Dreams come true and don't come true
Carpathians - what a charming name! It is a great success to visit this wonderful land, and at the same time improve your health in a high-mountain health resort. My husband and I thought about this while choosing a place to stay on the Internet. We gave preference to the Morshinsky sanatorium, trusting its name as a hallmark of the resort city.
Full of hope and provisions, we stood waiting for the bus liner with the loud name Columb Plus of the Kiev travel company. Exactly on schedule, our Columbus taxied to the landing site. Due to its large dimensions, two more pluses could be added to its name, and a few minuses in terms of the degree of deterioration. But, as they say, they don’t change horses at the crossing, I had to be content with a shabby, dull interior with small-sized armchairs. The characteristic smell coming from the toilet obsessively reminded us of the presence of the appropriate service.
A long road through Germany and Poland under the roar of endless video series and, finally, the border. The driver convinced us that in order to quickly pass through customs, we need to collect money, which we did. In a couple of hours we enter Ukraine.
Mowed, long unwhitewashed huts, located next to rich mansions, curvy roads, shops with bizarre names "Trucker", "Willkome" reminded of Russia.
Driving through the expanses of the granaries of the former Soviet Union, we were surprised to notice the widespread use of horse and even bull teams for cultivating the land. But the sown fields pleasantly pleased the eye and reported that the villages were still alive.
The area of the bus station in Morshyn reminded Gogol of a provincial town with a remarkable puddle. There had not yet been such a spectacle here due to the lack of rain, but a huge dent in the center of the square suggested a similar option. Dilapidated buildings in the area, potholes and potholes, hastily patched up with pieces of asphalt, clouds of gray dust rising up as vehicles approach or move away, did not evoke joyful emotions in us, even at the end of a long and painful journey. Noticing the heavy luggage in our hands, taxi drivers briskly ran up to us and vying with each other began to offer their services. Having heard the lowest price “for five hryvnias”, we agreed and with pleasure settled down in a comfortable cabin of a Japanese foreign car. After a couple of minutes around the first turn, our journey was completed, and the driver offered to vacate the cabin.
How are we already here? I was surprised and held out a five-hryvnia banknote for payment.
- I told you, five hryvnia each, - the driver explained.
- So I'll give you five.
- I meant a person, and you two - patiently explained the driver.
- And this is exactly the sanatorium "Morshinsky"? I asked the enterprising driver, handing him another bill.
- Yes sir. Yes, you look from the facade, there is a sign there.
We slowly climbed the broken steps to the main entrance to a gray, peeling building, vaguely resembling a beautiful building on a website on the Internet.
The receptionist on duty received us very cordially, even carefully warned us that the elevator on the second floor, where our room is located, does not stop. With heavy luggage in our hands and sad thoughts, we climbed the steep stairwells. As we expected, our apartment was a match for the broken building: cracks in the wooden window frames and creaky parquet floors, walls that had not seen repair for a long time, rickety chairs with faded upholstery, a TV stand instead of a coffee table, and a miniature TV showing off on the refrigerator , made up the decoration of the room. I looked into the bathroom: antediluvian rusty plumbing and a worn rubber rug caused me final disappointment and protest, and I ran headlong to the administrator for an explanation.
“I booked and paid for a superior room, ” I exclaimed. - And here such an annoyance!
“You have a refrigerator in your room, ” the woman stated. - This is a sign of an improved number.
My husband tried to reassure me:
- Don't be so upset. Maybe here the treatment and nutrition are at a high level.
“I doubt it very much, ” I objected. “But we have no choice but to hope for a miracle. ”
And the resort never ceased to amaze us. Once in the lobby of the dining room, we smelled the suffocating smell of chlorine detergent. We quickly went up to the second floor and found ourselves in a spacious hall, the walls of which were decorated with paintings depicting the wonderful landscapes of the Carpathian region. We were not pleased with the appearance and taste of the dishes brought by the smiling waitress. The quality of the cooked food was reminiscent of meager meals in the factory canteens of the distant Soviet times. The portions were so meager that I remembered with satisfaction that there was a refrigerator in the room. “We will buy fresh products at the market and we will not die of hunger, ” I planned.
When leaving the dining room, we were met by flocks of stray cats and dogs. They were extremely well-fed and very friendly to us and to each other. There was enough food for everyone. Vacationers willingly grabbed for them half-eaten bread cutlets, sour cheesecakes, sinewy goulash meat, and even chicken and fish bones.
“Apparently, only the animals are satisfied with the local dining room, ” I remarked.
The woman in front looked back.
- Be patient a little. Now there are few vacationers, and the employees of the canteen also need to live. In a week, our brother will arrive, and then there will be enough for everyone - both for us and for the workers, - she reassured.
After visiting the doctor, all our spa books were full of appointments for medical procedures. What they didn’t have: various iontophoresis in the physiotherapy room, and aromatherapy, in addition to mud applications that are important for us.
- We will be able to breathe natural aromas in the spa park, get physiotherapy at the place of residence, - we expressed our dissatisfaction.
- At your age mud procedures are not desirable, - objected the doctor.
“Our heart is normal, and we came specially to treat the joints, ” we insisted.
- We do not have a special agreement with the city mud bath this year, - the doctor revealed the secret.
