Irish Guy's Round the World Trips

Thursday, August 31, 2006

First Stop, Rio de Janeiro - Brasil

Well, the time is approaching when I fly to South America for four months. Next week in fact. Yep, four months... not too long a time, not too short a time. No real plans of yet ... I stay in rio for a few days and head north. Loooking forward to it!!

Christ the Redeemer (Portuguese: Cristo Redentor), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Taken from Google Maps and Wikimapia

Christ the Redeemer (Portuguese: Cristo Redentor) is a large Art Deco-style statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue stands 38 m (125 feet) tall and is located at the peak of the 710-m (2330-foot) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park, overlooking the city.

As well as being a potent symbol of Christianity, the statue has become an icon of the city, its open arms seen by many as a testament to the warmth of the Brazilian people.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

Brazil is not as dauting as I have been to Brazil before so I know what to expect .. fear. When I first landed, I spend the first 24 hours looking over my shoulder, keeping a grip on my bags etc but it passed. I stayed in a hostel called Jucati which was fine. They organised some cool tours to pre carnival gigs. Yet, by 9.00pm, every traveller was back at the hostel, drank on the steps and only left in groups of 5-10 people when heading out to hit the nightlife.

I wasnt robbed / mugged during my stay but alot of travellers were. Alot of it waspetty crime. Many had their watches, baseball hats and sunglasses stolen by kids, others had their gear stolen on the beach. There was no violence involved. Anyway, the hostel were paying off to local cops to park outside our hostel most of the day. They also hired off duty cops to join in on any tours to football games etc.

I hate associating Rio with crime but its on travellers minds. A local story by Associated Press may explain why!

Crimes spark tourism concerns in Brazil

By MICHAEL ASTOR, Associated Press WriterSat Aug 19, 3:32 AM ET

The murder of a 19-year-old Portuguese student on Copacabana beach and a rash of robberies have rekindled concerns about security in Brazil's top tourist city, where authorities have tried several initiatives to make streets safer for visitors.

Andres Costa Ramos Bordalo was stabbed to death Monday by an assailant who stole his knapsack. Although police stepped up patrols, at least 22 tourists were robbed this week, police said Friday.

Bordalo's daytime murder shocked many in Rio. The city has one of the world's highest homicide rates, but violence rarely spill out of shantytowns. On Thursday morning, two knife-wielding men stole a video camera from a group of Chinese tourists. One of the men was punched in the face as he challenged the attackers, police said. The previous evening, six men on three motorcycles intercepted a tour van carrying 14 tourists from various nations. Two men armed with pistols boarded the van and drove the tourists around for 10 minutes, stealing their money, cameras and watches, police said.

"Rio is beautiful ... but I'm never coming back here," Ioland Jobert, 25, a South African who was aboard the van told the O Globo newspaper.Ricardo Anderoli, the chief of police for tourists, said he believed the van robbery was carried out by a gang specializing in car theft that has recently targeted tourists. Rio has an annual homicide rate of around 50 per 100,000 inhabitants. But officials say the crime rate in upscale neighborhoods is no worse than in other large cities like London or Rome.

One notable exception is the Copacabana beach district, the heart of Rio's tourist district where some 40 percent of crimes against tourists occur, mostly holdups and purse snatchings. This week, three Colombian tourists were robbed at knifepoint on Copacabana. In recent years, state officials have beefed up police patrols, created a special tourist police department and deployed cameras along the beachfront in an attempt to reduce crime, but success has been limited. Last year, 2,737 tourists reported being robbed in the state.

On Wednesday, Rio de Janeiro state police chief Hudson de Aguiar Miranda offered to provide police escorts for tourist buses from the airport to downtown hotels, a drive that passes through some of the city's most notorious shantytowns. But most tour operators reportedly turned the offer down, concerned that police escorts would only further frighten tourists.

Earlier this year, 33 British tourists were robbed at gunpoint after their bus was stopped on a highway from the airport to downtown Rio, but since then no similar incidents have been reported.

