Lviv

Such a beautiful city! Because of the war, everything is a bit more expensive (supply in demand) but still very reasonable compared to every other European city. It’s also more crowded than my previous visits because people from Eastern Ukraine have settled here to be safer. Sometimes, the air raids were overwhelming, but for the most part, life goes on. I visit here despite the war because I have family here.

There is a curfew, so in theory, the streets should be empty at midnight - the key word being theory. During air raid alerts during business hours, everything is supposed to shut down - keyword supposed. I understand more about their mindset after spending a month here, life goes on. Also, the Ukrainians have a special alert system on their phones that indicates what kind of air raid is being broadcast - as a tourist, I did not have that convenience.

Traveling here was inconvenient, but if you understand the possible time delays that you are bound to encounter, then you can pretty much adjust your schedule and attitude to deal with the inconvenience. We flew into Krakow Poland, and took a bus to Lviv. The border crossing took about 90 minutes (most of the delay was on the Poland side) and was due because one passenger overstayed her time in Poland, which held up everyone else. Returning to Poland from Lviv took over 4 hours at the crossing. Even at that, I’ve heard horror stories of it taking up to 10 hours - all the delays would be on the Polish side. They are very thorough when letting people into their country.

My biggest dilemma, should I buy an apartment or keep renting an Airbnb. I love this city and plan on spending at least a few months here every year, so what is the smart thing to do? I am still pondering this question.

Old town Lviv

Lviv Chocolate - best chocolate!

Push or Support?

Mr Arbitrium is a sculpture of 5,40 meters which, in the action of pushing away also hides the action of supporting, acting with the same musculature and the same tension. From this ambivalence arises the double meaning of the work and the concept of the sculpture itself, which leaves the final decision to the observer. It will be up to us to choose whether to push or support the historic building or the Church, symbols of our history and our culture.

Anything made of stone or glass has to be protected from Russian destruction