russia: olkhon island

Last year at in March, at the beginning of my spring break, the girls and I went to Listvyanka so we could see a frozen Lake Baikal. It turned out to be one of my most favourite places I've ever been. Even though we didn't spend more than a few hours on the ice, it stuck with me, and I wanted to go back.

We did go back, about two months later. We visited the other side of the lake, from a small town called Babushkin. Though it was nearly mid May, we expected the lake to be ice free, it most certainly was not. Just walking along the beach on the lake was awesome, and again, I knew I wanted to come back.

When I planned my spring break this year, going back to the lake seemed obvious (to me.) Lake Baikal is so big that there are a number of places people go to see it, and experience its natural beauty. One of those places is Olkhon Island.

Wikipedia doesn't tell me when the island was first settled, but it does say there is a long history of habitation, and the first people there were the Kurykans, who were forefathers of two current ethnic groups, the Buryats and the Yakuts. Ethnic Russians didn't arrive until the 17^th century. From what I could see, the island is currently a mix of Buryats and Russians.

Olkhon Island is currently much more reliant on tourism than it ever was in the past. People come in droves, though the numbers have come down somewhat since the start of the COVID 19 epidemic. With the rise in tourism, transportation has also increased, which made it feasible for me as a single tourist.

My flight from Moscow landed at Irkutsk International Airport 45 minutes early, woo hoo! Since I was flying one of the super budget airlines (which only allow a small personal bag as carry on,) I had had to check a bag, which I had to wait another 20 minutes to get. 

From there it was easy to find the bus stop out front and get into the city.

Since the girls and I had only spent a day in Irkutsk last year it didn't seem very familiar, I was glad I had my phone to use for directions. It was easy enough to find the spot for Olkhon Express, a shuttle service to the island. I bought my ticket, then had to wait about 45 minutes for departure. I used that time to stock up on baked goods and drinks from a nearby bakery and supermarket.

The drive to Olkhon Island seemed like it took foreva, partly because there was a lunch stop, and I always hate those.

The last hour, after we were actually on the island, felt even longer. It's just short of 300 kilometers from Irkutsk to Khuzhir, but the roads once you're on the island aren't exactly full on roads. Since this was winter, the sand is pretty stable and solid, I imagine it's not much fun in summer. Even so, the bus wobbles all over the place, it's not a smooth ride. Surprisingly, I didn't get sick, but two kids on my bus did.

One of the nice things about the bus service is that it drops you at your accomodation. It was 1545 when I arrived, and my landlady checked me in straightaway. I could see that wifi wasn't very good, but the heater was, and the duvet on my bed was nice. (The heater in our room last year was insufficient, so this was pretty important to me this time around.)

I chatted with the landlady about my plans for my visit, and learned that while there is one sight closeby, pretty much everything else is visited by tour. 

Normally I hate tours, but I wanted to see places that weren't going to happen by walking. I'm guessing nearly everyone on the island provides these same tours, but I'm glad she dealt with the logistics of signing me up.

After relaxing for a few minutes, I went out walking. The big sight of Khuzhir was only a 10-15 minute walk from my room: called Shaman Rock.

As you're approaching Shaman Rock you're treated to views of the lake, which are amazing.

It was mostly snowcovered, so I didn't get to see the 'clean' ice I really wanted, but it wasn't as if I was in control of the weather. Along the way I saw a tree wrapped in prayer flags and ribbons, as well as a row of totem poles wrapped in flags and ribbons. I don't know how often someone adds a ribbon or flag, or how often prayers are specifically made in this spot.

Continuing on I figured out how to get down to the lake. Even though I knew it was solid ice, there was still a moment of combined trepidation and glee as I took my first step out on the 'water.' Nature is amazing.

I walked all the way around Shaman Rock, taking photos the whole time. The weather as winter comes is different each year (duh,) so the ice formations on the rocks are different too. I loved seeing how it was all built up in different places. I didn't see any caves there, but it was still gorgeous.

I did see the start of sunset, which is amazing. I can see where the iconic photos come from, they happen when there is clean ice around Shaman Rock, during sunset. 