I have book my first three nights at a hostel called POUSADA FAVELINHA which is open around a year.

I like the idea thats its away from Copa and centro (the danger spots). The way I see it, theiefs are attracted to the places where tourists congregate .. mainly Copa.. and so a lot of tourist crime occures there. This hostel is somewhat 'out of the way' and only has room for 14 guests.

I read about the "Little Slum Inn" in Reuters during March.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - Breathtaking views high above Rio de Janeiro's beaches and mountains can be yours for just a few dollars a day -- if you skip pricey hotels and sleep in a slum.

Rio's slums, or favelas, are infamous for drug and gang violence. But a new hostel called "The Little Slum Inn" is attracting adventurous tourists, mainly from Germany, France and the United States, who dare to live amid the grit and poverty.

"This place isn't for wimps. If you are uptight, you can go stay at the Copacabana Palace," said co-owner and shantytown dweller Andreia Martins, 31, referring to the luxury beachfront hotel where the Rolling Stones stayed last month when they played a free concert for more than 1 million people.

You can only get to the jungle-covered hillside slum of Pereira da Silva on foot. Most of its 1,900 residents live in unpainted brick hovels they built themselves on irregular lots.

But the hostel owners say staying in the slum is safe. It has buried its violent past and gained a reputation as one of Rio's calmest favelas since police killed a neighbourhood drug lord in a shootout seven years ago. A police squad also trains there, so gangs avoid the slum.

Residents of most of Rio's 600 shantytowns are not so lucky. Thugs employed by drug traffickers walk narrow streets with AK-47 assault rifles on their shoulders. Bloody clashes with police and rival gangs are common. Slum dwellers who work long hours for low pay as maids or gas station attendants then have to come home to a slum where they risk getting caught in gunfights.

Martins' clients at the Pousada Favelinha, as it is called in Portuguese, are tourists who pride themselves on avoiding glitzy tourist haunts and travelling off the beaten path to remote places like Laos and Cambodia.

Each room in the white, three-story inn has expansive terraces overlooking Rio's bay and cosy furnishings.

A room with a double bed costs about $35 a night. It costs $15 a head to sleep in a large room for single backpackers.

Her neighbours like the inn because it brings money into the community. Martins is working with the community association to set up a free health clinic staffed by visiting foreign doctors. She employs two residents from the slum to run errands and clean and refers guests who like lots of beer to bars at the base of the hillside community. Martins says she is making decent money but complains of long hours.

Labels: backpacker, backpacking, blog, drifters, Gap Year, irish guy, neo-nomad, round the world trip, Vagabonding, Wanderers

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Irish Guy's Round the World Trips

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Krakow, Poland (30th of January 2006)

Monday 30th of January 2006
The departure of my flight was at 14:05 from Krakow and arrival at 15:40 at Gatwick. Teh full price of my ticket including taxes etc was 81.90 PLN. I was up around 9.00am and headed to the Milk Bar I saw in yesterday. I had soup, bread, biggas and a sprite for about 15 Z. Bargain.

Cloth Hall, Krakow, Poland

Taken on the 30th of January 2006

Standing in the middle of the square is the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), originally built as a covered market the present building dates from the mid-16th century, with some 19th century additions (the arched galleries down either side). It's an attractive renaissance building that looks particularly impressive when lit-up at night. The ground floor of the Cloth Hall has now returned to its original function and now houses an impressive collection of market stalls selling all kinds of high-quality tourist tat, including amber, jewellery, hand-carved wood, and various other bits of arts and crafts. The arcades now mostly hold cafes. On the first floor is a department of Krakow's National Museum, the Gallery of 19th Century Polish Painting and Sculpture, which holds some paintings by Poland's best-known 19th century artist (within Poland at least) Jan Matejko. The gallery is closed on Mondays.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

St Florian's Gate, Krakow, Poland

Taken on the 30th of January 2006

By 1500 Cracow was not only one of the richest cities in Europe but also one of the best fortified. The Old Town was ringed by a great wall, and this was punctuated by forty-seven towers and encircled by a moat. Immediately beyond this lay a further line of defense, comprising of a second wall and yet another moat. This outer wall was pierced by two barbicans, one of which, a splendid edifice, still survives. Owing to these formidable defenses, marauding armies were faced with a great dilemma. Much as they might wave the dismembered heads of those unlucky souls that had been caught beyond the city limits, more often than not they could not traverse the wall. Indeed, for a period of about two hundred years, Cracow was unbroken by foreign invasions.

