L'viv
Львів
Statue of Ukrainian National Poet, Shevchenko in L'viv
April 14, 2004
At the Ukrainian border from Transnistria in Moldova the guards searched my bags
twice, said I wasn’t allowed to travel as a tourist on a diplomatic visa and demanded
$20. But the best part is that all this happened after I told them I work for the
embassy and they responded with the question “the Moldovan embassy or the American
embassy in Chisinau?” Finally they left and another border guard came who asked
about four questions, stamped my passport and left me alone.
Now I’m somewhere in Ukraine, afraid we’re going to arrive in the middle of the
night and am debating what to do: hotel, train station, or just start seeing the
town.
* * *
We stopped from 9:00pm to 2:00am at a random train yard so arrived at about 8:30
or 9:00am. On the train, during our stop, I met an outraged woman who was turned
down a visa from the US. She lives in Tiraspol and she refuses to get a Moldovan
passport (although I’m not entirely sure what passport she carries).
Soon after the sparks stopped flying she got in a huge argument regarding Transnistria's
"independence" with our Moldovan conductor, a half Russian, half Ukrainian
girl and a Moldovan girl. The Moldovan girl stayed pretty quiet and neutral, but
the other three argued. The conductor lived in Germany for five years and was very
western thinking, especially since he was there when the wall came down, getting
the impression Moldova could join the European Union (EU) someday, perhaps a little
naïve. The girl claimed Transnistria’s economy was better than Moldova’s, "Sherriff
Stadium" proves that she said. The woman was outraged about everything from
the visa to the USSR to Moldova. She said Transnistria should gain independence
because Moldova is holding them down.
Then politics came into play; swearing about every Moldovan member of Parliament,
democracies in general, then starting praising communism, but said that the communists
in charge of the Soviet Union failed, but communism is the right path. About a half
hour after it began the conductor realized these people had no sense and reasoning
was impossible, but the angry woman continued to yell for an hour or an hour and
a half; eventually I just went to bed.
L'viv is sort of how I picture a central European city: streets are cobble stoned,
the buildings looked nothing like typical Soviet architecture, lots of churches,
hills, etc. All signs were in both Ukrainian and English. The people were polite
and seemed happy, something rarely seen in any of the former Soviet countries.
I was warned that the people here are fiercely Ukrainian and don't like speaking
Russian, so I always approached people in English first; they would laugh and smile
as they shook their heads, clearly conveying the fact that they didn't understand
a word I said. I found the people great though and can’t say anything bad about
those I met, they were perhaps the most sincere and outgoing people I've met
in the former USSR.
Despite looking like a Central European city, L'viv has been neglected by the
Soviets and the wires above every street to guide their trolleys ruins the beauty,
but reminds you of reality. My favorite part of the city is the main street divided
by a narrow park in the middle, which is lined with benches and old men playing
chess. At one end of the park stands the Opera House and at the other a statue of
Mickiewicz, Poland's national poet and a great reminder of the city's past
as an integral part of Poland. After WWII, The Soviets took Lwow, changed the name
to L'viv, and pushed the Poles west at the expense of German land. This city
has been home to both Ukrainian and Poles for years, so the culture and architecture
is a hybrid and emotions are unstable. Also in the middle of this park is a statue
of Shevchenko, Ukraine's national poet. I'm not sure what my attraction
was, but the statue is truly unique and I was drawn to it.
There were a lot of churches throughout the city, primarily old Polish catholic
churches. The highlight, other than the people was the hill with an old castle on
it; the walk was long, but the views were beautiful and the vantage point seemed
very peaceful.
In areas the streets are very narrow with towering churches and historic buildings
on every side. It was one of these streets that led me to the very un-Soviet town
square. The square is Central European with the town hall in the middle and lion
statues guarding the entrance, symbolizing the city’s name. The buildings around
the outside of the square are nice and each corner around the town hall held a statue
of a Greek god or goddess.
To finish the day off, I oddly ran into a couple from Wisconsin who lives here.
They were kind enough to show me how to get to the bus station and I found my way
and took off.
Bernadine Church in L'viv
Catholic Church in L'viv
Dominican Church in L'viv
Relaxing in L'viv
Vulitsya Virmenska in L'viv