Sunday 5th December 2021

Lviv – Churches – Old Town – Rynok Square – Grand Café – Statue of  Leopold Von Sacher Masoch

Today is my birthday and I woke up in our lovely room in Lviv, Ukraine.

We have upgraded our rooms on this part of the journey.  I feel so lucky and grateful! Many folk have had their plans cancelled due to the pandemic. Due to local restrictions at home we couldn’t even celebrate Dave’s ‘big’ birthday in a town just an hour’s drive away last year.

As we went for breakfast we found balloons tied to our door which Anne and Pete must have done earlier.

Lviv has rather a chequered history, both belonging to and being ruled by many different empires and kingdoms over the years.  These include Poland, Austria, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Soviet Union.  In August 1991 Lviv became part of the independent nation of Ukraine.

After breakfast we set off on our bespoke walking tour.

It was Sunday and many of the churches were conducting masses.  While we were unable to wander around inside the churches and take photographs, we could however stand and watch part of the service while admiring the interior. It was quite moving to listen to a choir sing in their angelic voices in one religious building and also to hear priests dressed in all their  regalia recite their sacred verses in another. Of course we could admire the stunning architecture of the exteriors.

There are many wonderful statues in the city, this one depicts one of the two pharmacists who invented the kerosene lamp in Lviv.

A pharmacy’s window was lit up for the first time by this type of lamp in 1853.

 

Continuing, we walked to Lviv Opera and Ballet Theatre which is situated on a tree lined square named Freedom Avenue. Some of the trees had mistletoe growing in them.

It is a pleasant square with various statues and plenty of interesting architecture to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Late morning we went for coffee and birthday cakes at the Grand Café underneath the town hall in the beautiful Rynok Square.  Grand it was too, with a tempting array of cakes.

The rather posh café also served breakfast, lunch and dinner all served on tiered cake stands.  I was also presented with a 60th birthday bun, which I believe had been purloined from the hotel’s breakfast buffet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately the Boim Chapel had scaffolding all around it and its dome had also been removed, no doubt for renovation.

The UNESCO protected building was built from limestone and one of its facades is ornately decorated.

Built as a crypt for the well respected Boim Family, it was constructed in a cemetery that once stood on the site. Its interior is apparently also very ornate but the door was padlocked.

Back in Rynok Square, we wandered around admiring all the architecture, including the Bandinelli Palace and the Black House.

In each of the four corners of the square, there is a fountain with a statue of one of the Greek gods—Adonis, Amphitrite, Diana and Neptune.

Anne and Peter climbed up the Town Hall to enjoy the view from the observation deck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was to see the infamous ‘Monument to Leopold Von Sacher Masoch’.

The word ‘masochism’ is derived from the author’s surname although he was not pleased about its implicaton.

The full size statue has many details and the travel guides suggest that you check what is in his pocket.

While Anne & I both agreed to, the guys refrained; they had done their research and knew that they would put their hand on the author’s manhood

 

Still in the city’s old town we visited the Bernadine Monastery and Greek Catholic Church of St. Andrew’s.

The baroque interior is absolutely stunning and I spent several minutes staring at its incredible ceiling.

Leaving the culture of the city behind for a while, we found an interesting café which also manufactured and sold candles.

It was a pleasant place to enjoy warming mulled wine and pumpkin soup served with grissini.

In the evening we went to the restaurant we had booked earlier in the day. Our table was in a small private dining room attached to the main restaurant.

A  little before 10pm we were issued with the bill and informed that the  eatery was about to close (this is getting to be a regular occurrence).  The food, wine and of course the company had all been excellent. Slowly, we wandered  through the freezing streets back to our hotel.

 

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