Sat 1 Aug, Kolomiya

Slow start after the hike. I could’ve happily spent all day on the veranda, drinking coffee and counting distant peaks. The manager arranged an expensive 4×4 to take me the two miles down the mountain [note to self: always ask Claude for a price guide] and a car to get me to the nearest town. The billboards at the bus station spoke volumes about local priorities: chainsaws, real estate, petrolhead recreation and generators.

After three hours, my bus app called it a day so I called it a day in a random small town, Kolomiya. Dorm bed £6. Laundry £2. Museum of Easter eggs – oldest 1987. It smacked of desperation but it’s Ukraine so I paid a quid and smiled politely. The front of the building, however, was a fabulously camp Easter egg, so I installed myself at the nearest pavement cafe.

They seem to know Belgium makes the best beer. Lots of places don’t sell Ukrainian (it’s perfectly fine.) I refused Stella a few times then gave in. I thought “a pint of Wifebeater” might get lost in translation. It came in a sophisticated tulip glass with a waitress failing to remove the cap theatrically. It was surprisingly tasty.

Every village has an array of 6′ vinyl posters of fallen heroes. It gets me every time. Kolomiya (pop 60 000) had a zig zag of 180 down the pedestrian high street. There were four empty frames waiting for the next heroes.