It isn’t laziness that keeps me from writing, or documenting things, I think it is more embarrassment that I won’t be able to properly convey what I wish to. This is sometimes a problem for me. It is easy to set things out in a facts-only style but that takes the emotion out of them, and hence, I think, the importance. But, for what it’s worth, I’ll try here to reflect and to give proper credence to what I’m reflecting on. It’s also strange that this current post is not about anything life-threatening, or awe inspiring in any sort of traditional way.
Simply, it is just my trip with friends around Eastern Europe. Pat and the One Man Party (Dan Moriarty) recently came to visit. This was a month and a half ago. We stayed in Kyiv a few nights, followed by a trip to Lviv, a border crossing into Poland to enjoy a few nights in Krakow before parting ways after Budapest (I will not separate Buda from Pest, they were unified as one city far too long ago for me to find that distinction still relevant).
I have to say that a visit from friends is truly humbling. It is common that we, as men, have difficulty stating our true regard for those we are closest to. It is hard to refer to men as friends as opposed to buddies, pals, or the guys I have a beer with. But, there are some friendships which are far deeper than these descriptions imply. To have two people, not blood related fly over an entire ocean and continent to visit is flattering, but I as wrote earlier truly humbling. I have no desire to go into a discourse on friendship, and the values therein, but suffice it to say I truly appreciate having friends that are willing to brave 5,000 miles of travel to see me, and I hope I, abrasive as I can be, am worthy of having these types of relationships.
Now that this has been touched on briefly, and hopefully I haven’t lost too many “man points,” let’s get back into the real reason for this; a reflection on our trip together, and my first exit from Ukraine. We did the general tour of Kyiv. Touched on things like the parliament, Verkhovna Rada, Marinsky Park, enjoyed a trip to an Irish pub – yeah, I take two Irish guys from New England to an Irish pub when they travel abroad, I have no shame. We also saw the Chernobyl Museum, which was far improved from my previous visit. We took a walk down Andriyvsky Uzviz, which is St. Andrew’s Descent, leading from behind St. Michael’s to Podil, we even went up the funicular the funicular, or course goes to Podil.
We saw Kyiv’s Orthodox splendor by way of the golden domes of St. Volodomyr’s Cathedral, St. Sophia’s, and St. Michael’s. We went to the Cave Monastery, as well. Unfortunately, the first time we went to the caves, however, we missed being able to enter by about a half hour. We made a meandering way down a hill and serendipitously ran into a metro stop that brought us back into the main part of the city for dinner, and perhaps that was when Moriarty received an injection, at the Doctor’s Bar. We were able to make it the caves the next day, and enjoyed the slow march through the catacombs with the holy men of Russian Orthodoxy.
After two and a half days in the capital we made our way west to the heart of Ukraine, at least Ukrainian Ukraine, the center of patriotism and Ukrainian culture, Lviv. Lviv is the city of Lions. It has been known as Lemberg while it was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Emprie, it has been known as Lwow when part of Poland, Lvov during Soviet times, and it is finally Lviv. All the positive things I said about Lviv in my last post continue to be true. It is still by far my favorite city in Ukraine. We really did not have much time in Lviv. Had I thought the trip out more, or had I been to Lviv before my parents came I would have cut out one of the nights in Kyiv for more to in Lviv, but alas it was not to be. Even still, the short amount of time we did have was more than enough to enjoy the city. As in the earlier post, we truly did get a Central European feel while in Lviv. It was a good way to acclimate myself for what was to come: a trip into the EU!!!
We walked across the border from Ukraine into Poland, after a two hour marshrutka. If you have read previously you may remember what a marshrutka is, but in case you’re unaware just imagine a bus, and cram as many people as you can into that bus, and then cram more people into that bus, and then make it 96 ºF and then don’t allow anybody to open a window. Also, make sure nobody is smiling. You’ll have a bit of picture of a marshrutka, but it is still not enough to read about it. It is a must have experience. The border is about two hours from Lviv. It is pretty exciting walking across a border, it almost feels illicit, like I’m running from or escaping from something (don’t read into that statement).
