LOVE L'VIV!

Dobre Ootra (good morning),

I'm at an internet cafe in L'viv, Ukraine and I can't tell you how much I love this romantic city.  But I have to admit, it's embarassing that I blew it -- before I left the U.S., one of my final tasks was to make a list of key words that I should write down both phonetically and in the Ukranian alphabet ahead of time.  HAD I DONE that, here's what I wish I knew how to say besides the few basic words that I do know (hello, OK, yes, no and thank you):

- Capuccino please

- One more capuccino, please

- Thank you very much

- That building is so beautiful

- That building also is so beautiful

- All of these buildings are incredibly beautiful

- Can you please divide that by 8? 

- (or) Can I borrow your calculator?

The currency has to be divided by 8 to get to a U.S. dollar equivalent, but it almost doesn't matter because my bus or tram ride costs 7 cents, my capuccino costs 75 cents, any lunch or dinner entree is about 3 dollars (therefore I always order two desserts) and souvenirs are about 4 to 10 dollars max. 

My parents and I took for granted we could get by (like in other European countries) with college students, waitresses, and hotel clerks that speak very good English but that was really selfish and naive of us.  Also my dad can speak a little Russian, and all Ukranians speak Russian, too, but it's just not the same language as Ukranian.  

We really lucked out that our front desk clerk speaks probably the best English in the entire city, and she is really welcoming of tourist questions and friendly conversation, so my mom chats with her about an hour or two a day.  As a trade off for being very close to all the sights in the old part of the city, however, our hot water has been off (unexpectedly, the hotel didn't know about it ahead of time) and only comes on for a half-hour each day -- IF that -- so we have to do this fire drill of lining up near the bathtub with clothes and soap in hand, on standby!  

We are off to Poland tomorrow and similarly didn't learn a word of Polish but I do have a Polish common words cheat-sheet printed out.

Here's some photo highlights of the trip so far.

The doors (and the architecture in general) in L'viv are very ornate combinations of iron, wood and stone.

We can't bring ourselves to buy any of the very fragile Pysanky (designed eggs), but they are absolutely incredible and also inexpensive here.

 The 4 statues on each corner of the main plaza are all garbed in Ukraine's football jerseys.

 Mary Poppins crossing!  : ) - a sign for the WC

 The below building is the Museum of History

 The main plaza, decked with outdoor cafe seating

 One of several major churches around the main plaza

My mom and I were cracking up at some of the literal translations on one menu but we really appreciate that they translated it.  This cafe had "Beer for the Ladies" on the menu where you could add cherry, apple, and other fruit syrups to the beer. I, personally, just loved the town's own beer, Lvivske, and wish they would export it!

My mom was fascinated by the many different groups of musicians playing Classical music or Folk music in front of different restaurants.

 The buildings get really pretty when the sun touches certain parts at dusk.

On the main pedestrian part of the city, all the benches are taken by old men playing intense chess, and there's usually a small crowd of old men hovering, watching what happens next.

A little girl in a Ukranian folk dress (they're usually red) and bucket hat to match : )

This is us at Viktoria Cafe last night, a place known for its streudel and desserts.  It was the ONE restaurant recommended to me ahead of time and it just happens to be across the street from where we're staying. I was the only one who ordered dinner. Mom had finished two pastries and Dad had a tart and a slab of cheesecake by the time we took this photo.