I don't really know why I stopped updating this blog after the last morning in Ukraine, so I am going to finish up my journal, and then add some final thoughts...
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After driving back to L'viv from Zhovkva, we bid farewell to our guide Alex, and thanked him for his excellent, professional, and thoughtful services, and his fascinating wealth of information about Ukrainian history. If you ever visit L'viv, let me know and I will forward you his contact information. You couldn't ask for a better guide!
It was lunchtime, and Dad was craving cheese blintzes, so we set off to Puzata Khata ("Пузата хата," which means "paunchy hut"), a cafeteria-style fast food restaurant chain found all over Ukraine, serving great, cheap Ukrainian specialties.
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There's always a line outside of Puzata Khata! |
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After filling up, we walked across town to check out the
train station. I'd read that it was a beautiful example of Art Nouveau architecture, and wanted to see it before leaving the country. Along the way, we passed an amazing
cathedral, so we decided to have a look around.
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St. Yuri's Cathedral |
After taking some photos around St. Yuri's, we continued on to the train station, and took some more photos. If you've seen the film "Everything is Illuminated," you might remember this building.
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Trolleys going to/from the train station |
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Approaching the train station |
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funny round building across the street from the train station |
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main entrance |
We headed back into town, and Dad was upset that we didn't take a trolley... I was worried about getting on the wrong line and ending up lost, so we walked back and had some coffee at
Restoran Praha and did some souvenir shopping before dinner.
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Dad standing outside Prague Restaurant |
After coffee, we did some more sightseeing around the old market.
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Greek Catholic church |
For dinner, we ate at an Austrian brew-pub called
Kumpol' for some hearty food, which was so packed we had to sit outside under blankets and heat lamps, and then we had some coffee and pastries at a Viennese cafe, Cafe Veronika (apparently, there's also a very
popular restaurant downstairs, but we just had our delicious coffee and desert in the upstairs cafe). It was lightly raining, the first rain we'd experiences during the whole trip. We had a celebratory shot of
horilka (Ukrainian for vodka) at the hotel's bar, then packed our bags before turning in.
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Sausage, cabbage, spätzle... just a little light meal |