UKRAINE – Pretend Normality
Had to be up at 4:30 to drive myself to the Pržemysl train station and try to beat the immigration line so as not to miss my train. Because of the war and much expatriation/repatriation, you are required to go through meticulous security, much like at an airport. I had been told that many people end up missing their train. I did not miss mine.
The fast-moving train took two hours to reach Ukraine’s largest eastern town, L’viv. Immediately I noticed that 95% of all passengers were women. When the military police asked my age in Ukrainian, I did not understand his question. The lady sitting next to me explained that the police thought I was a local and wanted to know why I wasn’t in the service. If I looked that young, I certainly took that as a compliment. So, that explained why there were only women and foreign men aboard. All the while the numerous tv screens in the train car were explaining evacuation procedures in the event of an attack. Welcome to Ukraine.
I came to L’viv believing that this area was free from any Russian incursions, but the same woman sitting next to me said that while the area is considerably safer than places in the south or west of the country, it has been attacked already numerous times, then proceeded to show me videos she had taken in L’viv of blown-up buildings near her residence. Other people I spoke to during my stay also had similar videos they were eager to share with a foreigner.
It is all very sad. This war has been going on way too long and it has disrupted life in this potentially vibrant country in so many ways. Families have been broken apart. The men are serving in the Armed Forces, and many of the women had to take up residence abroad to eke out a living, returning as often as possible to meet their loved ones from other parts of the country in the relative safety of this city. I’ve been told that the population of L’viv has doubled since the start of the war and now has reached one million. Here is also a large military hospital where the wounded are being treated. The image of the soldier who lost his left leg greeted me upon arrival.
Well, I believe I’ve seen pretty much everything there is to see in town from a tourist’s point of view. The difference with the other former soviet block countries is palpable and real; since the war there is no money for any sort of urban improvements. Buildings look much more decadent compared to their wealthier neighbors; infrastructure needs help.
But the city has a heart, and there are lovely parks, churches, buildings and squares. Too bad the weather was not the best it could have been. The temperature hovered between the high 40s and the low 50s, and a slow, on-again, off-again rain persisted, until late evening when it opened up and really began to pour.
I will be posting one more time from this trip, hopefully sooner than later, but this blog takes a long time to put together and this trip, although very enjoyable and interesting has also been very tiring; at day’s end, I often just don’t have the energy to tackle it. So, it would please me to no end if you’d leave a short comment either here or on the fb page. Knowing that someone is interested in reading these blog pages would at least make it worth it. Thank you.
Alberto, thank you for posting from Ukraine. Too often we in the US don't realize the horror of living in a war zone. If we can't do anything else, at least we can keep them in our thoughts. Stay safe.