It was on the shores of Lake Synevyr, planted at an altitude of 1,000 meters in the heart of the Ukrainian Carpathians, that they made an unusual appearance on Monday July 25. A dozen Ukrainian women, dressed and well-dressed, meditate facing the expanse of water surrounded by trees, where a Ukrainian flag floats, planted on a thin islet. “It’s a place of love, and we’re going to spread it all over Ukraine to have peace”advocates Irena, 39, organizer of this ” retirement “ 100% female, relocated this year from Kherson, currently under Russian occupation, to these magnificent mountains in southwestern Ukraine.
“Almost all of our men, our brothers and our cousins are currently defending Ukraine”, she recalls. But “we try to be calm”also affirm in chorus the participants, persuaded to do work of general interest. “Our internal state affects the rest of the country”, defends one of them, before taking leave with a long embrace and moving away with blissful smiles to go and frolic in the water. The “Renaissance” retreat may seem completely incongruous, in the midst of a war that has already claimed thousands of lives, but it is the symptom of a real need for relief among Ukrainians who can afford, financially and psychologically, to go on vacation.
In the streets of Lviv, the big western city known for its architecture inherited from the Habsburgs, travel agencies are again offering tourist visits to the center as if nothing had happened. But, with its breathtaking landscapes and its geographical position very far from the front, the Carpathian chain, clinging to the Romanian border, remains the flagship destination for these somewhat unusual tourists.
Met on the edge of the same lake, where the flow of visitors is continuous, the Stepanenko couple thus allows themselves their first vacation since the start of the war, on February 24. Galina, 39, is a refugee in Lviv, while her husband, Maxim, 37, has come from Kharkiv, in the northeast, where he has returned to work as a chef despite the almost daily bombardments that this city still suffers from. Russian forces. Their children have been in Germany since March, and the couple treated themselves to three days off together for Maxim’s birthday. “We hiked and enjoyed a romantic dinner with wine”they say, hugging like teenagers.
But what impresses them most is ” the silence “. In the Carpathians, there are no bombardments, and the rare sirens are barely audible. In short, a haven of peace for a society on edge. “Here, we can at least sleep properly”, abounds Sergei Tchoumatchenko, a radio technician who lives in Irpine, the suburb of kyiv hard hit by the Russian army. With his wife, Ira, and their daughter, Ania, they used to spend their holidays abroad and would rather have targeted Turkey this summer. But lo and behold, the war came, and they fell back on Solotvino, a saltwater spa resort that runs along the border with Romania, more than 750 kilometers of bad road from their home. Under a blazing sun not even mitigated by a few trees, Ukrainian families alternate swimming pool, salt water baths and grills.
You have 50.86% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.