Walking tour and a memorable evening.

I wanted to make the most of my last day in Lviv as tomorrow would just be a travelling day to Krakow to fly home. To really get under the skin of the city I had decided to follow a walking tour, not one of those for geriatric coach parties following a leader holding an umbrella aloft but one you follow yourself looking out for landmarks and sights along the way. I love doing these as they can be a challenge but are also very rewarding when you finish them.
I wasted an hour in the Lviv post office trying to post home two small bottles of Ukrainian vodka – it’s illegal apparently- and set off for my walking tour which began by the dominating Shevchenko monument in the central part of the city on Prospecto Svobody. Just by the monument was a small street market, I spied a book on a stall which was obviously quite old but appeared to have the actor Tom Cruise on the cover, none of the cyrillic text looked like his name so I sneaked a picture, anyone reading this please let me know what you think!
On the front The guidebook said it should be a two and a half hour walk, due to more utter bewilderment with the alphabet and a totally inadeqate and at a times completely inaccurate map it took nearer five. Once I followed a complete loop which unexpectedly dumped me almost back at the start of the route when I expected to be miles away. Halfway through the tour I had the option of a long tiring climb up a steep hill to The High Castle and promised spectacular views or bypassing it altogether and heading into the Old Town. Despite being very tired in the heat I did the climb and was glad I did. After a steep climb up a mountain path I saw that the real climb was still ahead via around 200 steps on a steep metal staircase to the very top. At the top of the staircase and almost delirious thought heat exhaustion and dehydration I approached someone walking towards me to ask the route to the very top. I just gesticulated wildly to the top as I could barely speak and assumed he was Ukrainian and was delighted to hear he was English. He said he was fairly sure of the way to the top so I followed him. He was a really nice bloke, his name was Thomas and he was from Nottingham and travelling independently through Europe just like I have done many times. We enjoyed the view from the top and he decided to join me on the concluding part of my walking tour.
After completing the tour, which I determined to do I suggested a beer and Thomas suggested going to a underground Ukrainian Nationalist bar called Kriyivka or ‘Bunker’ in Ukrainian. I had heard of this totally unique bar and had been planning to go there anyway so I readily agreed. This isn’t just any bar, to gain admission to the very hard to find cellar you have to give the password “ Slava Ukrainie” to an AK47 toting guard on the door. He then gives you a free shot of Ukrainian medivuka and you descend into the basement and to a truly brilliant place. We had a nice and very cheap dinner and several very nice local beers.
Along the wall by the bar were a few guns which customers were allowed to pick up for photos, so of course we couldn’t resist. It was great fun and I got some truly memorable photos. We changed seats in order to listen to and watch a traditional Ukrainian folk group perform some very nice atmospheric music. At the back of the room was a large group of people who cheered when they heard we were English. After a while we agreed to join them at their table and our already memorable evening got even better. They were half English, half Ukrainian and from the Midlands enjoying a week back in Ukraine with family. They kept jumping to their feet and singing traditional Patriotic Ukrainian songs very loudly complete with table thumping and endless supply of alcohol. They encouraged Thomas and me to help ourselves to whatever food and drink was on the table. I tried Pigs Ear and it was disgusting, I ended up throwing it under my chair when they weren’t looking! I asked if there were any songs they knew which a non Ukrainian speaker could at least try to join in with. Instantly they knew one and gave me and Thomas one word which we were to sing at the end of every line they sung. It really was great fun and a great experience, even though I had no idea what I was singing!
After the Ukrainian Brits had abruptly left, I would have bet anything on them staying all night, I decided to go back to the hostel as I had a relatively early start the following morning. It was an extremely memorable evening and one I’ll never forget.

