Outdoors Adventures

Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014--Lviv

Lviv ended up surprising me today.  It was alive.  I didn't realize it until I had returned at the end of the day from my adventures on the edge of the city.  When I walked through the center of town, people were everywhere, stores were open, everyone seemed happy, etc. 

Today was finally the day for me to be in the outdoors away from town.  There are two attractions here that appealed to me and that are in the same general neighborhood on the eastern edge of the city.  I knew that it was a long walk and that I could take the tram for the equivalent of 30 cents US, but I walked anyway just so I could see the areas I passed.  I used different route out and back.

The first destination was the Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Life--an open-air museum where homes, churches, and other buildings have been brought from around Ukraine to show what life was like 100-300 years ago.  I got lost getting there, though.  What really happened is that I knew from my map that the street car line turned at the point where I needed to turn the opposite direction, but the map did not show that another line continued going straight.  So rather than watch the street signs, I just kept walking as long as I was seeing tram rails.  But then I noticed the configuration of intersections wasn't matching those on the edge of my map.  I turned the direction I knew I should go.  Along the way, I showed my map, and people kept pointing for me to continue.  One old gentlemen made sure I understood to take the "alley" and not the street curving to the right and that I should eventually turn right.  A woman at the alley confirmed that.  After I turned, I was told to go straight, straight and then to the left.  The street ended and a path began.  I turned back, but another person confirmed I should go straight and to the left.  I went down the path only to find a locked gate to the left of the railroad tracks.  I turned back again and asked.  A man who spoke English said he would go with me and turn back.  When I explained that the gate was locked, he said he would show me another way.  When we got to the locked gate, he said to walk to the left along the tracks and pointed to a trail on the other side.  He said that would take me to the entrance, and it did.

The museum was in a very wooded area.  It was nice walking among the trees.  The air was fresh and felt a little damp.  The buildings were very interesting to see.  Most had a host or hostess in local costume.  Sometimes it was a person selling things they had made, but most of the time, it was just volunteers.  Only one spoke English--a young woman demonstrating the making of soap from the ashes of the fireplace. 

There was a common characteristic to the design of all of the homes.  The entrance went to a storage area; from there, another door led into the living quarters (which often consisted of just one room).  A couple of homes of wealthier people had a living quarter off both sides of the entrance.  One building which was a school house had the school room on one side of the entrance area and the teacher's living quarters on the other side.

There were at least 5 churches among the buildings.  All were elaborate wooden construction.  Some were simple inside, but two were rather elaborate with hand-painted alters.  There were two water mills represented and one wind mill.  Barns of various types were located next to the homes. 

The next outdoor attraction I visited is a bit unusual for a "museum."  It is a cemetery--the Lychakiv Cemetery Museum.  According to something I read, cemeteries were banned inside the city.  (My guess is that it related to the time of the plague.)  Anyway, this cemetery is on the edge of town and is filled with graves from long ago up the the present.  One reason it is a "museum," is that there are a number of elaborate gravestones as well as several large, private mausoleums.  (Unfortunately, some of the most interesting gravestones are not shown on the link above.  Most photographers seem to concentrate on the "religious" ones, I guess.)  I just wandered up and down the lanes and over the hills watching for what was different and unusual.

Walking back into the city, I passed the campus of the medical university here.  There were benches, so I stopped and read for a while from my present novel.  By the time I got back uphill to my apartment, I was tired.  I had been walking about 5 1/2 hours (not counting the time I was resting on the bench).