My week in Ukraine.

I spent one week in Ukraine in October 2015.

I went there because of a Cultural Exchange organized by my school, so I was paired up with a girl and I lived with her for those seven days. Months prior I had already hosted the same girl, A., at my own home in Italy.

We were located in Lviv (also known as Leopolis) and we didn't move around much, except for a visit to an ancient castle, so my experience is strictly connected to that city.

I loved everything about it. I remember walking around awed and often confused, completely unable to read the Cyrillic alphabet. Many criticized Lviv for being a shabby city; however, if I have to be honest, its roughness was one of the things that fascinated me the most. Years have passed, and yet I can still remember how alive I felt walking around those dusty streets. Lviv almost felt like a living museum to me: so full of history and hidden passion, despite its apparent paralysis. 

The only negative moment was when we actually had to enter Ukraine. We couldn't fly directly there from Italy, so we took a plane to Krakow, Poland; there, we rented a bus. Crossing the border took us at least eight hours, in which we remained parked more or less in the same spot and went through three or four passport checks. I remember being quite annoyed at the time; however, now I can say it was absolutely worth it.

Church of St. Andrew.

Dominican Cathedral.

Monument to King Danylo.

Venice Palace. 

There were so many interesting things to see.

We visited an enormous chocolate factory (Lviv Handmade Chocolate), where you could have an insight of the creative process behind their products, and also taste them in a lovely cafe; then we visited a coffee factory, since coffee is apparently a very important part of Lviv's history. I loved the fact that in the chocolate factory you could climb up to the highest floor of the building and eat your sweets in front of an amazing view of the city. There's a little statue of a man with a hat in his hands right there, and if you manage to throw a coin into his hat, then you'll be blessed by incredible luck.  

Another day we visited the oldest pharmacy in the city (Museum Pharmacy "Under the Black Eagle"), which has become a museum too because of its antique traditions. 

I also loved the fact that there were street markets almost everywhere, apparently every day of the week. I love markets and I spent hours wandering there. 

One of my favourite activities was the visit at the City Hall, which has a very high tower that permits to observe the whole city from up above. Sadly the day of our visit the weather was a bit foggy, but it was an incredible experience anyway. 

As I said, one day we also travelled to the countryside to visit a castle. It was the Zolochiv Castle, whose history goes way back to the XVII century. I remember that it was a very cold day and many of us bought gloves from some old women right next to the entrance. 

The place was very nice and everything inside it was extremely interesting. The guide was really kind too. There were a lot of rooms that were still decorated as they'd been in the past, with original furniture and sometimes even mannequins dressed up with antique clothes. There were also some expositions, and I especially remember a photography exhibition with very old pictures of the castle, of Lviv, and of Ukraine in general. 

In the end, traveling to Ukraine ended up being an incredible idea. It was a trip full of new experiences: first of all, I got in touch with the eastern part of Europe for the first time in my life, I learned a bit of the Cyrillic alphabet, and I discovered a lot about Ukraine's history and culture; secondly, I got drunk for the first time in my whole existence, I visited my first haunted house (Insomnia Haunted House, amazingly scary), I went ice-skating more than once, I smoke narghile and I had a great time with my friends. 

I hope I'll be able to go back one day, to maybe visit Kiev on top of everything else. We'll see where life will take me!