First Day In Lviv

First full day in Ukraine
I slept really well, probably due to having the whole dorm to myself. Probably slept a bit too well in fact as I forgot to change the time on my phone ahead one hour so the 10am alarm clock was actually 11am and I lost an hour.
My main priority was to just explore the city on foot and just experience the charm of the city. The Polish peole from the day before had hinted as possibly meeting up today but I had decided I wanted a day alone to explore. I hadn’t heard from them prior to leaving the hostel. Gabor did eventually text me but I chose not to reply immediately, I wanted to be alone and my time was limited and precious. I decided on two excursions as well which were recommended by my Lonely Planet Guide. It said “don’t even think of leaving Lviv without visiting the Lychakiv Cemetery, described as the Pere Lachaisse of Eastern Europe. Never having visiting the more famous Paris Cemetery I had no idea of comparison but with a write up like that I had to give it a go. I really should stop giving Lonely Planet so much credibility. I had never heard of anyone buried there, not even Ivan Franco which LP picked out as a highlight and very important figure. A lot of the gravestones were very impressive but very quickly I became bored as one grave merged into another so after about half an hour I turned around and left, quietly regretting having devoted so much time to visiting the place.
It was now past lunchtime and having passed on the pathetic hostel breakfast I was starving so I stopped in the Old Town for lunch at the Korzo ‘Irish’ pub. Half decent food, ridiculously slow service and a clichéd Irish music CD seemingly on repeat greeted me for the next hour.
I had decided to visit the Robert Dom’s Beer House next, a brewery of Lviv’s oldest beer Lvivske. There is a museum attached with tasting included in the £1.20 admission. I got ridiculously lost and disoriented trying to decipher the Cyrillic road signs against my map and had almost given up when I found it. The museum was interesting but the tour was only in Russian and Ukrainian so I just wandered around the exhibits and proceeded onto the tasting. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the ‘tasting’ was two full pints of different types of beer rather than the shot glass size tasters I was expecting.
Pretty tired by this point I returned to the Kosmonaut to relax prior to dinner. I got chatting to an American guy called Scott and a Dutch woman who seemed to be together. They invited me to join them for a drink which I did. It soon became apparent that they weren’t a couple but the American guy was desperately trying to impress her, it would’ve been funny if his attempts to impress her weren’t so vomit inducing. Still they were interesting company. He had lived in Ukraine for two years as a church Missionary and was fluent in Ukrainian and was very useful in communicating with the bar staff when necessary. I hadn’t learnt my lesson in not treating Lonely Planet as Gospel and had decided to go the highly recommended Amadeus restaurant and they decided to join me. It was tough to find but the food was well worth the effort.
My first impressions of Lviv was that it was a very pretty city but not as stunningly beautiful as I had imagined. The architecture reminded me very much of Gdansk and Poland in general, which is a reminder of the fact that Lviv has only been part of Ukraine since 1945. I had a great day exploring the old town and getting a feel of the city and am looking forward to one more full day tomorrow.

Poland to Ukraine overland

My journey to to Lviv in Ukraine wasn’t what you could call a straight forward journey. I would fly to an obscure city in South East Poland called Rzeszow (pron. Sheshov), then take a ninety minute train to an equally impossible to pronounce city very close to the border called Przemysl (pron. Prashemesh). From there it’s a fifteen minute minibus to the border town Medycka where you alight and just cross the border into Ukraine on foot. The last stage is a 2 hour minibus- called marshrutkas- to Lviv. Sound simple? Read on.
I found the route on Wikitravel after finding out that flights to Lviv were very expensive and direct trains and buses from Poland coming with horror stories of up to nine hour delays at the border where officials check for illegal goods on this notorious smuggling route. The trains have the added problem of a two hour wait to change the wheels to the Ukrainian gauge. The convoluted route has the bonus that individuals crossing the border are rarely delayed longer than 30 minutes and western passport holders are sometimes rushed through as they are considered less of a smuggling risk.
I really don’t like just using cities as a jumping board to get elsewhere, I believe that everywhere at least warrants a bit of exploring, but unfortunately with Rzeszow that’s exactly what I did. I took the airport bus to the main station and eager to push on to Lviv I decided to jump on a soon to depart train to Przemsyl as I didn’t know what delays might be awaiting me at the border.
The third stage of the journey from Przemsyl to the border wasn’t immediately obvious. I had to make sure I got the domestic bus that just takes you to the border and not a bus going to somewhere in Ukraine. I eventually found one after stopping to eat a rancid looking burger in a grill in the bus station. The minibus was ridiculously overcrowded and for the start of the journey I was crouched in a very uncomfortable position holding my bag until I somehow found a way of positioning myself between it and the window. I got chatting to a nice Polish guy on the bus who says he was also heading to Lviv. He had never done the journey before either so we said we’d help each other out if necessary. The 20 minute journey was quite uncomfortable but we got to the border amid scenes of dozens of middle ages women flogging bottles of vodka and cheap Ukrainian cigarettes, I was harassed immediately after getting off the bus but just walked past them looking for the border. I expected it to be just there but it wasn’t, it was a walk of about a mile along a concrete path with high fencing both sides. First I cleared the Polish immigration and effectively EU immigration and then walked about 500 metres through neutral border territory to the Ukrainian frontier. After a few pointless questions from the border woman, including “Are you afraid on going to Ukraine alone?” I was stamped into Ukraine and my 37th country. A proud moment! Myself and the Polish group bought a few drinks at a dingy cafe in the dingy border town of Shegyni and walked up the road to the bus station, hoping that Wikitravel had its facts right. It did and a bus was about to depart but I suddenly realised I had no Ukrainian money. Luckily the polish guy Gabor offered to pay for my ticket and I would pay him back when we got to Lviv. The fare was only 15 Ukrainian Hryvna which is about £1.20, not bad for a 2 hour bus ride! I was a little concerned when I saw the bus; it was the same size as the bus from Przemysl to Medycka and with probably more people trying to get on it. I squeezed on it right at the back and had to stand for at least an hour, desperately trying to hold on along probably the worst roads I have ever experienced. We got to Lviv eventually and despite the appalling roads I even managed to doze off for a while, after I managed to get a seat of course. All that was left now was to get some money and get to the Hostel Kosmonaut which I had prebooked, relax and reflect on a quite unique and memorable journey.

