Uzhgorod is the perfect size city to visit; with a population of 120,000, it has everything you could ask for (except a zoo and aquarium). For culture, there is the theater, the symphony, art museums, ethnic festivals, historic buildings, cathedrals. There are a number of historic churches - Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, dating back hundreds of years. The Horiany Rotunda was built in the 11th century, and inside is decorated with 14th century paintings in the Giotto style. The Cross Mounted Greek Catholic Cathedral dates to 1644, with a late Baroque interior from the 18th century.
The Tsegolyanska Church dates from 1802. At the Museum of Folk Architecture, you can see the wooden Shelestiv St. Michael Church, built in 1777 without a single nail. The Talendies Chapel dates to 1777.
There is a building housing wine cellars, originally a brewery warehouse built in 1781 by Turkish war prisoners. There are residential buildings dating to the 16th and 17th centuries. There are the University buildings, like the Commercial Technical School which dates to 1668. There is the Greek Catholic Seminary.
There is the Philharmonic, which was once the Jewish Synagogue.
The Regional Ukrainian Music-Drama Theater. The Puppet Theater. The Museum of Folk Architecture, which has several dozen preserved buildings,
with displays of old household objects, furniture, and clothing. The Botanical Garden, begun at the end of the 19th century.
The Art Museum in the former zhupanat, or regional council building.
There are the castles - the Uzhgorod Castle originally built before the 9th century, and reconstructed in the 16th, now a museum.
Within the castle walls are the remains of a Gothic Cathedral built in the 13th century, and burned in the 17th. Below the castle winds one of the oldest streets in Uzhgorod, the Castle Stairs. Nearby are the ruins of the Nevitski Castle,
and Mukachevo is a short drive away with the Palinok Castle atop a man-made mountain.
There are dozens of restaurants and cafes in the city center, and the cobblestone streets of the city center are closed to motor traffic. Perfect for a leisurely stroll. The city is large enough to offer anything you could ask for, yet small enough that it only takes a few days to learn your way around. There are plenty of sidewalk cafes, where you can have an espresso, beer, wine, food or ice cream, and sit and watch the pedestrian traffic.
The river bank walkway, which stretches for 2 miles, is lined with Lipa or Linden trees, giving off a pleasant fragrance.
And in the center of the city, you can see people fishing in the river! There are memorial statues, gardens, squares. Monuments to the Transcarpathian soldiers fallen in Afghanistan, and the WW II Soviet war memorial and cemetery.
There are hundreds of small shops - dress shops, book stores, grocery shops, souvenir shops, shops of every description. The grocery stores offer locally grown, ORGANICALLY raised, produce and meat - free from pesticide, fertilizer, and antibiotics. And at prices a fraction of the cost in America. In the many bazaars, you can find anything you want for sale, without the 400% markup in American stores. So far, American style department stores and Walmart haven't ruined the city. The city has Old World charm, but modern conveniences, too. Everyone has a cell phone, satellite TV is free and offers hundreds of channels, high speed Internet service is available for $10 -15 US dollars a month. Marlboro cigarettes are $1.25 a pack!
The locally produced wine, both commercial and home-made, is among the best in the world. The region has the same climate and soil that produces Tokay wine, which has been prized by the British monarchy. The Soviets tore out all the commercial vineyards after WW II, to combat alcoholism, and Transcarpathian wine was forgotten about. But the vineyards have been replanted for about 15 years, and the household vines were never touched. The home-cured and smoked hams are every bit as good as Italian prosciutto, and there is an endless variety of sausages and cured meats, including SALO!
A car isn't necessary in Uzhgorod; you can easily get around on bicycle or on foot. The roads are flat, so a bicycle ride is easy. I've met people who bicycle every day to work from villages 5 or 10 miles away, in sunshine, rain, snow, and sleet. Buses are convenient, and a ride from Dravtsi to the city center is only 25 cents US. A car can be rented for $7 US dollars a day, and taxis are cheap. There is train transportation to other cities. Budapest, Bratislava, L'viv, Mukachevo, and other cities are nearby, as Uzhgorod is very centrally located in the heart of Europe. The Black Sea can easily be reached.
The mountains nearby are incredibly scenic. In the mountains you can find snow skiing in winter, in summer there is fishing, caneoing, rafting, mushroom hunting, berry picking. There are resorts nearby where you can rent a cabin. There are mineral water springs, and thermal spas.
There are hundreds of scenic villages, each with at least one and often two or three churches. You can easily stand in one spot, and see several churches as you turn and look in every direction. You're rarely out of site of a church or shrine.
Uzhgorod might be one of the safest cities in Europe. There is so little crime, that the entire region has only ten police officers. I never had to worry about my safety, or being robbed. The people are mostly devoutly religious, and the standard greeting is "Slava Isusu Kristu". The standard goodbye is "Z Bohom". You will probably never meet friendlier, more hospitable, or generous people. Everyone has a casual relaxed attitude; there's no hurry for anything.
The Uzhgorod region has it's own strange little micro-climate, which results in the most incredible variety and abundance of fruits and vegetables. The climate is temperate, but the seasons come earlier and last longer. The end of May there are already cherries, which won't appear at home for two months.
You can see not just one, but several varieties of plum trees, apples, cherries, peaches, pears, apricots, walnuts. There are strawberries, raspberries, elderberries, mulberries, several other berries I can't identify. And the organic vegetable gardens are incredibly productive and fertile.
Why go to Uzhgorod? Because it's incredible!!
