81 Further into The Ukraine

Sunday 23rd Oct.

We set off from our hotel in Uzhhord (we forgot to mention the town in the last post). We were headed for L'viv, which I believe is the countries second city. The drive there was a complete nightmare. I have never see a road in such bad repair. The only good thing about it was that there were no roadworks to hold us up, it appeared that there have been no roadworks since the Russians pulled out 23 years ago. What did hold us up was the 250km slalom course that is laughably used as a road. At first we thought all the drivers were drunk but quickly realised they were avoiding the biggest holes. 

The start of the road and the first of the pot holes

It just got worse and worse till it was completely destroyed. Motorway.

ЛЬВІВ = LVIV, where we are headed

We thinks this poor little sod had a damaged wing.

A Ukranian version of a rest area. Note the destroyed road.

A war memorial

Crap yellow cars this way..

One good aspect of the journey was the local churches and graveyards (is that good ?), they were immaculate.

Gold and silver/chrome roofs

Another funny aspect was the plethora of Lada's. The old communist mainstay of cars is absolutely everywhere. On top of that they all have knackered front kerbside springs. All the Ladas dip to the right front of the car - wierd.

We drove over a mountain range and when at the top we came across a Military check point. The soldier on the gate threw up a quick salute and used probably the only word we would understand, "Passport".  A quick showing said documents and the usual "Tourista" plea and we were on our way. I saulted the soldier as we drove off and he seemed chuffed.

On the top of the mountain the road had completely broken up and the verges were better to drive on - that was fun.

We eventually arrived at L'viv and drove to the centre, also called "ЛГEНТР" and were immediately pulled over by the police. A quick "hello" and "Hotel" said as a question  did the trick. He waved us on with a blank face, particularly when he saw that Karen had a cat as opposed to a steering wheel in her hands. The City was a but run down and not very impressive.

The centre of Lviv

We found a hotel, a very plush 4 star gaf. 600 huffs or  £47 to you and I. The hotel was on a hill, and our 7th floor room had a balcony view that looked out over the city. 2 floors above us was a bar - nice.

We trotted off for the 10 minute walk into town. By this time it was dark and the centre of the city took on a whole different flavour. There was a huge group of people of all ages standing in the main square singing along apparently spontaneously. It was very charming. The city was alive with people and it felt very safe, there were the occasional beggars but the street musicians outnumbered them.  

The place came alive at night

Dunno what this was at the edge of the main square

We wandered around for a while looking for somewhere to eat and eventually found a Whiskey bar that served very good food. It is called 4 friends, which is a take on the american program Friends. This show seems to be very popular out here.  How much ?, food, 2 large whiskies and 2 pints of Stella - £15.70 to you sir. We then wandered back to the hotel and sat in the 9th floor bar overlooking the city. Then it was off to bed.

Monday 24th Oct.

Before we set off I wanted to get some piccys of some Russian Military equipment that I had seen yesterday. Old habits die hard.

View of the city from our balcony

Another war memorial, opposite these.....

A Russian T55 tank

A Scud missile. First one I have seen.

A BM21 rocket  launcher

Off  again, this time South-Eastwards on the road  towards Moldova. Due to the distance we had to have another overnight stop in The Ukraine at a town called Chernivtsi. The road was  a lot better than yesterdays and we saw some funny things, some of which we managed to photograph.

The old ways are the best !!!!

We missed it in the photo but this had a GB number plate on it.

The autumn colours were still here in abundence.

Russian industry, now dead.

An LPG bus, note the cylinders on the roof and under the back.

These were everywhere, mainly ambulances.

With no road markings, it was every man and woman for themself.

We saw a lot of these, half finished buildings, all in the same state.

What you got when the horse died. A rotorvator to pull your cart.

This guy and his cow were walking around a roundabout, the wrong way !

A local waiting for God.

2 Ural mororcycle sidecars units. They are 2 wheel drive and the first motorcycles I have seen in The Ukraine.

A new church, roof finished, walls ect to be done.

Our new Hotel was more of a Motel and Gromit was parked outside our room.  The Hotelier spoke perfect German so at least we could understand them. This time the cost was a massive £23, about the same price as a camping pitch in Hertford - He He.

We had a quick trip into the town, but sadly we found no shops for souvenirs so I might not be able to get my fridge magnet or the flag for Gromit.  We had a meal in a German bar and then a Ukrainian Vodka in a Ukrainian bar. 

Apart from the bits that we have already mentioned, (roads, traffic, churches and very old plumming, even in the so called modern hotels), life here is still very Russian.  We had a guide to Lviv which stated that the Government was a bunch of clowns, freaks and magicians who would conjure millions of local currency and make it disappear with no visible results.

Smoking is a big industry and every room we have had was classed as non smoking but they stink of stale smoke, so I can only assume that they became non smoking for us. 

I have not enjoyed this as much as the other countries. Infact I am anxious to leave.  It all seems a bit sneaky beaky, people stand on corners looking at everything. Cars have windows that are so blacked out, which is probably why they drive all over the road,(MP). It has it's charm, but it is not for me, give me western indugence any day.