I didn't see the clean ice, but sunset still made the rock look fantastic.

From there I hiked my way back up to my room. Even though I hadn't actually done that much exploring, the full day of travel combined with a serious lack of sleep had me zonked out. Fortunately, that made getting on the right time zone pretty easy.

The next morning my tour picked me up right on time, at 10. There were seven other people, three groups I think. I think nearly every tour on the island is the same, and the guides know that people are there to take photos more than learn. (Sad, but true.) 

Our driver took us down to the ice and whizzed along, I think we were going 90km/hr most of the time.

He knew the ice though, quite well. A number of times he slowed down way before I could see anything coming, and soon enough we'd go over a bump or around something. Sometimes we continued slowly for a while, driving over ridges and such. As the lake freezes it is smooth in some places, but definitely not over the whole thing.

This is what we did for the rest of the tour: arrive at a spot, get a quick bit of info, then a time as to when we needed to be back on the bus. I call it a bus, but it isn't in the American sense of the word. Think of a Soviet style high riding van. Pretty much every tour has this same van, so you have to check the license plate of the one you're in to keep track.

We stopped at a number of different spots where ice had formed around the western side of the island, all the way to the northern tip. Some places were bigger, some were not. In some places the icicles almost pointed out. In some places I found small ice caves, those were what I loved most.

I was sad to see that some people hadn't respected nature, inside some of those caves I found poop and toilet paper. From dogs or humans, I don't know.

As expected, some people seemed more concerned with taking photos than with appreciating what they were seeing. Why is it so hard for people to behave nicely? 

There are even signs in a few places, reminding you to behave, and as they say, keep the ice nice for other visitors.

My favourite spot was a small cave where you could see the blue colour of the ice the best.

As the day went on, clouds and snow came in, making for a different experience. The clouds were slightly dark, and made for flat white light, which is awful in terms of being able to see anything. Meaning, at times it was hard to distinguish the horizon and divide the lake from the sky. 

At times we almost couldn't see the ice sculptures that had been made from big slabs of ice carved out of the lake. Too bad, but that's nature, you can't control her.

The tour included lunch, which was fish soup. Despite it being a common food in Russia, I don't think I'd ever had it. The guide cooks the soup while tourists are taking photos, then you come back to a hot meal. Simple and good.

At some point we turned around and stopped at a couple more places, one of which looked like frozen waves. 

I imagine a boat had come through just as the water was freezing, throwing up some pretty big slabs of ice. Fun to climb around, and since it was in the middle of the lake, it gave a better idea of how small humans are in the grand scheme of things.

I got back to my room around 1600, and warmed up for a bit. The van had been warm, but obviously the ice, snow, and wind were not.

My landlady had told me about a set of ice sculptures not too far away, so I went to check those out. I've found that ice sculptures are best seen after dark if they are lit up, and these were. 

Getting to the spot wasn't as easy as I'd hoped, since I hadn't brought a head torch with me, whoops.

The sculptures were far more intricate than anything else I'd seen around Russia. A human heart, a mermaid in waves, etc... There weren't too many, but I loved them. I don't know how late the lights stay on, but I was the only one there at the time, and it was only 2030.

The next morning I was picked up by another tour. I wasn't exactly sure where it would take me, but I figured it would be much like the day before, and it was.

We started by visiting one of the smaller islands in the lake. Even though the island was smaller than Olkhon, there were still plenty of ice caves and sculptures to see. It was a perfectly sunny day, which was amazing compared to the day before. It also made it really clear how much direct sun factors in to the temperature you feel.

When I stood in the direct sun, I could strip down to my t-shirt and pants and be okay. Cold, yes, but ok. When I was in the shade my fingers started to freeze up rather quickly. During this tour and the day before my fingers got cold a lot, then warmed up in the van, got cold again while taking photos and climbing on ice, then warmed up again.

We drove again and at the next stop could see a stupa on top of the island. The driver gave us a time, and we all started hiking up. The hike wasn't long, but I kept stopping to take in the views all around, which were lovely. I know my photos didn't capture how I felt about what I could see.

