Day 6 - Ukraine

November 26 -

My ticket for the overnight train from Kiev to Lviv was for platzcart - third class accommodations. Not that I minded, especially since it only cost me about $10.00 and included clean, warm bedding. I just preferred 2nd class for some privacy. Being out in the open plan, I found the beds a bit bigger and with more room to move about, but the not too dim overhead lights and constant movement of people throughout the aisles prohibited me from having a decent night's sleep. Not good considering I had a long day in Lviv.

I became a bit of a curiosity to my fellow passengers. Not used to platzcart, but knowing some of the protocol of Russian trains, they watched my every move, especially once I took out a book. By morning, I was somewhat under the wing of my fellow passengers. Cautious as they were, they were so helpful in making sure I understood how to manage. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Russians (in this case Ukrainians) will make sure you get where you need to go. The train arrived and I was amused to hear a tinny version of the Ukrainian national anthem. My curiosity was confirmed a few minutes later when another train arrived. The Ukrainian national anthem is played for every arriving train.

I needed a shower and the Lviv train station offered this service for about 1USD, piping hot water included. I just had to supply the soap and towel. Afterwards, I checked my luggage and bought my ticket to Krakow. Thankfully, the Dutch couple back at the hostel Kiev had come from Lviv via Krakow, and gave me the heads up on which English speaking window to go to. They even gave me the rest of their Polish currency. I am forever grateful to them for making this step easier and more sane, and for the extra change. I only hope I've somehow paid it forward tenfold since then.

Now, I was ready to head out. The tram messed me up, so I ended up lost and backtracking to the train station in order to walk into town. This was a city I wasn't really prepared for, taking for granted it's size and the lack of Russian spoken here. I felt confused by the Ukrainian Cyrillic and hesitant to speak Russian for fear of offending. This was a city that had pretty much erased much of the Russian language from it's culture.

In Rynok Square, I took one of those tacky trolley rides and this turned out to be the best decision I made. It gave me my bearings and I was able to get the gist of the area. Lviv is a gorgeous city and I predict it'll begin to rival Prague, Krakow, and Budapest, as places to visit for the weekend. In fact, this was one of the reasons why the overnight between Krakow train route was created. That it is a bit shop worn is completely forgivable. It's interesting to note that Lviv was once under Habsburg control. For some reason, they respected the Ukrainians, allowing them to practice their language and culture, a departure from typical monarchs of the day. In return, the Ukrainians remained loyal subjects, and thrived as a people. It is said that Lviv is a city of firsts. It has the distinction of being the first city as you enter Eastern Europe and the first city as you enter Western Europe. Whatever appellation bestowed on the city, it was worthy of a visit, despite the short amount of time I visited.

I look back on Lviv with more fondness than I was feeling for it at the time. In my defense, I was both tired, facing an extremely long day, and a bit hesitant due to lack of information. It's a huge city but I concentrated mainly on the area around Rynok Square. Since it was Thanksgiving Day, I chose Café Veronika for my meal - grilled lamb, vegetables, wine, and cherry pie. It was amazing.

Settling in for the near midnight train, I knew this would be a rough night. Indeed, it was. For the under six hour train ride from Lviv to Krakow, I was woken up a total of four different times by immigration. Twice each by Ukrainian and Polish military. I slept with my passport, which enabled me to have a grasp of the situation when the time came. Each time, with weary tired eyes, I handed my passport over to whomever entered the room, at all times remaining in my bed save for the last immigration check when it was discovered I was American and my belongings had to be searched.

Day 5 - Ukraine

November 25 -

My last day and I had to finish up everything on my list, or live with regrets. I couldn't leave Kiev without visiting Babi Yar, sight of the genocide of thousands of Jewish citizens of Ukraine, and others. I had first learned of this atrocity in high school and had become obsessed with the story of Dina Pronicheva, a woman who barely survived the massacre. The Soviet monument to make amends is in the wrong spot. The Jewish monument is in the correct place, right near the ravines where the bodies were unceremoniously dumped. There are various other monuments to the dead too, including one erected for the children who perished here.

My visit was solemn, walking the various paths that ultimately end at the deep ravines once containing the bodies of innocents. Otherwise, aside from the area, it's a huge park and nothing much is going on in the neighborhood. In fact, since it's outside the city center, in a suburb, the area is downright Soviet in architecture.

I took the Metro to the Arsenalna stop and transferred over to a marshrutka to get to Kiev Pechersk Lavra, which is also known colloquially as the "caves monastery". I honestly don't think a visit to Kiev is complete without visiting the caves. Entrance was through the Trinity Gate, and I visited the various churches in both the upper and lower lavras. Women must have their heads covered to enter, so there is no shortage of scarf sellers outside the gates.

To get into the caves, you pay the entrance fee by purchasing a candle to light the way. The descent into the caves are dark, narrow, and extremely claustrophobic. To be honest, although I dealt well with the catacombs in Paris, these caves freaked me out. The amount of glass topped coffins containing saints with their mummified remains sticking out from under the heavy brocade they were covered in, was bone chilling. I found myself afraid to be alone in the many alcoves that contained these open coffins. Also, the religious fervency was shocking for me coming from such a low key Protestant background. I also had to be careful my scarf didn't set on fire from all the candles being waved around by others. I was sad to have missed out on visiting Rodina Mat, but I could see her from the Lavra. It was getting too dark at this point.

I had a quick bite to eat at a café next to the Arsenalna metro. Checking my watch, I could see that I wasn't going to make it to the Chernobyl museum. This disappointed me, but hey, I had been to the actual site so didn't harp on the missed opportunity. Still, it would've been nice to see more perspective about this tragedy.

I was sad to leave Kiev, which was definitely a city I took for granted in terms of actual sightseeing opportunities. I thought I'd only need a few days but was surprised that I didn't even scratch the surface.