Sunday 25th September 2016
We arrive in Lviv bleary-eyed after losing two hours sleep at the border.
Lviv’s station is a grand example of Art Nouveau architecture. It’s utterly different to the station in Krakow we had left twelve hours ago. No international coffee chains, no shopping centres, none of that.
Even at this early hour the station is a hustle and a bustle and we feel a long way from home.
So it’s 6am and our Air BnB isn’t ready until 11am. Unsure of what to do, we make our way over to the interesting looking ‘Express Bistro’, a building uncannily similar to something out of 60s cartoon show The Jetsons.
I try out some of my terrible Ukrainian and much to my surprise return to our table with coffee and cake, success!
The coffee is tasty, and the cake gives us a nice sugar boost. At 7am we finish up and hop on a bus into town. We spend the next few hours visiting cafes, drinking more coffee and devouring some delicious breakfast.
At 11am we meet our Air BnB host who leads us to her flat 10 minutes from the old town.
Take a look at that photo, £22 a night! Wow. We were very happy boys.
We settle into our wonderful flat, freshen up and head back up to Rynok (‘Market’) Square in the centre of the old town.
We went to the Pravda Theatre bar for a couple of beers.
We went to the Bağçasaray cafe for tasty Crimean Tatar cuisine.
And excellent coffee.
After our meal we wander about the old town. Herbert was still a little peckish so we pop into a bar with chips on the menu.
It was only after ordering and taking our seat we realise we are in an English pub theme bar!
Henley’s is not the place I would usually chose, though I give them credit for getting the decor right.
Tired after a busy day we head back to our flat.