UKRAINE!!

What a wonderful world! Well, I successfully slipped into and out of the old soviet union without incident. No Visa, no papers, but a long wait at the border crossing with lots of pushing and elbowing- 2 clerks and several hundred people waiting; rate of movement: one person every 2-3 minutes. But I made it to Lwow, Kiev, and three smaller cities in the Southern part near Romania. What an adventure!

We traveled all day and all night Friday to get to the border crossing, which mean a very uncomfortable night's sleep while sitting on a Polish train, with a fairly large man sitting across from me so I couldn't even stretch out! The train was packed with soldiers returning from duty, and they were yelling and singing the entire night. But the adventure had started!

We first visited Lwow, where we found several beautiful churches, climbed to the top of the city hall, and walked around a bazaar. The city is pretty dirty and falling apart, even though there are some signs of repair and investment. Lwow was originally a Polish city, and there are still plenty of Poles living there. We even were able to hear a Catholic mass in Polish in the Lwow cathedral! Lots of beggars, disrepair, and tons of history. Ania, one of our group members, has a grandfather buried in the city cemetery, so we made a trip there to see him and what a sight! I love European cemeteries with their huge monuments, headstones, and ornate decorations. This picture is taken from the cemetery looking over the city. Just incredible!


That night we took a sleeper train to Kiev! We left Lwow at 11:00 pm and arrived in Kiev by 8:00 am. The train is arranged in a bunk-bed style, but built with shorter people in mind! I was so tired I did sleep, but with knees bent and nearly touching the ceiling!

Kiev is so rich in history and monuments! Every corner seemed to hold a new surprise, and the decorations on the churches were incredible. Monuments for Ukrainian independence, Soviet Union statues and monuments, and buildings full of history. We were able to find someone renting out an entire apartment for $50 for five people. We grabbed it, took a shower, and were off to see the city! I really loved their independence square the most, and then probably their "statue of liberty", a lady holding a sword and shield with the hammer and sickle. We sat under this monument at dusk and watched the sunset, and then the city lights come on and illuminate the statue. Quite something!

We spend the next day as well wandering around the old part of the city until our legs hurt. :) It was great. We did make it to an LDS meeting on Sunday, and although I only understand every 5th word (the language is similar, but definitely different!) there was a really nice feeling there. One of the missionaries sang Be Still My Soul in Ukrainian, and that was just beautiful! We only stayed for sacrament meeting, and then were off to see more of the city and pound some more on our legs!

To make things a little simpler financially, we created a partnership and each made an investment into the trip by pooling our money together for our main purchases (food, transportation, tickets). I had changed some currency back in Poland, so I paid for the first day and therefore became our groups Skarbnikiem, or Treasurer. Because I'm a "rich" American and was paying the bills, I gained the nickname Wujek Sam (Uncle Sam)! Our group really did have fun together and there was plenty of laughter, stories, and good humor.

Monday night we took another sleeper train to the south part of Ukraine to find some castles. This first one is located in Kamieniec Podolski and is practically located on an island! I've never seen such an ideal location for a castle, nor such an impressive moat. The river runs around the entire castle and old town, with only 3 bridges connecting it with the rest of the city. Pretty fun place to run around and goof off for an afternoon!


The second castle is in Chocim, and the sight is something else! The walls are so thick and tall that nothing can get in there! We sat on this hill for a good 30 minutes overlooking the valley and eating a melon. Beautiful weather, just gorgeous! After that we had a mad rush to make it to our next city, grab some food and another night train back to Lwow. All day Wednesday was spent traveling back to Poland, but wow, what an impressive time I had in Ukraine!