The last day I was in Lviv there was a cold fog around the city. A bit of drizzle seem to make air better. I took a final walk and found nearby park, university, and the cafeteria-type Ukraine restaurant that I had been seeking. Travel tip in Lviv, when facing the Opera building, veer left, not right. Give up on city maps. ... read more

I took the bus to Przemsyl (pronouced 'shamish'), which is 10 kms from Ukraine border. Then I took bus to cross into Ukraine and come to Lviv (Polish pronouce it 'leVolf') It was an adventure, the bus ride and three hour wait at the border. When we got to Lviv the bus station was in the suburbs. Luckily there was a minibus that takes people into the city, 7 kms of busy traffic. Lviv is suppose to be the new Prague. I've not been there, but have seen enough views in hollywood movies. Lviv did not have the wow factor that Krakow had for me. Today was sunny, so I took lots of photos. Judge for yourself. Tomorrow I'm off to find the lion statue; 'Lviv' means lion castle. Also, I've got to find the nearby ... read more

I've been moving from south Poland to Slovakia to Lviv,Ukraine(here now). I haven't had access to computer long enough to upload photos,so will try to catch up tonight. Tricky using Ukrainian computers in Internet cafe, but someone in hostel had faster computer so I could download pics from camera to flashdrive. I'll describe places from last four days. One of the neat things about Europe is that you can cross most borders easily and enter a new country for the afternoon. Friends from Gorlice took me for a drive into Slovakia on Saturday afternoon. We went to Bardejov (not on this website). I'm uploading photos blind, (can't see them when I choose photos so if things are not jiving, gowith the flow). I was surprised that the main square in Bardejov was empty for a ... read more

No photos tonight, camera is back at hostel flled with young Australians standing in line to book next leg of their journey, Prague or Berlin. UPDATED NOW Once I secured my clothes in the washing machine I returned to city centre. This is a lively city. Warsaw is the working person's city, and Krackow is the student/touist/happy person's town. The constrasts are stark, beginning with the railway station. Warsaw's station was built during Communist era, and has mono-coloured (black) walls around its platforms, and a maze of round halls above which disorientate any newcomers. Krackow's station is below a lively shopping mall (get it? capitalist icon) with canned pop music, cheerful young consumers and every chain of shop imaginable. The atmosphere of Krakow is light, and it is a walking town. My hostel, Mosquito H, is ... read more

I caught the train to Warsaw this morning after saying goodbye to Servas host family. They carried on to church, and I with assistance from their capable daughter got on the train. I had no idea where I was going to stay tonight, but I figured the 6 hour journey (longer on Sundays) would give me time to read about hostels. When I arrived in Warsaw, I hit that wall travelers sometimes get. Blame it on this chest cold that I thought was a little bit of asthma acting up with the stress of travel, or blame it on 'Sunday' when the tourist bureau at the Warsaw city central train station closes early and nobody in the station, police, bookstore lady, knows if or where it exists. Light was fading, shady characters seem to lurk about ... read more