Just as we expected, and exactly what we hoped for, our winter in the Carpathians mountains was magical. A small wooden cabin, hot wine, chicks all read after a day of skiing, authentic Carpathian meals and a cozy fireplace. Being based in a hotel complex far from the town, we could be completely by ourselves. Never a dull moment.

For experienced skiers, our little resort close to Slavsko is not the dream destination, but for beginners like us, it was more than perfect, adding an amazingly low price for the ski passes, accommodation and restaurant. A full day per person including the cabin for 5 people cost no more than 35 euros.

We hired a teacher, learnt in one hour how to ski, and spent 4 days of skiing, drinking, chilling and celebrating the New Year’s Day all together with my family.

After several days of skiing, we went to Uzhgorod – the capital of Transcarpathia. Little border town, uniting Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia where the large nationality mix comes from. Uzhgorod is a very small but tidy city, under the snow it truly looks like a magic castle in a ball of snow. Depending on your cold resistance, you can quickly walk it on foot checking the main sightseeing spots it has: The Castle and the Folk museum with typical Ukrainian architecture just on its left.

Apart from this, check out:

• The central street – vulytsia Korzo
• Quays along the river Uzh
• Hidden art
• Pre-revolutionary manors. I wish Ukraine took better care of its architectural legacy.

Slavsko is one of the most famous ski-resorts of Ukrainian Carpathians, and getting there is quite easy – all you need is living through the most authentic train experience. A ticket to a night train from Kyiv to Slavsko with a night train offers everything we love so much – nostalgic attributes like these teacups, smells of the old soviet trains and snow sticking to the windows. This is what I love so much about Ukraine and always will.