In spite of its military purpose, the defensive wall was a thing of great character. This was not least because each tower differed from the next. They had their own idiosyncratic qualities - some were squat whilst others were lean and elegant. Furthermore, each tower belonged to one of the myriad guilds that had sprung up within the city. So, there was a cobblers' tower, a saddlers' tower, even a gunpowder makers' tower. And responsibility for guarding the city lay not with a troop of Royal soldiers but with the merchants themselves. Each guild had its own tower and its own stretch of wall from which to keep an eye on things.

By the close of the eighteenth century several towers had collapsed whilst others were so dilapidated that trees were growing up out of their roofs. When the Austrians took over they decided to raze the complex to the ground. However, owing to the efforts of one Feliks Radwanski, a professor who was inspired by the patriotic and romantic associations of the fortifications, a campaign was launched to save them. They managed to salvage the most northerly section, which included four towers and a barbican. At the centre of this was St. Florian�s Gate, which is topped by the Furriers' tower. This gateway is the historic entrance to the city, and the starting point of processions that hail back to ancient times. This route, which leads down Florianska street and on to Wawel, is known as the Royal Way.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

St. Mary�s Basilica, Krakow, Poland

Taken on the 30th of January 2006

After the Tartar invasions of the 13th century left the original church occupying this site in a heap of ruins, construction began on St. Mary's using the existing foundations. It doesn't matter how many times you see it, the altarpiece, stained glass windows of the nave, and blue, starred ceiling of this cathedral will take your breath away. The magnificent altarpiece was for 12 painstaking years the principal work of the 15th century German artist Veit Stoss (aka Wit Stwosz), and depicts the Virgin Mary's Quietus among the apostles. Surrounding the altar are polychrome paintings by Matejko, Mehoffer and Wyspia?ski. Several local legends are attached to St. Mary's. The twin towers were allegedly the work of two brothers.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

I walked to the street where the girl at the hostel said the 192 passes. I was waiting for about 10 minutes and there was no seat to be had. A 2.70 Z ticket should do (purchased at most kioks and validated on the bus) but I purchased a 3,10 Z (billet Godzinny) just in case they pointed to my bag as an extra passenger and fine me. It happens alot in Prague, Slovakia and othr places. A big backpack means you should get an extra ticket. It took about 25 minutes to get there so I was there for noon for a 2.05pm flight. Dead early. It was very, very busy for such a small airport. All budget airlines.

I had to wait an hour to get checked in. Usually (even Ryanair) allows 10-12kg on ahnd luggage. While my bag was small enough, Central Wings only allows 4 kg as hand luggage. Jesus, a box of tissues would weigh that. I did not want to argue and had to check in my bag. I had purchased a bottle of water with my last bit of change so I just hung around until the flight. it was delayed 30 minutes which was a bummer. There is nothing to do at the airport. The duty free is as big as a toilet. No disstractions here. I waited around until it was time to head back. Alot of Polish people leaving to work in the UK. A lot of tears at the airport.

On a postscript/postnote (after my tirades against stray dogs in Romania) Brigitte Bardot slams Romania for dog cull (February 4, 07:15 PM)

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Former French film star turned animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot slammed Romania on Saturday for culling stray dogs after a Japanese man was bitten to death in Bucharest.

The capital's mayor Adriean Videanu announced immediately after the incident last Sunday that the time stray dogs could be kept in shelters before being put down would be shortened. The 68-year-old Japanese businessman bled to death in central Bucharest after a stray dog bit him in the leg, severing a vital artery.

