Our Ukranian Journey

On Friday, we were up with the sun and made our way to the train station. I can’t thank Laura and Jasson enough for being such gracious hosts! I am very excited to return the favour at Christmas time! They both soot to wave goodbye at the train rolled away from Bucharest. Here begins the Ukranian journey.

The ride was interesting because neither Jordan nor I had happy stomaches/intestines. I am very glad to have brought my toilet paper and hand sanitizer since the train we were on was quite a bit less “frilly” than the ones in Canada. (According to Jordan, it was probably Russian and built in the ‘60s.) It did serve food though and, although we didn’t know it at the time, this was our first exposure to Eastern European style red borsche.

Among the characters we met were a Bulgarian duck judger (top of his country), and a eccentric Ukranian engineer, named Voldemere. The engineer must have drawn the sort straw because he ended up with Jordan and my stinky cabin. Strangely enough, he didn’t seem to mind. We talked together in broken English for most of the trip and told him of how we would be arriving in L’vov around midnight and weren’t sure where we were staying (we hadn’t had a chance to look up places to stay since we found out the train schedule). He seemed really concerned, which sent even more bells and whistles off in our heads as well. After more conversation, Voldemere ended up calling a friend to pick us up and take us to a hotel.

Now, I know this seems risky but our choices were to go wit this seemingly nice man’s fishing buddy or to fend for ourselves at midnight in L’vov (where we don’t happen to speak the language).

We were met in L’Vov by a heavy-set man with a beard and a limp. I was a bit frightened by his gruff appearance but, with emergency back-up plans in mind, we followed him to his car and driver. I kept my money and passport close and was ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.  Jordan, having remembered the description of ‘the man with the limp’ was a touch more comfortable but still uneasy – especially during the long, dark car ride down cobblestone roads.

It was difficult to communicate therefore difficult to build trust throughout the ride. (It’s amazing how important communication is to any relationship!) After the ride, we were left on a back street for a few moments while our escort found the entrance to our hotel. Believe me, we were watching that car and the surroundings like hawks!

A few minutes later, the man with the limp did find the hotel and we were welcomed to safety by a bit more broken English. This man turned out to be good and caring, even offering us his phone number incase we were in need. Yes, we safe but no, I don’t think either of us will allow ourselves to be in a situation like that again. We were very fortunate to have run into the people we did, to have struck up conversation, and to be Canadian. I learned to seek help from whatever resources I have and to always be open to building relationships with people. I thank Jordan for striking up that initial conversation with Voldemere and thank God for watching over us.