ukraine: lviv never gets old...and a day trip to rava ruska

I will never get tired of spending time in Lviv. I think this was my 9^th or 10^th visit, and I loved it, as I always do. I booked a place to stay and quickly found out that the owner (it was a private flat,) didn't speak any English. Thankfully, the front office manager at school was able to help me out with arranging a check in time. At least, that's what I thought. The man called me back Friday evening before I got on the train, and through a difficult (almost impossible) conversation (with my limited Ukrainian) I was able to change the check in time to one that suited me better. Note: if you know the person with whom you're speaking doesn't speak your language, use simpler words and speak more slowly.

For the first time, I was on one of the newer night trains, and it wasn't immediately obvious how everything worked. The other people in my area didn't know either, much to the amusement of us all.

As usual, I arrived in Lviv before dawn, and wandered around the city as I usually do. I got to the location of my accomodation just as we'd arranged. I got to check in at 0800, which was awesome.

Even more awesome was the flat itself. It was a studio flat, but it was big. There was enough room for a big bed, and a sofa/tv area. I didn't watch the tv at all, but I loved the area in terms of being able to have something separate from the sleeping area.

After settling in, I looked at my watch and realized I needed to get back to the train station really fast if I was going to make my train. I alternated between running and speed walking the entire way, arriving at the front of the train station 3 minutes before my train was supposed to leave. Since Ukrainian trains generally leave on time, I kept going. I ran through the station and out to the track I needed. Thank goodness I was able to buy the ticket on the train, otherwise I would've been out of luck. I'm pretty sure I was the youngest person on the train by a couple decades, at least.

Under three hours later I arrived in Rava Ruska, Ukraine. It's not quite on the border with Poland, but it's only a couple kilometers away. It's not a tourist destination in Ukraine, but most of the places I've visited in the country wouldn't be considered tourist destinations.

The train station in Rava Ruska is totally different from the other train stations I've seen around the country. It is small of course, but seemed much more homey, as opposed to the grand classical look I'm used to seeing.

Another thing I noticed was that it said the name of the town on both sides of the station (track side and outer side,) which isn't normal. I'm used to seeing the town name on the track side and the word Vokzal (train station) on the outer side.

From the train station I could see the gold domes of a church, so I started walking in that direction. Eventually I got there, finding a Greek Catholic church. It was painted dark yellow, and the front door was locked. On the same property was a much smaller church, this one made of wood. It wasn't open either. I got the impression I was looking at the old and new versions of the same church.

As I walked through town I found heaps of old, abandoned looking houses and buildings. I couldn't tell if they were lived in or not. Some of the properties had chickens running around, so I assume those were inhabited. I also saw a number of wells, so not everyone has running water in their home.

The sidewalks in Rava Ruska were lacking in that they weren't complete. I would walk for a little bit on a sidewalk then it would disappear. I'd switch to the other side of the street, then it would disappear after a little while. Weird.

My first sight was something that looked like a war memorial. I'm not sure what specifically it was honouring, but I admired it anywho.

As I was leaving the memorial an older gentleman started to talk to me. As he was speaking Ukrainian and missing a few teeth, I had no idea what he was saying. I kept saying I don't understand, over and over again. I said it in English, Ukrainian, and Russian; he didn't seem to care or didn't understand.

I think at one point he might've been inviting me to his place for coffee, but I turned that down and tried to walk away. He seemed determined to communicate with me, but I wasn't very comfortable with the situation. I'm all for getting to know locals when traveling, but there has to be some sort of language in common, whether spoken or charades; this wasn't the case with this conversation.

At a few points he took a step closer to me, as if that would fix everything. I don't like strangers getting close to me when there is plenty of space available, so I took steps back. He noticed this and laughed about it, which I did not appreciate. Why do men think it is funny when a woman is clearly not comfortable with their behaviour? Argh.

Eventually I just walked away, even though I felt rude.

I followed this street, past another memorial, to a main street in town. On one corner of the intersection was a small chapel, quite pretty.

Further down the main street I found city hall. Its a unique looking building, definitely not what I would've expected in a city hall. City Hall was located next to the fire station, which was really good looking.

Not too far away I found a bakery with a tasty looking eclair. I was right, it was tasty.

I turned around and walked back in the other direction on this main street. At one point I noticed a small local market, so I wandered through there. Nothing special, but still nice to see. All the vendors I could see were older folks.

At another intersection I found another park area with a much bigger war memorial. I'm sure this one was dedicated to WW2, and it had the same Soviet realism I've seen all over the country.

I kept walking down the street and found a church. This one was painted a dark yellowish orange, as was the outer property wall. I found it quite ugly, but I still wanted to see the inside of the church. I walked through the outer gate, and immediately noticed that the bell tower wasn't on the church itself. It was a lot small, and looked more like a mini aqueduct, with three arches and a bell in each arch. It was also painted the horried yellowish orange colour.