- Then why does your sanatorium advertise on the site and promises the possibility of receiving all these types of procedures? And if there is no normal accommodation, food and treatment, then calculate us from your hospital and pay us money for unused days.
We were released, and we received full payment. Having broken free, we rented a beautiful two-room Suite in the private boarding house Troyanda. It turned out to be much cheaper to rest here, but most importantly - more comfortable. The friendly staff of the boarding house managed to create a truly homely comfort for their guests. We received enough money from the sanatorium for accommodation, treatment and food. We went on excursions and even bought gifts for ourselves and our loved ones. And the real holiday began for us. Now it was possible to enjoy the beauty of the Carpathians, get acquainted with the history of the resort.
Morshyn is located at an altitude of 340 meters above sea level. Archaeological finds speak of the deep antiquity of the settlement, from which the modern resort town has grown. This alpine place has been inhabited by people since the end of the Stone Age, that is, about 10 thousand years ago. The first written evidence about Morshyn, which appeared in the 15th century, tells about the use of natural water sources by peasants to obtain salt. The valuable product was evaporated from water in metal boilers. The gentry of Branetsky, the owners of Morshyn, were interested in the craft of the peasants. They decided to get salt from salt mines, which were dug out for this purpose. But the dream of getting rich in this field did not come true. The salt obtained in this way turned out to be bitter and unsuitable for food.
Many years later, experts determined that it was identical in composition to Glauber's salt, which was chemically discovered and used in medicine by the German physician Glauber.
At that time, people did not know about the healing properties of the resulting salt, and work in the salt mines was stopped.
The beauty of these places and clean clear air attracted people. The next owner of Morshyn, merchant Boniface Stiller, appreciated this beauty and founded the first resort hospital for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in these places in 1878.
Water springs and local peat mud attracted the attention of researchers, and their healing properties were soon discovered. The healing gift of nature was highly appreciated. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Morshyn has become a popular resort. It was compared with famous European resorts and was called "Galician Carlsbad".
In the seventies and eighties the city reached its peak. Numerous buildings of sanatoriums, the Palace of Culture, a mud bath - everything was in excellent condition. The photographs of those years, which are now used in advertising projects, are reminiscent of favorable times for the resort.
In the suburbs of Morshyn, you can still enjoy the majestic mountain valleys, plunge into the silence of the pristine forest, admire the lawns variegated with various colors, feed trusting nimble squirrels from your hand, watch the work of a hard worker-woodpecker, listen to the sonorous song of the cuckoo.
This mountainous region is rich in memorable historical places. Travel companies vying with each other offer their services and organize many excursions. Here you need to be on the alert and collect the necessary information about the upcoming trip. Health will not allow everyone to get to their destination by bus for hours, and then make a steep long climb up the mountains on foot, as happened to us when we went to Lake Synevyr.
The Dovbush Rocks are a fabulous creation of nature. Dovbush is a national hero. According to the surviving legends, in the distant eighteenth century, he fought for justice, took away wealth from the masters and distributed it to poor peasants. In the rocky caves, a good robber with his army was hiding from armed pursuers. Now it is a favorite place of pilgrimage for tourists and rock climbers who set up camps at the foot of sheer boulders and take turns conquering the peaks. Unfortunately, there are casualties among the extremals. Wreaths on the rocks remind of this.
Not far from Morshyn is the museum-estate of another national hero of Western Ukraine, Stepan Bandera, about whom many “horror stories” were composed in Soviet times. Growing up in the family of a priest, Stepan devoted his entire life to the struggle for the liberation of the Motherland. At first, he fought with his associates against the Polish invaders. After the signing of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact in 1939, Western Ukraine was forcibly annexed to the Soviet Union. The majority of the population was opposed to such a decision, and repressions began. At this time there were four mass deportations of the Ukrainian population. Many activists of political parties and public organizations were executed. Stepan Bandera could not stay away from the ongoing events. Again the struggle, but this time against the Soviet regime. Soviet ideologists accused Bandera of collaborating with Nazi Germany. In fact, he dreamed of the independence of Ukraine from foreigners, strove for this all his life, for which he paid the price, after serving several years in a German concentration camp, and, in the end, he died in Munich from a shot by a hired killer, a KGB officer.
When new times came, and Ukraine became a sovereign state, archival documents were opened, and the people learned the truth. Now streets and squares are named after Stepan Bandera, people warmly remember their defender.
But let's return from distant history to modern Ukraine. The sovereignty of this state has not improved the lives of ordinary people. Women of retirement age work as janitors and cleaners. Grannies take to the streets of the resort to sell homemade food: berries, mushrooms, nuts, medicinal herbs. Apparently, it is not easy to live on one pension. Often you will see law enforcement officers zealously dispersing the elderly "businesswomen", or pushing such violators into a police car. What can you do, such is their service.
But the people do not lose heart, cheerful Ukrainian songs are heard everywhere, and not a primitive hit. Free concerts of amateur musical groups delight the guests of the resort.
After the rest, healthy food and clean, intoxicating air of forests and parks, we felt stronger and rejuvenated. The memory of the impending painful return on the infamous Columb Plus bus was depressing.
It took us a week to recover from our return.
