Ukraine 2

We are just back to Kiev from the western part of the country. Sergey is the AWANA missionary for this area. He drove us with Viktor and his daughter, Vika, to Lvov. We stopped overnight near Rivne. Going in this direction we saw many farms and forests. The land became more hilly and they told us the mountains were just beyond Lvov.
The weather was warm and comfortable but we did have rain one night. We spent two nights in Lvov at a hotel resort in the woods. Each day we went into Lvov to sight see. The old city is very much like other European cities including Prague. Huge older buildings line the streets. Cobblestones with trolley tracks make driving a very bumpy ride. We took a sightseeing train around the city. It came with English headphones. That really helped us get a sense of the history of the town.

On the way to Lvov we saw an old castle on the hill. We drove through farms to reach the castle. It is being repaired and was not open. We could walk all around it and take pictures of the building and its moat. There was also an old Catholic church across the road from the castle.

Lvov is near Poland and Catholicism is more prevalent than Orthodox. Protestant churches are not found very often in Ukraine. The train station is very ornate.

We found that Friday and Saturday are popular days to get married. The civil ceremony is in a special hall. Then the wedding party goes to the local main square for pictures. This couple were in front of the Opera House and fountain.

We visited two important tourist destinations the second day. We went to a huge cemetery at least 400 years old. It is also designated as an historic place. Many poets, scientists and other important Ukrainians are buried here. The monuments were varied and interesting. The second site was the hill with the TV tower on it. From there we could see all the sides of Lvov. Marlys doesn'tlike heights but the climbing was on metal stairs which were close to the side of the hillside and in the woods, not overlooking any precipices. The view was great.

On the way back to Kiev we stopped at a large Orthodox monastery.
It had at least 4 churches. Vika and I had to rent wrap around skirts and head scarves in order to go into the grounds and churches.

The insides were very ornate with much gold and many paintings. I enjoyed the paintings which have been recently finished in the halls going down to the cave tombs of the monks. The paintings told the story of Jesus life, death and resurrection very well.

Today we went into Kiev to sight see again. We visited the Chernobyle Museum commemorating the disaster which occurred there in 1986.
Then we walked up the hill to St. Andrew's Orthodox church.
It is time for dinner now. See you later.