russia: nizhneangarsk, severobaikalsk, and tynda

My last post was about time I spent in two cities, this one is going to be about three cities: Nizhneangarsk, Severobaikalsk, and Tynda. None of these three cities had much to see or do, in fact I stopped in two of them simply because I needed a break from the train. 

My train from Bratsk arrived in Severobaikalsk the next morning. If I had driven, it would've been a 12 hour drive minimum, covering nearly 700 kilometers. The train ride was a bit longer, but as it was my nighttime accommodation, I was fine with the time.

I'd visited Severobaikalsk during winter, and this visit was in summer, so of course everything looked completely different. I remembered that there wasn't anything else I wanted to see in Severobaikalsk, but it made for a decent place to get off the train from 12 hours.

I left my bag in storage, then walked out of the train station, trying to figure out how to get to Nizhneangarsk. Nizhneangarsk is a small town of less than 5000 people, only 25 kilometers from Severobaikalsk. There is an elektrichka between the two towns, but it wasn't until the evening, which defeated the purpose of a day trip, and would've made it impossible to come back the same day.

I knew there was a bus too, but it took me a minute to sort out where to catch the bus.

When I boarded the bus I had to write my name, passport number, phone number, and residence (or was it destination? I didn't know) as part of the local Covid contact tracing protocol. The ride wasn't long, and everyone wore a mask.

Though Nizhneangarsk is pretty small, it is several hundred years old, having been founded in 1643. I'm not sure if there was a main reason for it being founded then and there.

The plan in the 1970s was to have Nizhneangarsk be the headquarters of the western end of the Baikal on Amur trainline, but the powers that be realized the land wasn't suited to having big buildings (they would've sunk) so the planned HQ was moved to Severobaikalsk instead.

Unfortunately, when I got off the bus, it was raining. Not a complete downpour, but definitely more than misting. I knew I'd be in Nizhneangarsk for just a few hours, if that, so I didn't want to waste the time by hiding from the rain, but I also really really really don't like rain when I'm traveling.

Nizhneangarsk is a small town, stretched out along the northern banks of Lake Baikal, there are small mountains behind town. In addition to the rain the clouds were hanging pretty low, so I wasn't able to see the mountains, argh.

The maps show a few memorials spaced out along the lake, and I had seen a mention of a local museum. There were also a few wooden homes/buildings, still in pretty good shape. It looked as if they were all painted regularly, which definitely helped their appearance.

I loved the gray sky against the water of the lake, though I wish I had been able to see a blue sky. I also wish the clouds hadn't been covering the mountains, as I assume the views of the mountains would also have been lovely. Sigh.

The museum marked on the map was not open, I assume for Covid reasons. Darnit.

Before leaving Nizhneangarsk I tried to find a supermarket, but they don't exist there. Smaller grocery stores are as good as it gets. I don't know what people who live there do for an income, but there can't be very many opportunities.

From there I took the bus back to Severobaikalsk. I took the pedestrian bridge over the train station, which put me pretty close to the lake, it was easy to get down to the beach.

When I was here in January, I couldn't see the beach. I couldn't see the lake either, as everything was under a layer of snow. I knew there was ice under the snow, but I didn't get to see it. I wonder if there is ever 'clear' ice near Severobaikalsk, or if it is always broken up, refrozen, and covered in snow.

Since I was able to see the beach this time around I walked along for a while, enjoying the solitude. Severobaikalsk doesn't get many visitors, I don't think. When I got tired, I walked all the way back, over the train station, and to a cafe in town. I spent the next few hours there, basically killing time until heading back to the train station to pick up my bag and board my next train.

Unless I'm guaranteed good weather, I doubt I'll come back to Severobaikalsk or Nizhneangarsk themselves, though I might be more tempted to visit hot springs in the area, or hike in the area, or take photos of the bus stops or city signs.

I was on a train for more than 24 hours to get to Tynda. I stopped in Tynda for the same reason I stopped in Severobaikalsk: I wanted to get off the train. There really isn't much for a traveler like me to see in this area of Russia, if traveling by train. If I had an off road vehicle there would be heaps to see, and plenty of hiking to do.

