
Imagine freedom: what comes to mind? In mine is the image of two one-way tickets. Hardly surprising. I, like most of us, long to travel with no particular destination, no agenda. The wanderer has become an archetype of this time in history, an unrivaled symbol of independence. But getting lost isn’t the only form freedom can take. In fact, the very antithesis of getting lost – belonging – offers its own freedom, deposited right on your doorstep. No chasing it down, no foraging the ends of the earth. Recently I realized that the freedom I desired lie in belonging, and I found my path to it in the Ukrainian mountains.
The Carpathians carry the touch of cold stones and chilly water, the smell of pine needles, the taste of soft, salty cheeses bought in the nearest village. They are the woodnote, the deepest view of this natural world.