Odessa to Ivano-Frankivsk

Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine 5/26/17, 8 PM

The trip by train from Odessa to Ivano-Frankivsk was about 14 1/2 hours.  We departed at 4:37 PM and arrived the next morning at 7:20 AM.  This time I traveled 2nd class which was about twice as expensive as third class but still only around 10 dollars.

I shared my compartment with a 30 something mother and her 9 year-or-so old daughter.  They did not speak English but in Ukrainian, I learned they were Ukrainians headed to the last stop, Chernivtsi, 2 1/2 hours beyond mine.



The trip was quite pleasant with the bed/benches longer than in third class where the compartment is smaller with the beds across the aisle from the compartment taking up space thus reducing the size available for the compartment and its beds.

It was a bit hot at first but then someone opened a couple of windows in the aisle and the temperature became quite pleasant.

I got enough sleep and rest to arrive feeling pretty good at the station in Ivano-Frankivsk.

They don't have Uber in Ivano-Frankivsk and it's just as well as I used Google maps to figure out the bus to catch was the #22 and using my phone GPS found my way to the bus station across the street from the train station.  And just about 5 minutes after boarding the bus I got off only a block or two from my hotel.



Last night I got a good night's sleep and today I wandered around the town, first stopping in the tourist center and talked to a nice young woman who suggested I go up to the top of the city hall for the view.

I did that and found it to be a much longer climb than I expected with the last stage of it being a series of metal spiral staircases. I think there were about 4 of them with each succeeding staircase getting narrower as I climbed. It started to feel claustrophobic and I tried not to think what would happen if all of the climbers wanted to come down at the same time as the staircase was now wide enough for only 1 person.



I was surprised at how small the people looked on the square below. Further evidence that it was higher up at and a longer climb to the top than I expected.














On the platform at the top of the tower there were a number of very happy teenagers sporting large colorful ribbons around shoulder and chest.


Later I found out they were happy for a very good reason.  It was their last day of the school year.

 It was worth the climb as the view from the top was wonderful.

After descending, I decided to wander out of town and ended up in a very nice park. Being a bit hot and tired  I was glad to sit down in this pleasantly cool and tranquil place with two interesting structures a soldier with his gun and a nice church which seemed to me to be competing and contradicting each other.

This town like others I've visited in Ukraine has a number of very nice parks to choose from, convenient to wherever one happens to be.

Last night I attended a concert featuring a Dutch choir singing traditional Ukrainian songs in the very nice Philharmonia Hall. Unfortunately, I'll miss the classical music concert on Sunday as I'll have departed for the Carpathian Mountains.






One thing I've found to be particularly rewarding as well as frustrating on this trip:  The use of technology,  specifically Google both for its maps and its translation program.

With Google's map program I was able to find the bus number and locate it wth the GPS and using GPS get off at the right place and then find my hotel.  With the translation program and its scanner I can read signs on buildings, and the menu in restaurants and of course type in English and get the Ukrainian translation for talking to local speakers.  When these work OK they are wonderful but like all computer stuff, they can at times be quite frustrating.

But they keep getting better with each trip I take and are a great resource for the self-guiding solo traveler.  Very empowering.

Sunday, the day after tomorrow I'll catch the morning train and head into the Carpathian Mountains.  Deep in the countryside, I expect to find a welcome contrast to the city environments I've experienced so far.

After a 2 3/4 ride on the train through mountains, by meadows and along and across rivers and streams I'll arrive around noon in the village of Vorokhta, the first of 6 Carpathian villages I will be visiting this Spring.

Last year I visited Vorokhta for the first time.

While there, I sought directions from a man working on his tractor up the hill from the village and he very graciously invited me to his house where his wife served us lunch.

Later his niece joined us and guided me to the top of the hill for beautiful views of the countryside.  I plan to see if I can find them at home again and I hope to talk to them a little bit more in Ukrainian than I was able to last year.

Americans are rare in Ukraine and even rarer in the Carpathian mountains. So I'm quite sure they'll remember me.

And I'm especially looking forward to seeing the expressions on their faces when they discover I've come back,