Ukraine 2013

January 24 - February 3, 2013

Wow.....Ukraine was simply amazing.  I think that I've traveled to a fair number of foreign lands at this point, but Ukraine was special. Even in the winter.  I was fascinated by the freezing cold, blizzard-plagued, icy road-infested Ukraine, full of smiling and friendly people.  Check out the series of photos posted below, as they document our entire trip from Gdansk to Ukraine and back again.  We decided to go North first.

Vilnius, Lithuania

Wow, who goes to Lithuania twice in 6 months? We do!

It was so cold, the trees in Vilnius needed sweaters!  ;-) 

Church of St. Francis, Vilnius

Hiked up to the old fort.
5 weeks pregnant on this trip

Then we drove all the way down the eastern border of Poland, stopping along the way in Białystok and Lublin.

Białystok, Poland

"Eastern Versailles" in Białystok, Poland

Too bad it was closed this day

Downtown Białystok, full moon. A lovely view as we indulged in hot chocolate after a long day.

The memorial at Majdanek Death Camp, Lublin, Poland

Scary, scary place

We were so disappointed, we got there just as the museum closed, but we could still take pictures

I've read that this is one of the most complete and minimally changed Nazi death camps still in existence. Majdanek was so far east, the Nazis didn't have time to destroy much before the Reds marched in.....and the Reds left everything pretty intact.

These guard towers are 100% original, and the park works to keep everything maintained in original condition.

Lviv, Ukraine!

What a great city.  We spent 3 days here as Doug went through one of the local Archives.

I'm pretty sure this is the same dump truck I drove at Berry College, uncanny resemblance!

Ice sculptures, old market square, Lviv, Ukraine

Ice skating in front of the old town hall

More Lviv

An outdoor book market.  

The statue in the middle is of Ivan Federov, one of the fathers of Ukrainian printing

The synagogue used to sit in this parking lot, and I got to see the remaining wall.

I also ate at the Jewish restaurant, the Golden Rose, on the site.

The food was excellent.  Only after I got back to the hotel did I find out that the restaurant is very controversial and insulting to Jews, as one website cites that you have to haggle over the price of your meal when you got your bill, or can wear enlarged fake noses while you dine.....none of this happened to me.

Seemed like a normal, cozy cafe. Maybe they've changed their ways.

Tramwaj pub

Our hotel, the Hotel George, in the heart of Lviv.
It was once a major site for Soviet movers and shakers.

The hotel did not have secure parking, so we paid some extra Euros and had the hotel security guard at the door keep an eye on Jetta....parked right by the front door.

Our second morning there, it had snowed overnight and we found a surprise on our car.

I didn't get a picture of it, but someone had drawn a picture in the snow on the hood of our car.

The picture was an outline of the country of Ukraine, a heart and the letters "USA"

AWWWW!  Good to know not everyone hates us!

Catholic church and monastery in Lviv

One of the hand-made brooms you see for sale on the side of the road in Ukraine.

The monks were very busy using it to clear the stairs to the church.

Wanted to steal the altar cloth

Wanted to steal this one too, Forgive me, Jesus

I was feeling a little tired after walking all over the place, so I took the city train tour. Worth all $3.

Potocki Palace, Lviv.  

Lviv was once a vibrant Polish city during the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. 

Statues to famous Poles are seen throughout the city.

:)

Kiev, Ukraine.

The view from our hotel room of "Occupy Kiev" AKA Tymoszenko Sidewalk Support Group

We were only in Kiev for one day, and the weather was AWFUL, so, we didn't take many pictures.

Kiev was a different world from the rest of Ukraine.  The roads were good and lit at night, and there was a distinct absence of horses and a giant presence of Mercedes SUVs.

Odessa, Ukraine.

By the time we got to the Black Sea, it was too dark already.  But we were there!  We saw it!

On our way to Moldova, before being denied access into the country.
They didn't like our Jetta...her papers or her plates.

The Ukrainians at the border smirked when we came back through in a "told you so" way....they tried to warn us....we were happy to spend more time and money in Ukraine anyways.

Since our plans changed, we had to go back through Ukraine to Poland.  It was an awesome trip back, and we stayed in some places that were truly off the map.

