Ukraine
Trip Start
Jun 21, 2011
1
9
Trip End
Aug 06, 2011
Kiev, Ukraine
Thursday, August 4, 2011
The train from Krakow to Lviv, Ukraine wasn't all that comfortable, either. The compartment had three bunks and I had the joy of sleeping in the top one. It’s a good thing I’m a decent climber, I felt like a monkey trying to get up there. Once there I had little space to move around and was reminded of the coffin rack I slept in for three and half years onboard the USS Roanoke. There were two Ukrainian women, one older and one younger, sharing the compartment with me. The younger one was blonde and pretty; the older one fat and sick. She was coughing and sneezing so much it’s a miracle I didn’t catch whatever she had. That’s one of the funny things about trains, no matter your age, religion, marital status or even your gender you can find yourself sleeping in close quarters with complete strangers.
Unlike the EU countries, where crossing the borders was as easy as interstate travel in the US, the Poland/Ukraine border took ages to get through. Grumpy customs and immigration officials made their way through the train on both sides of the border in the afternoon and early evening. The overall trip took about twelve hours with five of those being spent at the border.
Once in Lviv, I found myself again leaving the train station after midnight on foot. As much as I hate late night arrivals, it couldn’t be helped as there is only one train that runs from Krakow to Lviv. Compared to Warsaw, Lviv felt much safer as I marched through the damp streets. You can almost always tell if a place is reasonably safe to walk around in at night by two things: the number of lights and the number of people out. Lviv, a city of 700,000, had plenty of both.
Lviv is considered to be a diamond in the rough attraction for backpackers these days. I think that’s a good way of looking at it. It’s not exactly set up for tourism in the same way the EU countries were, but it is very clear they are trying to get there. In Russia, you would never find a street sign that had Roman characters. So I was pleasantly surprised to find major street signs that often had both alphabets on display.
The center of Lviv was less touristic than most of the others places I had visited, but no less beautiful. Walking the cobblestoned streets brought me past the superb Opera House which was unfortunately shut down for the summer. I did manage to sneak into a tour by accident, though. Of course it was entirely in either Russian or Ukrainian, so I didn’t understand anything that was said. No matter. I got some great pictures of the interior of an incredibly beautiful building, and I probably shouldn’t have even been in there in the first place.
In Lviv’s old town there was one particular place that stood out for me when I stumbled across it. Behind one of the churches (there are so many) was a statue of a wise old man holding a giant book. All around that statue were countless used book sellers. It was such a unique and cool setting that just made perfect sense.
After roaming the old town streets I settled into a nice spot at the Robert Dom’s basement micro-brewery and enjoyed a great Ukrainian micro-brew along with a relatively cheap rib eye steak before heading back to my room to work on the blog.
The overnight train to Kiev, Ukraine’s capital was the sort of train travel I had become accustomed to in Russia. It was basically identical to a Russian train, complete with a Provindista offering you tea. Once I had stowed my gear in the four berth compartment I was joined by a young Ukrainian salesman who sold shampoo for a living. His English was limited, but it didn’t really matter much. We had both brought a few cans of beer on the train and I shared some salami and crackers that I broke out. We laughed and toasted many times with our beers before turning in. While leaving the train in the early morning my backpack had the additional weight of two bottles of shampoo.
Kiev is my final stop on this trip. It’s a nice enough city, though not really the sort of place to end an epic journey. Truth be told, I booked an unbeatably low airfare out of here. That said, Kiev is not without its sights, every city has some, and of course I went out looking for them.
The apartment I ended up booking in the city was kind of far from the center of things. Fortunately it wasn’t too far from two of Ukraine’s best sights. When I strolled through the streets on my way to The Museum of the Great Patriotic War I got a little lost and stumbled across one of the most striking cemeteries that I can ever recall seeing. Virtually every tombstone had the image of the deceased placed upon it in beautiful and intricate detail. Some of the older ones had photos imbedded into the tombstones. While I was wandering through this place I came across the occasional loved one sitting on a bench in front of a grave and paying his or her respects. Many of the graves had small benches and tables built in front of them for just such a purpose. As crass as it may sound, it was hard not to think about the money they must spend on these ornate grave sites.
Eventually I found my way clear of the cemetery and caught my first glimpse of one of Ukraine’s best touristic offerings, The Rodina Mat. I believe it translates into 'Mother Motherland’. An immense titanium statue of a woman holding a sword and shield up to the heavens, and according to my guidebook is affectionately known to the locals as the’ Iron Lady’ and also, my favorite, ‘Tin Tits’.
The Iron Lady was as impressive as you could imagine, and I’m guessing she’s of a similar size to the Statue of Liberty back in the states. Unfortunately, the museum beneath her was closed for the day so I had to make my way south and visit the Caves Monastery Complex earlier than expected.
The Caves Monastery Complex, is a huge and, as its name implies, complicated area filled with many churches. Once through the front gates I almost felt like I was on a military base. You merely needed to replace soldiers with tall bearded priests dressed all in black. It was a confusing and frustrating place to try to navigate, especially without being able to read the signs. The gold, onion-topped churches, of which I’ve seen so many on this trip, were ever-present and beautiful as always.
The many churches, nice as they are, are not the main draw for the complex though. That distinction goes to the caves where the ancient bodies of past monks have been laid to rest.
Having purchased and lit a tiny candle near the entrance to the caves, I began my decent down the narrow, stone spiral staircase. The ceiling was low and the stairs seemed to go down forever. Once at the bottom the passageways weren’t much of a change as they were also low ceilinged and narrow with all of the walls having been painted white. It was crowded down there, too. So many believers were shuffling through the twisting cave passageways. Every ten feet or so along the way was a glass coffin containing a former monk whose entire body was covered by ornamental blankets. Above each coffin two burning candles hung suspended by chains from the ceiling.
It was slow going making it through the caves. As far as I could tell, nearly everyone down there was of the Eastern Orthodoxy. So at each of the dozens and dozens of coffins people would stop to make the sign of the cross and then kiss the glass coffin. I had always thought of the Orthodoxy as basically being Roman Catholic without recognizing the Pope. But I think this sort of reverence for the dead is also an important part of their religion.
After a half an hour of shuffling through those cramped catacombs I was feeling more claustrophobic than reverent. When we finally made it to the stairs and then outside I was incredibly happy to have a sky overhead and fresh air in my lungs.
Well, I think that about does it for this trip. I’m stuck here in Kiev for another day before flying back to Dubai. I’m sure I’ll find something to do. At any rate, thanks for reading my blog and following my trip. It was a good one and you can be sure I’ve got something planned for next summer as well.
Until then…
All the best,
Brett