Ukraine, eventually....

Thanks to an embarrassing oversight I am writing a pre trip post rather than a first day in Ukraine post. I was convinced I was flying today and thought it was a glitch in ryanair's booking system that wouldn't let me check in. When I dug out my flight itinerary I realised it was for the 10th, not 9th... Easily done, well that's what I keep telling myself.

My quest to go to every country in Europe continues tomorrow with country number 37 and Ukraine. I actually consider myself to be on 39 as I'm counting The Vatican and Monaco but my good friend Adam whom I'm in a unofficial number of countries race with doesn't count them. So until I get official word from the UN it'll be number 37.

I guess some of my countries have been a little shameless, 1 night visits sometimes, Portugal springs to mind and Finland even less,but with Ukraine and Lviv I am genuinely excited about seeing this city and experiencing Ukrainian hospitality and culture.
I have an interesting journey to Ukraine , via south east Poland and a Ryanair flight to Rzeszow and then a overland route that I discovered off Wikitravel, maybe not the most reliable source of information but it should be an interesting few days into the unknown. Watch this space for updates.

Gdansk again.

Better late than never, a concluding post about my recent trip to Gdansk.
As my first post showed I loved the place almost immediately, I don’t want to wax lyrical too much but a city has not made that good an impression on me since I first l saw the likes of Krakow, Prague and Vilnius. The fact I arrived to a lovely sunny day which made the colours of the Old Town even more vivid helped. The other major factor was the hostel I chose to stay at. Polish hostels tend to have elaborate names to attract your attention, on previous trips to Poland I’ve stayed at hostels called “Dizzy Daisy” and the “Strawberry Hostel”, this time I stayed at the Happy Seven Hostel right by the Gdansk waterfront. It was literally brand new and I was informed that I was the very first guest to stay there. The owners were great, full of enthusiasm, obviously very proud of their new hostel and importantly of their city. I never asked how they arrived at the name Happy Seven, it wasn’t situated at no7 and could hold more than seven people, but I liked it and it worked.
I planned to go the Hel peninsula on my second day but confusion reigned over the ferry connection. I was told that a ferry left from Gdynia, one of the three cities that make up the Trojmiasto or Tri City of Sopot, Gdynia and Gdansk. However walking to the end of the pier in Gydnia, I was told that there was only one a day and I had missed it, so with no other option I retraced my steps along the railway line to Sopot. This is a town I am familiar with by name only as it twinned with Southend on Sea near where I live.
It was a nice town, not spectacular with a nice wooden pier, the longest pier in the world built completely from wood and the reason I assumed why it is twinned with Southend. Apart from the relaxed seaside feel and ambience there’s not a great deal there but I enjoyed my time and made my way back to Gdansk after a few hours.One odd sight is a hotel and shopping centre in the centre which looks like one of those photos that has been manipulated, it's hard to explain so I'll post a photo. It's a really original idea and very distictive.
With more time on my hands than I had planned and the heavens threatening to open I decided to bring forward my plan to visit the Gdansk shipyards. The historically significant place which is widely thought as bringing about the first chink in the armour of communism, when under pressure from the Lech Walesa led Solidarity movement the hard-line Polish Communist government allowed and recognised the first trade union in the former Eastern Bloc. The movement didn’t last and was eventually outlawed but it had the effect of making the people aware of what could be achieved.
Quite a few shipyards workers died in the protests and outside the gates stands a massive monument to the fallen. As someone who is deeply interested in the Cold War it was very interesting to be in the spot where it could be argued was the beginning of the collapse of the Cold War era.
I asked an American couple who were there if they would take a photo of me and we struck up a conversation, they were a really nice couple and we stood there chatting for quite a while. They also showed me the location of the Solidarity museum that I was having a really hard time finding. It was actually underground with a barely advertised entrance so it was no surprise that I couldn’t find it. Dave, the American even gave me his ticket which the museum had failed to stamp or cancel so I even got in free, that saved me 20zl! It was a good museum, just the right size for a museum which was essentially dedicated to one thing. Quite often with these small museums they try to bulk it out with tediously linked stuff but this wasn’t the case here and it was very interesting, quite sad at times too. One of the last exhibits was a row of red ‘dominoes’ attached to the floor; each one had the name of the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. I assumed you were invited to knock them down to symbolise the falling of the Eastern Bloc and the collapse of Communism in the East; so I did and got a right telling off from a security guard who I hadn’t seen. Easy mistake to make...
