Perechyn

Perechyn (Ukrainian: Перечин) is a town nestled between the Transcarpathian Mountains some twenty kilometers north of Uzhgorod. With a population of around 7000 people, this small town swells to larger numbers on the weekends when people from neighboring villages come to shop in this rayon center and during summer when tourists traverse the lovely mountain road on their way North to Lviv.

Understand

There are many different nationalities living in harmony with one another including Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians, Slovakians, and Hungarians. You might even find one or two Westerners from the US and/or Canada who came here and fell in love with the area.

In the main square, is a statue build in honor of a postman who traveled 30 km by foot each week carrying the mail to villages throughout the region. Legend has it he started his route, while waiting for a letter from his parents.

One of the largest industries in town is a factory that makes charcoal and other products. Perechyn also has a metal recycling plant.

• Tourist Information Center, Street Lomonosov, 6. M-F 09:00-16:00. (updated Oct 2018)

Get in

See

• Cultural Museum Located on the third floor of the boarding school (see "Schools"), this museum houses an impressive display of local lore including a kitchen from the late 1800s and one of the best displays of vyshyvanki (embroidery) in Zakarpattia.

Do

• Picnicking and Swimming: Ask the local to show you the way to the best spots for swimming and picnicking and best of all its "bez koshtovina" or free!
• Mountains: If you are here in June and August/September, you might be lucky enough to persuade the locals to show the best spots for hunting mushrooms. Places nearest town are often picked over during the early days of mushroom season. But these delectable little items are part of the unique and tasty cuisine of Zakarpattia. Throughout the spring and summer, wild flowers sprout up blanketing fields and forest floors with beds of red, blue, yellow and white flowers in which you might be tempted to take a nap. Locals make annual pilgrimages to pick flowers to display in their offices and homes. And, if you don't go for the mushrooms or flowers, go for the fresh air, peace and quiet, and the lovely sun rays that peek through the trees.

Buy

Bazaar: Bazaars are a dime a dozen in most of Ukraine, but Perechyn has a small bazaar known for its great second-hand clothing.

Eat

All restaurants are similarly priced, moderate to inexpensive.

• The Kantina: Located across from the gymnasium and right on the main road, the Kantina has several dining spaces including an outdoor patio and shashlik (grill) in the summer, a large open-spaced dining room with vaulted ceilings and a stage with live entertainment on the weekends, and a retro-Soviet kitsch dining room in which you may peruse old photos and flags of yesteryear. The pizza and dolrony are popular with locals and expatriates alike. If you are driving north from Uzhgorod, it will be on your right.
• Pidkova Restaurant: Pidkova means “horseshoe” and can be found by its like-shaped sign. It is located just off the main street Plowshta Narodna and near the train station. They have excellent Ukrainian, Hungarian, and Zakarpatska cuisine and are very proud of their menu, which has been translated into English. If you are driving north from Uzhgorod, pass the main square and watch for the sign on your right.

Drink

Sleep

There are several modern hotels and restaurants including (among others):

• Berizka Hotel and Restaurant: Located in central Perechyn, Berizka is set back just a little from the road behind other buildings so watch for the sign. Berizka offers overnight accommodations, all-day dining, and a sauna that is popular with the locals. Here you can buy wonderfully fresh bread made by a local bakery at the bar downstairs. If you are driving north from Uzhgorod, Berizka will be on your right.
• Turianska-Dolyna Hotel, Restaurant, and Conference Center: This hotel/restaurant is one of your first indications that you have entered Perechyn. Located on the outskirts of downtown nearest Uzhgorod, Tyrianska-Dolyna is a small conference center complex with public and private dining spaces, a dance floor and stage where you will most likely find entertainment on the weekends, and rooms with modern conveniences. They have a large space next door for conferences and training which will seat upwards of 50 people comfortably. Behind the facility, one will find a picnic space and can arrange for outdoor shashlik or grill. Ask for the "pechena kartoplia" (baked potatoes) which are made in true Zakarpatska fashion (or if you are really adventurous ask for it in the local dialect "pechena krumplee").

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