The Carpathian capital Uzh is famous for several reasons, firstly because it was one of the strangest places that George Orwell ever visited and wrote about. Secondly, because it is the name of a well known Russian snake. Neither reason, however, should keep you from adding this bizarre, ancient city to your adventure travel calendar should you want to take a train ride on the wild side!

An old fortress where princes resided for centuries dominates the city. This isnÒt the only ancient monument around. Any resident can also tell you about the cityÒs main legend about a beautiful girl who fell in love with an enemy general, gave him defense secrets, and was later was killed by her own father. According to the legend, she still cries on the moon to this day.

The castle of course is superb with vast gothic halls once bedecked with feasts, but the view it provides of the town and mountains is even more stunning. Near the castle thereÒs a wonderful wood architecture museum that exhibits wooden houses from different parts of the region.

The locals lovingly call their downtown, "little Vienna". Notice the small streets along the calm Uzh river with mainly art-nouveau buildings. But unlike the castle, the cityÒs second wonder is a real disappointment: a huge brick cathedral which is still being finished stands just two hundred meters from the train station. Unfortunately itÒs reminiscent of MoscowÒs Saviour Cathedral which is sad, given that Uzhgorod was once known for its own style of wooden churches.

In an ode to ancient Russian architecture, the orthodox Rotonda Church now stands in the Goryany suburb district. I caught a taxi to get there. Palm trees stand near the snow-covered church reminding us that despite the cold, the extreme Russian winter is far away. The church was built by the Russian prince Danil Galizkii.

Christmas is celebrated three times in Uzhgorod, according to the Orthodox, Greek-Catholic and Roman Catholic calendars.

HOW TO GET THERE
You can get to Carpathia taking an overnight direct train from Moscow to Uzhgorod from MoscowÒs Kievsky train station.Tickets for a four person berth cost 1,800 rubles apiece roundtrip. Trains leave nightly at 9:00pm. Guide information is available at sambadar@mail.ru.

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