Tynda is a city of about 35,000 people, nowhere close to anywhere else. The train ride was 27 hours (I arrived in the middle of the night, argh,) and curiously, the train tracks do not follow a road. If driving, it is about 29 hours of driving from Severobaikalsk, going nearly 2000 kilometers.

Tynda was founded in 1917 for the same reason I stopped there: as a rest stop. The original name was Shkaruby, and was changed to Tyndynsky in 1928, and shortened soon thereafter. It is currently a stop along the east-west Baikal on Amur line, as well as the north-south Amur Yakutsk line. (Yakutsk is also on my list of places to go in Russia.)

Tynda boomed while the railway was built, not much has happened since. The population has dropped drastically since the fall of the Soviet Union, like so many towns built for specific reasons during the expansion of infrastructure of the empire. There is very little left, basically nothing for visitors.

I can usually find a few things to see, but in Tynda that didn't happen. There is one Lenin statue, a memorial honouring those who built the railway, and a museum with history of the building of the Baikal on Amur mainline.

Unfortunately, the two days I was in Tynda (because I really wanted to sleep in a proper bed as opposed to a train bed,) were the two days a week the museum is closed, so that knocked it off my list. I can't imagine it would be any different than the BAM railway museum I saw in Severobaikalsk, this one is just further away.

I visited a couple churches, neither was very exciting inside or outside. I found the giant memorial honouring the railroad workers, supposedly locals call it man with a hammer. Lenin was lifesize, meaning a lot smaller than most Lenin statues I've seen. He was also tucked away at the end of a dead end street.

Most of the buildings in Tynda were super boring. Not big enough to be interesting boring, just plain ol' boring. A couple of them have Soviet art deco style 'art' on the sides, but that's about it. 

During two days of walking around Tynda I didn't see 'fun' things for people to do when they want entertainment. I imagine there is at least a small movie theatre, but who knows if there is anything else. Or what people do for fun.

The best part of my time in Tynda was when I found a pedestrian bridge that goes over the Tynda River. The bridge isn't anything exciting, but the river curves a bit at that spot, so it's quite photogenic.

Both days I had a main meal at a random cafe that had cheap burgers. Not amazing, but adequate.

I do not feel at all inclined to come back to Tynda. Not at all.

the states: indiana: a family gathering in bloomington

Unfortunately, this trip was due to a death in the family. Since my family wanted to have as many of us at the memorial as possible, it was scheduled several months later. 

I started with a loooong day of traveling. Three flights to get to Bloomington, Indiana; from Kyiv to Amsterdam, then to Detroit, then to Indianapolis. The last flight was slightly delayed, but not nearly as much as it might've been. 

My uncle (whom I hadn't seen since fall 2012,) met me at the airport, and we picked up his rental car. From there we drove to Bloomington, only having to turn around twice. Whoops! Even though the airport in Indianapolis is probably 10 years old, I've only gone from it to Bloomington one other time. Most of the time I fly into Chicago. 

Anywho, we arrived at home safe and sound, then immediately turned around and went out to dinner. I love steak, I was happy :) 

By the time we got home from dinner my body was completely confused as to what time it was, but I stayed awake chatting until after midnight. Ooops. That didn't help with jet lag. 

I was wide awake the next morning at 0630, argh. It wasn't light outside and no one else was awake. I putzed around and found cereal for breakfast, cheerios for the win!!

Eventually everyone else was awake, and dad went to pick up a couple more arrivals. They came back to Bloomington, and we all said our hellos. I hadn't seen one cousin since January 2014, and an aunt since fall 2000. Clearly my family is not so good about getting together regularly. 

Dad had something else to do, so I took an uncle, an aunt, and a cousin to see one of the more unique sights in Bloomington. (One the way we stopped at a bookstore so I could buy a guidebook.)

Most people don't know that the brother of the Dalai Lama lived in Bloomington for many years, until he died in ........ During his years in the city he taught at Indiana university (I will usually refer to it as IU) and established the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center. 

This temple and complex is in southeastern Bloomington, and you feel as though you're in a totally different place. We walked around the prayer wheels and looked at the sand mandala inside one of the stupas. We looked inside the temple, noticing the religious books of several other faiths. It's a very calming place to spend time. 

