Head for the Hills

Yaremche, Ukraine May 28, 2016

She said “Wow” when I told her I was an American.  A familiar reaction here. Nice to be appreciated.

She told me she was the owner of the cafe I was visiting and sat down and we had a nice long talk. 

Her English was excellent so I had my first real chat in quite a while.

She has a degree in Financial Management and wants to travel to the United States and visit New York, Chicago and California.  Seen through her eyes that sounds very exciting, but to me, of course, being here is much more so.

Ghost Train?

Train to Ivano-Frankivsk

Lviv, Ukraine May 26, 2016

I’m on the train to the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. A 2 hour ride from Lviv where I will catch a 2 hour bus to Yaremche in the Carpathians, Ukraine’s wonderful countryside, “the last wilderness in Europe”






I woke up at 3AM thinking of all the things that could go wrong, missing the train etc. , but I’ve learned these 3AM to 4AM wakeups are simply biologically induced anxiety episodes that should be ignored, but still its hard to do and get back to sleep.

Tribute to Taras

I began to think something unusual was occurring  when I noticed that the five men in unusual military uniforms were really just boys - teenagers.


And I didn’t have to worry that I'd missed the chance to photograph them as there were many more of them walking down the broad pedestrian walkway.

It was Sunday morning in Lviv, the cultural capital of Ukraine. People were out and about enjoying the fine day in this beautiful pedestrian boulevard in a park setting with friends and family.

I was returning to my hotel to re-check-in after a couple of days 
spent at another hotel away from the city center necessitated by my main hotel’s inability to give me a continuous reservation for the 3 weeks I’d desired since they were already booked for some of the days when I made my reservation.

Mukachevo to Lviv by Train

Mukachevo, May 15, 2016 1:46 PM

I’m on the train which is scheduled to depart in 10 minutes. It took some effort to get to this point as yesterday I came to the station to get a good seat and the attendant spoke no English.

I ended up on the right train - headed the right way - to Lviv and at the right time but in second class.

Now I'm no snob but this is a 4 hour trip and I’ve got my carry on and back pack and don’t want to be jammed in with my stuff and I’m looking for comfort since it’s quite affordable, about $12, plus I want to be able to move around and take pictures, so I decided to go online and get the ticket myself.

A Good Idea?

Mukachevo, Ukraine May 12, 2015

This morning I was  reading a real newspaper, the old kind printed on paper, the Kyiv Post at a café table outside on a perfect Spring day at the center of the beautiful small city.of Mukachevo in Western Ukraine near the borders with Slovakia and Hungary. 

The newspaper  headline reads “Sanctions, Please!”, calling for sanctions against Ukraine’s corrupt elite.

Come to Ukraine !

Uzhhorod. Ukraine May 10, 2016 6PM

My phone just buzzed and it was the girl I met in front of the train station earlier.  I had asked her about the bus back to the center of Uzhhorod and we got talking.  She was delighted to talk to me as young people are here as they get to practice their English.

Kosice, Slovakia to Uzhhorod, Ukraine

Kosice, Slovakia May 4, 2016 7AM

It was the middle of the night. It woke me up. Someone walking around downstairs in my rented (for just one night) loft apartment in Kosice, Slovakia, a far and distant corner of this Eastern European country.

I had carefully locked the door and checked it at least 3 times before climbing up the stairs to the loft where in bed I now lay awakened.

Impossible. Yet the sounds of someone moving around downstairs were unmistakable.

Bratislava to Kosice Slovakia

Bratislava to Kosice, May 3, 2016, 2PM

Yesterday I headed to the train station a 10 minute bus ride to check out my previously online purchased ticket. Good thing as the ticket lady told me I would be facing backward. That’s something I tried to figure out online but there was no way to tell. No problem tho as I was able to change to a forward facing seat. Some like to live in the past. For me the future is far more of interest.

Then I decided to go up and see Bratislava's magnificent castle on the hill which you can see from town and the river as you head up to Vienna. I considered going in one of those tour vehicles where they show you and describe all the historic sights. This would be a first for me. I prefer to wander around self guided.

However, in the end I decided to walk up to the castle wanting to be un-rushed in my quest to take pictures of and from the castle. As the sun came out of the gloomy overcast sky I decided to skip lunch and seize this window of opportunity for some great views.

Vienna to Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava, Slovakia, May 1, 2015

She said hello as she passed by, searching for her seat on the plane to Istanbul. We had talked briefly in the waiting area at the gate earlier. Then she came back up the aisle and sat down next to me.

How odd. How improbable a coincidence. That she, the only one of the 300 passengers on this fully booked flight to Istanbul to whom I had previously talked, would end up in the seat next to mine.

Was there some purpose in our improbable second meeting? Destiny, Fate?