After the demise of the Pirate ship, our Danube adventure was abandoned and I decided to hitchhike instead. From Budapest, I headed first to Poland and then into Ukraine. The only bad thing that happened (apart from being shouted at by elderly Ukrainians), was my mountain cabin catching on fire.
I love Ukraine. In what other country can you go for a walk in a forest and stumble upon an abandoned ski jump and then try to hitchhike a tractor just a day later?
Using pictures to explain all, this is what I found.
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-2](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2829/11185618936_c7d96de9d7_b.jpg)
The border guards were surprisingly familiar
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-3](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3742/11185622764_0baf2ee0de_b.jpg)
Vorokhta, a small mountain village
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-4](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5505/11185727503_f8ed2fb71b_b.jpg)
Sitting on an abandoned railway bridge
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-5](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7410/11185614206_4484747b2a_b.jpg)
Ukraine and I
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-6](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7331/11185618074_46f4f47039_b.jpg)
A church
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-7](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3820/11185611156_ddf3f5c29e_b.jpg)
“Did you know that there is a blue eyed angel cat inside your jacket?”
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-8](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2861/11185614814_657f7256b4_b.jpg)
The village
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-9](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2844/11185564945_289b0bcd56_b.jpg)
A new friend
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-10](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5483/11185718513_dd21100304_b.jpg)
A new friend who does leave us alone
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-11](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5537/11185609754_b720f485b7_b.jpg)
A new friend who guides us to a ski slope in the middle of the forest
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-12](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7355/11185608484_59e5b8bea7_b.jpg)
Pre-ski jump
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-13](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2828/11185559045_f4cc389093_b.jpg)
Rarely in the world can one simply find an abandoned ski jump
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-14](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7398/11185605804_7b80d29730_b.jpg)
I’ll stand here, but I absolutely would never go down it on skis
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-15](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/11185604264_9afa43655e_b.jpg)
Badger, badger, badger, mushroom, mushroom!
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-16](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2850/11185602854_7843e14488_b.jpg)
Forest hikes
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-17](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7318/11185708553_5f700ee809_b.jpg)
Yum yum?!
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-18](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5497/11185594676_632d6e3228_b.jpg)
Cat friend
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-20](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3689/11185547335_ddb1b9248d_b.jpg)
Time to leave Ukraine
![Hitchhiking Eastern Europe-21](http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2843/11185589206_6a9467b2f5_b.jpg)
Ukraine is one of the few countries where it is legitimate to try and hitch a tractor
I am Ukrainian and love my country for the freedom it gives and amazing landscapes it has everywhere.
So glad that you visited and liked this country. It is really special.
It does. I will definitely be back one day and can’t wait to see more.
I love this I will hopefully be going to the Ukraine soon. I have a couple of friend’s in Kiev i’d love to go see. 🙂 I started my blog because of this site… I love reading your stuff. Thanks for the inspiration.
Glad to hear it. I hope you like Ukraine as much as I did.
“In what other country can you go for a walk in a forest and stumble upon an abandoned ski jump and then try to hitchhike a tractor just a day later?” <— I would say in my country, Norway 😀 You guys should come and visit!
Sounds perfect. Norway, I will be seeing you soon!
Well done pictures, and you’re right… where else can you find an abandoned, rusty ski jump and climb up it? Haha.