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Published: September 16th 2020
L'viv Favorite Son Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
Masochism... term derived from Masoch's melancholy writing style.Finally getting this blog from last year published. Here's hoping to safe travels soon.
Subtitled: 6 Days, 5 Countries. Even for me this week was more of a mad dash than I ever could have foreseen. After L'viv I spent more than 1 night in only 2 places, Odesa and Chişinău, Moldova. In hindsight, I wish I had gone back to Odesa from Chişinău via Transdniester then flown to Thessaloniki for ~$100 which is probably what I spent going overland through Romania and Bulgaria. Plus I would have been able to visit Transdniester with an illegal exit from Moldova proper which would have been my 3rd illegal exit (South Cyprus to North Cyprus and Serbia to Kosovo the others) on this expiring passport.
$US ≈ 24.5 Ukrainain hryvnia (UAH), 1.7 Bulgarian lev, €0.90
L'viv
Beautiful city with a lot of history. For a very good overview I took two Walkative "free (i.e., tips based)" walking tours. The first was the Market Tour which focused on the historical center, the second the WWII tour. Helena, the guide for both, was great. Did a few other things on my own: the Armory located inside the city walls, the ornate Potocki Palace
L'viv Opera House
Львівський Національний академічний театр опери та балету імені Соломії Крушельницької, officially. (50 and 70 UAH, respectively), and the interesting and (from the outside) eerily unassuming Lontskoho Prison (free).
Accommodation and food Stayed 3 nights in Dream Hostel in a clean, well equipped 8 person dorm, 234 UAH the first night on booking.com then in person for 415 UAH for the next 2 nights using their discount code which works at other Dream Hostels. The location could not be beat, just a few steps from Market Square, good kitchen and chill out area upstairs, plenty of bathrooms and showers for such a huge place. Took a lot of meals at Puzata Hata a few minutes walk from the hostel, Soviet cafeteria style but pretty good and inexpensive, figure 100-150 UAH for a very substantial meal. Closer to the hostel was Open, also cafeteria style but by the kilo. Ate once at the renowned Bachefsky’s breakfast buffet. 150 UAH per person but can only stay 1½ hours and includes only one cup of coffee or tea and one glass of wine or a vodka shot… bit early for me for the latter. On the walking tour Helena took us to the
Blue Bottle, went back another day for an
en fuego cognac coffee,
L'viv Blue Bottle Cafe
Coffee house legacy of Austro-Hungarian Empire's influence. 44 UAH.
Transport Walked everywhere except between the train station and city center. Bus 29 runs that route every few minutes for 7 UAH. For Kyiv I took a train departing 23:19, arriving 6:44 for 530 UAH in
kupe easily purchased on the national railway’s website.
Kyiv
Capital city, didn’t seem there was as much to see as L’viv and I didn’t love it as much but it was overcast, rainy, and generally dreary the entire time I was there. The bad weather, however, was a perfect opportunity to visit the excellent Chernobyl Museum, close to the hostel. Entry was 24 UAH and the English audio guide 60 UAH (highly recommended). To follow the audio guide to its completion through the entire museum took ~2 hours. Second day I more or less followed the self guided walking tour in Lonely Planet. Took half a day and would have been much nicer if it hadn’t been raining.
Accommodation and food Again stayed at Dream Hostel but only one night as I arrived early one day and left late the next night so I had 2 full days to explore the city. It was more expensive (356 UAH with the
Blue Bottle Ambiance
Also serve frosty ones in addition to innumerable coffees. discount code applied, 8 person dorm) than their sister hostel in L’viv, not as nice, and had the added problem of serving as a base camp for bachelor partiers from Germany, England, and the Netherlands. The ubiquitous Puzata Hata has a branch close to the hostel. On the way out of town, Drova, another
stolovaya across from the train station, was a bit better.
Transport I walked all over Kyiv too but it is much bigger and more spread out than L’viv. Can get to the hostel from the train station by both metro (packed and need to transfer) or direct bus, both 8 UAH. For Odesa, I took a sleeper, again in comfy
kupe, departing 21:15, arriving 6:58 for 692 UAH.
Odesa
Really liked Odesa, partly because it had the best weather by far of all the places I visited in Ukraine. Spent 2 full days here and could have easily stayed for a couple more. For the Shutsov Cognac Museum (more of a factory) tour, I initially booked the “Collectors Tour” because it was in English but when a group of 30 boisterous Norwegians showed up, I asked the receptionist if I could come back the next
day because there were so many people. Price was 350 UAH irrespective of the group size and when I came back after the catacombs tour the next day I was the only tourist. There were 4 or 5 shots of high quality, aged cognac included and even though I’m not much of an aficionado, the tour was very good and I learned a lot. The catacombs tour was also good even though I went on a Russian tour for 250 UAH. English tours are available, fixed price 1500 UAH for 1-4 persons so that wasn’t an option for me going solo. Still, it was totally worth it as there are English explanations at all the major locations in the tunnels and you easily get a sense of the history and environment.