Foreign tourists often cite the packs of dogs roaming freely on the streets of Bucharest among the reasons they shy away from the capital of Romania, which plans to join the European Union as early as in 2007.

Dozens of people are bitten daily. Bucharest residents are split, some advocating culling and others feeding the stray dogs on the streets and building makeshift shelters for them. The 100,000 stray dogs in the capital are considered a legacy of former communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's decision to demolish many houses in the 1980s. Dogs were abandoned by people rehoused in small flats.

Overll, I really enjoyed my few weeks in Budapest, Romania and especially the Ukraine. I had done little planning before ahnd and I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful old Saxon fortified towns. Sibiu was my favourite spot, such a lively buzz around town.. certaintly a city looking ahead and forward looking. I can see why it will be joint European Capital of Culture in 2007. Cant fault the cheap costs as well. The Ukraine was also excellent, and I will make it abck there as soon as possible before their governement changes their minds about VISA Rules. If a pro-Russian governemtn gets abck in at the end of March, I can see the rules changing. No, overall, well worth it except for dowdy Budapest which is a summer destination.

Labels: backpacker, backpacking, blog, drifters, Gap Year, irish guy, neo-nomad, round the world trip, Vagabonding, Wanderers

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Irish Guy's Round the World Trips

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Krakow, Poland (29th of January 2006)

Sunday 29th of January 2006

I arrived at the new bus station at 6.45am (about 20 minutes early). I felt pretty tired, had no local currency and it was pitch dark and very cold outside. I decided to wait there until the sun started to shine so I stayed there until about 7.45am before walking through the train station and then onwards towards the royal mile.

The domestic bus terminal has now been moved to ul. Cysters�w which lies east of the train station. It�s quite a journey into town so either get a cab or jump on tram number 4, 10, 15. International buses arrive and depart from ul. Bosacka (E-1). It�s right behind the train station, so just follow the signs wyj?cie do centrum.

It was Sunday morning, and and there were hardly a soul on the street except a few police men on patrol and a few cleaners. While I hadnt realised yet, there had been a terrible incident about 40 miles away in where 60-67 people had died. People were already going to churches to say a prayer.

St. Mary�s Basilica, Krakow, Poland

Taken on the 29th of January 2006

After the Tartar invasions of the 13th century left the original church occupying this site in a heap of ruins, construction began on St. Mary's using the existing foundations. It doesn't matter how many times you see it, the altarpiece, stained glass windows of the nave, and blue, starred ceiling of this cathedral will take your breath away. The magnificent altarpiece was for 12 painstaking years the principal work of the 15th century German artist Veit Stoss (aka Wit Stwosz), and depicts the Virgin Mary's Quietus among the apostles. Surrounding the altar are polychrome paintings by Matejko, Mehoffer and Wyspia?ski. Several local legends are attached to St. Mary's. The twin towers were allegedly the work of two brothers. The architect of the smaller tower murdered his brother, apparently jealous that his structure was shorter and less elaborate. Racked with guilt he then commited suicide by throwing himself off the roof of the cathedral. Nowadays the taller tower is home to one of Krak�w's most enduring traditions. The bugle call played on the turn of every hour apparently takes its origins from an event in 1241. Having spotted invading Tartar forces on the horizon, a lone fireman started playing his trumpet to alert the habitants of Krak�w. He was shot with an arrow in his neck, abruptly cutting off the tune mid-melody, but the town was roused from its sleep and defended itself. In honour of this event, seven local firemen now have task of tooting the tune every hour. The first written mention of the tradition dates back to 1392, though a local magazine recently claimed the whole custom was invented by an American in 1929.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

SS Peter & Paul's, Krakow, Poland

Taken on the 29th of January 2006

Krak�w's premier Jesuit Church was built in the early 1600s. The twelve disciples standing on the gates outside are its most striking feature, although the interior has been extensively renovated and the airy, austere grandeur of this late Renaissance building is now evident.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