On the side of this island were a lot of memorials, I don't know from who, and for who. Rocks piled on each other, like cairns. Some were smaller, some a little bigger, nothing massive.

At the top of the island I was happy to see people circling the stupa in the correct direction (clockwise.) and not climbing on it.

I'm pretty sure that I went past the time limit the guide had given us for this bit, but no one seemed to mind, at least not that I could tell. The driver took us to our next stop, and again gave us a time, and said we'd have lunch after this. He drove the van a little bit away and started making the soup.

He cut up the tomatoes, fish, and potatoes, then started a fire, boiled the water, and cooked the whole thing.

Meanwhile we took more photos of ice and rocks. I'm pretty sure that anyone looking at this post will be tired of ice, snow, and rocks.

Lunch was good, I ended up having two bowls of soup. After lunch we had a couple more sights, just like the day before. One of them was an area with a lot more ice. Beautiful. Then we dropped off all the other people in the tour group. They had booked the tour but said they needed to get back to Irkutsk for the evening, so they missed the end.

I got the last sight all to myself for a good thirty minutes. I mean all to myself, there were no other groups there yet. We drove on the island, up to a 'mountain' top, from which the view of the lake was amazing. I loved the silence more than anything, and the chance to climb around and look at everything.

I was sad to go back to my room, but the tour was quite good and I was glad I had done both of them. I would gladly do both of them again.

The next morning the shuttle picked me up a little before ten, and I arrived back in Irkutsk at 1530.

cuba: valle de los ingenios and playa ancon

There are several reasons Trinidad is one of the more popular cities for foreigners to visit in Cuba. One of them is because it isn't too far from the capital city of Havana. Another reason is because the city center is Unesco designated. A third reason is because it is surrounded by other areas visitors want to see.

The third reason was the most important reason to me. I wanted to visit two areas near Trinidad: the Valle de los Ingenios, and Playa Ancon.

I showed up at the tour office in Trinidad to meet up with others in my tour of the nearby Valle de los Ingenios. 

As it was a small group, we were all put into a van. The driver had the aircon on full blast, which felt amazing to all of us.

The van took off a few minutes late, a little after 9am; the guide gave us the basic overview of what we would see on the tour. She also told us a brief history of the area.

The Valle de los Ingenios is the reason Cuba had wealthy people for quite a while. The name translates to Valley of the Sugar Mills. The sugar industry brought a lot of money to the country, especially to the people that owned the plantations and slaves.

The first stop of our tour was at a place where the tour company hoped we'd spend a bit more money. No one in my group did so, I think we were all backpackers. If we'd wanted to do so, we could've ridden a zip line with a lovely view over part of the valley. I like zip lines, but I'm always amazed at how much they cost.

A bit further down the road was our second stop: a former plantation. San Isidro de los Destilerodos is no longer a functioning sugar distillery, but the hacienda (master house) is being rebuilt. I'm not sure how I feel about rebuilding a place that has fallen into ruin, but its never my decision to make. We walked through the house, there is nothing in there right now except the clothes of the workers. Even though it was the home of a wealthy family there wasn't a lot of space, not a lot of privacy. I hope they had some sort of air circulation back in the day, because that house would've been crazy hot without it. The slaves had horrid living and working conditions, I don't know how they survived. 

This plantation would've been worked by slaves, who lived in housing on the property. We saw the ruins of the slave housing, each family was in a rather small room. The foundation stones are all that are left of the slave quarters, I don't know if those will be rebuilt as well.

In the middle of the property is a tall bell tower. We were told that the overseers would climb up the tower to keep watch over the slaves as they worked. We didn't get to climb up the tower on this plantation, I don't know if it is allowed.

Our guide pointed out a big tree in the middle of the property, it was used in religious practices for the slaves. The roots were huge! 

Our guide also pointed out various ruins around the property; the distillery, a storage area, etc... Since all you see now are a few piles of bricks, it's hard to imagine what used to be there.

Our next stop was FULL of tourists. Called Manaca Iznaga, it was another sugar plantation. This one was bigger than the first one we visited, the main house is now a restaurant. It's possible to have lunch as part of the tour, but no one in my group chose to do so. (Again, we were all backpackers, and not keen to spend money on things we didn't want or need.)

