On Monday of this week, we were at the Centre of Europe! In 1887, geographers from the Austro-Hungarian Empire set up a historical marker and a large stone in what is today a part of Ukraine, believed to mark the geographic centre of Europe. The monument at the center is below.
We cruised the lovely countryside and rural farms. We went to a popular ski resort to ride the lift and get a high-view of the mountains. It was cold and beautiful!
We got water from natural springs and took it home to drink.We learned lots about history - the Hutsuls, Ivan Franko (whose painting was above the piano in the parrot room at the Children's Home), and culture of the area. We toured Franko's home - now a museum. And saw many lovely churches, some as old as the 16th century!
On Tuesday, we went to a ski jump built in 1929 after eating a fabulous breakfast, then to an old church, then to hear a native Hutsul musician (Roman Kumlyk from the Verkhovyna) play many native instruments, sing and tell fun stories (where he let Miss_A play a Hurdy-Gurdy!), stopped at a beautiful private roadside chapel (they are everywhere) and lite candles and said prayers, saw many traditional mountain homes, tasted more natural spring water, had a terrific Ukrainian meal, and went to the Ukrainian Pasanka Museum (the only egg-shaped museum in the world!). (Sorry, we can't figure out how to get the pics taken with the iphone to align right, even after saving them post-rotation).
On Wednesday, there was a horse ride through the woods on Dasha (Ann's horse) and Yura (Liliya's horse).
Who took us to a waterfall called girl's tears.
And, a glimpse at Carpathian Deer and Boars (who gave us a little "pig porn" show - oops!)
(Hope this doesn't offend folks - it is nature). We laughed - it made for a fun story as you may imagine the puns, etc.!
We also shopped at the market and purchased Karina's Easter decorations - Ukrainian eggs as our new family tradition. We ate more good food, told good stories, and got to know some terrific people!
Tonight, in Lviv (also known as L'viv, Lvov, Lwow) we had an awesome evening! Fantasic! We heard a fabulous band play tonight called Atmasfera and wish we could follow them.We loved their music and bought two of their CDs. Little Chix would be all about it. They are a really fun band!
If you have a chance to go to Lviv, do so. We look forward to seeing more of the city tomorrow. So far, it is our all-time favorite city in Ukraine!
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