Author: Merrilee

Visiting the Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life was my last adventure before departing Lviv.

It was a bit of a hike on dirt paths through a hilly, landscaped park to get to the open air Museum of Folk Architecture in the outskirts of Lviv. Along the way I ran into a friendly young lady named Natalia who was walking her dog. She confirmed, upon my inquiry, that I was going in the right direction and then offered to accompany me.

Natalia, a native of Lviv, studied English in her early school years, then stopped. We still managed to communicate in English quite well. Her job is an insurance sales agent. Her passion is landscape architecture, which she does for a hobby. Twenty minutes later we arrived at the open-air museum. Our brief, friendly encounter was heart-warming.

One aim of the Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life is showing rural life in all its forms from villages in western Ukraine. A highlight of the outdoor museum was the unusual architecture of several well-preserved wooden churches including their fine ecclesiastical interiors. One church was a part of the UNESCO World Heritage List of wooden Orthodox (and some Eastern Catholic) churches of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine which were built between 16^th and 19^th centuries.

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Following are a few photos in memory of my experience in Lviv, a multicultural city that exudes European Charm and UNESCO history. 

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Lviv is often referred to as the coffee capital of Ukraine. Three centuries of European influence in the city have left a stamp in the Old Town in the form of unique, atmospheric cafes, with coffee dominating the scene.

Because I was staying in Old Town, I enjoyed visiting many of them frequently. In Rynok Square (Market Square) the street level of historic tenement houses, which are protected by UNESCO, are occupied mostly by commercial establishments – but what delightful commercial establishments some of them are!

The coffee complex

Lvivska Kopalnya Kava, for example, is a popular coffee complex in Rynok Square. It consists of a coffee-themed souvenir shop, a section where you can purchase recently mined and milled beans, plus two cafes. One cafe was a charming, light-filled, covered courtyard located deep inside the complex behind the shop. On weekend nights live music packed the place. I first discovered the inviting courtyard cafe when I was looking for the Lviv Ethnographic Museum. I finally found the stairway access to he museum in the back of the shop next to the cafe. The displays of traditional dress and way of life in the Lviv area was interesting and well done. I found the diversity of this complex intriguing, considering coffee was at its core.

The gingerbread shop

The young staff at the Lvivska Maysternya Pryanykiv (gingerbread shop) got used to me dropping by daily for a couple of their freshly-baked gingerbread cookies. One day as I entered the back of the shop where the cafe was, I noticed two staff persons behind the counter focusing intently on some writing material. They said they were learning French in order to better serve their customers. Another time when I came in, a staff person was patiently teaching children from the community, at a table full of colorful frosting, how to decorate cookies, while their Mothers looked on. I loved dropping in frequently, not necessarily for the delicious cookies, but more because there was always something interesting going on there.

Atlas Cafe

One evening was girl’s night out for myself and my four roommates from my hostel. Our place of choice was the historic, candle-lit Atlas Cafe which was tucked in a corner of Rynok Square. Its dark, carved wood interior with high hand-painted ceilings, brass chandeliers, and oil paintings on the walls, all added drama and mystique to the place. It was the favorite gathering place of bohemians before WWII*.   The interior was badly damaged during the war and is now completely restored.

“Honey” restaurant/cafe

“Honey” (translated), was a delightful, little cafe/restaurant on one of Old Town’s cobblestone streets near Rynok Square. On weekend evenings Dennis, a Ukrainian guitar player, could be found perched on a stool in front of a widow of the cafe while singing romantic ballads in English, French, and Ukrainian.  He never used any sheet music.  His music, the charming staff, and traditional desserts offered by the cafe, always combined to make a delightful evening for me.  Once I expressed my appreciation to Dennis for his multilingual talents.  He commented that he will not sing any songs in Russian as it is not popular to do so at this time, due to the current political situation between Ukraine and Russia.  

The strudel shop

Whenever I wanted an inviting place to work on my blog, I often visited Lvivska Plyatsky, a cafe in Rynok Square that sells fresh hot apple strudel with several choices of sauces. On arrival I would order some tea and apple strudel at the counter, find a cozy table, open up my computer, and make myself at home. Inspiration flowed, as long as I wasn’t too distracted by the beautiful people around me.

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*Atlas Cafe is included in “Jewish Lviv: 100 Addresses”  https://lia.lvivcenter.org/en/storymaps/100-addresses/

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Visiting some of the numerous street markets in Lviv was a joy and a challenge at the same time. They were colorful, fun, insightful into the local culture, and continually challenged my language skills.

I often walked through the Vernissage Market because it was conveniently located between my hostel and the Opera House, which I frequently enjoyed. Since Ukrainian independence in 1991, the market, often referred to as the “Souvenir Market,” has occupied the area where a building once stood. The building had been bombed during WWII and never replaced.

Vernissage Market offers an assortment of handcrafts and local works of art, among other things. Paintings were displayed under barren trees with a church looming overhead. An assortment of items for sale were spread out at various places on the ground and on tables. Linens and garments for sale were hanging from long ropes. I resisted buying a nice piece of brass ware due to its weight. I would have had to carry it in my backpack, which is already too heavy, until I return home in a few weeks.

