Lviv, Ukraine
Lviv comes from Lev (just correcting the previous definition I wrote that was incomplete), who was son of the King Daniel of Galicia, the founder of the city in 1256. The name can be associated to something like “Lev’s city”. Anyway, Lev in Ukrainian means “lion” and the animal is present in the city’s flag.
Located in the Western side of Ukraine, it’s a mix of Ukraine, Poland, Austro-Hungarian Empire — which resumes the history of the city. Lviv looks like a small town with narrow streets, it has a beautiful Old Town, in addition to cafes, bars and restaurants.
Historically occupied by Ukrainians, Russians, Germans, Polish, Austro-Hungarians and Jewishes; Lviv is literally a cosmopolitan city, combining Central Europe and Eastern Europe. And it distance to Poland is 60 km!
PS: for those going from Ukraine to Poland, it’s possible to get a bus from Lviv to Przemyls, already in Polish territory, and vice-versa. That’s how I did!
An interesting place to visit in Lviv is the cafe Kryjivka, a place that was used as bunker by Ukrainian army during the II World War. Nowadays, it’s a bar that transmits the experience to be in a bunker. As you knock the door, the password is to shout “Slava Ukraini”. You’ll be welcomed by a man carrying a gun and serving shots of vodka, as shown in the video below
Ok, Ukraine is not only vodka! No stereotypes, please! Below, some pics to give you an idea of the architecture that dominate the landcaspe in Lviv.
This monument below is a reference to Stepan Bandera, whose statue is also included. He was one of the leaders of the Ukrainian national movement.
