ukraine: drohobych and lviv

I booked my train tickets to/from lviv rather last minute, only the Monday before I traveled...I was supposed to meet a friend there, but that didn't end up happening 😞...funny how travel plans can happen in a hurry...
My train arrived around 0600 or so, I walked into the city center as I always do, taking a few new streets along the way...lviv always has something new for me...as the sun came up I saw it was going to be a beautiful day, total sunshine...
I spent some time in my favourite cafe on the square, starting my day with chocolate cake and mint tea...yum, even if not the healthiest option...
When cloe and I visited lviv in February 2012, one of the first things we had done was go to the top of the tower in the ratusha, the city hall...on a clear day the views all around are great...I decided to do it again...

I'm pretty sure the entry fee hadn't changed, it was only 10griven...(at today's exchange rate, that's less than 50cents of an American dollar)...how awesome is that? It's always windy up there, but I love the views...
After wandering through more streets, I made my way to my hotel, they let me check in early...yippee! I warmed up and charged my phone for an hour or so before heading back to the train station...
Before coming to lviv this time id looked at trip advisor, seeing if there were any nearby towns that might be worth a day trip...Drohobych was on the list...I bought a ticket, and 90 minutes later arrived in drohobych, Ukraine...a very modern, express train...
Drohobych is not a big town...I don't think it gets many visitors, and few, if any foreigners...the train station is on the edge of town, it was an easy walk to the city center...

Just on the other side of the city centre are the two reasons most people come to drohobych...two wooden churches...they're both small, and old, but still beautiful...the wood is very faded, but I loved it...one is called st George's, I don't remember the other name...
On the way back to the city center I passed another church, I decided to peek in...by doing so I stumbled into a wedding...yay! Ukrainian weddings aren't the same as what you often see in the states...a small group of people attends the service in ukraine, I'm thinking immediate family and one or two people to stand up for the two getting married...I didn't stay long, but I always love seeing people on such an important day of their lives...
I walked around the square in the middle of which is city hall complete with a tower...(I couldn't figure out which entrance would've taken me to where I could climb up the tower)...

I walked to a park, on one side of which was another church...I saw a couple having wedding photos taken in the area...very pretty...
I followed the street until I came to the end, about 200m down the perpendicular street on the other side was something you see in every ukrainian town...a WW2 memorial...as usual, it was big...I followed a different street back toward the center, getting slightly lost...after figuring out where I was, I walked through a small market, finally locating a place to buy postcards...I bought three sets, her entire stock 😀...
I made my way toward a synagogue, which unfortunately was closed, a gate was locked in front...I don't know if it was being renovated or it was just closed...pretty from the outside though...i wonder if it will ever be open to visitors...i hope so...

I followed another street back to the train station...I thought about taking a marshrutka back to lviv, but when I looked in, all the seats were already taken...booo...
so I bought a ticket for the next train available...the ticket was so cheap I thought I'd made a mistake of some kind! (Only 11griven!)...it turned out to be an electric train that goes back and forth all day...2.5 hours (and many stops) later I was back in lviv...
Dinner was a random cafe on the way back to my hotel...I was tired and it was dark and cold, I didn't want slow or fancy...
The next morning I went for a walk before breakfast...(when I checked in I chose which breakfast I wanted, and when I wanted it served)...nothing special, jut more walking, finding streets, courtyards, and other areas new to me...

 Breakfast was good...bread, cheese, oatmeal, yogurt, juice, and tea...afterward I relaxed in my room for a bit, packed up, and checked out...the hotel let me leave my bag, I love that...
The rest of the day I spent wandering more...new neighborhoods, new cafes, etc...new churches, new streets, etc...there are heaps of hidden courtyards, i love to peek into them...unlike kyiv, there are no really tall and huge apartment buildings...i love it...i also love trying to peek behind fences, to see what is being hidden from me...in some cases it looks like ruins are being dug up, but i doubt that's what it actually is...
Eventually I went back to the hotel, picked up my bag, then went to dinner at puzata hata, a cafeteria chain...basic food, basic prices...from there I went back to the train station, then back to kyiv...
i finally visited the boyim family chapel during this visit...it's small, but absolutely beautiful...it's in the city centre, i'm not sure why i haven't visited it previously...the ceiling inside and everything else is made of wood, the carving is absolutely amazing...a photo just doesn't do it justice...
I'm sure this won't be my last visit to Lviv and around 😃...i always wonder what else the city has to offer :)

boyim family chapel ceiling...all carved from wood i think!