To get to the sight itself you have to walk through a gauntlet of vendors, many of them selling various pieces of embroidery. I really wonder how many people buy from these vendors, as I found walking through it all rather uncomfortable. Each person was trying to catch my attention, to get me to buy something.

There is a trapiche out behind the house, it can still be used. It isn't used to produce something, but does give visitors an idea of how some of the work on a sugar plantation is done. Slaves or horses walked in circles to keep it going.

The bell/overseer tower on this plantation was also bigger than the first one we'd seen. This one was open for visitors to climb, it's about five stories tall. Each flight of stairs to get up was rather narrow, not allowing people to go up and down at the same time. In other words, each person got stuck waiting a couple times while the stairs cleared of people going the other way. At the very top the view is really nice, over quite a bit of land.

The last stop of our tour was back in Trinidad. In addition to the wealth of the sugar plantations, this area is supposed to be known for ceramics.

We stopped to visit the gallery of a well known family in the industry. We got to watch the head of the family make a clay pot, it was neat to see how fast and how well he did it. There were plenty of objects to buy, but no one in my group bought anything here either.

After this last stop our van brought us back to where we'd started in the morning.

I liked my tour, though I wish we'd seen more former plantations in the area, and stopped in a couple more places for general views of the valley. I didn't like the stops that seemed geared toward getting us to spend money. I hate those kinds of stops on a tour.

The next morning I was up early again, I packed up my bags and moved everything back to Suzanna's house. It kinda felt like I was coming home, since I knew her already.

After dropping my bags, I walked to a certain intersection, where I waited for a bus. It's a tourist bus to take people to a beach not too far from Trinidad. Playa Ancon has a couple of resorts along the beach, but many people choose to stay in Trinidad and come as a day trip. I might've stayed in one of the hotels on the beach, but they were far too expensive. Plus, there isn't anything else to do in the area, I would've been bored.

The bus was a double decker, of course I climbed up to the top. As the bus went along, we all had to duck a little each time we went under one of the electric wires going across the street. As we went along I noticed the exhaust coming out of the back of the bus. It was not nice, to say the least. It was the kind of smell that makes everyone hold their nose and close their eyes for a minute, waiting for it to go away. I noticed it when the bus stopped, not at all when we were moving.

The ride to the beach wasn't very long, maybe 30 minutes. I enjoyed the wind in my face (with my hair going every which way, despite being tied back) and the views of the area.

The bus dropped us at one end of the beach, we all rushed off the bus and pretty much ran for the beach. I was happy to get there in time to snag a chair for myself. I could've laid out on the sand, but that would've been even hotter than it was. Cuba in August is hot hot hot, and being on the chair gave me at least a little bit of a breeze.

I laid my stuff on the chair, grabbed my camera, and took a few photos of the area. The beach itself was nice but not great. The water was the same, nice but not great. Since this was my first beach day of this trip, I was thrilled anywho. I didn't notice any vendors coming through, which made this a fantastic beach as far as I was concerned.

My bus arrived on the beach around 0945, I caught the 1230 bus back to Trinidad. I did a pretty good job of soaking up some sun without getting totally roasted. (That came later in the trip.)

I'm not sure I'd come back to this beach in particular, but this was a relaxing morning, and much appreciated at this point in the trip.  

ukraine: chornobyl

When I visited Naples in July I met a bunch of people...then, in another visit in August, I met more people and saw people from the first visit again...
Sometime in September I got an email from one of those people asking about a visit to kyiv...obviously I was excited :) ...Megan and will have been in Naples for a year-ish, and one of their goals is to visit every country in Europe while there are on the continent...they've come close, despite the large number of countries...in talking about the visit, I mentioned the possibility of touring chornobyl, they were keen...

