Lviv, Ukraine

I woke up after 09:30 today, showered, dressed, grabbed my camera, and walked out of the hostel at 10:30. I then walked to the Lviv National Art Gallery, but it did not open until 11:00; so, I walked to the nearby European Art Gallery located in the former Potocki Palace, but it too did not open until 11:00. So, I walked around the block and waited by the entrance to the Lviv National Art Gallery until just before 11:00, when it started to rain down sleet; I then entered inside the building, bought my ticket, waited for the babushkas to take their positions, and then toured the art gallery. They had a nice collection of European art (mostly Polish, Russian, and German) that were mostly created out of the last four centuries. After walking around the different exhibition halls, exited the art gallery and walked back to the European Art Gallery in the former Potocki Palace (the palace of Count Alfred Potocki, vicegerent of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, which was built in 1890 AD; on November 22, 1919 AD, the plane of the American pilot E. Graves, crashed in to the palace during a demonstration flight over Lviv – repair and restoration works were completed in 1931 AD). The European Art Gallery had predominantly Polish paintings in its galleries, in addition to other nations’ artworks; unfortunately, the European Art Gallery did not allow cameras to be used inside, which is a real shame since the palace rooms themselves were a sight to behold (though not much different from other European palatial interiors). After viewing the European Art Gallery, I walked out in to the drizzling cold rain and decided to almost immediately take shelter at a fast food restaurant where I ended up ordering a chicken burger, sausages and French fries, and beer (this is not exactly what I had asked for (i.e. cheeseburger and sausage platter), but the woman behind the counter did not speak English and the menu was in Ukrainian; luckily, I’m easy going and could care less). After lunch, I braved the cold and walked to St. George Cathedral, which is a Baroque-Rococo Greek Catholic cathedral located on a small knoll west of the city center of Lviv (I had walked past it yesterday on my way from the railway station to the city center). This cathedral was very nice, though my favorite in Lviv is the beautiful, soft-color toned interior of the Bernardine Monastery Cathedral; unfortunately, like all non-Roman Catholic churches in Ukraine, picture taking was not allowed inside (not sure why this is since churches in Israel, Georgia, and Armenia didn’t care, but almost every non-Roman Catholic church (St. Andrew’s in Kiev, which charged a fee for photographing, is the exception) in Ukraine doesn’t allow it). Anyway, I walked around the interior, looked around, and then exited the cathedral. Next, I walked north to the Beer Brewing Museum, which is located on the grounds of the local brewery. I entered inside the beer-tasting hall, bought my ticket, and then walked around the exhibits that detail the process and history of making beer; it was a nice little museum and had a number of artifacts from the last two centuries on display; after walking around the exhibits and looking at the beautiful Ukrainian pieces, I returned to the beer-tasting hall and had my two beers (a light and a dark). After the tasting, I exited the museum and walked back to the hostel. Once back at the hostel, I went through the photographs I took today and got ready for tonight’s ballet performance. After 17:30, I walked to the Lviv Opera and Ballet National Academic Ballet Theater and was shown to my box, which I had to myself. Shortly after 18:00, the conductor walked out and the ballet ‘La Fille Mal Gardée’ began; it was a light, silly story about a young woman in love with a man, but her guardian (played by a man dressed as an old woman) wants her to marry a doofus of the classical variety (hair in front sticking up, dressed like a child, acts like a moron) due to his father giving her a large sum of money on the condition the two marry. Despite the simplistic, clichéd storyline, it was an enjoyable performance and well-danced (also, the leading lady of the production was a delight to watch). I suppose, just as the best novels don’t translate well in to film and how it’s usually the B-grade novels that make better cinema, ballets likewise benefit from simplistic stories that aren’t too complicated and would never hold up as masterpieces of literature – this way they can focus more on the dancing). After the performance, I walked around Lviv until I found a restaurant to eat dinner at; I ended up having a feast of Ukrainian cheeses (three kinds: royal, marble, and “casual”), chanakhs (potatoes, pork, beans, and onions stewing in a sauce), a casserole (potatoes, pork, mushrooms, sauce, cheese, and garlic), and beer. After dinner, I walked back to the hostel and typed away on my laptop. Then, around 23:40, the Ukrainian computer programmer (staying at hostel) and I went out to get a beer at a club or bar. A number of the places we stopped at were closing soon at midnight and we ended up at the brewery restaurant I ate lunch at the first day I was in Lviv. I had an amber ale and we ended up talking about politics, the crisis in Ukraine, and our ideal countries to live in. After we finished our beers, the Ukrainian walked back to the hostel and I walked to a nearby club to see some of the Lviv nightlife. I ended up having four Coronas throughout the night and hung out there until about 05:00, when I decided to go back to the hostel and go to sleep (most clubs here close at 06:00, so I didn’t quite make it through the entire night).