I walked into the church, I was the only visitor at the time. A couple ladies inside were cleaning, and only glanced at me. I wasn't a big fan of the interior, though I don't know why. The ceiling was a turquoise kind of colour, and there was a low hanging chandelier. The carpet was patterned red, and the iconostasis was painted wood.

I got back to the street and wound around some smaller streets to a Polish Catholic church. (Since this was western Ukraine, I expected to see Catholic and Orthodox churches.) Unfortunately, not even the front gate of this one was open.

When I started walking on the main street again I could see the top of an abandoned monastery. I love abandoned places, and after not getting to see the abandoned monastery in Sokal I hoped to change that this time around.

I ended up walking almost all the way around the monastery to find the entry. It turned out there was a motel on one side of the property, which seemed a little strange to me. I found an open gate and walked through. From there I circled around the church, which has definitely had better days. There was rubbish all over the property, as well as what seemed to be building materials. From the outside appearance I couldn't tell if renovation work was being done.

The front of the church didn't appear to be open, but there was an open door to the building next door. Of course I went inside.

This building must've been the cloister and living area for the monastery when it was active. I walked down the halls and up the stairs and down more halls. I peeked into small rooms off the halls, but there was nothing except abandonment.

Falling down and peeling paint. Not a speck of furniture anywhere. I found the remains of one fresco painting on a wall, that was it.

In the hall next to the church I was able to peek into the church, but the door that allowed me to do so wouldn't open far enough to let me in the sanctuary. Argh.

In one of the upper hallways I found a window of sorts that I was able to climb through and get to the balcony of the church. Awesome. I loved it.

When I got back out to the yard in front of the church I noticed there was no lock on the church door, it was just one of those sliding doohickeys.

Since it hadn't been moved in a while I had to rock it back and forth, but it did open. Then I was on the ground floor of the sanctuary, yay!

This church clearly hasn't been used or taken care of in quite a while. I could see the remains of frescoes all over the walls and ceilings. There was a bookcase of sorts at the front, behind where the iconostasis would've been I couldn't identify anything else in the room.

Eventually I went outside again, and walked back toward the city center. As I walked, I looked at the city on google maps and noticed a mass grave marked, of course I made my way in that direction. I made my way up the street and first stopped at a cemetery.

It was a typical cemetery with a variety of styles in grave markers. In one corner was a Soviet memorial of some kind, I don't know what it was for specifically. Soldiers, maybe? Next to this memorial is what used to be a stone chapel.

When I got to the mass grave sight I immediately saw the sign describing the sight. The sign was in three languages, Hebrew, English, and Ukrainian. It said that the grave held the remains of 3000 or so people who had been massacred in the area during the war. The sign also said that over 10,000 people had been deported from the area during WW2, not many had returned afterward. (Sadly, this is typical of much of Eastern Europe.) During the war over 1 million Jews were murdered in what is now Ukraine.

From there I started walking back toward the train station. Along the way I went through a park and saw another statue. I think this one was of Shevchenko, the Ukrainian poet. For a reason I don't know, there were also statues of bears in this park. Weird.

The train back to Lviv departed on time, and three hours later it arrived. I was cold and uncomfortable the whole time, there were no heaters on this train. Argh.

After returning to Lviv I walked across the city to dinner. Along the way I picked up goods from a bakery I hadn't visited before, and ate some before getting to dinner. They were good, and I really ought to stop eating dessert before dinner. Ooops.

I slept well in my flat that night.

The next morning I woke up and actually got moving earlier than normal. I'd arranged for checking out at noon, but I wanted to go for a walk before then. When I got outside I realized it was colder than I'd expected, and it was really windy. Really really windy. The clouds above the city were rolling by quickly.

I walked to the square around City Hall, enjoying the lack of people. I saw a couple lions (one of the symbols of the city,) in one area, each had been covered with locks. I suppose this is the local version of locks of love.

Even though I've done it before, I decided to climb up the tower of City Hall again. The entry fee is only 20 griven, so less than $1. You get to climb plenty of stairs to get up there, it's a workout. As soon as I walked out the door my hair felt like it would be ripped off my head it was so windy. From the top there are great views over the entire city. Beautiful.

I came back down all the stairs, and walked toward my next destination. picking up breakfast along the way. Two filled croissants, yum. I ate them as I walked, I'm never very good at holding onto food.

My next sight was another place I've seen before. This was the National Museum and Memorial to the Victims of Occupational Regimes Prison at Lonsky.

It was originally a prison, and was used as a prison by several different governmental organizations of the Polish, Nazis, and Soviets. It was last used by the NKVD as a prison and torture facility. When they left in the early 90s the building was left as is. Nothing has been changed since, except to arrange specific exhibits.