Main Square, Krakow, Poland

Taken on the 29th of January 2006

The epicenter of tourist Krakow is the Rynek Glowny (Main Market Square), one of Europe�s most impressive public spaces. he other free-standing building in the Rynek in the Town Hall Tower (Wieza Ratuszowa). The 70 metre high tower is all that remains of the old Town Hall, the rest of which was pulled down in the early 19th century. It could also be known as "The Leaning Tower of Krakow", as it is apparently slightly crooked, although nowhere near to the same degree as the tower in Pisa. You can climb up the tower for views of the Rynek, but probably more interesting are the various exhibits inside, including a model of what the Town Hall looked like before they pulled it down, and old photographs of Krakow. In common with most other buildings in the Old Town the vaults underneath the tower have been converted into a cafe, although they once held the city's jail. The clock-face on the tower looks pretty old, but the clock itself is linked to an ultra-accurate atomic clock in Germany (one of those that's accurate to a fraction of a second every million years, which begs the question "How the hell do they know?").

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

Mian Square Scuplture, Krakow, Poland

Taken on the 29th of January 2006

Big Head ................

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

A city forged in battle, war, conquest and fate, Krakow is in many respects the most Polish of all this great nation�s cities. The ancient seat of kings and intelligentsia comes steeped in legend and myth, and evokes the most fanciful of images, from dragons occupying the catacombs of Wawel, to Tartar hordes repelled at the gates, to an earnest Vladimir Lenin plotting revolution while sitting in the city�s cafes. Krakow�s history is the stuff of fantasy.

Back to the future. The budget flight boom confirms this nation�s transition from a country people are queueing to leave, to a country people are queueing to enter � the crowds that rotate around Wawel and fall out of the Irish pubs later on are all the evidence you need.

While much of Poland was left a heap of rubble at the end of WWII Krakow escaped wholesale destruction; a lightning fast pincer movement from the Red Army forcing the Nazi's into flight before they had a chance to dynamite the city. Today Krakow's dusty courtyards and web of streets are home to some 2.3 million registered artworks, and some of the most significant historical sites in the country.

If you�ve just got a day to spare (woe you) do your best to hit the highlights of Krak�w. The old town is the sensible start point, and be sure to walk what is known as the Royal Road: starting at Floria?ska Gate make your way past the Sukiennice and St Mary�s Cathedral in the town square, and down ul. Grodzka where you will pass the church of St Peter and Paul.

The walk concludes at Wawel Castle: the defining landmark of the city, and in itself worthy of several hours of exploration. Just south of Wawel the old Jewish quarter of Kazimierz is a must visit, and points of interest include the Old Synagogue and the Remuh Synagogue and cemetery. Those following the Jewish trail should also pay a visit to Oskar Schindler�s factory (soon to be opened as an art gallery) in the Podg�rze district, as well as a taxi ride to wonder around the forlorn landscape that was once home to Plaszow labour camp.

Krak�w is often referred too as Poland�s cultural capital and art highlights include the Czartoryski Museum (featuring Da Vinci�s Lady with an Ermine) and the Wyspia?ski Museum. A visit to the Jagiellonian University Museum is a good way to spend a spare hour, while fans of Pope John Paul II should take a walk around his former residence, nowadays housing Archdiocesan Museum.

I had stayed in Nathans Villa Hostel before, and I knew how to get there by walking. Straight down past the castle etc. I was taking a few pictures so I did not arrive there at reception until 8.10am. I checked in with reception and put my bag in storage. I was cold and tired so i helped myself to cofee and 30-40 minutes on the free Internet they have. It was there I read about the accident in KATOWICE which killed over 60 people.

I went out to seek a Milk Bar - a Polish cafe that serves hot but cheap food. I found one and had Zurek (sour rye meal mash), followed the unofficial national dish, bigos (sauerkraut with pieces of meat and sausage) which was lovely. So lovely, to te big surprise of the waitress I ordered a second dish of it. Its just that after no sleep I was in need of a bit of food supplement. The bill came to about 20 Z - nothing really for a great meal.

I then spend a few hours checking out the Kazimierz district.