From there they dropped me off at my sister's house, where I got to meet my nephew for the first time. Since he was just short of four months old, of course he won't remember me the next time I get to see him. It was nice to spend a couple hours with my sister and catch up with her. I held my new nephew a few times, but he always started crying within a minute, argh. 

I went back to Dad's house for dinner, pizza was ordered. That's the biggest family dinner any of us remember for quite a while. 

After dinner I went with Dad and my uncle to round 3 of the women's national invitational tournament, usually called the WNIT. Dad had scored courtside seats for us, which was awesome. I've never been that close to the action, it was a whole new perspective. IU won, which made it even better. 

When I got home I watched the last few minutes of a men's NCAA game, the University of Oregon beat the University of Michigan. My family is sports obsessed, yay!

I tried to stay up for another basketball game, but didn't succeed. 

Even though I fell asleep at a decent time, I still woke up super early, thanks jet lag. 

Since I was up so early I was able to convince Dad to let me use his car to go to Needmore Coffee Roasters. I've known the owner for a long time, I was thrilled to support a local business. She has been roasting coffee wholesale for several years, having a coffee shop was quite new. All of her coffee beans are ethically sourced from fair trade farms in Central America. I'm not a coffee drinker, but all of her other products for sale in the shop are locally sourced. 

She has found a great chai for use in a chai latte, which made me happy. I want to have more the next time I visit.

I picked up coffee to go for a couple cousins as well. 

Not long after I got home, two cousins showed up, along with my sister and nephew. We had arranged to do a day long road trip, yay. At some point when I'd been looking at a map of the state I noticed there were a number of towns with names of countries. I thought it would be fun to visit a couple of them. 

My sister drove, and since she knew where she was going, we weren't worried about getting lost on the back roads. 

Our first stop was Cataract Falls State Recreation Area. From the name I suppose this makes it a step down from a state park, but I don't know what the difference actually is. Right near the first parkplatz is a red covered bridge, you can't help but see it. 

As we started to walk through the bridge we saw it was filled with picnic tables, I assume they are put out during summer. We took group photos, thank goodness for time delay options on cameras :) 

On the other side of the bridge was a small path down to the water. Not a big path, I got the impression there aren't heaps of people who visit this area. Or maybe we were just early visitors in the season. 

We got down to the water, each of us taking our own photos. My cousins and I travel semi regularly, and I love their photos. When I saw photos of this trip later on I was surprised by the differences, despite all of us being in the same place. Awesome.

The rec area has two sets of falls, upper and lower. The falls by the covered bridge are the upper falls, and according to the sign they are some of the biggest in the state. I had to climb down in a couple places, of course I ended up with bruises from falling against the rocks. 

We viewed the upper falls from the viewing 'platform' on the parkplatz side of everything as well. It's a nice view. We could see the area is capable of having much more water, I wonder what the falls look like after a big rain. 

We walked along the road to lower falls instead of driving. Another thing my family has in common is a love of walking. On both sides of the road were woods, I figured there must be hiking trails in the area. 

The lower falls weren't as impressive as the upper falls, but I'm still glad we saw them. I saw a couple people with big cameras setting up for shots, so maybe they saw something I didn't? 

We drove to Poland, IN and went to a local diner for lunch. I'm a huge fan of diners, and the characters you see in them; I was thrilled when I'd found this place listed on a travel app. 

The food was okay, not wonderful not awful, the pie wasn't nearly as good as I wanted. We all snickered to ourselves when we saw a man stand up wear leather motorcycle pants with suspenders. We overheard part of the conversation from a table on the other side of the room, they were talking about Trump. Given that this was small town Indiana, they were probably supporters. 

There isn't much to the town of Poland, IN, it's really small. The church was quite picturesque though. 

We next drove to our last stop: Brazil, IN. The seat of the county, and the birthplace of legendary union leader Jimmy Hoffa. While we were there we looked for him (or his body, as neither has been seen in a looong time,) but they were nowhere to be found. 