It's an intense place to visit, especially knowing the history of what happened. Out in the yard is where mass executions took place on six days of June in 1941.

Along the main wall is a temporary exhibition of sorts. There are photos of several Ukrainian Orthodox churches in Canada, originally built when Ukrainians fled the country.

Many of those churches have since been abandoned, but they're still photogenic.

I wandered through and took in the information, then left. While I was wandering I avoided the tour group of Ukrainian soldiers.

After the museum I tried my luck at entering a couple churches in the city. Lviv has so many, and it seems like they're all quite beautiful. Not surprisingly, many of them are full of people in services on Sunday morning.

I went back to the flat and checked out. That meant I had to carry my backpack with me for the rest of the day. Not fun, but not too bad. I can't wait till summer when clothes take less space.

My next stop was a museum I'd never seen before. It was a branch of the Lviv Historical Museum, also on the old town square. The specific displays were all about Ukrainian culture and history in this specific area.

This particular branch of the museum was on several levels of the building, with three or four rooms on each level. I went through all the rooms, I really liked the money display. It seems I have a knack for noticing docents while they're at their best, I saw one dozing off.

After leaving the museum I went back to churches, they're such an important part of the city. Even though I'm not a fan of worshipping in churches with complicated decorations, I do appreciate the art and thought put into the decoration.

After several churches I went to another branch of the Lviv Historical Museum. This one was on the other side of the old city square. This one had a photo fee, which I generally hate but paid anywho. Why aren't these extra fees just put in the ticket price? It's not as if anything is that expensive.

I really liked this museum, as it had a few rooms arranged as they might've been during the lives of various people. They were fancy rooms, of course. Beautiful. I also liked seeing the fancy jewelry that used to be owned by rich folks.

When I was back out on the streets and walking along the area in front of the opera house I noticed one street had been blocked off to cars.

It was jam packed with people, all of whom were processing along. I figured out it was a religious procession, but that's all I could figure out. There was no holiday, so I really don't know what it was. There were a LOT of people crammed into the area that was blocked off.

I changed my route and continued walking to a place I'd never seen before. A large park on one edge of the city. I've seen it on maps before, but never remembered to come out and explore it. It's called Stryski (sp?) park and is mostly woods and trails. I loved walking through, even though there wasn't much green to be seen. In one area of the park I saw a couple university buildings, but I didn't know what they were for specifically.

I also saw a couple empty fountains and abandoned buildings.

I finally saw the giant WW2 memorial I'm used to seeing in every Ukrainian city and town. How had I not seen this before? It was as big as I expected.

Back in the city I went to the same restaurant as the night before (remember what I've said before about eating the same food again if I like it) and enjoyed my meal. I killed time there for a while, then went back to the train station and caught my train back to Kyiv.

Another successful weekend in a city I love.

russia: klin

If you start to talk about famous Russian composers, I'm guessing most people outside Russia will have a hard time coming up with a name straightaway. Howeva, there is at least one name people would recognize as soon as you say it: Tchaikovsky. He was born in a small town in 1840 and died in St Petersburg in 1893, and was originally slotted to be a civil servant; both his father and grandfather had been part of the army. Some of Tchaikovsky's most well known pieces include the Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty. 

It turns out the man spent a lot of time at a family house in Klin, which isn't far from Moscow. Klin is just over 50 miles from Moscow, and has been known as a town since the early 14^th century. It has been Russian for all of its existence except for a period of about three weeks in 1941, when the German army came in and took over.

Claire and I met up on a metro station platform, then found the correct suburban train station. We bought tickets and hopped on the next train bound in the right direction. We felt like the tickets were rather expensive, at 220 rubles, but maybe we've just gotten spoiled with some of the cheaper places we've been. 

In the end it would've been a better deal to pay for the faster, express train. Oh well.

As soon as we got off the train in Klin we saw a bust of Tchaikovsky, so we thought the day was off to a great start. We were traveling in mid March, which can mean just about anything in terms of weather in Russia. There was still plenty of snow and slush on the ground, not so fun to walk in that.

Our first stop ended up being a WW2 memorial along the main road in town. There were a lot of fake flowers, an eternal flame, a statue, and the dates of the war, all very typical.

From there we walked through a park, which was pretty because everything was frozen. There is something about a frozen park with a partly frozen stream, in quiet sunlight that always catches my eye.

Our main reason for coming to town was to see the Tchaikovsky family house, kindof on the edge of town. We ended up walking through snow drifts along the road, as there was no clear sidewalk for some reason.

Google maps took us to an entry to the property that was gated and locked. Thankfully there was a sign posted showing where an open gate could be found. 