On my last full day I went to Malbork Castle, a massive medieval fortress built by the Teutonic’s and the largest brick built Gothic castle in the World. I really wanted to take boat out to Westerplatte which is the spot where the first shots of World War II were fired by the Germans, but unfortunately there were not enough people to run the trip and it didn’t sail, it was my only chance to do it too so I was disappointed. Whilst waiting at the station in Gdansk I heard someone call my name, it was the American guy from yesterday. We got talking again and we went to the castle together, I had planned to go alone obviously but they were such nice people I didn’t mind going together.
The weather curtailed some my plans for the day, the warm sunny days I’d enjoyed previously had gone and the skies were ominously grey and menacing, it was also quite cold. I’d planned to walk around the castle grounds but this wasn’t possible as pretty soon after we’d left the main castle, and probably spending a bit longer than necessary, the rain came and it was torrential. Walking around was impossible so I decided to say goodbye to the Americans and head back to Gdansk. I knew of a station nearer the castle than the main station in Malborg I’d got off at, Malborg Kaldowo. It was within walking distance so I went there. It soon became apparent that it was a minor station, no ticket office and nowhere to sit. The bigger problem was that being such small station most trains didn’t stop there and also I had no means of buying a ticket. I had over an hour to wait for the next train too. I stood on the platform and watched the 1718 train I was expecting to get on sail right through.
My thoughts turned to how the hell was I going to explain to the ticket inspector that I had no ticket? He was unlikely to speak English. I had the good idea of texting Agnes, who speaks Polish, and she sent me an explanation to show the inspector when he asked for my ticket. It worked a treat and I got my ticket with no problems. Think he was quite surprised when he asked for my ticket to be given a mobile phone to read.
I had a nice evening at the hostel, watching the Europa League final with the usual international mix of guests you get at places like that, in the lounge there were French, Germans, Spaniards, Canadians, Americans and Dutch, so it made for a nice atmosphere.
Gdansk is definitely a place I intend to go back to, it really is a gem of Eastern Europe and deserves a higher reputation that it has. Krakow will always be the jewel in Poland’s crown but it isn’t too far behind. It’s nicer than Wroclaw and Warsaw and it’s nice to see it thriving after the tragic past it has suffered, I hope it isn’t too long before I return.

Gdansk, first day

I had a nice but quiet first day here in Gdansk, didn't do a great deal, I just explored the centre and Old Town on foot and enjoyed the atmosphere and nice feel of the city. It's an immediately likable place, that is to say I liked it immediately! The old town buildings, despite having been painstakingly reconstructed after World War II destruction, are very pretty and give no indication that they are in fact reconstructions. You could easily believe they had been there for centuries, just like the originals.
The Old Town is dominated by Dluga street, otherwise known as Long Market which opens out into Dlui Targ, a beautiful square and the focal point of the Old Town. I stopped here for lunch in an Egyptian chain restaurant and had an average lunch of fried pork meal pieces. The bill came to 44 zl, I gave the waiter 50zl and sat patiently for my change, it never came, the thieving sod kept it although to be fair I have no idea what the Polish custom towards tipping is.
I'd read about something in my guide book that sounded interesting, The Cemetary For Non Existent Cemetaries. Gdansk has had such a tragic history, being overrun countless times and thousands of people killed. During their past the city has been levelled several times and with it the cemetaries destroyed and built over. So the idea to build a cemetary without bodies but to remember those who had died and had had their final resting place obliterated seemed a nice poignant idea. So off I trotted in search of it. I walked about a km past it but I eventually found it. It was a small unassuming garden with some memorial monuments inside. A nice idea I thought.
For dinner I went to Mestwin restaurant, a traditional Kashubian peasant restaurant. Food was OK although I had no idea what the meat in my supposed meatballs were.
Well that was my first day, if the weather hold tomorrow should be good.

Gdansk

I'm off to Gdansk in the morning, should take my mind off recent events. I've wanted to go there for a long time and with all the historial links in the city, Solidarity and the Second World War sites etc, it should be an interesting few days. I'll try to put some new posts on here every now and then should anything interesting happen.