Carpathian tram
Stormy mountain rivers, high twilight, smoking mountains - the beauties of the Carpathians have been described by generations of tourists. And any newcomer who got to the Carpathian region really wants to see everything with their own eyes. But what to do if you find yourself in the Carpathians without a personal car or your body categorically protests against a hiking mountain trip. We found a good alternative - a tour with the unusual name "Carpathian tram". In Truskavets, it is offered by all travel agencies, the tour takes about 9 hours. The "tram" itself - 3-4 hours, depending on the circumstances.
About circumstances. We were catastrophically unlucky with the Carpathian excursions. The weather for May was excellent, but it was on the days of the excursions that the clouds insidiously rolled in, it was brutally cold and it began to pour nasty rain. But you will not frighten experienced tourists with rain - the sightseers left in full set.
The road in the Lviv region is quite decent, but in the Ivano-Frankivsk region the roads are full of potholes, potholes and potholes. The mountains were getting closer, the rain was getting stronger. . . In a town with an unusual name Benefit, we were dropped off, and along the wet grass we wandered to a green train with two trailers.
One trailer - with frosted glass like an electric train, the second - no glass at all. Both are not heated. On the street - degrees 5. Wind. “With me” I guessed to take only one - the most experienced. Everyone's mood dropped. The girl - the guide chirped about something with the driver, and happily announced that we could load directly into the locomotive. “There are windows, soft seats, and it is heated. In short, VIP. "VIP" in Carpathian. Seats from an old minibus. Tiny cloudy glasses. Car windshield wiper. ALL! )
... The windows in our VIP locomotive were small and misted over, you couldn't see ANYTHING. Quickly realized and opened a couple of windows. So we drove. The mood quickly deteriorated. It is difficult to call the driver's commentary in the direction of the train an excursion - the akyn's song "I sing about what I see. " The chip is the often repeated “no fig no fig”, this comment was remembered.
In short, the Carpathian tram turned out to be an old narrow-gauge railway, which had previously been used to transport timber. Now the railway has been adapted for the entertainment of tourists. The path first passes by farms and swamps, and then through the forest, crosses several rivers (or one with a bunch of turns), sometimes passes directly over the river. In summer, they add an open platform with benches - ideal for photo shoots! For a run wild office plankton - almost extreme!
The very first turn with a view of a stormy mountain river and smoking mountains washed away all the negativity from our group completely! The mountains really smoke! The feeling that in a wet forest in the mountains, invisible gnomes (or local warriors? (not to be confused with the Hutsuls! ) lit dozens of fires. Tall pines (or smereka, or fir trees - I'm clearly not a botanist), stunningly beautiful green shimmers in hundreds of emerald hues. Not in vain they told me that in the spring it is very beautiful in the Carpathians!
It is necessary to describe this only in verses, or Carpathian songs, but not in meager prose. Better yet, see for yourself.
And delicate salad-colored tips of Christmas trees, and golden leaves, from time to time trying to slap one of us on the nose. And the heron, which flew heavily, “at low level”, with some hefty fish in its beak. And a huge swamp, in the middle of which the local hardworking population managed to equip... a football field.
Due to rainy weather, there was a stop at a farm for pies, Carpathian tea and alcohol. Everything is very handy. Everyone was very cheerful. Nearby is a mountain river with rifts, very photogenic.
There were a couple more stops - at river rapids and at an abandoned sanatorium. On the rifts, people, despite the slippery clay and stones, rushed to take a picture. At the sanatorium ("cosmonauts used to undergo rehabilitation here"), the people quieted down and gloomily digested such a disregard for the magnificent place of rest. All around - indescribable beauty! The mountains! River! Pond! Greenery! Silence! And the sanatorium is forgotten - abandoned...
I remember the maneuvers. Our locomotive was unhooked from the wagons, we drove off a bit, switched to another branch and stood in front of the wagons. Our VIP car was ahead of us on our way back. How the driver drove - I do not know. The lookout was grandfather, from time to time jumping into the mud and moving the arrows.
And yet we returned in a great mood!
After the “maneuvers” and “we had it with us”, our VIPs fell into childhood, yelled songs about the Carpathians and the “blue wagon”, gasped at the stunning view of the narrow-gauge railway over the mountain river and took pictures through the open windows of everything. It was great!
A bonus on our tour was a planned lunch at the Vygody cafe with mushroom yushka and cognac. Warmed up, softened, returned to civilization... It's a pity...
Now I know that the beauties of the Carpathians captivate and enchant even in the rain. I can imagine how great it is to ride the Carpathian Tram on a warm sunny day. And a little (in a good way! ) I envy those who will have it.
