Lviv

I was on a bus from 9:15am to 6:30pm. Almost 10 hours. I thought it would be about a 3 hour ride. I felt sick. I was the only one other than the bus driver who was on the bus the whole time. The worst travel I’ve experienced

I got to Przemysl, the border town. I was going to stay the night there and just try to forget the shitty time I had on the bus. But first I wanted to got to the train station to check on the cost and times to get to Lviv, Ukraine. As I was trying to communicate with the ticket cashier, a guy came up and translated for me. He was probably in his late-40s and he told me he’s a Ukrainian who grew up in Poland and now lives in Canada. His name was Eugene. He was taking the train to Lviv and said he could help me if I took the same train. He also invited me to stay with his brother and sister-in-law in Lviv. Great! I agreed and bought my train ticket.

We got into Lviv just before midnight. Oksana and Igor met us at the station. It was a surprise for them to have me tagging along, but they didn’t seem to mind. In the car, I was asked if I drink vodka. I said yes. That was the right answer.

We got to their place. It was in a Soviet-style block residence. Oksana spoke some English and she apologized to me for where they lived. I, of course, didn’t mind. I was happy to be taken in by them, but the building was in terrible shape. Just a really depressing grey place with paint chipping off the walls.

Here’s Igor, Oksana, and Eugene.

It was after midnight and I figured we would just go to bed. Oksana started cooking and Igor brought out drinks. They laid out a feast. My worst travel day turned into one of the best nights of my trip.

Sausages, fake caviar, fish, kvass (fermented bread drink), beer, and lots of vodka. I offered the slivovice (plum brandy) that I had gotten in Serbia. It’s amazing how good alcohol is for creating good feeling between people.

While we were on the train, I had asked Eugene what he did in Canada. Ashamed, he told me he was a custodian in an elementary school. We changed the subject. Then later, they asked me what I did. I told them I had studied engineering and had worked in Home Depot. They laughed like I was a failure. Then I had to add it was in the corporate office. That shut them up. Weird though. They were very ready to make fun of what I did. Oksana bakes cakes for a living, and Igor installs window blinds.

I slept on one of the pull-out couches. Eugene was on the other. Very comfortable. Great accomodation.

Me with Oksana and Igor.

Here are the views out their window the next morning. I can imagine this would stunt a lot of teenagers dreams of “making it” in the world. Probably not much looking out the window and dreaming of greater things. Not much to work with.

And this is what you see when you go for a walk to clear your head. More depressing views.

Igor and Eugene drove me into the city. We stopped off at the highest point in Lviv for the views. It was cool. We could see block housing for miles!

While we were in the park, Eugene went into the woods for a pee. As Igor and I waited, a badly maintained middle-aged woman came up the side of a hill with a bunch of old bottles in her hands. Only a few teeth in her mouth. Dirty face and clothes with a scarf wrapped around her head. She spoke to Igor and looked at me. I thought, “Oh, this poor woman. She’s so cute. Collecting bottles and being simple.” Then when Eugene came back and we walked off, I asked what she had said. Apparently, she was asking about sex. For a little change she would bring us to the nearby brothel.

Then they dropped me off at the train ticket office in the city. Totally packed. People were lined up everywhere. I didn’t even know where to stand. I was wearing my huge pack and I was in the way. I asked someone if they spoke English. Before they could even answer, I heard a confident, eager voice behind me, “I speak English.” A twenty-something girl wanted to help me and practice her English. Her name was Oksana. Lots of Oksanas. She was very sweet and helpful. She was intrigued that I was American. I also felt there was a spark between us. Then her friend came and she said she had to leave. I told her I was disappointed because I thought she was going to help me. She left.

A few minutes later, she came back and told me that I should follow her. She would help me. Oksana brought me to a special ticket window with no line! She ordered the ticket for me, and then as we waited, she gave me her “business card,” a piece of paper cut to business card size with her name, title, and hotmail email address. She blushed. There was that tension between us. As we left the ticket office, I asked her if she’d like to get a drink. She told me that she had a meeting to go to, but she could skip it. Cool!

Oksana showed me a few places in the city, and then we had a drink. She told me she was in Canada just a few months ago. Her first flight ever. She had been rejected for a Canadian visa twice before, and she got it on the third attempt. Ukrainians can only go freely to Russia and Belarus. Everywhere else they need a visa, and it’s difficult. I suppose everyone thinks that they’ll stay to work since you can probably earn more *anywhere* outside Ukraine.

We spent a while talking. It was great going from Eugene, Oksana, and Igor to meeting Oksana in the ticket office. Friendly people everywhere in Ukraine. Oksana and I wished each other well, and I gave her a kiss on each cheek.

I dropped off my bag at a hostel, but I would be leaving for Kiev that night. I walked around the city hoping that I’d run into some more great people.

These minibuses were packed.

I found a craft market as a lot of tents were packing up. I went on a shopping spree buying a load of gifts in only a few minutes. Everything was so modestly priced it was easy to act quickly and splurge.

I took the tram to the train station. The rickety tram crawled. Only 75 kopeks which is about $0.15.

I wasn’t sure what stop to get off since it was dark and I couldn’t see where the train station was. I needed to ask someone. I looked around and I didn’t see any young people. Young people are the best bet because they usually know some English. Most of the time I like asking for directions because it gives me the opportunity to speak to people. But sometimes, like this time, I get nervous. I didn’t want to show people I was foreign, and I didn’t want to stumble through gesturing and bad pronunciation of the few words I know. I asked the guy next to me for “tramvoj” meaning “train station.” He told me something but I didn’t understand. I responded in English since I didn’t knonw what to say. Then a guy turned around and said he spoke English. I told him I was looking for the train station. He told me he was going there too, it was the last stop, and that I should follow him; he would help me and show me where to go. Really nice guy. It ended up that we were taking the same night train to Kiev.

I got on the train and prepared my bed. It was a platzkart (third class) cabin. Fold-out bunks in an open arrangement. Top and bottom bunk on either side of the room, and then another top and bottom bunk at the end, so six people in one open space.

The bunk was a little short, so I had to bend my legs, or have people brushing up next to my feet as they poked out into the hallway. It was only ~$12 for the 10-hour sleeper train to Kiev. Incredible. Transport AND accomodation. And I had been considering a 3-hour train from Vienna to Munich for 75 euro, over $100.

I was happy that I made the effort to get to Ukraine. Lviv was a highlight. The people I met were friendly and extremely generous.