Brazil isn't terribly exciting, with very little listed on travel apps. I liked the look of the county courthouse, which is quite grand. On the side of another building I saw a giant mural, but we didn't stop to see it.

We drove to a coffee shop, I learned what a French ice drink is. I liked my snicker doodle cookie best of all. 

After the coffee shop I convinced everyone else to stop for a few minutes in front of the courthouse. On one side of the front lawn was a plane, my guess is it was from WW2, the tail said FU-434. There was also a memorial to soldiers from a different era. 

After this stop we drove back to Bloomington, my sister knew exactly where to go. Yay. 

That night everyone had dinner at Dad's house, (two more family members had arrived,) then we watched another basketball game. As I said earlier, my family is sports obsessed. 

The next morning was Saturday. Some folks went to the church to deal with technical issues, I went with the cousins to see a little of IU's campus. It's a gorgeous campus, consistently named as one of the most beautiful in the country. 

The technical issues folks joined us fairly quickly, Dad and I showed them around a small part of the campus, and told a bit of the history. In addition to loving sports, we all enjoy history as well. 

That afternoon everyone gathered at the church for Grandma's memorial service. It was emotional, to say the least. Afterward we had a small reception, Dad and my uncle had put together photos of Grandma's life. I'd never seen many of them so it was fun to watch. 

Toward the end of the reception we got someone to take photos of the entire group, which was awesome. For my family it's incredibly rare for a gathering like this to happen. 

Afterward everyone went out to dinner together. Again, a nice gathering, with time to chat with each other. 

I went back to Dad's house and packed up my stuff, then hopped in Mom's car and went with her to her flat.

On the way we stopped at a supermarket to pick up food for me, as I was determined to enjoy some foods I don't get to have very often. 

The next morning the whole group went to church. For once, my family sat at the very front of the sanctuary, something else we rarely do. During the service my sister baptized her son, I was so proud. (My sister is an ordained minister, she has baptized several children.) I was happy to see her present her son to the congregation. 

After the service we all went to lunch at a local restaurant. It was my first time there but everyone else seemed to know it, or had at least been there once before. Yum. 

After eating I drove Mom back to her flat. She let me borrow her car to do some shopping around town, then I went over to my sister's house again. Since we don't get much sister time I wanted to take advantage while I could. 

When I got back to Mom's flat I showed her my new 'toys' and we chatted for a while. I wish she still lived in Prague. 

The next morning was the end of the trip. As usual I woke up early, so I took time to start packing. I'd come to the states with empty space in my pack, knowing I was going to shop. 

I drove (in Mom's car,) to Dad's house where we picked up one of my aunts, then we drove to Indianapolis International Airport. 

It was hard to say goodbye, and the trip was too short, but I'm glad it happened. 

czech republic: plzen, and a day trip around the area

mom and i took an early morning bus from prague to plzen, which is the hometown of one of mom's friends from university...plzen is only an hour from prague, and buses leave regularly...this was another bus with free wifi :)
mom's friend picked us up from the bus stop, and took us to their home...they own the entire home, which is three floors...each floor is actually an individual flat, mom and i stayed on the second floor...i loved it, there were large windows letting in lots of natural light...
mom has kept in touch with several of her friends from university, so she now has friends in various areas of the country...

vladka had prepared lunch so it was ready as soon as we got home...it was a very early lunch so mom and i weren't super hungry, but both of us loved it and probably ate too much...something about homemade food makes me eat eat eat!! zucchini soup and a dish called moroccan chicken...and dessert afterward...
as soon as lunch was done, all four of us got in the car, vladka's husband drove...i thought we were going to the city centre for a tour, i had no idea what was happening...a while later we drove into another town, and parked near a castle...
they asked me if i wanted to take a tour of the castle, i said i had no idea...

mom wanted a more specific answer, and i told her i had no idea what was going on, i wasn't able to make a decision when i didn't know what was happening...the castle was called horsovsky tyn...
i ended up passing on the tour, but we walked around the gardens behind the castle, there were ducks and a couple swans paddling around the pond...cute...i would've been happy to walk around more of the town and take photos if anyone had wanted to, especially since there was some kind of festival going on near the castle, but i found out this was a day road trip so there was more on the itinerary, and we had to go...