We walked back around to the correct entrance and walked in the first building we saw.

In this building we had to pay a rather extortionate entry fee of 550 rubles, and since I wanted photos, I had to pay another 200 rubles. Argh. Talk about a ridiculous price. This wasn't the house we'd come to see, we had to exit through a side entrance, then follow a path through a garden area to get to the house.

When we got to the house we had to check our coats, then put on boot covers.

We walked through the house, which was arranged as it used to be, or at least that's my understanding. 

I don't know what was authentic (actually originally in the house,) and what had been added because it would've been common at the time.

We were totally disappointed that we weren't allowed to go in many of the rooms. Nearly all of them were roped off, so we could only look in from the doorway. In other words we paid a rather large entry fee to walk down a hallway.

There was a smaller building to see as well, I think it was something like a conservatory? I don't remember, and I never bothered to look it up later. It was much smaller, and only had a couple rooms plus a front porch.

After seeing as much as we could in those two houses we walked back to the main building. On the second floor there was an exhibition of items and information related to Tchaikovsky. Despite being the only two visitors at the time, in rooms that weren't at all cramped, we still had to take off our coats and check them.

When we left the property we left with a bad feeling, as if we'd missed something, or somehow been fleeced out of money. The house and grounds should be sooooo much better for visitors than they are.

We walked along the main road to the other side of town, stopping at a grocery store for snacks along the way.

Our second reason for coming to Klin was to see a Christmas ornament museum. The entrance ended up being on the backside of a building, we ended up circling the entire building before we found it.

As we entered, the people standing there looked at us like aliens. We tried to ask if we could buy tickets, and they said no. There was a price list and a ticket office, so we were rather confused. It turned out we could buy a ticket, but we had to join a tour.

We explained that we don't speak Russian, and don't understand much, but they insisted. So we dutifully followed our guide who prattled on as if we understood anything she said.

After about seven minutes of not having a clue, we simply ignored her, and went about taking photos on our own. She didn't seem happy about this, but we didn't understand and she was moving far too slowly for us to appreciate what we didn't understand. We didn't do anything crazy, we just walked to the next exhibit when we finished looking at the current one.

Exhibits were generally arranged by decade/style. We really enjoyed seeing how the styles of ornaments changed through the years. 

There were a few fully decorated trees, each of a certain colour family.

At the very end of the museum was a GIANT christmas tree, and they had a disco light shining snowflakes on the ceiling. Very cute.

We found the Lenin statue as we were walking back toward the train station.

Almost directly across the street was a small sushi shop which looked decent, so dinner was easy to sort out.

After eating we caught the next train back to Moscow. Day trips rock, though I have to say I would not recommend Klin to anyone else. Tchaikovsky was an amazing composer, his home/museum should be so much better than it is.

ukraine: kyiv: Kitaeva monastery

I've continued to follow a Kyiv specific page on Facebook, constantly finding information about places to visit in Kyiv that were new to me. Since I don't think I'll be in the city for much longer, I've been trying to use non work and non travel time to visit various places around the city, though I don't know if I'll ever feel as if I've seen everything.

As usual, I didn't have classes Friday afternoon, so I set off for one of these visits after finishing paperwork for the week. (In case you're curious, modern teaching involves waaaaaay too much paperwork, it never ends.)

The sight I wanted to see is called Kitaeva Monastery. It was built in 1716 by the monks of the Lavra (another monastery in the city) who wanted a quieter, more retreatlike place in the city. 50 years after it was first built, a 45 meter tall bell tower was added. Empress Catherine the Great (Ekatarina the 2^nd,) loved the place when she visited in the 18^th century.

I found information saying that there are tunnels and caves under the monastery, but they haven't been fully excavated, and are not open to visitors. There are supposed to be ancient Slavic writings in these tunnels and caves, I bet they're amazing to see.

I used the metro first, then hopped on a marshrutka. It was the right marshrutka, but it turned out to be going in the wrong direction, so I got back to the metro and hopped on another. Thankfully, this one was going in the right direction.

From the spot I got off, I had to walk a little bit, through a residential area, past several storage areas. I saw a lady sweeping the street, to get rid of the end of the winter refuse that lines the streets. Sticks and random leaves and whatnot.

I first walked past a cemetery, which was small but pretty. The gates weren't open, so I wasn't able to get into it at all.

I think the monastery is on both sides of the street. I started by looking into a church on one side of the street. It was made of brick, and at first I thought I was going in a side door. When I got inside I realized that was the entry everyone uses.

As soon as I walked in someone indicated that I needed to put on a wraparound skirt, which was fine. It was a small church, and a service was taking place so I didn't stay inside for long. I didn't get to take photos inside that church.

