Hotel Dnister Lviv

... a little disturbing but I have seen in many areas of Eastern Europe. The graves have mostly been overgrown with plants taking control. There is a fee for entering; the first time I have seen that.

I hang out on the balcony one last time, wearing lots of layers then off to the train. I go to the bar for a local tradition, a shot of vodka. Apparently my accent is off since the think I am saying "water".

The train is excellent. It is a sleeper. My room ...

... including cherry-filled perogies!), kvas (like a non-alcoholic malt), traditional soups (red and green) and Kiev chicken, which bursts with butter when you break through the bready crust!

On our way back into Poland, we were lucky to be placed in the same cabin together, despite having separate room reservations. At first the conductor wanted us to bribe him for it, but then was kind enough to let us bunk together.

... District (few hours north of Lviv). I will try to figure out if I want to continue on to Kyiv. To be honest, I am not sure if I want to see any more churches. They all start to look the same after a while. If all goes as planned, my schedule will be as follows: August: 1st to 7th: Ukraine August 8-9-10: Warsaw (visiting a friend) August: 11-14: Budapest August 15-17: Vienna August 18-21: Prague August 22nd: Frankfurt I have limited Internet so don't worry.

... return visit. ------------ Lviv, another place I spent eating, drinking pure liquid chocolate drinks (astoundingly tasty) and being grateful for hot running water whilst trying to sort out virus on camera and usb stick problems. Gladly, eventually all were solved. In Lviv the temperature dropped to below zero which was another reason why venturing outdoors was something we did in extremely brief bursts, even after the purchase of the obligatory ...

... L'viv, the other is full of EBA where the majority of the people live. I think we had stayed on the right side !!! We grabbed some roadies, and went back. Hours later, Eddie the owner turned up and we tried various rstaurants before we settled on Lebanese. Talal the owner fed us great food and beers with zur. This is beer with cognac, and after about four, all you can say is zur !!! Being the nice people that we are, we had bought 1.5 litres of vodka ...

... places I've visited, it looks like many cities are finally able to finance thorough restoration projects of their old towns as a result. In that regard, things are looking up for Ukraine. Now if they can just do something about the dreadful corruption and economic disparities. . . . Off to Belarus tomorrow, which should be interesting. Few people seem to tag the place onto a travel itinerary, so I'm sure it's going to be a considerably different place than others I've so far visited.

Wed 16 May Today was a non-tourist day, mainly because last night didn't end until early this morning. Once again I thought it couldn't possibly be that late... until I noticed the sun. I got moving in the early afternoon (I know how sad this sounds, but it was great!). I found the store and got some kolbasa, cheese and bread. Fanta has become my inadequate replacement for Iron Bru so a bottle of that was also in order. Once I had ...

As soon as we had crossed the border we began to notice the differences between Ukraine and Poland. The first thing was that the ride was a little bumpier than on the Polish side. I guess it's a result of funds coming into Poland since it joined the EU. In a way it reminded me of crossing from Thailand into Cambodia almost two years earlier. The second thing I noticed was the houses in the villages. They were a lot more run down than those in the Polish countryside, and many of ...

... from the local train station, next to the international train station) but made the mistake of trying to take the 9 or 1 tram there. Those apparently get seriously stuck in traffic, so eventually we went back to the area of the 6 and took that. We went a little crazy at the store but only spent a little over 100 UAH for several days of food - dinner and breakfast. We bought the most delicious multi-vitamin juice yet! It was a very dull day for us, consisting of moments ...

... it to Chernivtsi, the ticket clerk cannot find out if there is seat on the train between Chernivtsi and Suceava, Romania. I have to buy that leg of the trip at Chernivtsi station. Sounds complicated, isn't it? And these were all communicated through a interpreter. The sale clerk said I can try to take a bus to Chernivtsi and find if there is seat on the train onward to Suceava. But she seemed very concerned how I can find my way ...