before going, mom bought two coffee mugs...one had the diminutive of my name, the other had the diminutive of my sister's name...i love it and use it all the time in my flat in kyiv...
the next stop was a town called domazlice...the platz in the middle of town reminded me of the platz in telc, but this one was not at all touristy, as it does not have the UNESCO designation...for that reason, i liked this one a little better, as it seemed more 'real'...it was super picturesque, and very quiet...it was saturday in the middle of the day, which would normally be the time everyone is out for a promenade, so i'm guessing there aren't a lot of people here...

vladka's husband pointed out the white bell tower, and said the views from the tower were nice...we decided to climb up, though the sign you see straightaway after entering says the tower is leaning by 59 centimeters...there were just under 200 steps to get to the viewing level...since domazlice is a small town, i was able again to see nearby agricultural areas...
after domazlice we kept going, to an area known as ujezd...vladka's husband and mom told me some history related to this area, and the country as a whole, but i admit i don't remember the specifics...a dog was involved though, and i could see this at our next stop, as there was a statue of the guy and a statue of his dog...it was a BIG dog statue!! both of these statues are on a hill looking over the area, i was even able to see domazlice off in the distance...

from this point, we crossed the border into germany, just because we could...when mom and her contemporaries were growing up, they were not able to cross this border...mom took photos of me standing in between the signs marking the borders of cesko and germany...you can still see remnants of the border, as there are a number of allegedly duty free shops right there...back in the day, the few people who could cross the border would do so and shop shop shop, then bring the goods back to their cities and sell them...
we stopped in the closest german town called waldmunchen, and found a cafe...ice cream and drinks, YUM...mom and her friends figured out our server was actually czech, all of them spoke in their native language...

the chick was obviously used to speaking german while at work, and a couple times we all noticed a mix of the two languages coming out, which was really funny...when it comes to ice cream, i understand/speak enough german to get what i want, so i laughed too...i love languages :)
from there we drove back into cesko, and stopped in a town called rokycany...there is a small monument marking the exact line designating the easternmost movement of american troops during WWII...east of the line, the area was 'liberated' by the soviet army, and west of the line the area was liberated by the americans...the sign next to the monument is written in russian, czech, and english...

i'm not sure, but i'm guessing this monument was not built until after the fall of communism, as the puppet government didn't want to admit that the 'freedom' enjoyed by the area wasn't due to the soviet army...
after the monument, vladka's husband took us to an outdoor history museum...we arrived after closing time, but jiri knew the owner, and we were able to walk around anywho...the museum holds a lot of 'old vehicles' (and a couple planes, tanks, etc)...according to jiri, when movies are being made about this period of history, the movie companies arrange to use these vehicles in the filming...i bet this museum gets lots of visits from school children on field trips...i loved it...

dinner that night back in plzen came from vladka's backyard...she grows several fruit trees, and has other produce...awesome!! (though none of us were very hungry, the ice cream from earlier was still in our bellies:)
the next morning vladka prepared another big meal for breakfast...jiri dropped off me, mom, and vladka at the brewery for pilsner urquel at opening time, we were annoyed to find out that the first tour of the day wasn't offered until 1030...so we bought those tickets, then went into the city centre...
since this was sunday, the buses weren't running as often, so we crossed the street and took a tram...the tram tracks were being worked on, so we didn't go as far as vladka wanted, but it didn't matter to me...

we saw the exterior of the world's 3rd largest synagogue...it's red, and looks nothing like any other synagogue i've ever seen...it didn't open until 10, we weren't able to see the inside...
we also saw a memorial that specifically thanks the american troops who liberated the city during WWII...it is written in both czech and english, and is located at the start of america street....there is a map showing the movement of american troops as well...it's simple, but awesome...mom told me the monument wasn't built until after communism fell, as the government wouldn't allow it before then...apparently as soon as the communists fell, money poured in to build the monument even though most czechs had little or no extra money for such a thing...