I exited the church and crossed the street to the other side of the monastery. I think this is where people live, as I saw a building that seemed sortof like a dormitory.

I found two churches in this area, unfortunately both of them were closed. Both of them had signs on the doors saying that worship was taking place in another church at the time, I'm assuming it was the first church I visited. I'm not sure if these other two churches are open at other times, I hope they are.

Next to one of the closed churches was a series of grave markers, above ground. The church itself was white, with green on top. It was a stand alone building, I really wish I'd been able to go inside.

The other closed church seemed much smaller, and was attached to another living area. At least that's what it looked like to me.

Since I couldn't go inside any more areas I exited the grounds of the monastery and kept walking along the street. It didn't take me long at all to get to the area labeled as a park on google maps. It seemed like a waterway with a dam of sorts.

I realized it was sunset, and looking one way from the dam was absolutely beautiful. The colors of sunset were reflecting on the water. I loved it.

After enjoying the sunset for a few minutes I walked back to the street and found my way to a marshrutka stop to get back to the metro station. From there I rode the metro and eventually got home.

Yay for getting to know Kyiv as much as I can before I leave.  

ukraine: odessa

I had an open weekend, so I decided to revisit another city in Ukraine. This was my third visit to Odessa, in southern Ukraine.

I had booked myself onto a night train from Kyiv, walking from school to the train station in order to catch the train on time. The train left on time, as most Ukrainian trains do.

Despite leaving on time, the train was just over an hour late in arriving the next morning in Odessa. I didn't mind, since it was supposed to arrive at 0500 but actually arrived around 0615. The late arrival saved me sitting around the train station for an hour, waiting for sunlight.

I took photos of the train station, since this one is pretty grand. It is also quite busy, with plenty of cars and taxis in front, and people walking every which way.

I followed the map and walked straight up the street in front of the station, called Pushkin Street. Odessa was once the third largest city in the Russian Empire, and still has some of the old grace. Sadly, many of the buildings haven't been kept up very well, but you can see what used to be. I really wished I had a ladder and a proper camera and editing software. I took heaps of photos even without all that.

At one point a guy a few years younger than me came up to me and asked for money. I said no, several times. He kept asking/telling me to give him money, I kept saying no, and trying to ignore him. He then called me a 'b***h when he finally walked away. I rarely give money to strangers or beggars, but I can pretty well guarantee that yelling at me and intimating physical aggression are not going to get me to give you money. Argh.

Along the way I stepped into a church, which was in the middle of a Saturday morning service. Do services always happen this early on a Saturday morning? Heaps of people were coming in with bags of bread, then they put candles into the bread when it was sittingo n a table. Is this part of the season of Easter?

Further along the street I passed the Philharmonic Theater, which is a pretty impressive building. The inside wasn't open, which wasn't a surprise at that hour. Maybe I can figure out a way to get inside without seeing a performance?

When I got to the end of Pushkin Street I caught a glimpse of the opera building. It's a pretty magnificent building, an iconic spot in Ukraine. Since it was early on a Saturday morning there were very few people around and I was able to take a photo without anyone else in the frame.

Nearby is one of the many museums of the city, not open at that hour.

I kept walking, and found my way to a statue of Catherine the Great (Katarina the 2^nd,) and the other founders of the city, in the middle of a traffic circle.

My walk took me over a bridge (that crossed a street, not water,) and to the building in which my accomodation was located. Just like many other buildings in the country, it is a big building, with many entrances.

I called the phone number listed on my booking to figure out how to get to the right entry, and found my way inside.

I stayed inside for a couple hours, warming up and relaxing. In the hallway I discovered the (fake) crocodiles who were 'guarding' my room. (Why this place had crocodile statues in the hallway I do not know.)

I got ready to walk again, and when I got outside I discovered it had started to rain. Argh. Not heavy rain, but still really annoying. Rain is by far my least favourite weather to deal with while traveling.

I started walking in the direction from which I'd come to get to my first sight of the day. I didn't have to go far, though it took me a few minutes to find the entrance. The guidebook listed it as a 'house of scientists' but I was attracted more by the photos than by the name. Like the building with the same name in Lviv, the rooms promised interior design beauty.

The outer door wasn't open, and I didn't see hours listed anywhere, but I decided to try anywho. When I walked in, I found two ladies sitting in a coat check area. I indicated that I wanted to look around, they didn't look happy. Was I there when I shouldn't have been?

They were sitting in the coat check area, which didn't seem like an obvious place to hang out, so who knows.

Since I didn't know if there were open hours, I just stood and waited. The lady gave me a number and I handed over the money. It was probably more than it should've been, but I didn't feel like fighting. She seemed really surprised that I was there by myself, not with a tour group.

She took me up the stairs and unlocked the door. Then she left me alone, and went back down to her friend.

