#beautifulukraine #solobiketrip
Welcome to my very first YouTube video! I’ll take you on a short bicycle journey through Western Ukraine that took place last summer (end of July 2025). I decided to go there despite the ongoing war, and I don’t regret it! I experienced a lot of hospitality, soaked in some stunning landscapes, tried delicious food, and most importantly – felt very safe throughout the entire trip. Enjoy the ride!
Music:
✦ “A u Lisku feat. Mila Mazur” – CJ Plus ✦
https://cjplus.bandcamp.com/track/a-u-lisku-feat-mila-mazur
From the album: 2Step Fat cat
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
✦ “Viter Vie” – Kyle Misko ✦
https://kylemisko.bandcamp.com/track/viter-vie
From the album: Ukrainian Alternative Folk Album
Licensed under CC BY 3.0
► Subscribe for more cycling adventures!
Well, hello again. It’s July 27th of 2025,
and I’m here in eastern Slovakia, less than a kilometer from the border to Ukraine. What am I
doing here? It’s a question that I heard a couple of times the last two days cycling in Slovakia.
And well, I’m heading to Ukraine, as you probably have guessed already. The plan is to cycle through
Zakarpatia, which is the very west of the country. It’s going to be about 200 kilometers, maybe a
bit more. And the final destination is Przemyśl in Poland. And the plan for today is to cycle to
a city of Uzhhorod, which is about 20 kilometers behind the border. Actually, I was about to cross
directly to Uzhhorod, but then I found out thanks to my friend Anna that actually that border
crossing is just for cars and trucks. So you are not able to cross if you are by bicycle or just
by foot. Phew… I’m a little bit nervous I have to say. Because at the end I’m going to a country
where war is going on. I keep telling myself that that’s supposed to be one of the safest regions
in Ukraine. And I really believe that seeing it through the eyes of a cyclist, meeting people
there, enjoying nature, it’s very much worth it. So, let’s go. Bye, Slovakia. It is such a tiny border crossing. Phew, it’s quite a relief. I was a bit stressed.
I don’t know. Because I was so excited I forgot to buy a health insurance which is supposed to
be mandatory if you want to go to Ukraine. And I just forgot. But they didn’t care much and it
all went very quickly, maybe 5 minutes maximum and they were all either nice or just didn’t
care much so perfect. Yes, I’m in Ukraine. Wow. Less than 100 meters from
the border and here it starts already. Look at that beautiful
bus stop. I love that mosaic style. My first impressions on Ukraine are pretty
positive. It feels calmer. It’s greener, I would say. It’s also quite abandoned.
Like there are a lot of empty houses. Also, the gypsies are gone. I’m sorry to say it, but I
already felt a bit uncomfortable at some point, especially when I was passing by a group of
children. And you cannot tell it from the video, but they were actually following me and
touching my pannier bags. So that was less cool. The downside would be definitely
the roads. Oh my god, some of them have so many holes that you have to ride in a zigzag.
But all in all, I’m really glad to be here.
The other thing that I forgot was to
check the accommodation in Uzhhorod and now I don’t have internet. I don’t
know probably I will just ask around. Okay! I finally left Uzhhorod. And
I say finally because I spent more time there than I planned because yesterday… Yesterday I had some things to buy and some
things to manage before I could continue the trip. And then I thought, what’s wrong with that clock?
Why does it show half 3? No, half past 4, I think. Yeah, I love these kinds of little grocery shops in the villages and there are a lot of
them in Ukraine. Let’s check it out. I’ve just arrived to Dobry Nyci. There is
a place that I’d like to check out. I was actually very glad to spend the night there
yesterday, but okay, let’s not talk about it anymore. It’s also marked as a museum on the map,
so I’m very curious what kind of place it is. Hm… It seems that nobody’s at home, which is a
pity and a bit painful for such a fomo person as myself. Because that night in yesterday
was really uh not the best I had. And I’m pretty sure that a night here would be would
be something very special. Okay, maybe it was meant to be that way. But if you happen to make
your bicycle tour here in that area, definitely stop by. It’s called Dobra Nuć. It’s a hostel,
so you pay for a bed, but I guess you probably have an entire place for yourself because there
are not that many travelers here at the moment. It’s about 2 hours before sunset and I
start wondering how it’s going to work with wild camping because on one side of
the street there is this pretty steep slope with a not very inviting forest and then
directly on the other side the river Uzh. It looked better on the satellite pictures. That problem was soon solved as I got invited
into the home of some local people. I actually only asked them for a safe place to put
my tent, but in the end, I got an entire room for myself. What a luxury. Ukrainians
are honestly such kind and helpful people. Hello on the third day cycling in Ukraine.
I keep following the Uzh river. You can’t see it but maybe you can hear it. Starting
from Usharot, the road takes you gradually up the hill. But today, at some point,
it’s going to be pretty steep. Oh yes, I had a pretty serious climb ahead of me. But
for now, I could enjoy the next 20 kilometers soaking in the idyllic landscapes and
the sounds of the Zakarpatia villages. And of course after those 20 km I
deserved a second breakfast. Check out this epic soup. It’s called borscht and
its main ingredients is beets while the rest
0:14:50.880,1193:02:47.295
depends on what the cook throws in. You’ve
probably heard of this soup if you visited other Slavic countries. The Ukrainian
version I had was absolutely delicious. I managed to hitch a ride which saved me
probably about 2 hours because it’s nearly 500 meters of climbing in just 6 km. So you can imagine how
steep it is. Honestly, I never regret hitchhiking when I travel by bicycle because some parts of the
road are just pain in the ass. So why not speeding up a bit. So from now on there will be a lot of
downhill ride. Still it will be pretty hilly. But now I reached the highest point of my entire
trip in Ukraine. So yeah, it’s going to be fun. And so we’ve come to the end of the first part of
my little cycling journey through Western Ukraine. In the following days, I will head
off the beaten path to discover some hidden villages with pretty bad
roads but incredibly kind people, as well as the stunning landscapes of
the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine. So, I warmly invite you to watch the
next episode. And thank you very much for being here with me on my very first YouTube
video. I hope to see you in the next one. Bye.