Once more I headed out to the west. This time on an intercity train which only takes about 5hours to get to Lviv. Much more convenient than the hot night trains. Plenty of space space, air-conditioned and clean bathrooms. Pretty much the opposite of a soviet night train.
Together with a friend I made my way to this city in the west. My second time in Lviv after my last visit in February 2013. Just after our late arrival at the station and the nightly tram ride down to the historical centre I had to discover that there is a huge difference between winter and summer time in Lviv. So much greener and so many more people on the street. Like in european cities there are restaurants and bars on the squares as well as along the old town streets. Free concert on the market square and so on.
So we headed to our place to check in and get ready for what you should do in Lviv – to eat. At least that what my friend told me. Last time nobody told but at least I figured out that this place is a place with Kaffeehaus culture. Beside that they have great places with themes like partisan, freemason or masochism! So you won’t get bored for a weekend.
On Sunday morning we were met a friend who was joining us for exploring the place and tasting the delicious food. We started the day with a breakfast in ‘Puzata Hate’ the ukrainian kind of fast-food. It followed a walk around ant the climb up to the tower of the ‘Rathaus’ from which you can enjoy a spectacular view down to old town. After such an ‘extraordinary’ exercise in the hot weather it was time to make our second brake in a pie place. Salmon pie, chicken with sweet-pepper or just simple apple pie with vanilla sauce. I have to say all of them are delicious. So if you are ever in Lviv go to ‘Lviv Galician Cheese Cake and Strudel Bakery’ such a great place. After we finished charing up our batteries we headed out to the Lychakiv Cemetery. A quiet and thoughtful place full of sculptures and monuments reminding on the buried personalities. Many of those originated from Poland.
After all the walking it was time for another pit stop at ‘Puzata Hata’ before heading out for the final dinner. During our evening walk we got to see once more all the activities around the market square in the centre. Discovering some of the infamous buildings as well as a little piece of street art. After a drink in the theme bar ‘Maso’ where guys get whipped by the bartender we were ending up in kind of an art gallery with a small alternative cafe. Ready for our last meal in that day. Some crapes with chicken. Expecting some small portion we were quite surprised when they served a full meal sized crape.
On our last day we did what we did the day before – eating. Breakfast once more in ‘Puzata Hata’ and after a walk through the park some delicious pies. Finally we had get mentally ready for the long train ride back to Kiev. What better than to enjoy a cold drink in one of the open air places on the market square. An awesome weekend which was all about strolling around in a cultural place and eating was ending.