80 Slovakia and into the Ukraine

Friday 21^st Oct.

After a short 15 minute drive through the first snows of winter, we arrived in Slovakia and back into the Euro zone.

It’s getting colder..

As usual with European borders, just a sign post telling you that you are entering another country.

The countryside was typically Eastern European.

We drive to our intended destination, Spissky, where they have a pretty spectacular castle, Spissky Hrad. We had intended to stay in a pension (B and B) that I had found on the internet but it was closed, or that is what I gathered from the surreal conversation with the owner over the phone. “Blah, Blah, Blah (in a Russian accent) and Bye Bye” in perfect English.

The castle from a distance.

We saw this in the grounds – What is it ? – Answers on a postcard please.

The inside of the castle was quite impressive once you had had a 5 minute rest from the climb.

The dining hall. Outside were the etiquette rules. No elbows, farting, spitting – the usual stuff. Karen seemed to think I should take a leaf out of their book. I was not sure what she meant ;-)

Another working chapel in a strange place.

Karen told me I should come in here and take my punishment.....like  a man

We left the castle and drove the 60 km to Slovakia’s second city, Kosice.

We saw this on the way in...Wohoo.

speaks for itself.

We booked into a hotel which by comparison was quite expensive, about £65 but as it was the last room the receptionist gave us the “Apartment” for the price on a normal room. It was huge and included 3 complete rooms.

Saturday 22^nd Oct.

We had a quick look around Kosice which was typical of all the other eastern European cities but very nice never the less.

Then it was off to the Ukraine. Our first foray out of the EU. This was a different set of rules. Not just a sign post this time, a full set of border controls on both sides of the border.

I had been told by Ray that some Ukraine diplomats had been refused entry to the EU only yesterday and he said that things may have changed for us.  Apparently normally we would need to get a Visa on the border but now it was possible that we could be refused entry and so I decided to panic, well mildly anyway.  We got to the control and were stopped by the Slovakians first, they took our passports and also Leon's, then 3 feet further on, the Ukrainians took our passport and our vehicles passport (logbook), and we were pointed at a lot and then told to go to a side parking area.  I was all smiles on the outside, but inside I was thinking OMG.  After a short while we were let through the Slovakian border into The Ukraine and were promptly stopped again and our passports taken again.  We were asked a number of times what we were doing and tried our best to explain we were travelling.  They have two good words in English and they are "AAH TOURIST". At this they all looked at each other giving us the impression that we were a rarity and did not quite know what to do with us. I was aware that the norm for tourists is to be invited into the country by the hotel of intended stay. We did not fit that mould at all.  We were then made to park up again and we sat for about 20 minutes watching everyone else go through.  (I have to say I thought that Norway had caught up with us and we were party to several outstanding speeding fines...). However, we were in fact quite a bit of a phenomenon and the boss of the KGB, sorry customs, wanted to see us for himself.  He was quite taken with Gromit and Leon, and I have to say I did use the " I was a police officer in London" card, which changed everything.  We had the obligatory search, but we think is was more for curiosity than for contraband. They were blown away by the tent on the roof and could not believe that we slept up there. I was asked if I had any drugs, guns or explosives and before I had chance to think I just laughed and said no. In the meantime Karen was fretting over the fact that they were looking straight into the back of Gromit and there was an axe laid on the floor. In the end I think we brightened their otherwise boring day and they were all smiles. Before long we were getting advice on where to visit, to watch our valuables and don't stop for anyone other than the Police.  He gave us our passport stamp and sent us 300 meters up the road, where we were stopped again, and charged 20 euro's for the privilege of finally being in The Ukraine.  The first thing we saw was this.

and this which looked like a disney castle

After a short drive round, and me waiting for us to be stopped, we found a hotel.  I can only describe it from the outside as Hendon Police college buildings, with a balcony. Inside we stepped into another world of drunken Ukrainians, weddings and our room which was classed as elite, with new furniture, was like stepping back into the 70's, but it was great.  On the whole, this has been a marvellous experience.  We went out for dinner and we didn't speak Ukrainian or Hungarian, the land lady didn't speak, English, German or Spanish, so we all mimed and spoke Italian and probably we had the best meal we have had in a long while. Steak and chips smothered in garlic with a salad starter. It all came to

158 Ukrainian Hryvnia's (we call them Huffs - don't ask why) of which we only had 120. We had no idea how many there to the pound so I had to sneak out and go to a bank (again)  only to find my card refused and the explanation being in Ukrainian. Eventually I found one, got some more beer tokens and paid the bill. We later found that there were 12.7 huffs to the pound meaning that the meal cost us a whole £12.40. 
Whilst trying to write this post in the bar we were accosted by more Ukrainian drunks than we really wanted but despite being drunk they were very friendly and did their best to speak English. "Darling" and "Beautiful" being the most used words !

The view from our balcony, the wooden hut, centre right, was our tasty restaurant.

This was our modern room with "New furniture" and up to date TV

And this is what the Ukranians (and Ray) watch.