from the monument we walked to the city center platz...there is a huge church in the middle of the square, but it's otherwise a very open area...city hall is on one side of the square, the decor of the building is awesome...this square reminded me of what i've seen in lviv, ukraine...the inside of the church is pretty, didn't have much light, so it was a bit dark despite the sunlight streaming into some of the windows...
after leavning the square, we walked past a church, part of a monastery...it was early baroque, so it wasn't quite as 'busy' as full on baroque churches...only the front entry area was open, but i liked what i saw...
we continued walking back to the brewery, i took a few more photos along the way...there is a lot of history in this town, and the streets look good in photos...i wish we'd had a couple more days so i could wander without worrying about time...

our tour group gathered, and since it was in czech, i got a print out of all the information in english...mom and i both opted not to pay the fee to take photos, i think only one person in the group did pay the fee...(he then proceeded to take photos of EVERYTHING during the tour)...
the tour tells the history of the brewery, and shows the historical area of the brewery...(it didn't surprise me that we weren't taken into the modern areas, as they probably don't want people stealing their 'secrets'...we did get to see the building in which the bottles are cleaned and sorted...it's LOUD, we were told the employees all wear ear plugs...a lot of machinery keeps everything going in a smooth line...

during the tour we learned that the company employs master barrel makers, so the beer is fermented properly...the room in which the barrels are kept is chilly, i think they said 12C? this was the point in the tour i wish i'd had a jumper with me...this was also the area where tourists could taste the beer, mom tried it...this is one of those times i wish i could drink, i always want to try the local alcoholic drink in any place i visit...
on a side note, vladka and her husband told us most locals don't drink beer from this brewery anymore...they think its good beer and all, but there is other beer that is equally good, and costs less...they figure locals don't need to support such an international company...(pilsner urquel is now owned by a south african company)...

after the tour, we went back home for another awesome lunch, then they took us to the bus station for our next bus...
i would love to come back, both to spend more time with vladka and her husband, and to see more of this area of the country...

ukraine: lutsk

susannah, marina and i got up early saturday morning so we could catch a 5.5 hour marshrutka ride to lutsk...lutsk is in the volhyn region of ukraine, in the northwest area of the country...i ate breakfast, and had some food while on the ride, but i still ended up pretty carsick, and felt awful when we got there...fortunately, susannah had a sandwich for me, and i felt better as soon as i ate...
marina had arranged the flat in which we were staying, so she called up the lady and arranged for us to meet...the lady took us to the flat, showed us around, told us where to find a supermarket...we got ourselves arranged and settled in...

we realized one of the things we wanted to see would be closed the next two days, so we tried to hurry into the historical center of town to see it before it closed...unfortunately, we weren't able to see the tunnels for two reasons...one, they are temporarily closed for renovation of some kind...and two, even if the tunnels had been open, we didn't arrive until just after closing time...oh well...
the tunnels are located right next to a huge cathedral, (called st peter and paul) which was neat to step into...plus, it was hot outside so stepping into the cool church felt good...

there is polish history in this church, so some of the signs were in polish, others were in ukrainian...(this is typical of a lot of towns and sights in the west of ukraine)
just across the street from this cathedral is the city castle...we explored as much as we could, of course...the castle walls are still standing (and have been rebuilt) but the middle area is almost completely open...there used to be a church in the middle of it, but it seems as though the church has sortof been buried, as the ground floor layer was raised...regardless of the reasons, the church entry was closed, we weren't able to peak in at all...booo...

we walked all the way around, even going into the bell museum...some of the bells were small, but there were a few bigger bells as well...not surprisingly, we weren't allowed to ring the bells...(can you imagine how much employees would hate life if visitors were allowed to ring the bells?)...
after the castle, we found a map on the street, showing different sights in the area...we followed the streets to something called st brigits monastery...according to the sign telling the history (in ukrainian and english, yahoo!) of the monastery, it has also been a convent, and a prison, and more...

it was the sight of a massacre by the nazis during WWII...it was tragic to think of how many people lost their lives there...
our next sight had us walking a little more, another church...st dominican, i think...we bumbled into a service, ooops...marina and i didn't feel comfortable staying for long during the service, but susannah was a happy camper...i'm always nervous about intruding in a church service, i don't want to disturb anyone's worship time...i did have my headscarf, so at least i was dressed appropriately...