I had already done one tour of chornobyl, set up through the old information office of kyiv...that office has moved, I have never found where it is now located...in order to find the best company for the tour, I posted in a Facebook group, and got a phone number as a result...a few emails and phone calls back and forth, and we were good to go...it isn't a cheap tour, and has to be set up a bit in advance (payment in US dollars)...
The company we went with picked us up at my flat, so convenient...we started out 30 minutes earlier than normal, since we knew sunset happens around 1600 at this time of year...

the drive is a couple hours, pretty boring for most people...as we drove through one small town the driver mentioned two former famous residents: the klitschko brothers...one is now mayor of kyiv, the other is still a boxer, engaged to an American actress...
We arrived at the 30km checkpoint, and met our guide...his name was Sergei, only 23 yrs old...(we found out later in the tour that his brother works at chornobyl 15 days a month)...he checked our passports against the list he had...(if the names and numbers don't match, your tour doesn't happen...I wonder how often that happens?)

We were the second group to drive through the gates...as we continued driving along, our guide gave us some information on the area...he pointed out some of the abandoned villages on the side of the road, I would've loved to stop, get out of the car and explore a little...strange to see the trees growing through everything...
Anywho, the first stop was the memorial area in chornobyl...a sculpture of an angel, and town signs of all the villages that no longer exist...will and Megan wares to get ahead of the other group, we didn't stay long here...

The next stop was quick as well, we saw the memorial to the liquidators killed by radiation within a couple weeks of the disaster...on the other side of this firehouse was an exhibit of vehicles used in cleanup just afterward...they looked like overgrown kids toys!
We also stopped at the kindergarten of chornobyl...this time we entered the building!!! the empty beds were so sad, as was the teachers room...strange to see the information board in the entry area, obviously not at all up to date...when the school was open i wonder how often everything was updated...

Our next stop was just after the 10km checkpoint, at which we didn't have to get out of the car, Sergei just showed the list...you have to have documentation for every checkpoint in the area if you want to go through...this stop was along the river, to see all the reactors; this includes reactor #5, which was never finished...the building cranes are still there, too contaminated to move...
Normally visitors feed catfish from a bridge over this river, but the fish don't visit when the weather is this cold :( ...our loaves of bread were if no use, booo...

We drove around to the other side of reactor #4, to see another memorial, and the new sarcophagus...the new sarcophagus was supposed to be finished in 2012, Sergei said they expect actual finishing to happen in 2020...I could see progress from when I last saw it in May 2012...
We stopped at the town sign for Pripyat, it feels like it is in the middle of nowhere...then on to the main platz of Pripyat...more overgrown than I remember from 2.5 yrs ago...I wonder if any of the growth will ever be stopped...trees growing through steps and all!

This is where our tour was different...we got to go in buildings! Our first entry was into the house of culture...during my last tour we had only stood on the front entry steps, maybe taken a couple steps in, but that was it...this time we went up the stairs to the 2nd floor...
there was once a movie theatre in this building, we saw the three remaining seats, as well as old reels of film...(how did all that end up on the ground? I'm sure when everyone left they didn't run around trashing everything and dumping everything on the floors...

We also saw what remains of the library...I was taught to love books and take care of them while I was growing up, it was surprisingly difficult to walk on so many of them...I even saw a few cards from the card catalogue...
There was also a big gymnasium, complete with a climbing rope hanging from the ceiling...it seemed to be in awfully good condition, is it really 30 yrs old? (Then again, it was hanging from the ceiling, I don't know that anyone would've climbed up there anytime after the accident to hang a new rope)...there were a couple frames for football goals, and a jumpy thing used by gymnasts...one side must've been all glass, it no longer exists...instead there are a couple trees growing in one corner...

We walked out the back of the culture building to the amusement park... Everyone has seen photos of this amusement park; the abandoned Ferris wheel and bumper cars...we got to make friends with a fox this time! I don't know whether this amusement park was open or not when the disaster occurred, I've been told it was supposed to open that coming weekend, or that it was already open...
We got back in the car and drove a little down a street...our guide took us in a school building...it was a big school, 1500-2000 kids of many ages...we saw a room where has mask drills took place, which was a bit creepy...(so many gas masks all over the floor)...we saw a room with a map of the former soviet empire still on the wall, complete with information about Lenin...we saw a science classroom, and a room dedicated to soviet heroes...

