Lviv!
So now I set about the humongous task of describing my indescribable trip to Lviv. And I have no idea how to go about it.
May 7th:
Maria Stebelsky and I arrive in Lviv on our 21-hour train trip from Kryvyi Rih. It would have been hell if not for the great company. 21 hours on a train is way too long without getting off the train (There was only really one possible stop to get off at, and I hopped off and got some juice and a small gift for Roman really quickly)
At the train station we were met by “Pan Jhoseph” who is a friend of Maria’s and will be our guide on the out of the city excursions. After the standard greetings, we are whisked off to our hotel to drop our stuff off and get cleaned up quickly. We are staying at the “Hotel Lviv” which is dab smack in the middle of Old Lviv. Rather quickly we have a meeting with a man who runs a farm that allows ex-criminals to come to live and work there, to give them a second chance. Our train got in at just after 3pm and our meeting was at 4pm
This man was very interesting. We met briefly with him on the first day, talked a bit, and then arranged a trip to see the farm the next day, which is about an hour to two hour drive from the city. The time of the trip depends on a lot of factors including cows on the road. Yeah you heard me…cows on the road.
So the meeting was just a get to know each other, and after I got past my amazement with the Ukrainian accent, I understand bits and pieces from him, and see that he’s quite the man. The reason I had to get adjusted to the Ukrainian accent is because here where I live they speak a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian, but with a mostly heavy Russian accent. In the west of Ukraine, they speak a very pure soft Ukrainian, and until I actually heard it, I didn’t believe people here when they said it was so different.
So after the meeting we are back to the hotel briefly and then out to find some food. We decide to hit a restaurant that is recommended to us by “Pan Jhoseph”. The place is called “Pani Stephie”(Just a side note…Pan = Mr. And Pani = Mrs/Miss and that’s the polite way to address people in Ukrainian)
We take a walk past the ancient buildings on our way to the restaurant, which is a quick 5 min walk from the hotel. Only later that night to we find out that it’s actually “Lviv” day celebrations and that on the next night the streets would be packed with close to, if not over, a million people, complete with concert and fireworks.
The meal was great, as we ate to the sound of two guys dressed in Pure Ukrainian shirts singing requests from the crowd. I didn’t know most of the songs, but Maria being seeped longer in Ukrainian culture requested one and sang along out loud. With two glasses of wine, one Moldavian, and the other Georgian, we had a great meal.
Back to the hotel and crash hard after the sleepless night on the train. As nights are always sleepless on trains.
May 8th:
We wake up at around 8:00ish and head out for breakfast, and decide to go to the “Grande Hotel” for breakfast. It’s a buffet! The Grande Hotel is probably the most expensive hotel to stay at in Lviv, so we didn’t stay there, we’ll just eat their nicely priced breakfast. Lunch or dinner there would be too expensive.
We stroll for a bit, stop by the market close to the hotel and grab a few gifts for home (Of which I can’t mention because then it wouldn’t be a surprise) however what I can say is that I got some kick ass gifts for everyone. The one I especially like is the one I got for mom, dad, and the farm family as well.
After the quick run to the market we head back to the hotel to meet our ride to Brody to visit the farm mentioned above. Igor is there to pick us up on time, and we head out. So on the way to Brody, which is between an hour and two hour drive, we leave a lot more about this Igor fella who is the director of this center for rehabilitation, and he’s got quite the go-get-em attitude. A list of some of the more interesting things he does is as follows.
He set up this farm, which is on the site of an old soviet missile base. During the cold war, it’s missiles we pointed at Belgium, as we were informed. The oblast (Similar to a province back home) gave him free use of the land for thirty years. He’s tearing apart all the old buildings that couldn’t be used; using everything there is there. He uses the old bomb shelters to grow mushrooms (The edible kind, so no wise cracks), he uses old missile storage bays to fashion different wood workings that he sells to support the cost of this center, he uses old bunker positions as silage bins for hay. Everything is used or in the process of being reformed to suit their purpose. And all this is done on little or no money at all. He operates in debt, but still he operates.
One of the interesting ways he funds his service is he performs “rescue” operations. He takes is car, drives to Italy to bring back Ukrainian girls who have been sold into the prostitution market there. It’s not forceful. They leave if they want, and he’s had a few tell him that they make too good of money now, that they don’t want to go back. But it’s all filmed and each attempt tape sells for about $5000 to German and Austrian new companies for a documentary. To date I think he said he had 27 girls brought back. He takes each girl to a safe house, that he wouldn’t even tell us about, and then on to where they want.
