The Cake Place

We have been in L'viv for one week and why did it take so long for us to visit the cake place? Paul Johnson, one of Erik's friends and colleagues at KU, visited L'viv in 2005 and found this cafe with one of the locals. He claimed that it has the best cake anywhere, and we agree. The cafe is actually called Tsukernya and you can envy us after visiting it on the web. All of the desserts are prominently displayed in a glass case - we promise to try every one before we come home to Lawrence! Carter wanted a big cookie and got it. Erik had a delicious piece of Viennese cheescake with raisins and a hint of orange. The cheesecake was not as rich as American cheescake; its texture was more like a dense slice of standard cake. Lea had the Prague tort: chocolate cake layered with chocolate mousse, coated with orange marmalade and a thin layer of chocolate sauce.

The visit to the cake place substituted for dinner as we enjoyed a large lunch at Kapriz, a restaurant frequented by the students in KU's summer program in L'viv (for those of you who do not know, KU runs a L'viv-based program in Ukrainian Language and Culture each summer). Erik spent the morning working on his book, as he has done almost every morning since our arrival, and Lea and Carter played in the park across the street from the university. Erik has worked in the office space in the apartment (a loft over the living room) and also in an office at Ivan Franko National University. The university has made him very welcome, providing an excellent space as a base of operations.

Carter has been such a trooper that we decided to get him a modest toy of his choice. Near the apartment is a large children's store with clothes, toys, and various supplies. It is nice to know that diaper re-stocking will be easy if we do not get back to Metro (though not cheap). It was an interesting store with everything from standard baby food, although we did not see the inexplicable "baby tea" found at Metro, to Legos, to $100 children's boots. Carter settled on a really hard dinosaur puzzle (made in Norway and printed in Russian).

At the Dacha

We have been really overwhelmed by the kindness and hospitality of everyone we have met in L'viv. We have been helped at every step of the way - from the airport to the apartment, at the university, and getting around town.
Today was a great example of this hospitality. Walter, who helped us visit the local markets on Sunday, took us to his dacha out in the countryside. The dacha was about a 20-minute drive outside of the L'viv city limits, past large and impressive homes for the new rich to a small country one-lane road leading to cottages. Walter reported that all citizens of Ukraine have the right to some land in the country, but they have to maintain it. Some people choose to forego this property and the incumbent tax burden, but other use it for cultivation (for personal subsistence or to sell in the L'viv markets) or dachas. Walter's dacha was a nice multi-story home near the end of the road.


We arrived around lunchtime, but spent some time opening up the place. Carter roamed the gardens and was particularly enamored of the caterpillars on some of the flowers. He just loved running around on the sidewalks between the terraced gardens, reporting the colors of the flowers. We had a nice lunch of bread and cheese, and then relaxed for the afternoon. Carter continued exploring, Lea chatted with Walter about his impressive garden, and Erik took some time to sit and read. After resting for a few hours, Walter prepared a dinner of delicious sausage, potatoes, and tomato/cucumber salad. We washed it all down with kefir - a cultured milk drink popular in Eastern Europe. It was a wonderful day of relaxation, fresh air and nature made better by the perfect weather.

Upon our return, Walter installed a swing in the doorway to our living room for Carter. Now to figure out how to cook the bags of apples and rhubarb he gave us. And did we mention that our oven does not work (but the microwave has a convection oven function)? Please send recipes.

P.S. Another rumor about yesterday's water situation. Walter told us that he heard on the radio that it was not part of the regular maintenance, but rather a failure of the water system in our part of town.

Water Woes

"Every year, the municipal workers of L'viv prepare the water system for the winter." We are not sure what that means precisely, except that it was the reason given to us (and many others in town) for the spigots running dry from some time before we woke up until about 6pm today. We are ready for showers, dish washing, and a load of laundry! We are working on this project right now, while the water lasts!
During the day, we visited a store that was something like Big Lots meets Aldi (with an East European twist). Anatoliy Romanyuk took us since it is a membership store and he has an entry card (also, he kindly offered to help us find some supplies). Upon arrival, we found out that the store does not admit any children under six years of age, so Erik and Carter stayed in a cramped playroom with the disinterested young staff and several small kids watching videos and playing with toys. They colored pictures, counted, and organized the toys (Carter's idea). We found most of the items on our list (house supplies like large glasses, a chopping knife, and, of course, diapers) and were even given a free bottle of champagne because our purchase was so large. Some items were evasive and may not be available here; we will simply adjust our habits in their absence (what we would give for a rubber spatula!). The store was incredibly crowded and simply crazy - it took 45 minutes just to stand in line at the checkout!

