Western Ukraine is a bit like trying to break your spoon through the tough outer shell of a creme-brûlée. It’s a little tough on the outside, but inside once you break through there is a sweet surprise oozing with creamy deliciousness. Two radically different cities awaited us as we entered our most “foreign” country yet in our travels, and as the language moved from simply perplexing in Hungary to downright incomprehensible Cyrillic. But, we love it, the people and culture are friendly and inviting…this country is inevitably heading toward a tourism boom.
Crossing the border from Hungary to Ukraine was a…confusing… experience. We took a relatively nice train to the border and then everyone got off. Not really knowing what was going on, we followed the sheeple into the station. We overheard a girl explaining in English that they had to switch out the trains so the next train could fit on the Soviet-era rails. Pictured is the new train we switched to.
Once we got on the new train the Hungarian border control got on and began stamping everyone’s passports. Everyone but us, skipping on accident. Mandy had to chase them down as they left our car to ensure we got our exiting Hungary stamp, to ensure we didn’t violate our Schengen stay. (The Schengen Zone is a collection of mostly Western European countries of which we only get 90 days every 180 days.) When we got to the border city of Chop, it took us another 3 hours to figure out the bus station situation to get us to Uzhhorod because the lady at the train station ticket window refused to sell us a ticket, telling us instead to take the bus. We turned to Google Maps, our ace-in-the-hole for helping us get orientated in unfamiliar places but… it was a total fail in Uzhhorod. A wake up call to the old days of travel… pre-Google. It sucks.
Uzhhorod
To the west, our first city of Uzhhorod directly borders Slovakia and is 20 km north of Hungary so it’s easy to see why these people are more culturally and politically oriented towards the west. But the churches are a different story and this town’s crown jewel, Christ the Savior Cathedral, shouts, “Look at me! I’m in Ukraine!” in an otherwise crispy-around-the-edges area. It’s the principal Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the Transcarpathian region and can hold up to 5000 worshippers.
There’s something incredibly irresistible about seeing this classic Soviet Lada car in a classic Ukrainian city. Our “welcome to The Ukraine moment.
Okroshka soup, one of Mandy’s fav dishes in Ukraine. A Russian cold soup made from sour cream, dill, potatoes, cucumber and meat. (Note, cold does NOT mean raw.) About $1.00. Definitely surprising and definitely delicious!
Arriving to our Airbnb apartment in Uzhhorod, we weren’t expecting much. We were paying $30–for three days. For $10 a night, the outside seemed about right, and the inside common areas were incredibly dilapidated, but the actual inside of our unit was very clean and modern and renovated with a full kitchen and washing machine. We’ll take it.
Strolling the streets of Uzhhorod we found this cutie watching over the Uzh river.
Walking the lovely pedestrian friendly Old Town, we saw this lamp lighter named Uncle Korya working to ensure there’s always light on Korzo Street.
The lovely and bright Greek Catholic Cathedral of 1646… the year it was built!
Our train left Uzhhorod at 4:30 a.m. for Lviv so we opted for a sleeper car—Mandy’s first! An older carriage, that had seen a lot of use but was a nice throw back to the older times of train travel and… the cost was $6 each for a 6-hour journey and included linens on our cots, morning coffee service, and you can’t beat the atmosphere! What a great way to travel. (Other than the toilet. This was not too great?)
Lviv
Our other stop after Uzhhorod was lovely Lviv (Le-viv) where Western Europe meets Eastern. Lviv kind of reminded us of stepping back 20 years in time to Prague. Its undeniably pleasant character is derived from its huge pedestrian only cobble-stoned district in old-town, a dozen or so of delicious “thematic” restaurants and “factories” (from chocolate to coffee to beer to fantastical legends and underground insurgencies), al fresco cafes, and endless beautiful cathedrals sprinkled around the city. It’s literally a joy to just walk around discovering and exploring the city.