There they do everything themselves. Eggs, Milk, Bread (From their own wheat no less), make home sausage (Which we had for lunch and was amazing), they make their own birch juice (Same sort of process as maple tapping back home), grow all kinda of things to support themselves there. It was just amazing to see what this journalist, yes journalist does. He’s not even a farmer and he did all this with the help of a few people, and now it runs on free labor from people who want to be there and change their life after jail.
I think I took about 100 pictures of this place.
After that, the trip back was good, we talked and talked and talked. He dropped us off at the hotel and that was the end of that workday. If you could even call that work at all.
Maria and I decided to freshen up and we headed out for a walk and to find a place to eat dinner. We settled on an American-Mexican like food restaurant. Little did I know then, but it was in a building which also had a casino!! Damnit! I would have gone. More “Gambling” outfits here are shady at best, but this was owned by an American and probably was a bit better. And I stress only a BIT better.
As I said before it was Lviv day, and being IN Lviv…more precisely the very center of Lviv, after dinner walking back to the hotel the streets were packed and closed off from traffic. Drinking and boozing everywhere, it was a great big party!! I love it here for the fact that it’s legal to drink alcohol in public. People everywhere with a beer in hand, walking and having a great time.
I mean sure they might be a bit rowdy, and sure maybe the next day when we went for a walk we saw a huge puddle of blood from a fight that night, it’s still cool! More importantly that night I bought some Absenth. Mwhahaha. 60% of pure hell I am sure. I haven’t opened it yet. I am going to try and get it home.
That was the end of that day.
May 9th:
This early morning, and I mean early, we were up at 7 and off to get a bite to eat. We caved in again and grabbed breakfast at the Grand Hotel. It was great, again. And then we hurried back to our hotel because we had to meet Pan Jhoseph for our little excursion. We were ALL over the place. Our first destination was a place called Kalyush. We were heading there to visit some of Maria’s family about a statue of her dad and uncle that was supposed to go on display. Her Father and Uncle were prominent in the underground resistance here during the Second World War. So that was an experience all in it’s own. We got there just in time for lunch, and in true Ukrainian fashion, they went WAY overboard. And also in True Ukrainian fashion, it was amazing. At this home I saw a traditional Ukrainian Kitchen, which was really neat. The stove was a huge complex that served as Stove to heat the house, to heat warm water for use, and to cook on. It’s really hard to explain here, but I have pictures and I’ll show everyone when I am home. Sometimes people even build their bed above this stove, and the most prominent person in the family sleeps there to keep warm in the winter.
After a great visit and a lot of wine, we were off to a place called Dolena. This was another small town that we stopped at to visit Maria’s family, just for a visit. It was quick, but still was nice. It was right in the foothills of the Carpathians so it was hilly just like NB. Far off you could see the Carpathians and they were just stunning. They were in view almost the whole trip.
After that visit we took one family member back to Stree and then it was back to Lviv for the night. Again we went to Veronicas for dinner, and again it was great. This was a running theme, and we ate there three times for supper, once for breakfast, and also had sweets at the bakery above. We got to know our waitress quite well. She was a cute little number named Maria. The best waitress there. After our great dinner and some good cognac we headed into the crowds in the main square, to see some of the concert and just enjoy a free night in Lviv. It was amazingly crowded and amazingly fun.
May 10th:
So the party was winding down. They were taking down the stage and everything, and life is getting back to normal. Today was sort of a free day, and we used it to take a trip to Samber, which was an old town near the Polish border. We went there to check out a museum that was going to display the same statues of Maria’s Uncle and Father. While there we also had a tour of the whole museum and it was really neat. For the most part it was a museum to Ukrainian cultural history, and I took a ton of pictures there. Everyone there was too nice, and it was a rather quick visit, and we were back to Lviv for some shopping at the market and more dinner at Veronicas. Craziness.
May 11th:
Our last day in Lviv. It was a totally free day for sightseeing, and we did a ton of it. We took in all the sites in Lviv. We saw Museums, Churches, Castles, you name it, we probably saw it. It is too hard to describe what we saw, and for this pictures will be much better. Again, I’ll show you all when I get home. At 10:30pm we boarded our train, “Lukes” special car, and we were off to Kyiv. It was a crazy 4 days, and I will never forget it. I am sure it would have been different if I had have had a different traveling partner, and I wouldn’t have seen as much, but it was perfect just as it was. Maria was a great traveling partner, and now an even better friend.