Of course, after dinner we took a stroll and fed the birds!

Our Arrival

We arrived in L'viv on Friday, August 10 after a relatively smooth, but long trip. We now have DSL set up in our apartment and will be able to provide updates on our travels more regularly. The last few days have been busy, setting up the apartment, getting acquainted with the city, and meeting new and old friends.

Upon arrival in L'viv from Vienna, we climbed down the stairs from the plane (there are no gateways in L'viv) and onto the bus waiting to carry us 50 yards or so to the terminal. The locals quickly rushed off the bus to get in line for passport control. Much to our surprise and delight, we were moved up to first in line because of Carter (everyone with small children was able to "cut" up to the front of the line). Our good friend and colleague, Viktor Krevs from Ivan Franko National University in L'viv, met us at the airport with Serhiy, the university's best driver. All of our baggage arrived intact, and we settled in our apartment.

The apartment is in the best location possible - in the center of downtown - and is quite nice. To the right is the view from our window. The apartment is the L'viv homebase for Alex and Yasia Tsiovkh, faculty members at the University of Kansas (they are originally from L'viv). We have a foyer, large living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. The staff that manages the apartments is incredibly nice and accommodating. They have already made a repair to the washing machine and arranged for quick DSL setup.

Our first task was to seek out provisions. An hour after arriving in L'viv, Erik went to Arsen, a local US-style grocery store chain, and got the basics. On Sunday, Yasia Tsiovkh's brother Walter took us to the two markets closest to our apartment (a 5 minute walk to one, and a 10 minute walk to another) and we bought fresh fruits and vegetables. The prices at Arsen are comparable to the US for many items. But, the market prices are much cheaper.

Erik also needed to do some extra shopping since his glasses broke on the plane. Fortunately, he had his prescription with him and went to a nearby optician. He placed his order on Saturday and the glasses were ready on Monday morning – and they cost $40. Shopping has been an adventure, as Lea has been trying to find all kinds of things, such as hairspray (lacquer here), and hopes to find the rest of the items on the list tomorrow. Some may be impossible, as trying to find cups larger than 8 ounces has resulted in bewildered reactions.

Carter has been amazing: patient, curious, and good-natured about all of the change. He was fantastic on the airplanes, and much more tolerant than his parents. He has been happy we brought some of his favorite toys. He wants to go on stroller rides around town, and walks down the stairs from the apartment loudly reciting his alphabet while we carry the stroller. At least he is reciting it forwards, of late, he has only wanted to do his alphabet backwards. Despite attempts to get him to do normal children's activities, his favorite thing to do in L'viv is to "go feed birds." L'viv has many lovely parks and public squares where birds congregate. His howls of joyous laughter have entertained many of the locals. His stale Dora the Explorer cereal has kept the local birds well-fed, also. On the left is a photo of Lea at a local cafe.

On Monday, Erik met with colleagues at the university to discuss his teaching schedule, locate his office space and so on. He will be co-teaching a class on elections with Yuriy Shveda and a class on democracy with Anatoliy Romanyuk. He knows both of these scholars well, as they visited the University of Kansas in the past and he has seen them on his previous visits to Ukraine. On the right is a photo of Erik and Carter in front of the L'viv Opera House, a 5-minute walk from our home in L'viv.

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Traveling to L'viv

Tomorrow we travel to L'viv - via Atlanta and Vienna. We should be back in contact in a few days. Until then, here is an image from my last visit in March 2006. I took this photo during a political rally on the main square in town, across the street from the apartment where we will be staying. With contentious elections coming up in late September, we plan to see more events like this right outside our window!

-Erik