Arriving to our Airbnb in Lviv. A “splurge” at $55/night because we were awaiting Greg’s parents!
A Lviv discovery! Outside a cheese shop awaits a new friend! The art scene in Lviv is abundant.
Yes, this shop display is entirely made of candy! Surprise!
The site of the Golden Rose Synagogue, originally built in 1582 but was unfortunately destroyed by the nazis in WWII. The ruins and synagogue sites footprint sits as a memorial and stark reminder today for what once was. ?
As mentioned, Lviv is a city saturated with theme restaurants, factories and experiences. Our first stop was the discovery of Dim Legend, (House of Legends) a five story fun and theme house with a very famous Moskvich car on… its… roof. 😮
The library, where we had lunch. Every book or newspaper about Lviv can be found here. The food is also excellent!
You don’t really expect to see a car five stories up. Especially not one with a propeller and oars! It also sits on springs so when you get in it rocks and rolls. Yay!
Greg and his parents, Larry and Grace. Mandy is up in the chimney “tower” taking the picture.
An UNESCO monument is also found at the top of this restaurant! Throw a coin in the chimney sweep’s hat for good luck!
The view of Lviv from the top is also really fantastic!
Exploring one of the many pedestrian only areas! The crowd is a pretty accurate reflection of the city’s tourist crowds. You can actually breathe here as a tourist in summer unlike in Western Europe cities!
Probably the most elaborate church we’ve ever been in. Lviv’s Baroque Latin Cathedral dating from 14th century.
A good example of contrasts in The Ukraine.
Another themed restaurant. This one is dedicated to the post office and abounds with vintage postcards from around the world on its walls.
Our first Armenian Cathedral is in Lviv… More to come, we’re sure!
Fun art everywhere!
The men play cards and chess all over the square!
Larry and Grace in front of the opera house.
Lviv Coffee Manufacturer, yet another discovery, is an amazing experience. The best part is walking into the huge network of tunnels and cellar space under the cafe. First they give you a hard helmet, and you wind your way through the mazes of tunnels until you find an open cave-like cafe. You then can have them make you a drink which is served in a tin cup and has milk, coffee and raw sugar in it which they torch in front of you to carmelize it. So delicious and what a unique experience!! We also met some friends who photo-bombed our picture.
We got this view after climbing the municipal Bell Tower in Lviv, the tallest in Ukraine at 65 meteres. It has a working clock and bell system from the 1500’s!
Checking out the clock mechanics.
The Ukraine beer belly sculpture.
One of the many trams in Lviv. A ride is literally 20 cents. Some of the cheapest public transportation in the world!
Mandy queens it up at the Royal Brewery.
And the best restaurant…Kryvika, which is an underground military bunker theme. It’s down an unmarked alley and unsigned. You are greeted at the door by a soldier with a gun and must know the password to get in…”Slava Ukraini”— glory to Ukraine. Inside you are served in military canteens, can roam through bunker tunnels and have multiple chances for photo opps! Definitely a must-see for the war buffs!
A beautiful street near the former palace.
For the cat lover: at the cat cafe, about 20 cats roam freely while you have your dinner, dessert or coffee. And yes, it’s highly possible a cat will jump on your table during dinner, especially if you’re brilliant enough to order salmon. The rules say to “please have tidy and nice attitude.” Too bad we saw at least two children terrorizing the kitties ? At least this kitty got some R&R.
Get your craft beer discovery on at the Beer Theater Pravda in Lviv, where they have a live orchestra playing nightly to accompany your brews and eats. Alas, we did not get to sample the Trump Imperial Mexican Lager beer they produced. Nor, the Putin Huilo.
Ukraine also has their share of pun and knock off stores. Here’s Starbucks and Apple.
St George’s Cathedral.
Thank the google translate gods for google camera? helped us get our clothes washed, understand what we paid for and what is what at the grocery. Still, we bought two large jugs of sour cream instead of yogurt one time. A different surprise when we dove in. Oops.