we had dinner at a place that had rave reviews in both lonely planet and on trip advisor...a place called vitovt, right next to the castle...unfortunately, none of us thought our meals particularly amazing...oh well...maybe i wasn't thrilled because i ordered carp, which is apparently not very tasty...
walking back toward the flat, we realized we were out during sunset...we got to watch a beautiful sunset from the bridge going over the tracks at the train station...the sky was a beautiful range of pinks and reds...
on the way home from dinner, we stopped at tam tam, the huge supermarket our landlady had told us about...it was HUGE...we bought breakfast and snacks for the next day, water too...we bought too much, oh well...
this was when the fun started...we couldn't find the flat!!! eeek...it was dark, but that wouldn't normally be a big problem...we weren't able to find the correct entrance to the correctly numbered building...it is not a good feeling to not know where you are when it's dark outside...we (marina) asked a couple people who seemed to live in the buildings, but none of them knew the answer to her question...
i should point out that these apartment buildings are big, and all look the same...it's really easy to get lost and/or confused...we'd only gone in once and out once so we didn't really know...
we ended up calling the lady, who told us where to go...not surprisingly, we were really close, hee hee...due to the late arrival home, we didn't go to sleep until after midnight!
the next day we went to klevan for most of the day...
after returning from klevan, we walked back into the historical center of the city...

on the way, we saw a man selling honey, i tried three different types...i didn't taste a huge different between the three, but i did buy one of them...i'd like to think it was organic :)
there is a giant church in this area of town, and since it was a holiday weekend, there was a holiday service...(the holiday is trinity, which is religious)...there were flowers laid out on the ground in front of the church, absolutely lovely...lots of people going to church, most were dressed in their sunday best...absolutely amazing people watching time!

we had dinner at a cafe on a pedestrian street near this church...normal ukrainian food, we were all happy...this cafe listed calories on its menu, the first time i've seen that in ukraine!
on the way back to our flat, we explored more of a memorial park we'd seen the day before...there were several graves, several memorials (including the huge WWII memorial, which we expected) and the grave of someone who had died during the craziness of Maidan, in February...that particular grave was covered in flowers, both real and fake...very colourful, and tragic...

the next morning we all woke up late, and were not ready to go when the landlady showed up to take the keys from us...to be fair, she did come early, but we should've been ready...
we dropped our bags at the train station, then walked into the city center again...(by this point, we knew the quickest way to go, since we'd done this several times)...we walked further into the historical area, finding a couple more churches, one of which was evangelical baptist...susannah and i tried to explain to marina what that meant...(the normal options in ukraine are orthodox or catholic)...

we found a place called the sculptor's house...we thought it would be a museum, but it was a private house, inhabited by a sculptor...he had created sculptures all over the house, and it's outer edge...very unique looking, though not my style :)
we also saw the old synagogue, as lutsk used to have one of the largest jewish populations in europe...the synagogue building was a combination synagogue and fortress when it was built, so it still retains aspects of each...there is no longer a congregation in lutsk, so the building is now home of FC Dynamo, a football club...boooo...

from there we walked toward a big park...a BIG park...on the way, we picked up sandwiches at a small shop, with the idea of having a picnic...
the park was full of people, we kept laughing at the fashion, or photos being taken...one one side of the park was a river in which people were swimming...it didn't look great, to say the least, but it wasn't awful either...we ended up eating our sandwiches while sitting on a bench in the shade...we also used our umbrellas to block the sun...i don't think i've ever done anything like that before, but i could feel my shoulders getting tender from the sun i'd had earlier in the weekend...

after the park we walked down a street we hadn't yet seen...not much there, but we did find a plaque on a building which said a massacre had taken place there during WWII...sad...on this street was a strudel cafe, another branch of the chain i've seen in lviv and kyiv...YUM :)...i convinced susannah and marina (it didn't take much)
when we got to the train station that evening there were more mozzies waiting for us, argh...the mozzies were the only thing any of us didn't like about the city of lutsk...(or the entire region, for that matter)...the train to kyiv got us back to the city in the very early morning :)