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One day Taras, the local young man whom I introduced in a recent Lviv posting, invited me to go with him to the Krakivsky Market in the old Jewish Quarter. The famous market occupies the site of the old Jewish cemetery which had been there for centuries, and was subsequently destroyed by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The market is located next to the dome-topped, former Jewish Hospital which was built in the 17^th century and is now a maternity hospital.

At one of the market entrances I paused in contemplation, aware of the tragedy that befell the once hallowed ground of the Jews which I was about to walk upon. I then descended into the depths of the huge marketplace.

Some foodstuff and clothing were being sold on open tables and benches. Others were being sold in more up-scale enclosed glass stalls and buildings. At one point we came across a most welcome open area in the middle of the marketplace, where we were able to simply stop and take a breather. Exploring the labyrinth of the marketplace was an adventure, but I was grateful to have a friend with me who knew his way around.

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One morning shortly after my arrival in Lviv, I joined a *Free Walking Tour of Old Town” at the Neptune statue in Rynok. It was a cold, blistery day. Our tour guide Nicole suggested we stop mid-way through our tour for a coffee to warm up. The cozy coffee house she introduced us to had been a Jewish shop before the war. At the entrance the post-war plaster had been removed, revealing pre-war inscriptions in Yiddish, Polish and German.

That afternoon I visited the museum at the Hesed-Arieh Jewish Center, the All-Ukrainian Jewish Charitable Foundation. There I found a map called “Jewish Lviv: 100 Addresses”**. This tourist map identifies 100  buildings and sites related to old Jewish Lviv. It provided some historic background about the cafe my tour group had stopped at earlier that day. The map became an important source of Jewish information for me during my  Lviv visit.

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The Golden Rose Synagogue is a UNESCO World Heritage site incorporated into UNESCO Lviv – the Ensemble of the Historic Center. All that was left standing following its destruction by the Nazis in 1941 was a couple of walls and the foundation. On this foundation is a holocaust memorial consisting of a series of stone plaques.

On one of the plaques it read: “It’s a beautiful city, but also a graveyard for 150,000 Jews.”  It was written by Eli Brauner.  His ancestors built the Golden Rose Synagogue in 1582.

Since the end of the 18^th century until 1939, Jews were about a third of Lviv population.  In 1939 Lviv’s population was 340,000 of whom 110,000 were Jews. Today there are about 1200 Jews out of a population of over 700,000***.

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Baczewski Restaurant which is just off Rynok Square, is the place to go in Lviv for a well-priced, first class breakfast buffet in a leafy courtyard, while being entertained by a classical pianist.

The restaurant and adjacent shop which sells fine spirits, celebrate the history of the wealthy Jewish  Baczewski family. Their family business of fine spirits has been in Lviv since 1782. The Baczewski factory was the first factory to launch the mass production of vodka in the world. The family escaped to Austria in 1939. The huge distillery in Lviv was destroyed during WWII. Production resumed in Lviv a few years ago.

I was told to arrive for brunch at 8am to beat the crowd.  The patrons at that hour appeared to be mostly tourists. A group of friendly, young American Jehovah Witnesses sat near me. 

As I left the restaurant one morning, the pianist was playing the Viennese Waltz. Baczewski Restaurant is a slice of European flavor in the middle of Lviv’s multi-cultural Old Town. What a treat!

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* Free Walking Tour – www.lvivbuddy.com

** Jewish Lviv: 100 Addresses – https://lia.lvivcenter.org/en/storymaps/100-addresses/

*** www.history.ucsb.edu/projects/holocaust/Resources/history_of_lviv.htm

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Lviv’s historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I stayed right in the heart of it, just off Plohcha Rynok (Market Square). Rynok Square is dominated by City Hall in the middle. The east side is lined with palace museums, one of which was owned by a Polish king. Fountains with Greek mythological figures dot the square. Historic, tenement houses which are occupied on street level with shops, restaurants, cafes and pubs, line the square. Many have underground cellar pubs.

Lviv is a little slice of Europe, more so than the former Soviet capital of Kiev. This is due, in part, to its far western location within Ukraine in Galicia, a historical and geographic region between Central and Eastern Europe.

Lviv is a magical city with a turbulent history, especially during the 20^th century. By all appearances it is recovering well. Live music of various genres greeted me at every turn, whether it was simply by walking around as a tourist, dining day or night, or by searching for it.

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Rynok Square is always alive with music. One afternoon as I was passing through the square, a young guitar player was performing pop songs in front of one of the palace museums on the east side. Under the clock tower of City Hall, a lively brass band had their audience swaying to their music.  Two men on a sidewalk were playing traditional tunes and were dressed accordingly.  A Hare Kirsna religious group was just coming into the square from a side street, in song.

Each day at the top of the hour, quite regularly, a trumpet player opened a door from a third-story window near the clock tower of City Hall, extended his trumpet out of the window, played a brief tune, waived to the crowd below, then quickly disappeared behind a wooden shutter. If I heard it, I quickly proceeded to the window where he was playing to see if I could get a glimpse of the elusive player. I saw him only twice. This game of cat and mouse is apparently played regularly by many tourists.