Walk Way just ouside Old town Walls, Krakow, Poland

Taken on the 29th of January 2006

Walking arounf the old town walls .. very peaceful Sunday...

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

Kazimierz, Krakow, Poland

Taken on the 29th of January 2006

Kazimierz is the district that housed Krakow's Jews for some 500 years. In the last decade it has been rediscovered, and its hollowed-out Jewish culture gradually reintroduced. Famous for its associations with Schindler and Spielberg, there's more to the historic Jewish quarter than cemeteries and synagogues. Lying between shops selling buttons and spanners, you'll find the heart of Krakow's edgy, artistic character. Peeling fa�ades and wooden shutters hide dozens of smoky cafes, each one effecting an air of pre-war timelessness. This is an area of Krakow that cannot be missed.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

I also paid 7 Z to see Isaac Synagogue. I am not Jewish so these buildings and history do not resonate with me. I know the history but have no emotioanl connect.

Isaac's Synagogue, Krakow, Poland

Taken on the 29th of January 2006

Isaac's Synagogue, built in the Judaic-Baroque style, opened in 1644 and is the most beautiful of the Kazimierz synagogues. Renovation is not complete yet - holes in the floor show where the bimah and the stairs to the ark have yet to be placed. In the main prayer hall, a large television shows two black and white films over and over. Stills from the films are found in the adjacent room. Next, in the darkened room you can watch diverse other films depicting Jewish life before and during the war. Admission 7z?/6z?.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

Angel in front of Wawel Hill, Krakow, Poland

Taken on the 30th of January 2006

For Poles Wawel is a symbol of national strength and patriotism; the ancient home of kings, and the material embodiment of Polish resistance and culture. It has certainly survived the vicissitudes of time - for instance, the castle came within a whisker of being flattened by the retreating Nazi's. For foreign visitors Wawel is an unforgettable journey through the history of Poland. Perched on top of a 50m-high rock on the edge of old town, it is today remarkably intact and accessible to visitors, though in an effort to preserve the exhibits only a limited number of visitors are allowed to enter each day. To guarantee a place on the tours and to avoid standing in long queues, call the box office, tel. 422 16 97, and reserve tickets for the exhibits you want to see ahead of time. You�ll have to pick up your tickets at the Tourist Service Office (Biurze Obslugi Turyst�w) on Wawel Hill 15 minutes before your reserved tour time.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

I went to the square and then walked around the town before heading back to the hostel. I had the whole 4 bunk bed dorm to myself in this clean, bright and warm room. Very nice hostel with its own bar downstairs. See pictures of the new bar in their website. I was talking to a guy who worked there for years (amybe owner) and said last year they got maybe 12 people a day stating in January but now its 25 a day and most weekends in Jan/Feb are booked out. He said alot of American students saying in europe (exchange students in Prague, Paris, Budapest) come for weekends.

It was 3Z for a pint of Zywiec beer (pivo) betwwen 5-7 so I had a few beers and talked to various peole who were coming and going. You also get a free shot of alcohol token when checking in. I could then use one of their many DVD's to use in their dedicaated cinema with surround sound or join in in a free Polish language learning class. I stuck with the beer and atching Series 1 of "the office" with a few others. By the time we watched that and "lost in Translation" , I was pretty drunk and had an early enough night. I couldnt really get that film (the end anyway). At least I had my own room to relax in.

Labels: backpacker, backpacking, blog, drifters, Gap Year, irish guy, neo-nomad, round the world trip, Vagabonding, Wanderers

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Irish Guy's Round the World Trips

Monday, January 30, 2006

L'viv, Ukraine (28th of January 2006)

Saturday 28th of January 2006
I was up early (around 9am) and breakfast was included in the price. There was nobody in the office, nobody to ask whether I could leave my bags there and no breakfast. I mentioned it to a German guy who lives in the apartment building (I had met him yesterday and he is aquainted with the hostel management). Ah well, I headed off and walked into town to buy a few things for some colleagues back home (a bottle of Voka and a few KG of Ukrainian Chocolates which are first class and which the country has a fine reputation for). It was Saturday and there were alot of street markets open. They ranged from Arts and Crafts inluding some great paintings to big sheds food of food/meat/fish vendors which was quite exciting. For breakfast, I headed into another dive of a place for a chicken dinner.

