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Published: October 22nd 2006
In terms of Ukrainian distances, we are very nearly in Kiev (the Ukrainians like us to spell it Kiyiv, but I'll stick to the more familiar version) - in a relatively nomal city called Zhytomir about 140 km west of Kiev.
The few days in Lviv were spent mostly wandering around the compact city centre. We did visit the Lviv City Museum but all the exhibits, though very interesting, had explanations in Ukrainian so we were able to understand very little. Our evening entertainments consisted of going to see a ballet and a concert of music by Lithuanian composers, the latter of which was grossly underattended, even though the orchestra was of a much better standard. Both turned out to be very enjoyable. The ballet took place in the Lviv Opera House, a very grand building with frescoed ceilings, golden staircases and elaborately crafted balconies. It appears that theatre audiences in Ukraine like to talk and use their mobile phones during performances.
Apart from the cultural aspects, there doesn't seem to be much nightlife in Lviv - we discovered a local pizza restaurant chain and ate there three times during our stay as there didn't seem to be much else on offer. I have to admit that not being able to understand a menu accurately makes pizza the meal of choice quite a lot of the time now! We have now learnt very well the names of the main pizza toppings we like. Additionally, we have eaten a lot of beetroot soup (borshch) which is an awful lot nicer than it sounds.
After leaving Lviv and the "Hotel George" with its caviar breakfasts, we planned a route as direct a possible towards Kiev. We had initally wanted to avoid main roads with lots of honking trucks. We are treated as second-class citizens by all other road users and they expect us to move out of the way when they come along. This explains why many cyclists use the wrong side of the road - at first we didn't understand why, but now it seems so that they can dodge onto the verge when a large vehicle comes along. As we pushed off from lunch one day, Simon made the mistake of remarking that we should make a lot of progress that day, however we then hit 20km of badly cobbled surfaces and had to painfully bump along. My bike was so noisy on these that it scared a cow that was being led along the lane, and it ran away from the farmer into some bushes. So, after this experience, we have tried to stick to main roads and just dodge the trucks (a lot of which wouldn't look out of place if Noddy drove them).
We camped that night in a quiet field just off the road as it was getting dark and cold. Actually, it was getting very cold; we woke up from our tent the next morning to find our bikes encrusted in a substantial layer of frost and the previous night's washing-up frozen in the pan (this actually made things easier as we could simply knock the stuff off to clean it). The cobbles had really dealt a beating to our bikes and we discovered that the other half of Simon's front rack had broken and Lou's rear rack had come loose, leaving half a screw stuck in the frame. So after about a hour's worth of repairs, both racks are now holding up with hosepipe clips and gaffer tape.
We have since wound our way across the countryside, the going good as the roads are flat and straight. We even treated ourselves to a few nights in cheap hotels, although one of these was too nasty and left us both traumatised. It has been interesting to see normal Ukrainian life in places tourists don't usually visit. We have got used to being stared at wherever we go, shop-women totting up our purchases using an abacus, and dark dirty cafes. What is more difficult is not having the usual access to shops and services. Markets are the best bet in most cases, they sell everything from car parts to fish to cheese-graters. Simon decided he needed a jumper to keep him cosy on frosty evenings, and this was impossible - there were plenty of jumpers to be had but all with truly appalling designs on them (one shopkeeper tried to sell him one on the basis that it matched his beard). The one he ended up with still has a whiff of the golfing dad about it, but is a real improvement on most. It is surprising that even in the most uninspiring towns, there is always
one cafe or restaurant that is miles above the standard of everything else on offer - it's just a question of finding it without spending an hour poking your head into dingy bars first. Also, watch out for the village nutter.
We should be in Kiev in a few days and will write more from there. We are currently deciding where to go and what to do next. Watch this space...
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Popavich
non-member comment
The Yewkrane...
...sounds like Skewen in the 1950s!