I immediately got out my camera and started clicking away. The first room you see when you enter has big windows, goldish coloured paint in areas, etc... It's beautiful. I went into another room, this one decorated in red. Yet another room was also red, this one with a beautifully decorated piano.

As I was walking out of this room the lady from downstairs came into the room and seemed shocked that I was taking photos. She said I hadn't said I wanted to take photos, that that cost extra. The price she quoted was crazy high, I wasn't about to pay that much for photos. I walked through the remaining couple of rooms, thankfully they weren't quite as beautiful, so I didn't feel like I was missing out on photos.

The lady stayed with me as I walked through these last couple of rooms, presumably to make sure I didn't take photos. Argh.

I got back out on the street and continued my walk. My next stop was a building called the building with Atlanteans. Two statues, holding up the world, underneath a balcony, are the photo everyone takes. It's a good photo, but that's about it. Sadly, the rest of the building is not in good shape; you can see where the paint is peeling and everything is just old.

My next stop was what I thought was Vorontsov Palace. It turns out I was wrong. What I thought was the palace was actually called the Colonnade.

As the name indicates, it is a bunch of columns. Despite the rain, I wasn't the only one out exploring, I had to wait my turn. I wasn't necessarily patient about it, but I did wait. A couple girls had an umbrella, which I wished I had, as it would've looked really good in a photo. (Gray skies, white columns, the umbrella was a great pop of colour.)

The building that actually is the palace has Arabic written in a couple places, and didn't look open to the public. Argh. Why do apps and books list sights when they're not open?

More walking took me to what I wanted to see next. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. This set of stairs was closed off at the top, being renovated I think. Argh.

I think the sign said the steps would be open in May, but I'm not really sure.

Potempkin Stairs are well known because they were featured in a movie years and years ago. I haven't seen the movie, but I've been told there is a scene when a baby buggy goes bouncing all the way down the stairs. The stairs are an optical illusion, so they look as if they go straight down the whole way, instead of widening as most stairs look like they do.

Near the top of the stairs is a statue of the Duke de Richeliu, who was a man beloved by Odessans back in the day. I don't know why.

I walked more, ending up at an area called the City Garden. It isn't really much of a garden, argh. There are some green areas, but no special landscaping. There is a gazebo in the middle of everything, but that's about it. My photo looked decent only because of the clouds.

One side of City Garden is bordered by a pedestrian street.

This street took me past bars and restaurants and cafes and shops. One of the restaurants had a statue of a bull in front. I wouldn't have thought of it as anything special, but it was covered in flowers. How often are the flowers changed?

I walked back in the other direction, taking a couple more photos. Both of these were of people from books well known in Ukraine. I don't remember the name of the guy on a bench, but the other photo is from the 12 chairs story.

My next sight was a church. No matter how many of these I see, in countries all over the world, they still fascinate me. This particular church was big, and in the middle of another park. The outside of the church is dark yellow, but isn't very exiting.

I put on my headscarf and walked in. The inside of the church on the other hand is absolutely lovely. Mostly white, with a lovely ceiling, large windows letting in heaps of light, and gold iconostases in the front. I could tell immediately that my neck was going to get a workout from me looking up and around and up and around.

Even though I'm not Orthodox, the atmosphere of this church felt quite welcoming to me. I loved the colours of the church, and I loved the chandeliers. I stayed inside the church longer than I normally do because I liked it so much.

I walked through a place called the Passage, basically a building with a mall of sorts.

The architecture of the interior walkway is totally awesome. Skylights line the entire ceiling, and there are statues leaning off the walls. It's just a mall, but it's really pretty. I stopped into a tiny cafe in one corner and took a break. It's not as if I'd walked a long way, but I was cold and hungry. Tea and macaroons was definitely the way to go.

I started walking again, making my way back to the train station by following another street. I stopped into a couple supermarkets along the way, for more snacks. I took photos of more old but pretty buildings, and admired others. I walked past another church, the old synagogue, and the Arabic center/mosque.

I noticed that security folks were standing outside the synagogue and the Arabic center. Are people behaving inaapropriately at religious sights a thing in Odessa?

Near the train station is a church everyone sees when they leave the train station. St Panteleimon has gold domes, and is not a separate building.

To get into the church, you climb a couple flights of stairs. I put on my headscarf again, and walked in. Immediately I noticed that the center of the sanctuary was being renovated. There was scaffolding around the middle, basically blocking it off. Amazingly, a service of some kind was still taking place along the side aisles of the church. I stayed at the back, staying out of the way.

From there I walked all the way back to my room to drop off a couple bottles of water. They were heavy, my shoulder was starting to hurt.

After that I walked to an Indian restaurant for dinner. At least, that's where I thought I was going. When I got there, I found a sign on the door saying it was closed, argh.