I then walked to the town hall in the main square. You can go there and buy a ticket to go to the top of the building to give upa birds eye view of the old city.

Rynok (Market)Square. The building of the City Hall was completed in 1835 after its predecessor collapsed in 1826. The clock tower is 65 m tall with 350 steps leading to its top. It is open for visitors presenting a stunning view of the entire city*. Houses on Rynok Square were built between 16th and 19th centuries in different stiles and survived several fires and remodeling. Most buildings have 3 windows on each floor. Only very rich owners could afford tax put on extra windows. Statues of mythological gods guard the square on each corner: Neptune - god of the sea among the Romans. Adonis - in Roman and Greek mythology god of nature and fertility. Diana - Roman goddess of the hunt and of the moon. Amphitrite - the ancient Greek goddess of the sea.

I took an elevator up and then a couple of flights of stairs which were old and narrow. When I got to the top, I got a blast of freezing cold air.Jesus, it was cold up there but you had great views of the city and surroundings. Its a very pretty town but alot of flat complexes on the outskirts, much like any other town or city in the former USSR.

Latin Cathedral of St. Mary, L'viv (Lviv), Ukraine

Taken on the 28th of January 2006 from the top of the town hall

Latin Cathedral of St. Mary - its construction started in 1360 It combines gothic elements (the apse), Renaissance (chapels) and baroque (interior decor and statues). The Latin Cathedral owes its present look to the reconstruction of 1761-1776 by the architect Waclaw Sierakowski. The main altar of the Cathedral holds the sacred icon of the Holy Mary painted around 1598 (now a copy). The church organ was built in Lviv in 1839. Outside, at the site of the former cemetery, there is a beautiful Boim chapel, a mausoleum of the Boim family from Hungary. Built in 1609-1617, the chapel preserved its stone carved facade and interior.
Another charming Chapel of the Kampians is attached to the Cathedral's north wall.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

L'viv (Lviv), Ukraine

Taken on the 28th of January 2006 from the top of the town hall

Ukrainean Flag on top of town hall.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

L'viv (Lviv), Ukraine

Taken on the 28th of January 2006 from the top of the town hall

Dominican Church built in 1749 - 1764 in place of an earlier gothic church.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

from there I walked to the High castle Hill:

The High Castle is the name of the highest hill (413 m) overlooking Lviv. In the 13th century the kings of Halych built a fortress at the High Castle Hill. With the spread of fire arms the significance of the fortress diminished and in 1704 it was conquered and ruined by the Swedish troops of Karl the XII. Since then the fortress at High Castle has never been rebuilt. The High Castle summit with the winding path is man-made in honor of Lublin Union of 1569 that united Poland and Lithuania into one state. The only remnant of the fortress is a part of its southern wall which is guarded by a stone 400 year old lion brought here in 1874. The broadcasting tower and the television center were added in 1957.

L'viv (Lviv), Ukraine

Taken on the 28th of January 2006 from the top of the Castle Hill

Another (but different flag) Flag shot from Castle Hill.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

It took a good 30 minutes to get up there via a park but the views were excellent. Still, bitter cold.... I did not spend long up there and headed abck down to do a little sightseeing which included visiting the Remnants of the Golden Rose Synagogue.

Dominican Church, L'viv (Lviv), Ukraine

Taken on the 28th of January 2006

Dominican Church built in 1749 - 1764 in place of an earlier gothic church. The church interior has marble and alabaster tombstones and baroque carving. Eighteen wooden sculptures of the Dominican Order saints stand under the dome and four apostles stand at the main altar. The church is a venue for organ music concerts every Saturday and Sunday. A small organ used in these concerts was brought from another church that was under threat of destruction in the Soviet days. The Dominican Church was a museum of Religion and Atheism in the Soviet period with a Foucault's pendulum hanging from the dome. Nowadays it functions as a Ukrainian Greek Catholic church.

