Trip to Western Ukraine

When you land at Lviv airport - the city which calls itself the capital or gateway to Western Ukraine - you really feel the difference from the fast-paced, more Russified Kyiv. People seem more courteous, the pace is far slower, every street and building in the central district seems to be a historical site. Many of the cobble stone streets are pedestrian only and there is hardly the grinding traffic of Kyiv.

And the the kavarnias - or coffee houses! They are everywhere and maintain the European tradition of lazy coffee sessions, spent pouring over newspapers, books or just good old fashioned gossip!

For me, the greatest pleasure - by far - is visiting with relatives, no matter how remotely related! This time I met a new set of relatives connected to my mother's side. They picked me up, took me to their large house on the outskirts in Lviv, and proceeded to feed me home-made borscht, varennyky and of course vodka/cognac shots! This was repeated again a few hours later in the "selo" (village) where we had another full mean, plus copious more shots. Trips to the lavatory meant spiriting across a mud field to an outhouse. Love it!

Another striking thing about visiting Western Ukraine these days? The massive plummet in support for Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and his gang! Don't forget that this was his prime base of support - people I met here travelled hours to get to Kyiv during the Orange Revolution - to spend days and days there protesting, supporting! Now many say they regret doing so, expressing disenchantment at the President not delivering on his many, early promises; in fact many say he has become friends with greedy oligarchs and has delivered very little. It's a sad state of affairs indeed! Now Ukrainians do tend to complain A LOT - but even discounting that genetic characteristic one is blown away from the wave of criticism!

Lviv night life has received a shot in the arm in recent years with the opening of new venues. One of the most talked about is Kryivka (www.kryjivka.com.ua) - it's a sort of underground bar where entrance is gained by the password "Slava Ukraini!" Then one is offered a stiff shot before a hidden door is opened to allow passage down some stairs and a large, 3-room bar/restaurant offering some of the best beer and traditional Ukrainian food (i.e. varennyky, kapusniak, onion and potato pancakes). Ukrainian patriotic hymns blare from the speakers and you can even pose for photographs with ancient firearms!

On the classier side is Restaurant Kupol - in a charming old building at the end of Chaigovskoho Street. I had the solyanka soup and cabbage rolls and ended up with change from a 50 hryvna note (usually the amount of a tip from a good meal in Kyiv)!

Lviv Airport is still an entity onto itself! Like most airports in the former Soviet Union you can still spot the carcasses of unused Soviet-era passenger aircraft off the tarmac. Often times it is a guessing game where the boarding process will take place before a departing flight! But at least most announcements are now bilingual!