Next to the school was a sports building...we walked in, and saw the pool! The old pace clock was still on the wall, of course the pool was empty...there was a lot of trash on the bottom of the pool, who put it there? Will and I climbed down into the 'shallow' end of the pool, and would've gone to the bottom of the deep end except that we couldn't see a way to get down, or a way to get back up once we were down there...the deep end was under a 5m diving tower...unfortunately there were no steps to the first level of te tower, otherwise I would've climbed up the tower...

Our last sight was a bit of a workout...we all climbed up 16 floors to the roof of an apartment building on the edge of Pripyat...the view from the top was amazing...we could see the whole town, which really wasn't very big...we could see a former soviet anti missile radar off in the distance, and the sarcophagus being built for reactor #4...
After the roof we went into a couple flats, there wasn't much left...I noticed a fancy doorknob, and what was left of a chandelier...a couple ovens, and sinks...one sofa...no clothes or other personal effects...

From there we drove back to the 10km checkpoint and had our first radiation check...then a small cafe where we had a pretty good lunch (food brought from elsewhere in Ukraine) an I bought a few postcards...then back to the 30km checkpoint, and another radiation check...finally we dropped off the guide who was spending the night in the area as he had another tour the next day...
Driving back to kyiv took a couple hours, all three of us dozed off for most of it :)

ukraine: a 5th trip to lviv and around

this was by far my warmest trip to lviv...it was another trip decided almost at the last minute...
the original plan was for a girls weekend with swati, shubra and i...unfortunately, swati wasn't able to make it, as an emergency took her out of ukraine at the time...
tickets were bought for the express train from kyiv to lviv, the ride was only 5 hours long...if i remember correctly, the express trains were made in south korea...a smooth ride, arrival after dark...the hotel was way nicer than places i normally stay, and located very close to the train station...shubra had stayed in the hotel before, i'm glad she knew where we were going...

the next morning we had breakfast at the hotel (included in the room price) before walking to the platz in the middle of the city...shubra had signed us up for a day tour to three castles around the city...it took us a while to figure out which company was taking us on this tour...the hotel had helped with signing us up, but only told us we could find the company in the square, and to look for a yellow bus...
thankfully when we called the hotel to get a little more detail, they called the company which told us the exact address we needed to know, thank goodness...there were quite a few tour companies, and no yellow buses...we were a few minutes late, fortunately the bus didn't leave without us...

the first drive was about 90 minutes, at least 30 minutes of it filled by a spiel from the tour guide...the information was all given in ukrainian, so shubra and i didn't really know what was being said...at some point i dozed off, as did almost everyone else on the bus...
our first castle was called olesko...on top of a hill, overlooking the entire area around...the bus took us up the road nearly to the castle, we didn't have to walk far...
the group had to wait a few minutes for the tour guide to take us inside, i have no idea why...maybe there was another tour group already inside...

while we were waiting everyone wandered a bit, shubra sat down on some stone steps and nearly everyone looked at her like she was crazy...(ukrainians DO NOT sit down outside...at least, not in direct contact with steps or the ground)...
as we entered, our tour guide started talking, and didn't stop until we exited the castle...she had a bit of information about nearly everything on display in the museum...every item...every piece of furniture, painting, etc...as much as i wish i could understand heaps more russian/ukrainian, this lady had a lot of information, i probably would've found it overwhelming...some of the rooms had furniture, some had paintings, and at least one room had religious icons...

after the tour was finished, our guide told us we had some free time before the bus would leave, shubra and i decided to explore the gardens on the hill below the castle...they are landscaped, and quite pretty...
After Olesko castle, everyone got back in the bus and we drive a little while...not nearly as long as the first drive, thank goodness...
Again the tour guide talked on the microphone for a while, again Shubra and I tuned it out since we didn't understand...in my years of traveling there is probably an astounding amount of information i've missed because i don't speak a language...