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I expected to find beautiful organ music in a church in Lviv, but instead found it at the Organ Hall and at the National Museum of Religion. Due to centuries of European influence in Lviv, a large percentage of churches are Greek Catholic churches, and they traditionally don’t use organs.

I was introduced to Taras, a charming young man from Lviv, by a friend in the States. Taras was hired last year to develop a former Polish Catholic church into a concert hall. Many organs that were in churches around Ukraine were destroyed during communist times, but this one was saved. As a guest of Taras, who was the organizer, I attended a beautiful classical concert with organ, piano and a tenor singer, in this venue. The setting was exquisite.

I heard another lovey organ recital on a restored 17^th century organ at the Museum of Religious History. It had been acquired from the neighboring Dominican Cathedral. After the concert Mr. Pivnov, the performer, proudly showed me some of the details of the treasured organ which he had restored himself.

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Before closing the chapter of my blog on Kiev, I want to say a few remarks about The Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Holodomor (Great Famine) 1932-1933.

The Lavra and the Holodomor Victims Memorial and are located near each other on the Pechersk Hills on the right bank of the Dnieper River in Kiev. I took a Metro ride from downtown one afternoon and walked about a mile to reach these sites. It was an afternoon of discovery.

Kyevo-Pecherska Lavra, or just “the Lavra” is a monastery with a 1000 year history. It has been an important center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe since its foundation in 1051. The monastery became Kievan Rus’ intellectual center. Once inside the monastery, strolling among the cluster of gold-domed churches and courtyards lead me to several interesting museums. One of them displayed a hoard of Scythian gold (7-3 centuries BC), another an outstanding collection of traditional dress from around the country.

The Holodomor (Great Famine) which took place in 1932-1933, was a genocide against the Ukrainian people. It was an artificially introduced food shortage created under Stalin in which millions of Ukrainians died of starvation.

The Holodomor Victims Memorial sits high on a bluff overlooking the Dnieper River. I visited Black Board Alley in the museum underneath the memorial. Here the names of 14 thousand villages and towns in Ukraine which were affected by the famine are listed. This display has become one of the most striking symbols of the Holodomor.

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Following are a few photos in memory of my experience in Kiev – a fascinating city where east meets, and often collides with, west.

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I am off on a seven hour train ride to the historic town of Lviv in the western part of Ukraine. Fortunately it was easy to buy my ticket online. Finding my way around the train station in Kiev was a challenge without speaking Russian or Ukrainian. I am grateful for the assistance given to me getting around the station on my departure by a delightful Ukrainian Mother and daughter whom I met there.

I have experienced wonderful hospitality from warm and friendly Ukrainian people since my arrival.

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ZOLOTI VOROTA (GOLDEN GATES)

There is a popular, small, leafy park next to a pedestrian walkway at the foot of the Zoloti Vorota (Golden Gates) in Old Town. On spring-like days it was enjoyable to sit there and do some people watching. The tourists visiting the Golden Gates and professionals walking briskly around were an interesting mix of people.It was especially entertaining when a street flower market was set up nearby which attracted more locals.

Zoloti Vorota (Golden Gates) was the main gate in the 11^th century fortifications of Kyiv, the capitol of Keivan Rus. It was completely demolished in the Middle Ages and rebuilt by the Soviet authorities in 1982. The other two city gates, Ladski and Shydivski (Polish and Jewish) have not survived.

One day near the Golden Gate I noticed an inviting restaurant sign on the street next to an open door with a photo of a Ukrainian band. I descended a steep, relatively-dark, narrow staircase and found a lovely underground restaurant. It was decorated with fine, colorful weavings and hand-carved wooden furniture. The local business crowd packed the place. I couldn’t say no when a gracious hostess in traditional dress directed me to a table. The Ukranian red borscht soup with homemade bread was superb. The music? I would have to come back some evening for that, she said.

A PERFORMANCE AT THE OPERA HOUSE

I had heard that opera and ballet performances at theTaras Shevchenko National Opera Theatre were lavish productions, well priced, and shouldn’t be missed. The grand theatre was built in 1901.

I attended both a ballet and an opera, purchasing tickets at different prices in order to experience balcony as well as orchestra seating. US$10 bought me a good orchestra seat. The evening I attended the wonderful Swan Lake Ballet, I was entertained beforehand by young twins in the balcony where I was sitting. They were having a fun time trying to get a good photo of their Mother with her Smart Phone. The acoustics in the theatre were superb.

A LOCAL FLEA MARKET

Searching for local markets is one of my favorite things to do when traveling. I just happened to be in Kiev the weekend the huge monthly Kurazh Bazar, a flea market on Kiev’s left bank, was taking place.

Over 400 vendors sold new and used clothing, antiques and various trinkets. People were rummaging through piles of clothing with seemingly great patience. The street food was plentiful, but too deep fried for my taste. The farmer’s market was extensive. Upon inquiry,I was told many kinds of oranges they were selling came from Greece. I bought a kilo of juicy oranges and enjoyed eating them while listening to some good street music.

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