For me, there was a palpable difference as soon as I crossed from Ukrainian border control, into the Polish version. I attribute it to the European Union, but I’m not economist, psychologist, political scientist, or anyone else that would be able to put an accurate cause to the attitudinal difference. The border guard first smiled and when he saw my passport asked me in English what I was bringing with me. He searched my bag (Ukraine has really, really, really, really, really cheap tobacco so that is sometimes brought in undeclared), and then told me to enjoy my time in Poland. It was really incredible. The next person to talk to was the guard that checked and stamped the passport. She took my passport, and also smiled (which started to worry me), she then said “Peter,” and looked up, “Pan Peter,” (pan is a Polish title, similar to the way we use mister, but actually closer to sir) “Peter Pan!” She stamped my passport, gave it back and told me to enjoy my time in Poland, as well. It was really a great welcome to a country that I did not have high expectations for.
There was a bus waiting to take us into a larger town where we would catch our train into Krakow. I was further impressed in this little town. Before we bought our tickets, we changed money. I was further impressed when the guy behind the counter noticed I didn’t understand what he was saying (in Polish), and switched into German. When he saw I still didn’t know he said he did not speak English, but when I said I knew Ukrainian he gave me perfect directions, in Ukrainian. This, keep in mind, was not Krakow, this was in a small town close the Ukrainian border.
The train to Krakow was not the fastest, or the most comfortable, but it brought us in nonetheless and dumped us at a station with wonders I hadn’t seen in months. Things like Mountain Dew, and Dr. Pepper. The list goes on, but I’d rather stop there. Our hostel was a twenty, maybe thirty minute walk from the train station, but we found it no problem, got ourselves situated and headed out into the city to have some dinner, and do some looking around.
Krakow far exceeded my expectations. As far as this trip went, it was my favorite of the places we visited. It was small scale, and damn old. The city is carved by the Vistula, and is the former stomping grounds of Pope John Paul II. We spent most of our time in the Old Town. A relatively small area dominated by a large square, towers, cathedrals, and anchored by the Wawel Castle. The Old Town was also partially enclosed by a wall, of which one gate is still remaining. The city felt vibrant. It is a city full of university students, and there is a certain energy and optimism one can feel there. There were coffee shops, and public bathrooms that wouldn’t take years off a human life. One of the highlights of this portion of the trip was a golf-cart tour of Krakow. This brought us through the Old Town, the Jewish Quarter and down to Schindler’s Factory.
Unfortunately, our time in Krakow was brief. We did not have time to do the Salt Mines, or to visit Auschwitz, but I have decided that I would be remiss not to visit Auschwitz being that it is so close. Perhaps next summer, perhaps in winter, but I will do it. I feel that seeing something like Auschwitz is something that has to be done when there is sufficient time to digest it, and it probably would have been cheapened to do it on the run.
I would be lying if I said I did not eat KFC in Krakow. It was deep fried, and disgustingly delish, the flavor only surpassed by the shame, and they didn’t even offer the Double Down. Next to the train station there is a mall. I have heard that there was once a nice square where this mall was, but as I have never experienced the square, I will say I enjoyed the mall, and did not begrudge it its place. The mall was full of western brands, and even had an English language bookstore with books about current events, foreign policy. It was all I could do not to spend far too much money there.
There is an outdoor café which is part of a hotel next to this mall. We sat there waiting to catch our next train, and make our way to Budapest. This was the same time as the World Cup Final. It was disappointing, but we had to leave at halftime to catch our train, and were not able to see Spain emerge victorious. Perhaps this was better; I would have felt bad watching the Netherlands drop the ball yet again. I have a soft spot for the Low Countries, I don’t know why. We did, however, catch our train, and acquainted ourselves with some Danes in the next compartment over. These Danes disappointed me beyond words. I asked them if they considered Denmark Scandinavian, and they said yes. I have vehemently denied Danish Scandanvianism for months now. Last time I checked there were three countries in that peninsula, and Denmark wasn’t one of them. I’ve decided to let this one lie, I don’t think I can refudiate (that’s a word, right Mrs. Palin?) this one. It was disappointing to say the least, even more so because I hate admitting defeat, especially on such trifling matters.
We arrived in Budapest the next morning, perhaps around ten perhaps I’m just not good at remembering. Maybe Pat will let me see his notes someday. He’s always been much more scientific in his observations. The train station in Budapest which most of the international trains come into and go out of is a big old station, and it is dirty, smelly, and busy. It was not an auspicious start to the city, but within 30 minutes we were in the heart of the beautiful area of the city. As we made our way closer to the Danube the more beautiful the city became. I must profess my ignorance, before I came to Ukraine I had not heard much about Budapest, especially Budapest as a travel destination. But, it is definitely a place to see. It is full of spires, and cathedrals, and castles, and a beautiful esplanade. It has parks, and bath houses. The gorgeous river, and the list goes on.