I think the sign gave a reason for the closing, but I don't understand enough Russian to know what it said. It didn't give any dates, so I don't know when it closed, or when it would opem again. I was hugely disappointed, as I'd really liked this restaurant the last time I was in Odessa.

Since I was in the mood for Indian food, I found another Indian restaurant listed on an app, and made my way there. It wasn't nearly as good, but oh well. After dinner I went back to my room and fell asleep rather quickly.

The next morning I woke up early and wasted the morning doing a whole lot of nothing. This is my typical weekend travel behaviour, even though I hate that I waste so much time behaving this way. Argh.

I packed up my stuff and checked out, which seemed to surprise the lady who ran the place. I hadn't checked, but I assumed check out time was around noon, so I needed to get going. The lady let me leave my bag behind the front desk, which was nice.

It wasn't raining that day, thank goodness. I made my way back toward the area with the statue of Catherine the Great, and found a falafel restaurant there. It wasn't big, more like a fast food falafel/shwarma kind of place. They made juice straight from the fruit, it was good.

My first stop of the day was the Museum of Western and Oriental Art. I'd noticed it the day before, while walking up Pushkin Street.

The entrance was pretty, and I was happy as soon as I walked in. The ticket price wasn't big, and I checked my coat. The ticket lady asked me if I planned to take photos, I answered in the affirmative. She told me I could only use my iphone, which didn't make any sense to me, but oh well.

The museum itself is on the second floor, so I walked upstairs. The first room is grand, with a great ceiling. The ceiling was awesome, with guilded gold everywhere. There was some art on display in the room as well, but I didn't pay any attention to it because I liked the decor of the room so much.

The next two rooms were lovely as well, with more art on display. There were also several items of old furniture on display.

From there I went through the remaining five or six rooms of the museum which were very bland in comparison. The focus was entirely on the art displayed on the walls of each room. The walls were painted simply, a different colour in each room. I'm not a huge fan of art museums, but I really liked this one.

Like other museums, this one had an attendant in every other room or so. I assume when traffic is low they turn off the lights.

Back out on the street I continued my walk. The next place took a lot longer to get to, I walked all the way to the beach. Well, one of the beaches in the area. Odessa is more of a summer town, as there are beaches all along the coast, with clubs in nearby areas.

The first beach was close to a set of cable car like chairs, which were tempting just because I like those sorts of things. I didn't see them moving though, and since it was only mid March, I'm not sure whether they were working yet.

I really ought to go back to a beach town when it is a lot warmer.

As I got to the beach I walked to the water just to put my feet in, and say I'd been in the Black Sea. I found a pier and took a couple photos, then got back on a path that was parallel to the beaches, going through park areas. The path was pretty well developed, with lines indicating direction and even separations for pedestrians versus bikers.

At one point I was walking in the pedestrian lane and got honked at by a biker, which annoyed me. Apparently it annoyed the couple in front of me as well, as they yelled at the biker for not staying in his lane. (I don't speak or understand nearly what I should, but sometimes I can figure it out and it's funny.)

I passed by another cute small beach, this one with a couple bigger rocks. With the sky being various shades of gray, I set up a mini photo shoot for myself. Time delayed camera settings are awesome.

More walking eventually brought me to the area of beach and clubs that most people in Ukraine know, Arcadia. I realized really fast that it had been redeveloped since I'd been there 5 years ago. I admit I didn't like the redevelopement, it didn't feel much like Ukraine.

At that point I was pretty chilly and tired, so I found a cafe and ordered a giant hot chocolate. It wasn't nearly warm enough, even though I'd asked for extra hot. I know that baristas don't like it when things are ordered extra hot because they say the milk will get burned, but if I can drink it like cold milk, then it isn't hot enough. Hot chocolate is supposed to be hot!

I found the tram stop, and hopped on the next one that brought me back to the train station area in Odessa. I could've walked it, but I wasn't in the mood. From the train station I walked back to my hotel (which was walking enough,) and grabbed my pack.
From there I walked through City Garden again, the gazebo was lit up at night; kinda pretty to see. I also walked back to the big church, it was lit up at night as well. Since the exterior of the church wasn't all that extraordinary and noteworthy, I was more interested in the groups of locals that had gathered in one area and were playing games like chess. Very cool to watch that for a little while. 

Since I have a tendency to stick with what I know and like, I went back to the Indian restaurant from the night before for another go round. The food was again decent, and I was a happy camper as I walked back to the train station in time to catch my night train.

The train left on time, and I arrived in Kyiv the next morning safe and sound.