Blizzard!!!!

Lots of horrible roads.

Giant eat-your-car super pot hole

The old Soviet monuments were still standing in many places, as well as memorials to those who died and suffered under the Soviet regime.

Cute homes in villages, many painted and decorated in fun colors and patterns

Passing a sled

No idea where we were, but this was a cool sign somewhere in Ukraine

These farmers were dropping off big bags of something (corn? wheat? grain? meth?) and it had just been loaded onto the semi.

This is a two-lane road that was plowed directly down the middle. 

At this point, what we were driving on was exactly the width of our car.

The piles of snow on each side were AS TALL AND TALLER than our car!

Does anyone remember those little cars you could drive at Disney that wouldn't let you steer out of the established path?  This road was kind of like that.  The road was so narrow, and the snow was piled so close to the now one-lane road, it was literally impossible to spin out.

Oh my. Here comes a lorrie.  Must pull over into/onto the snow bank.

We got stuck behind a pig for several kilometers. Notice on-coming traffic has pulled over so we can pass in the middle of the road.

The Eastern Orthodox churches were gorgeous

So our GPS took us on a pig-trail (literally....see pictures above) and we happened upon this cool old castle.

Information about the castle. No idea what it says.  

If anyone out there reads Ukrainian, let me know what this is.

Another beyond gorgeous church

Stork's nest!

Ok, this was the best picture I could get of one of these without upsetting the locals.

Every time we pulled over to take a picture, people would give us dirty looks and scatter.

These colorful "kiosk" looking structures (on the right) were in every village, about every 2-3 blocks.

They are not kiosks....they are WELL HOUSES.  

We were amazed that the villages didn't have running water, as we kept seeing people pulling water out of these and toting them down the road. 

Morning rush hour. 

This is a "French Hot Dog."

A travel tip for exploring rural Ukraine....if you see a gas station that advertises these, there is a 97% chance that the gas station also has a pretty decent indoor bathroom. 

If you stop at a gas station that does NOT sell these hot dogs....you will be better off doing your business in the forest, in the snow, behind a tree.  

Trust me.

The best hotel we had in Ukraine

The website made it appear SO TACKY....and it was....but it was AWESOME!

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!

A bunch of cats hanging out behind the "castle hotel"

Dirty, dirty Jetta

The roads of Lower Alabama are pristine compared to roads in Ukraine

We had to stop to allow a gaggle of geese to cross the road.....

..............and someone is missing a rather nice looking bay gelding.  

He was just hanging out in the middle of the road.

Another stork's nest

Krakow!  Back to "civilization"!!!

Solid chocolate shoe

The main market in Krakow

St. Mary's Church in Krakow

Gorgeous

Highlights of the trip....mostly food:

Ukraine:

We were told to carry small bills in Euro with us in case we needed to bribe our way out of "trouble."

There was no "trouble." I guess those days are past.

We used the Euro instead to tip the kind Ukrainians who helped out the silly Americans along the way.

Vilnius:  Incredible Food!  If you're there, try Zemaiciai in the old town. 

Regional dishes made with seasonal ingredients. Great local beer selection.

Białystok:   Chocolate shop on the main square: Pijalnia Czekolady Wedel

Lublin:  We didn't get any pics except out at the death camp, it was too dark. 

Awesome old medieval city, it reminded us of Tallinn. 

Found a great microbrewery/restaurant in the heart of it: 15 Grodzka

Lviv:   Everything!

Kiev:  McFoxy.  It was delicious fast food. 

There was no menu in any language using the Latin alphabet, so we had to point to the pictures. 

Thanks, Anthony Bourdain.

Odessa:  The kind hotel security guard who guided us to the nearest VW dealership so we could purchase a new headlight bulb.  

He was hilarious. 

On the way there I asked if he was of Russian or Ukrainian heritage, and he answered (in English) that his mother is Russian and father is Ukrainian....so he doesn't know who he is.  

We had an answer for that:  An American.  He laughed and seemed to really like that.

Moldova: Watching a horse drawn cart come through the border check point.

Krakow:  Great friends at the U.S Consulate who are always so warm and generous. :)