Lviv to Kyiv

Baltimore, MD USA 5 AM

A writer's worst nightmare.  I've lost my writings.

Things were happening so fast in Ukraine, I couldn't keep up.  Events were occurring so fast I couldn't get enough sleep let alone take the time to write up what was happening, integrate the pictures I had taken in with the text and publish my blog posts.

Either I stopped writing and let the experiences flow or I wrote and stopped the experiences.

Neither was satisfactory so I hit on a third solution.  Do a rough draft and then when I'm back in Baltimore put it all together when I had plenty of time with little happening.

And then computer problems struck with a vengeance.  I turned on my new writing program on my new Chromebook computer and when I clicked on the files nothing was there.  Hours spent with Google support and they can't be found.  The best guess they are on a server somewhere in Japan where the program author resides.  This is an app that he has developed which is really great and has a lot of favorable reviews and a over all good rating.  Yet when I go to "support" I see other writers have had similar problems and their support questions go unanswered. And we don't have his email address.

Should I have had back up?   Well duh.  Of course.

So maybe this is a message.  Time to stop?  Not sure I can continue this from memory.  But, I do have my pictures which tell a lot in themselves and should jog my memory.

And some of my most incredible experiences occurred in Kiev which I have yet to tell.

So I guess it is time to suck it up and soldier on.  And I better do this before memory fades.

But first I have to get to Kiev.

Saturday, June 30th In Lviv, in the mid-afternoon, I caught a cab to the train station.

The train station in Lviv is a beautiful old building with several waiting rooms. I paid less than a dollar to wait in the specially nice waiting room where I could situate myself at the bar, use my computer in comfort and position myself to watch the train schedule screen  and have access to WIFI.

There are basically 2 ways to get to Kyiv from Lviv by train.  The regular 8 to 12 hour trains or the 5 hour expresses.  Many people take the longer overnight route.  The advantage?  You can save on an hotel room (sleep on the train), progress in your journey while your sleeping and I am told you can have an incredible experience by sharing your compartment with 3 strangers as well as sharing food and stories.  I guess this can be an experience of a lifetime if all goes well or maybe not so good if it doesn't.

Anyway I took the 5 hour express train as I did last year because it goes during the late afternoon and evening and I wanted to see the countryside and it is the ultimate in comfort and convenience.

The express train has two classes.  First and second class.  Both are great.  But first class is especially great as you have a row all to yourself since most opt for second class and the train car is less than half full.  And lest you think I'm an elitist let me quickly say I do not fly first class or business class but always economy or coach.  And I take public transportation rather than cabs except when I have luggage or time constraints and even then I often opt for the trolley or bus as that's the best way to interact and get to know a place and it can be great fun and a challenge too when the language and geography are foreign and of course it saves money.

Train travel in Ukraine is a great bargain. The first class 5 hour express train from Lviv to Kyiv costs just about $26 while second class costs just around $15.  Of course these fares don't look so inexpensive to Ukrainians.  Since my trip last year the value of their currency has dropped 50%.  Ukraine is a poor country (economically) and going through a terrible financial crisis.  Should tourists take advantage of this situation.  Absolutely.  By spending your money there you are helping Ukraine and getting a great bargain as well.

When it came time for the train I went up to the platform and managed to get on the right car number 2 in spite of the misleading number 2 designation on all the other cars.

I settled into my seat as the train left the city and headed out through the gritty industrial suburbs.   And then we were in the countryside.  A great expanse of green as far as the eye could see to the horizon interspersed with trees, country roads, and villages.

Life in the country, I imagine is a very different experience from that in the three cities in which I've been spending my time  - Mukachevo, Lviv and soon to arrive Kyiv.  Each of these cities has a  different  feel and charm.  And looking at these small villages in the countryside I imagine life is even much more different there, something I would like to experience some day if time and chance permit.

Eventually, it was time to arrive in Kyiv.  All of us bestirred ourselves gathered our belongings and descended from the train onto the platform, then down the stairs into a long hall leading to an escalator which took us to the ground floor of the main entrance hall.

It was now approaching 11PM.  I'd had a long day so I decided to take a taxi rather than the subway where I had my pocket picked last year.  My fault, as  I really asked for it as I was holding my camera up high with both hands to see over and past my fellow passengers pressed against me in the crowded subway.

But before I entered into negotiations with the taxi driver I wanted to take a good look at and photograph the massive entrance hall which can only be captured in video given the enormously high ceilings and overall extensive dimensions.

At the hotel I asked if my hotel room had a good view.  They said not really and that the hotel was full, but they would look to see if one was available.  It turned out that one was available,  but high up on the 14th floor where the WIFI was not as good as on the lower floor where my assigned room was.
I chose the room with a view.  It was everything I could hope for and the WIFI was actually pretty good.

From my window, I looked out over historic Maidan Square and the great city of Kyiv.

What I did not then know was that I was about to witness, on the morrow, some of the most memorable and affecting moments of my entire journey to Ukraine.