The architecture of Budapest was unlike anything I have ever seen before. Not in total, but there were many, many spires, and actually upon reflection the tops of buildings were maybe most similar to some I saw in Tbilisi. We started our time in Budapest in a large touristy market. Full of traditional and authentic knickknacks, my companions were in their glory. And, cheap as I have become I was in shock at the amount of money changing hands all over the place. I decided to join in on the fun, though, and got a super touristy t-shirt, and a little drawing of the Hungarian Parliament building (if you have never seen the parliament building from Budapest you should look it up online, it is gorgeous). This short spell of knickknacking was followed by a lunch of traditional Hungarian food. To be clear, I’m not positive when Hungarian is appropriate, and when Magyar is appropriate. I know the language is called Magyar, but because I have no interest in being a cultural authority I will call everything else Hungarian.
Hungarian food is quite tasty. For me, this meal consisted of a big ole leg of goose, some roasted potatoes, and a dish of tomatoes and garlic. If I remember correctly, Pat and Dan both got the goulash (which I didn’t know was Hungarian), and some sort of veal dish which may not have been mutually exclusive. After rinsing our mouths out with the juice of the barley we were ready to go do some exploring of the city. We decided on the Hop On – Hop Off bus. It was actually a much more thorough tour than I expected. It was even very informative. We had headphones plugged into the bus that told us what we were seeing. My only complaints with the recorded tour were the corny jokes at the end of the each explanation. But, I did learn some interesting tidbits. For once, did you know that the Budapest Zoo had one of the few zoos in the world where hippos mate? It’s the thermal waters from one of the bathhouses that are thought to put these hippos in such a romantic state.
We spent some time in the Buda Castle, and underneath the castle we enjoyed a labyrinth. The labyrinth, had been redone to be an art exhibit, but it was quite cool. We got to carry lanterns, and go exploring underneath the castle. There was a wine fountain deep in the labyrinth, but this wine was supposedly not for drinking. There was also a modern art exhibit which mocked modern man, and its total focus on a comsumeristic society. The exhibit was in English and Magyar, and it claimed there is no longer art in the modern western world, nor is there any place for intellectual study or development, this was a little too hippy for me. We finished the labyrinth as the sun was setting, and were able to sit in a café overlooking the Danube watching evening descend on Budapest. It was pretty awe inspiring, especially the Parliament building lighting up. It is a majestic city, and I’m embarrassed I did not, and do not know more about its history, especially the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
I took the train back to Ukraine, and Pat and Dan flew back stateside from Budapest. There was a really difficult fifteen minutes I had, when we parted. I sat down at a Coffee Heaven drinking an iced coffee, and lamenting the fact that we were getting on two different time machines. They were going back in time 7 hours, and I was going back about 30 years. After that fifteen minutes finished I remembered that, as a man, I had to push those emotions deep, deep down where they belong, and get on with it.
With my tail between my legs I made my way to the train station, and got ready to return to the land where salo reigns, and customer service is scarce. I was in a train compartment with a Russian guy living in Ukraine, and actually had an enjoyable time talking and hanging out with him. He insisted I help him with his beer, though there wasn’t much arm twisting necessary, but I did draw the line when he asked if I’d like to help him out with the hard stuff. I felt that would be a bad idea, especially being that we were avoiding topics that we knew we’d disagree about, though I won’t go into what those issues are in the interest of anyone non-American reading these words. Getting back into country was difficult. I’m no longer even talking about the emotional implications of getting on that train. At the border we stopped for 3 hours. The train tracks in the former Soviet Union are a different gauge than those in the rest of Europe, and so, not only did we have border control, we had to wait while every single one of the wheels on the train was changed. This happened around midnight, and caused the train to lurch, and go, and stop, and start and repeat. It was virtually impossible to sleep during this point, and I had no energy to get off the train, so I was left to stare at the ceiling and pretend I was asleep. But, I made it through, and back into Zhmerynka safe and sound.
That’s all I know about this, but, when we return, sometime in the near future, I’ll go over my trip to Georgia (Republic of). Hope things are well. And, just keep the number 46 in mind.
Be well, and be good.
Pete
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