Click on the picture to see it in its original size

I walked abck towards the hostel to visit this site......

Golden Rose Synagogue Commemoration Sculpture, L'viv (Lviv), Ukraine

Taken on the 28th of January 2006

Jewish people settled in Lviv from the early days of the city. Golden Rose was built in 1582. Jesuit monks claimed the land under the temple which resulted in a court trial that ended in favor of the Jews in 1606. In 1604 Golden Rose became the main synagogue of Lviv and the center of the Jewish community in Lviv. The temple was destroyed by German soldiers in WW2. The remains include the foundation, part of the northern wall with windows and partially western wall with the entrance.

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Golden Rose Synagogue Commemoration Sculpture, L'viv (Lviv), Ukraine

Taken on the 28th of January 2006

For a former Prime Minister of the Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko is a fine looking lady. So much so, websites like this one go through her "look" from decade to decade with pictures. Tymoshenko portrays herself as a tough-talking crusader, a passionate Ukrainian nationalist, and woman of the people who is on a mission to clean up the country's morass of government and business corruption.

It has been an amazing transformation.

A decade ago, Tymoshenko had no nationalist credentials. In fact, she spoke no Ukrainian and had no more than a pragmatic interest in politics. A trained economist from the eastern city of Dnipropetrivsk, she used her connections to former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko to build a natural gas trading empire that made her the country's richest businesswoman -- until her ambitions ran up against the designs of President Leonid Kuchma. More information on her here , here and information on the lections which take place on March 26th 2006 can be found here.

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It was Saturday and there were at least 10 wedding parties flting about. They were in a queuw to take shots in fron of a religious monument on the main square. You would need to be well wrapped up today. Still nice to see. I am going to finish up with some various shots of the city.

L'viv (Lviv), Ukraine

Taken on the 28th of January 2006

Taken of a church opposite the The Church of the Assumption. Dusk falls in brilliant sun light.

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L'viv (Lviv), Ukraine

Taken on the 28th of January 2006

The Church of the Assumption complex was constructed in the period between 1572 and 1629. The ensemble includes the bell tower with the largest bell in Lviv called Kyrylo. The tower was funded by Korniakt and was given his name. While the tower was built parishioners constructed the Chapel of Three Saints next to it. The chapel is richly decorated with stone carved interior and exterior. The Assumption Church repeats the shape of the smaller chapel with three typical Ukrainian domes. Large square blocks of stone were used for the church walls. Among founders of the church construction were Ukrainian community of Lviv, rulers of Moldova and Russian Tzars and the Ukrainian Cossack hetman Petro Sahaydachny.

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L'viv (Lviv), Ukraine

Taken on the 28th of January 2006

Congrats. Shes a looker...

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L'viv (Lviv), Ukraine

Taken on the 28th of January 2006

Its all Dutch to me....

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I headed back to the hostel quite early ... when it got dark as I had not much business left in town. When I got back, again no staff or guests. I actually went abck to bed for an hour. If I wanted too, I could have stayed an extra night free. No staff - Jayus, what a business. When is a hostel a hostel, just because they ahve three beds in a room? No staff, no maps, no advice, a broken TV but stiff, it was pretty good, clean and safe. ......... and they left my brekfast on the bed..yeah.. It might have been there 8 hours but I ate it including the cold coffee... It was very generous with sandwiches, sausages, bread etc. Ate the lot.

I gave the keys back to the building block reception (an old lady) and walked back int

Irish Guy's

Round the World Trip's

Irish Guy's Round the World Trips

Thursday, August 31, 2006

First Stop, Rio de Janeiro - Brasil

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Irish Guy's Round the World Trips

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Krakow, Poland (30th of January 2006)

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Irish Guy's Round the World Trips

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Krakow, Poland (29th of January 2006)

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Irish Guy's Round the World Trips

Monday, January 30, 2006

L'viv, Ukraine (28th of January 2006)