May 7th:
Maria Stebelsky and I arrive in Lviv on our 21-hour train trip from Kryvyi Rih. It would have been hell if not for the great company. 21 hours on a train is way too long without getting off the train (There was only really one possible stop to get off at, and I hopped off and got some juice and a small gift for Roman really quickly)
At the train station we were met by “Pan Jhoseph” who is a friend of Maria’s and will be our guide on the out of the city excursions. After the standard greetings, we are whisked off to our hotel to drop our stuff off and get cleaned up quickly. We are staying at the “Hotel Lviv” which is dab smack in the middle of Old Lviv. Rather quickly we have a meeting with a man who runs a farm that allows ex-criminals to come to live and work there, to give them a second chance. Our train got in at just after 3pm and our meeting was at 4pm
This man was very interesting. We met briefly with him on the first day, talked a bit, and then arranged a trip to see the farm the next day, which is about an hour to two hour drive from the city. The time of the trip depends on a lot of factors including cows on the road. Yeah you heard me…cows on the road.
So the meeting was just a get to know each other, and after I got past my amazement with the Ukrainian accent, I understand bits and pieces from him, and see that he’s quite the man. The reason I had to get adjusted to the Ukrainian accent is because here where I live they speak a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian, but with a mostly heavy Russian accent. In the west of Ukraine, they speak a very pure soft Ukrainian, and until I actually heard it, I didn’t believe people here when they said it was so different.
So after the meeting we are back to the hotel briefly and then out to find some food. We decide to hit a restaurant that is recommended to us by “Pan Jhoseph”. The place is called “Pani Stephie”(Just a side note…Pan = Mr. And Pani = Mrs/Miss and that’s the polite way to address people in Ukrainian)
We take a walk past the ancient buildings on our way to the restaurant, which is a quick 5 min walk from the hotel. Only later that night to we find out that it’s actually “Lviv” day celebrations and that on the next night the streets would be packed with close to, if not over, a million people, complete with concert and fireworks.
The meal was great, as we ate to the sound of two guys dressed in Pure Ukrainian shirts singing requests from the crowd. I didn’t know most of the songs, but Maria being seeped longer in Ukrainian culture requested one and sang along out loud. With two glasses of wine, one Moldavian, and the other Georgian, we had a great meal.
Back to the hotel and crash hard after the sleepless night on the train. As nights are always sleepless on trains.
May 8th:
We wake up at around 8:00ish and head out for breakfast, and decide to go to the “Grande Hotel” for breakfast. It’s a buffet! The Grande Hotel is probably the most expensive hotel to stay at in Lviv, so we didn’t stay there, we’ll just eat their nicely priced breakfast. Lunch or dinner there would be too expensive.
We stroll for a bit, stop by the market close to the hotel and grab a few gifts for home (Of which I can’t mention because then it wouldn’t be a surprise) however what I can say is that I got some kick ass gifts for everyone. The one I especially like is the one I got for mom, dad, and the farm family as well.
After the quick run to the market we head back to the hotel to meet our ride to Brody to visit the farm mentioned above. Igor is there to pick us up on time, and we head out. So on the way to Brody, which is between an hour and two hour drive, we leave a lot more about this Igor fella who is the director of this center for rehabilitation, and he’s got quite the go-get-em attitude. A list of some of the more interesting things he does is as follows.
He set up this farm, which is on the site of an old soviet missile base. During the cold war, it’s missiles we pointed at Belgium, as we were informed. The oblast (Similar to a province back home) gave him free use of the land for thirty years. He’s tearing apart all the old buildings that couldn’t be used; using everything there is there. He uses the old bomb shelters to grow mushrooms (The edible kind, so no wise cracks), he uses old missile storage bays to fashion different wood workings that he sells to support the cost of this center, he uses old bunker positions as silage bins for hay. Everything is used or in the process of being reformed to suit their purpose. And all this is done on little or no money at all. He operates in debt, but still he operates.
One of the interesting ways he funds his service is he performs “rescue” operations. He takes is car, drives to Italy to bring back Ukrainian girls who have been sold into the prostitution market there. It’s not forceful. They leave if they want, and he’s had a few tell him that they make too good of money now, that they don’t want to go back. But it’s all filmed and each attempt tape sells for about $5000 to German and Austrian new companies for a documentary. To date I think he said he had 27 girls brought back. He takes each girl to a safe house, that he wouldn’t even tell us about, and then on to where they want.