As the bus pulled up to our next stop, we could see the grand entrance of a church...it was an interesting contrast to the regular looking houses next door...we said we would go in he church before getting back on the bus...
Our next stop was called pidhirtsi...it turned out to be closed, visitors are only able to walk around the grounds, not go inside...
After giving the spiel to everyone, the guide have us a quick version in English, which was awesome of her...what I remember is that the last use of this castle was as a tuberculosis sanatorium...there are also stories of ghosts prowling the grounds, I don't know the history of those stories...

The castle is falling apart, it's tragic...I would love to wander around inside, just to see the beauty of an abandoned building...
We saw two different couples having wedding photos taken at this castle, I was not a fan of the bridesmaid dresses of each couple...
We were among the last of our group to head back to the bus, so my visit into the church was very quick...which was okay, as there wasn't much to see...the interior definitely did not match up to the awesome exterior...another couple was having wedding photos taken here, i had to stay out of the way of the photographer...

Our last place to visit was a castle called Zolochiv...it is actually two buildings, around a landscaped courtyard, with a fountain in the middle...the whole area, including the buildings, are surrounded by earthen ramparts...there are old canons at each corner, I have no idea if they still work...
Again the tour guide guide gave a spiel outside then led the group on a tour through the interior...after the tour of the first castle when the guide knew something about everything displayed, Shubra and I knew better than to stay with the group...

we walked through on our own, enjoying the variety of decor...one area was covered in horns from game hunting...not my style...one room was a throne room of sorts...too bad it was blocked off, otherwise I would've had my photo taken on the chair :)
We left the building before the group, and climbed up one of the corner ramparts...nice views over the town, though not terribly picturesque...i could see the tops of a couple churches, i really wish i'd had time to wander through the rest of the town...

As we came back down, the group came out and the tour guide told more information about two rocks we could see in the yard...one is covered in writing, though no one knows what it says...it was found nearby, and the language is a total mystery...the other rock has a hole in the middle...legend says you put your finger in, twisting to one side to wish for romance and twisting to the other side for money...I wished for both, of course :)
After this last castle we grabbed a snack, then got back on the bus for the drive back to Lviv...I would seriously consider signing up or this tour again, just to have transport to three towns I wouldn't otherwise visit...I would wander around each town while the group goes through each castle, then hop back on the bus in time to get to the next town :)

we had dinner that evening at a random asian place just off the main square...nothing fancy, but we both thought it a good idea to have some carbs...on the way back to our hotel we picked up water for the next day...
the next day we walked into the city center again, this time to the area in front of the opera building...we'd both signed up for a 4K color run, it was organized as a fundraiser and awareness raiser for the problem of human trafficking...this was the first year it was organized, we could tell...

there was no entrance fee, which we thought a bit strange for a fundraiser run...also, everyone received a tshirt, conveniently white...there were a couple tables set up to check in all the runners, and hand out shirts; the tables were packed up about 10 minutes before the race was scheduled to start...as we waited around after checking in, we watched the other people who'd shown up to run...some of the people were dressed as if they'd never run previously...jeans and flats! hair not tied up! carrying backpacks!
someone used a megaphone to start the race, and everyone took off...some of those people dressed completely inappropriately started off really fast, we knew they wouldn't last...the course took us through a park, which is where the coloured powder was thrown at everyone in two locations...(i wish my shirt was wet, it would've held more colour)...the race ended in the platz in the middle of lviv...shubra and i are both pretty sure the course wasn't the full 4K, but we still had fun...

as soon as we could, we collected our stuff, then walked quickly back to the hotel, showered and cleaned up...since we were checking out late, the hotel charged us a late fee, argh...(both of us wish the race had started at 10am, not noon)...we left our bags at the front desk, then walked back to the city center (again.)...we had a couple hours to kill before heading to the train station to get back to kyiv...
on the way to the city center we took a few photos in a playground i hadn't seen in my other visits to lviv...everytime i come to this city i find something new :)
after lunch we entered my favourite cafe...this cafe is on the square, and has the best chocolate cake i've had in ukraine...YUM...it's probably chocolate overload when i add in the hot chocolate, but oh well...on the way out we looked at some of the many souvenirs you can buy in kyiv, but for the first time in i don't know how long, i didn't buy anything!! (except postcards of course)
the train got us back to kyiv at 2300...nice and fast :)