Trans-Carpathian Ruthenia

It's been a while since the land of Trans-Carpathian Ruthenia featured here - I think the last was my description of the twin Christmas celebrations in Uzhgarod (Uzhorod, Ujhorod, Ungvar, Ungwar), the capital of this, er,  Polish / Hungarian / Czech / Ukrainian / German / Romanian region. Now I've found a wonderful website that describes all you can see in a weekend in TCR;

• The River Uzh (Uj, Ung) with its unspoilt power plant and many happy fish that flows through the capital, where you may visit the State Museum of Folk Architecture
• Some old castles, some of them not fallen down
• Berehowe, an important city with a population of 26,000 and a palace of Justice which is nice
• Uzh national park - here there are bears and other plants
• Mountains - currently forests cover three quarters of Trans Carpathian Ruthenia and the rest is frequently mountain. The peak of the highest mountains are occupied by valleys.
• Viaducts and railway tunnels amongst the most picturesque in Europe
• Uzhocky Pass - the source of the Uzh. Here you may be shot if you try to cross the border, which is prohibited
• Vine plantations on the banks of the Uzh that makes wines similar to Tokaj but no-one outside drinks them
• Nationalities and ethnic groups; Transcarpathia is inhabited by numerous national and ethnic groups. Here lives next to each other Slavic people, Finno-Ugrics and the Balkans: Hungarians, Slovaks, Romanians, Ukrainians, Croats, Russians, Poles, Roms and others including Huculy, Boyko, Lemkos and Roma, the ethnic balance intact and conflict-free existence. 

You can travel there via Uzhgorod International Airport, with one terminal and regular flights to, er, Kiev. 

The cuisine is said to be unique. I think next year's travel plans are shaping up ...