history at such an intense pace makes us feel a little tired. It's time to start the relaxing part of the vacation - we will move to Berehovo, check in at the mini-hotel "Mapa Manor" for 3 nights.
Berehove is a small cozy town on the border with Hungary with a view of the Carpathians, the slopes of which are planted with hectares of vineyards. A third of the population is Hungarian, the Hungarian language can be heard on the streets, the inscriptions on the buildings are duplicated in Hungarian.
This city gained popularity and fame primarily due to its unique thermal pools. Many, many years ago, they searched for oil in Transcarpathia, drilling wells in the ground 1.200-1.400 m deep. Unfortunately, they did not find oil, but they found a unique precious resource for the human body - the thermal waters of Transcarpathia. Residents turned these waters into real oil - invested in thermal springs and developed the region as one of the most attractive for tourism in Ukraine.
We decided to relax in the most famous thermal complex of Berehovo - "Zhaivoronok".
The complex consists of a hotel, restaurant, cafe, baths, salt rooms and pools with unique natural thermal water. We take a subscription for 3 hours and go to the pools. There are a lot of people. The water temperature in the pools varies, reaching up to 57 degrees. In addition to the usual relaxation in warm water, you can try a hot thermal jacuzzi or massage your back with a strong stream of water. We were also tempted to peel fish, it was fun. After 3 hours, our health was literally pouring out of us.
I will not dwell on the architecture of Berehove for a long time, it is beautiful, ancient, European. We visited the old casino building. Now it is the hotel and restaurant "Zolota Pava". Quite beautiful and pathetic, especially the painting. They had dinner there once.
In general, Transcarpathian cuisine deserves special attention. We fell in love with her from the first spoonful. Therefore, I will dwell a little on the Berehove establishments.
It turns out that nice restaurants are often crowded in the evenings during the "high season", take that into account. It was not possible to visit the restaurant "Zhaivoronok". Only on the second attempt, we had dinner at "Golden Peacock" - good Hungarian cuisine, refined interior, dishes are very hearty, prices are slightly above average.
By chance, we once got into "Chadra Paprika" - a simple interior, very large, simple and hearty dishes, I would say "manly" cuisine. We couldn't finish the chef's main dish for dinner together, but we had it for breakfast.
I liked the most the outwardly not very remarkable restaurant "Ambar" on Leva Street next to our hotel. The interior is cozy, the service is good, and the prices are reasonable. Bograch is real, incredibly tasty, pancakes with meat and cheese are a masterpiece of Transcarpathian cuisine, and we have never tasted such pancakes with meat anywhere.
The collection of cigarettes is also very worthy, I had to taste a lot. The chef is only 22 years old, but already such a talent.
And how can you relax in the Transcarpathian capital of winemaking and not visit a wine tasting? We did not get to "Chizai" because it was a very inconvenient time. But who came up with the idea of holding tastings in the morning? But there are many other worthy winemakers in Berehove. We visited the tour and wine tasting of the Nagy family.
Ms. Liana took us to the ancient burials dug by the captured Turks, where the wines mature. She talked very interestingly about the history and technology of winemaking.
The tasting itself was very tasty, it started with the lightest dry white wine, moved to dry reds, then semi-dry, semi-sweet, dessert, and ended with an incredible chacha infused with raisins. Those who wished were able to buy finished products. It turned out to be a very interesting and tasty excursion.
In 18 km from Berehove, the health and recreation complex "Thermal waters of Kosyno" was built, located on the plume of mineral thermal waters, which stretches through part of the territory of such European countries as France, Italy, Spain, Serbia, Croatia, Austria, Switzerland and the Balkan Peninsula. In Ukraine, this plume covers most of the Transcarpathian region, namely the Vynogradivskyi and Berehivskyi districts.
The healing water of the resort rises from one of the three currently operating wells in Transcarpathia, called 16 T.
The hot geyser of thermal water comes from a depth of 1190 m and enters the thermal pool with a temperature of 40-45°C.
The complex is simply luxurious, even compared to the "Lark", but it is also more expensive. We are buying a season ticket for 20 hours for 2 for UAH 2.800. 00. You can use the thermal pools, recreation area, saunas, restaurants and bars, deckchairs and water park.
We spend 3.5 hours in the "thermal part". The water is unique in its chemical composition, an analogue can be found only in Iceland, New Zealand and on Sakhalin. There are many pools with different temperatures, some are contrasting, some are with a whirlpool, with statues and fountains, with massagers, with a jacuzzi.
The architects approached the design of the swimming pools in a very creative way: in the middle of the complex, as if there is a "faucet of health" hanging in the air, there is a pool into which water flows from a height from a giant coffee cup, into another - from a bottle of wine. There are pools of men's dreams, where water flows from a beer mug and from a bottle of palenka. The tiles in these pools have the colors of the corresponding drinks, which enhances this illusion. Very original. There is a fast food restaurant and several bars. A peacock proudly walks through the territory.
We visit the complex of "royal saunas": eucalyptus, herbal, salt, Roman, Hungarian, hammam, and finally an ice cave (-10 degrees).
The next day, we "play" for 6.5 hours in the water park area.
I really liked the water park: the slides are extreme, high-quality, fast and safe. Height from 6 meters, length from 47 meters.
The three highest extra-slides: "Monarch Butterfly" - height 12 m, length 55 m, "Kamikaze" - height 12 m, length 71 m, "Black Hole" - height 12 m, length 130 m. Breathtaking. There is a swimming pool with the highest artificial wave in Ukraine, you can feel nostalgic for the sea. There are fast food and bars, umbrellas and sunbeds. I was also pleased with its own area with thermal pools with massagers and a jacuzzi. Time flew by in a flash.
I posted a video below. 