Accommodation and food Dream Hostel here was in a small, restored apartment building a few blocks from the center. It was not at all crowded like in the other 2 cities, ran 225 UAH per night in a 4 person dorm that I shared with only one other person. There’s a good kitchen and bar/living room. The cheap Cafe Izyum and several branches of the Bufet Stolovaya chain
near the hostel.
Transport Can walk to the center from the train and bus stations although it is a bit far. For Chişinău, I took a
marshrutka departing 10:20, arriving 14:10 for 350 UAH, including baggage (not always the case in this part of the world). Since the bus station was on the way from the cognac musuem back to the hostel, I actually bought the ticket the day before since this particular trip was one of the fastest and did not pass through Transdniester. There’s a pretty good FOREX booth at the bus station for converting excess UAH into Moldovan leu as well as an uninspiring cafeteria and marginally better café.
Chişinău
See the
previous entry for my Moldova trip report.
Bucharest
For the second time in as many trips to Romania, I did not stay in the capital. At least this trip I did venture out of the train station but only for breakfast in Old Town and a minibus to Ruse, Bulgaria.
Ruse
Nice town, quick stopover to see the Ivanovo churches after the long trip from Moldova.
Ивановски скални църкви Unless I missed something significant, the Rock Hewn Churches of Ivanovo seem to be the
Rock Hewn Church of Ivanovo.
I took the 8:25 train south out of Ruse a short way to Ivanovo (2.10 lev) where I started walking the 5 km from the train station to the churches. After a couple of kms I caught a lift from one of the guides at the site. We ascended the stairs up to the cave church, me carrying my 15 pound backpack and small daypack as there was no luggage storage at the diminutive Ivanovo station.
I paid the 5 lev entry fee at the church, got the gist from the guide, snapped a few pics, then headed to Panorama Rock. The weather wasn't that nice so I did not dawdle there and headed down to the main trail where I thought I'd come across at least one more church along the way. I did pass some caves but they did not look anything like a church. I probably spent ~30 minutes there.
The way back there was not a single vehicle going back to Ivanovo so I had to walk the entire 5 km back to the train station for the 11:49 train to Gorno Orjahovica where I would connect to
a Sofia train ~14:00, total price 18.70 lev. I tried in vain to hitch anywhere south, ideally Veliko Trnovo, as I had over an hour to wait for the train. Thought I had scored a ride until I reflexively said something in Russian. The driver must not have liked Russians as he left me standing there saying through the open window, "No Russians, sorry," as he peeled off. Lesson learned.
Accommodation and food Scored a great last minute deal for La Maison Ruse as I was riding from Bucharest in the minivan. An immaculate twin en suite room for 1 was 31.50 lev, self service espresso in the well stocked kitchen and WiFi included.
Transport Pegasus bus runs a few times a day between Ruse and Bucharest Old Town for 20 lev. To Sofia bus is definitely faster, depart adjacent to the train station, also ~20 lev.
Sofia
Very short stopover on the way to Thessaloniki for my flight to the islands. Seems like it has changed a lot since my last visit 20 years ago when the whole city was being dug up. I think it was the construction of the metro back then when they found
Ancient Serdeka which has been kept in place underground, pretty cool.
Accommodation and food Very brief stay for one night at H2O Hostel close to Serdeka, ~20 minute walk from the train/bus stations. Got there late after the interminable train ride from Ivanovo and left early the next day for Greece. 14.85 lev in a 4 person dorm that I shared with one other. There are probably better places for roughly the same price but it was fine for a night. Took dinner at Miral Foods on the other side of Serdeka where there are many restaurants and bars. A healthy sized plate of felafel, a chicken gyro, and a glass of
ayran ran ~11 lev. For breakfast took a couple of
büreks on the bus.
Transport Arda Tur bus to Thessaloniki departs a few times a day for 41 lev booked online. I took the 10:00, arrived KTEL bus station 14:30, another 15 minutes to the train station much closer to the center. Border crossing was swift and the steward handed out a bottle of water and a packaged croissant while we waited. There was another stop just after Blagoevgrad, useful for a bathroom break.
Thessaloniki
Only stayed
one night this year after 3 last year. Nice city, like it better than Athens but not sure the city itself has that many sights to offer the traveler.
Accommodation and food Opted for the centrally located Stay Hostel, €15 in a clean, quiet 4 person dorm with AC. Nice rooftop for chillaxing. Near the hostel is Stagadis bakery and restaurant, cheap and really good.
Transport Airport bus runs down the main drag every 15-20 minutes for €2, takes 30-40 minutes.
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Vinh
non-member comment
Nice pictures
Jon. Better to post late than never. This looks like a less traveled and reasonable in terms of expenses trip. You look like you are having fun. Vinh