Hi citizens, it's been a while since I've made a proper post here. As some of you might know, I'm currently away for the summer visiting my beautiful home country of Ukraine. It's been super nice to see most of my friends and family safe and sound in rough times like these. I celebrated my 19th birthday a couple of weeks ago, and I'm happy I did it in my hometown, surrounded by my closest friends!
However, my time here at home is coming to an end, as I'm leaving back to Dublin in a couple of weeks. To commemorate this, my family and I decided to take a hiking trip to the Carpathian mountains. Ukraine is known for a lot of things, but one that I think isn't appreciated enough is it's nature. I'm a city person myself, but I have to admit that the nature here is absolutely gorgeous and so, so diverse. The mountains are undoubtedly my favourite part, though. So, after doing some hiking and climbing the other day, I got inspired to fulfill my childhood dream and hike to the highest mountain in Ukraine - Hoverla! It stands tall at 2061 metres, and climbing it is something that I was dreaming about since I was little. I knew from the start that it wouldn't be an easy job, but I think I underestimated just how difficult it would be. Despite my whole journey to the top and back to the camp being just 10 kilometers, it was probably the most difficult hike I've ever done. The path to the mountain was very steep, and though my trekking poles came in handy, it was quite a traumatic experience. I actually came close to breaking one of my legs a couple of times.
Ultimately, after reaching the top, I realised just how worth the whole thing was! Partially because I get to brag to people that I climbed the tallest mountain in Ukraine and they didn't, which is exactly what I'm doing now. The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking, and it's pretty much impossible to capture it in pictures, but I'll share some.
(I tricked you, it's a picture of me first. Sorry.)
Anyway, the reason why I'm here typing this right now. I'm happy to announce that I'm (probably!) the first citizen of Boomtown to climb mountain Hoverla (repeating once again, highest mountain in Ukraine!!!) and come back (mostly) unharmed! Hooray for me. Do I get a medal or something? (Actually I already sort of did , the camping agency who organised this trip actually awarded me with a pin that's only given out to hikers who managed to climb Hoverla. I'm fancy now!)
(Of course I wore a Rats shirt. Why wouldn't I wear a Rats shirt?)
I'm really enjoying my time back in Ukraine, but I'm also looking forward to another year of making movies, going to gigs, and hanging around Dublin. Major Paul signing off!
That's my hobby love the Mountains and the views make it so special on the day.......impressive
You look like a tarot card ~ the Page of Wands ~ He represents Hope, setting out to break new ground, and going on a great adventure, which so do The Rats & Ukraine, so it's great to see them up there with you! ❤️ 🇺🇦 ❤️
You've always been fancy! Now you're just fancy on the top of a mountaintop! 🦁Congratulations, Paul! This is amazing! I'm so happy for you! Sending wishes for continued safety for you, your family, and friends, and good luck back at school! ☘️ Jennifer 🌻
Great story Paul, thanks for sharing! Happy to hear you didn't break a leg or anything.
And that's me, my trekking poles, and the dreaded mountain in the background. By the time this picture was taken, I hiked for about three hours, and there was another half hour of hiking left. From pictures it might seem like an easy path, but it was actually incredibly steep and difficult to get through. I feel like I've been at the gym the entire day... I should probably quit smoking.