If I can find time to take several days to spend on a beach I'm definitely going back to Odessa. I'd also be happy to go back in order to see the catacombs that are somewhere near the city.

ukraine: lviv/sokal

International Womens Day is a holiday in much of Europe. Though the date is the same in different countries, the day is celebrated for different reasons. Regardless of the reason for the holiday, I was just happy to have a day off. This year it was on a Wednesday, right in the middle of the week. I chose to do what was essentially a day trip, with a lot of time spent on trains.

I started my trip with a night train to Lviv, arriving at a ridiculous hour of the morning when it was still dark outside. I found a plug in the train station to charge my phone for a couple hours, then walked into the city.

Each time I arrive in Lviv I have two basic choices as to how I'll walk to the city center, I try to alternate. This particular morning my walk took me past the circus building. It has always looked a bit sad to me, though I don't know why. I'm not sure how often performances happen there. This time it was nice to see the sunrise coming up behind the circus.

My walk took me to the opera building, which is one of the most noticeable buildings in the city. For the first time I realized the back side of the buiding is just as gorgeous as the front. It doesn't get nearly as much attention because it is set right on the street, so there is no place to walk and look and enjoy.

In front of the opera building is a fountain, which was dry at the time. Fountains in Ukraine don't seem to be turned on all the time. Since it was early Wednesday morning, there was no one else around, but I couldn't find a place to set up my camera to take a time delayed photo. Argh.

I continued walking, making my way to one of the many churches of the city, known as the Latin Cathedral. The door wasn't open, darnit. (I found out later if I had pulled a little harder it would've opened. I should stop being so scared of doing something wrong.)

Since that church wasn't open, I found another to enter. This particular church was in the middle of a service, so I kept to the back. Like so many of the other churches in Lviv, this one was covered in frescoes everywhere and was gorgeous.

I went back to the Latin Cathedral and found other people going in. They pulled hard on the door and it opened. A minute or two after we walked in the lights were turned out, which made it seem rather dark inside. (Keep in mind it was still very early in the day, the sun wasn't very strong.) It's so pretty in there.

I walked back to the train station, bought my ticket, and made my way to the train I needed. It was an electric train, not exactly made for comfort or speed. I found a seat and waited to go.

Not long after the train took off the conductor came through to check tickets. Given how cheap my ticket was (approximately 66 cents USD,) I was concerned it was the wrong ticket, but she validated the ticket and all was good.

Three hours later I arrived in the small town of Sokal. The train station in Sokal was small, and almost empty. I checked what time the afternoon train would leave, then started walking into town.

From the train station I could see the domes of a church, so I figured out how to get there and walked in that direction.

It turned out there were two churches on the property. One was much smaller, wood, and much older. The older was bright yellow, big, and new. Neither was open, but I loved the contrast between the two from the outside.

I kept walking, and tried to get to my next destination, an abandoned dominican monastery. I tried to get there by walking at it from opposite directions, but I never found an entrance. Argh. I know there was be a way to get in, even if it is closed, but I didn't find it.

I ended up walking along a street that had at least three houses with chickens. One of them let the chickens run free, they were even in the street.

I crossed a bridge that took me toward the city center. One side of the bridge had a fence painted yellow and blue, but the other side was just old and unpainted. Just after the bridge were the signs marking the official entrance to the city. One of them told me Sokal had been an official city since 1337.

While walking through Sokal I saw a heap of abandoned buildings and homes. They were photogenic, but sad at the same time. I took photos of a lot of them. People walking past probably wondered what I was doing.

I walked past a church, but the outer gate wasn't open. Darnit.

I continued walking and got to the city center pretty quickly. It is rather photogenic, especially considering how abandoned the rest of the city looked to me. There is a fortress tower in the middle of a small platz, it seems to be all that remains of a fortress that once guarded the area.

I found a supermarket and stepped inside to find snacks and drinks.

Further down the street I found City Hall. It's a cute building, and I noticed that two flags were flying in front. Blue and yellow, and red and black.

I saw a basketball hoop in the play area of a school, which made me think of where I grew up. Indiana is known as a basketball state, you'll see hoops everywhere when you drive through the state. If I'd seen a basketball I might've taken a couple shots.

I continued walking, making my way to the edge of a park. On that edge was a small church, quite lovely.

I continued walking and circled around the long way. I was walking fast at this point because I didn't know how long it would take me to get back to the train station and I knew I had a ways to go. Every so often I stopped to take a photo of some random abandoned looking home.

Near the train station I found an abandoned warehouse, which I loved. Lovely!

I took the same three hour electric train ride back to Lviv, which arrived after dark. Since it wasn't warm, and it was dark I walked quickly to the place I wanted to eat dinner. It was the same waffle place I've visited previously, yum. It was also a nice place to hang out for a couple hours before I walked back to the train station.

The night train back to Kyiv left on time and arrived on time the next morning. I love the trains of Ukraine!!