There they do everything themselves. Eggs, Milk, Bread (From their own wheat no less), make home sausage (Which we had for lunch and was amazing), they make their own birch juice (Same sort of process as maple tapping back home), grow all kinda of things to support themselves there. It was just amazing to see what this journalist, yes journalist does. He’s not even a farmer and he did all this with the help of a few people, and now it runs on free labor from people who want to be there and change their life after jail.
I think I took about 100 pictures of this place.
After that, the trip back was good, we talked and talked and talked. He dropped us off at the hotel and that was the end of that workday. If you could even call that work at all.
Maria and I decided to freshen up and we headed out for a walk and to find a place to eat dinner. We settled on an American-Mexican like food restaurant. Little did I know then, but it was in a building which also had a casino!! Damnit! I would have gone. More “Gambling” outfits here are shady at best, but this was owned by an American and probably was a bit better. And I stress only a BIT better.
As I said before it was Lviv day, and being IN Lviv…more precisely the very center of Lviv, after dinner walking back to the hotel the streets were packed and closed off from traffic. Drinking and boozing everywhere, it was a great big party!! I love it here for the fact that it’s legal to drink alcohol in public. People everywhere with a beer in hand, walking and having a great time.
I mean sure they might be a bit rowdy, and sure maybe the next day when we went for a walk we saw a huge puddle of blood from a fight that night, it’s still cool! More importantly that night I bought some Absenth. Mwhahaha. 60% of pure hell I am sure. I haven’t opened it yet. I am going to try and get it home.
That was the end of that day.
May 9th:
This early morning, and I mean early, we were up at 7 and off to get a bite to eat. We caved in again and grabbed breakfast at the Grand Hotel. It was great, again. And then we hurried back to our hotel because we had to meet Pan Jhoseph for our little excursion. We were ALL over the place. Our first destination was a place called Kalyush. We were heading there to visit some of Maria’s family about a statue of her dad and uncle that was supposed to go on display. Her Father and Uncle were prominent in the underground resistance here during the Second World War. So that was an experience all in it’s own. We got there just in time for lunch, and in true Ukrainian fashion, they went WAY overboard. And also in True Ukrainian fashion, it was amazing. At this home I saw a traditional Ukrainian Kitchen, which was really neat. The stove was a huge complex that served as Stove to heat the house, to heat warm water for use, and to cook on. It’s really hard to explain here, but I have pictures and I’ll show everyone when I am home. Sometimes people even build their bed above this stove, and the most prominent person in the family sleeps there to keep warm in the winter.
After a great visit and a lot of wine, we were off to a place called Dolena. This was another small town that we stopped at to visit Maria’s family, just for a visit. It was quick, but still was nice. It was right in the foothills of the Carpathians so it was hilly just like NB. Far off you could see the Carpathians and they were just stunning. They were in view almost the whole trip.
After that visit we took one family member back to Stree and then it was back to Lviv for the night. Again we went to Veronicas for dinner, and again it was great. This was a running theme, and we ate there three times for supper, once for breakfast, and also had sweets at the bakery above. We got to know our waitress quite well. She was a cute little number named Maria. The best waitress there. After our great dinner and some good cognac we headed into the crowds in the main square, to see some of the concert and just enjoy a free night in Lviv. It was amazingly crowded and amazingly fun.
May 10th:
So the party was winding down. They were taking down the stage and everything, and life is getting back to normal. Today was sort of a free day, and we used it to take a trip to Samber, which was an old town near the Polish border. We went there to check out a museum that was going to display the same statues of Maria’s Uncle and Father. While there we also had a tour of the whole museum and it was really neat. For the most part it was a museum to Ukrainian cultural history, and I took a ton of pictures there. Everyone there was too nice, and it was a rather quick visit, and we were back to Lviv for some shopping at the market and more dinner at Veronicas. Craziness.
May 11th:
Our last day in Lviv. It was a totally free day for sightseeing, and we did a ton of it. We took in all the sites in Lviv. We saw Museums, Churches, Castles, you name it, we probably saw it. It is too hard to describe what we saw, and for this pictures will be much better. Again, I’ll show you all when I get home. At 10:30pm we boarded our train, “Lukes” special car, and we were off to Kyiv. It was a crazy 4 days, and I will never forget it. I am sure it would have been different if I had have had a different traveling partner, and I wouldn’t have seen as much, but it was perfect just as it was. Maria was a great traveling partner, and now an even better friend.