"Lviv" in my Heart Forever

Impressions
Look no further. The best kept secret of Eastern Europe is about to be shared... Lviv! This city is so incredibly charming - they say it's like Prague long before the tourists came. The architecture is amazing with sculptures of dragons, geese, goddesses, gargoyles, and other fantastic images adorning the sides of buildings. I presented a "How to Teach Business Communication" seminar over 5 days to a group of teachers from the Commercial Academy - kind of like a Business University - and they said that you have to be sure to 'look up' when walking around Lviv, or you'll miss the details. We didn't have to be told, and had a blast spending the whole free weekend wandering the cobblestone streets.

We poked around many of the Euro (think Vienna or Rome) -style coffee shops with magnificent cappuccinos, ate in great restaurants, made a pilgrimage to the historical cemetery, climbed "castle hill" which really has incredible 360-degree views of the city (not much castle), and hung out in some great beer dives - note the picture of the knight we ran into in one of them. From the castle photo, you'll be able to see the Soviet-style "block" apartment buildings in the background. However, the center is relatively untouched by this influence. The Russians didn't make it to Western Ukraine until the 1940's, so many of the original buildings and statues are intact. Also, Lviv just celebrated its 750th anniversary, so the city got a mini-facelift I'm told. Prices too are WAY lower than Kyiv. In addition, being in Western Ukraine, almost everyone speaks.... Ukrainian! Finally, Joe and I got to use a bit of the language and have people understand and respond appropriately! They seem to just be overall more influenced by Western Europe than by Russia - they are not far from Poland. Many of the graves at the cemetery are written in Polish as it was once part of Poland.

H2O
The day after we arrived was somewhat memorable... To get to Lviv from Kyiv, you can take a "fast train" which leaves at 5pm and arrives at 11:30pm (Check out the cool retro outfits!) A driver met us which was really nice as we were quite pooped and took us to the university dormitory where we were slated to stay. Well, the downside of Lviv, let it be told... is water. Many homes/businesses don't have hot water. And, if you don't have a tank, running water is only available from 6-9 in the morning and from 6-9 at night... Needless to say, good old running water was a problem in the dorm, and we were hard-pressed to find the heating system. So, the next morning the school arranged for us to rent a flat from one of the teachers' friends. It was right in the heart of the old town center near the opera house... in a building with a courtyard very reminiscient of Italy - hanging laundry included. That worked out well and served as a great base for our exploring.

It was possible to walk to the school in about 15 minutes from this flat, so we could spend mornings in the "hood" then I could 'walk to work'. The forecast had said that rain was expected for our entire stay... but we beat the odds and had no rain at all, mild temperatures, and two positively "sunny" days!

Our last experience with water was while we were in a McDonald's. As I said before, it's only to get a cup of quick strong coffee, bottled water, or clean bathroom. :) Well, we were in a corner table drinking our brew when a Catholic Priest walked in with his "assistant". The restaurant staff proceeded to come out from behind the counter to stand in front of these "customers." Well it turns out they weren't customers at all but had come to "bless" the new McDonald's. For about 10 minutes the Priest and "assistant" alternated between reading from the bible? and chanting in a low sing-song voice. Then, of course, the water came and he dipped his 'water-thrower brush thing' into holy water (I'm assuming it was holy) and walked around the restaurant flicking water in all directions. Luckily, I had talked Joe into not escaping during the ritual so that we too got slightly sprinkled with water. Not a bad thing to happen a day before my birthday!

Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?
The first day of the seminar (Friday) I don't think the participants knew what to expect. I later found out that most of their previous "seminars" had been listening to presenters and taking notes. Well, after the initial mumbling while moving desks around into semi-circles, they all seemed to warm up. We took a break mid-way through, and the woman who was running the event took me into a private dining room only big enough for one small table. It seemed to have a back door to the canteen kitchen through which another woman (the cook?) came in and out of.

Our first course was coleslaw - delicious as they really do have all the cabbage dishes down pat here. Second course was soup - with chicken maybe - good stuff. Well the third course... was fried potatoes (they make some mean french fries here - very crispy) and some kind of giant mushroom with cheesy garlic sauce on top. I guess I figured it had to be a mushroom - kind of like the portobello kind - because if was round, big, and flat, and had a spongy texture... quite tasty really. I had made the decision to break down and eat this delicacy because I figured we were far enough away from any radiation for it to be OK. But the more I ate, the more I wondered, and finally I asked, "What kind of mushroom is this - it's really good?" A pause... a confused look from my hostess. I looked at the mushroom again and was convinced that my question was legitimate after noticing some organic "fuzz" on the surface of it. I repeated, "What is this... some kind of mushroom?" And she said - "No. It is tongue." I thought fast trying to cover my shock, "Cow or pig?"

Takin' Care of Business
Well, the seminar was a success - all the participants were very gracious at the end of the course and presented me with some nice souvenirs of Lviv: Flowers, a set of a salt and pepper shakers, some nice cards, and a t-shirt that said, "Lviv in my Heart Forever".