OK, this isn’t really anything particularly to do with Lviv other than I bought them here. But crab flavoured crisps from Lay’s (Walkers) are delicious, and should definitely make an appearance in the UK….. Wikipedia, which may or may not be the authoritative source on these matters, says that this flavour of crisps are only usually available in Russia and Ukraine.
Located opposite the new Territory of Terror Museum is this memorial to those who died in the Lviv Ghetto during the Second World War. It’s located at the site which was once the entrance to the ghetto (known as the Gates of Death), situated near to the still existing main railway line.
The scale of the tragedy here is enormous, as in 1941 there were 220,000 Jews in the city, many who had fled from western parts of Poland. By the time the Soviets liberated the city in 1944 there were only around 750 Jews left.
I didn’t think that the site was in the greatest of condition, there was grass between stones, litter at the memorial and some of the plaques were unreadable.
The monument itself, designed by Luisa Sternstein, which was installed in 1992. The sculpture is of a man in a state of despair, a powerful image.
A large menorah at the entrance to the memorial site. I was slightly surprised that there’s no information in English at the site explaining its relevance, but perhaps this will be changed now that the new museum opposite has started its operations.
St. George’s Cathedral is located on the top of a hill, which was noticeable given that due to some slightly poor planning on my behalf we had to walk up it. There has been a religious building on the site since the thirteenth century, with the current cathedral being constructed between 1744 and 1760.
A pretty little cat at the entrance.
Before the Second World War this cathedral was the mother church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, but it was suppressed by the Soviets in the 1940s. It remained part of the Russian Orthodox Church until 1990 when it was, after a period of occupation, restored to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
The cathedral’s altar. The design of the interior is mostly baroque, although there are also elements of rococo and classicism, which all come together well.
The bright and open nave. There is also apparently access available to the crypts where some of the bishops are buried, although I didn’t see this during the visit.
There’s a copy of the Turin shroud on display in the cathedral.
There’s a high nave and a central dome.
Looking back across the nave area towards the main entrance to the cathedral.
It’s not in the centre of the city, but it’s not a long walk from the Old Town area of Lviv. The cathedral had a courtyard to the front which gave it additional character, and there were decent views across the city from the elevated location. There were some toilets to the right-hand side of the entrance which cost 2UAH, although the level of interest in their cleanliness did seem rather limited.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this bar, but the frontage was certainly rather impressive. There was also a friendly vibe from the customers hanging around outside and inside the entrance, so it felt a safe environment.
The whole impression of the bar was no less impressive once we’d entered. On the ground floor is a shop selling bottled beer and other related items, with drinkers welcome in a large bar area.
We went up to the first floor where there is a dining area which looks down onto the shop on the ground floor. The band is visible playing in the background.
I was slightly disappointed that given the size of the operation that the bar didn’t have any of their darker beers. However, they had the Red Eyes, which I’d had the previous day at another bar, and the taste of this was fine. It was served at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature and had a pleasant citrus taste.
Some of the internal advertising of the beer, some of which is quite brave to say the least.
I went for the half chicken and the fish balls, which were both served as bigger portions than I had expected. I had intended for the fish balls to come as a starter, but it didn’t make much difference to the whole proceedings.
The fish balls had a tender flavour with a crispy exterior, and the tartare sauce also tasted home-made. The chicken was excellent, the crispy onion added texture and the potato wedges had some flavour on the coating. The chicken was tender and moist, with some spice on the coating of the skin. The food was well presented and I felt represented really good value for money, coming to around £5 in total.
A view down onto the shop area. There was live music which started playing at 19:00 and we had an excellent view of that. I must admit that for my personal preferences I didn’t like the volume of the music, but the quality of the music was decent. I understand though that there’s a quieter part of the restaurant available for anyone who wants to eat away from the music.
All in all, I thought that there was real theatre to the whole location, which is rather what is promised in the bar’s name. The service was friendly, attentive and helpful, with the staff member speaking excellent English. The bar accepted both cash and card and I felt that the pricing was competitive given the quality of the experience.
We couldn’t initially find this craft beer bar as we had just assumed it was at street level, but it’s actually down some steps in an atmospheric basement location. It’s clearly signed when looking down towards the steps, with the opening hours chalked up on the board.
The beer selection which had some interesting dark beer options, with the staff member also willing to give further information about them. The service was excellent, it was always attentive, friendly and helpful.
There’s also a printed beer list.
Contemplating something…..
The interior, all clean and comfortable. There’s a reasonable amount of seating inside, and there are also some seats by the bar.
We didn’t order food on this visit, but I noticed that the food being served looked rather appetising.
I tried a few beers, this is the milk stout, which cost around £1.30. Rich in flavour, at the appropriate slightly chilled temperature and it had a pleasant aftertaste. I also finished the visit with the Cherry Twins fruit beer which was a sour and had an enjoyable flavour.
The bar accepts both cash and card and the staff member spoke excellent English. The prices are reasonable and I liked that the selection of beer was extensive and clearly well thought through.
I’m slightly sceptical of this story in the Lonely Planet Guide, but only because I can’t find any other source which repeats the same information. Anyway, Lonely Planet say that this now childrens’ playground on vul Chornomorska was once a row of houses. The houses collapsed from the vibrations of the tanks which were sent urgently to Hungary in 1956 to try and resist the Hungarian Revolution which was taking place.
There were some limitations on taking photos at this church, so the above one isn’t mine (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lviv-Armenian.jpg).
And nor is this one of the rather glorious interior (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Church_tonemapped.jpg).
The information board to the front of the church, which is a little tucked away in a courtyard. The church dates to the late fourteenth century although was much modernised in the early twentieth century. It’s a relatively small church internally, although the cloistered area and attached buildings still survive. The building does feel much more of a church than a cathedral, and I’m assuming it only has the latter designation because it’s where the local bishop sat.
Between the seventeenth century and 1945 the church was part of the Armenian Catholic archdiocese. However, when the Soviets took over after the Second World War, they suppressed the church locally and its ministers were arrested and some transported to gulags. The church building was used to hold stolen artworks during the Soviet era, but it was returned to the church in the 1990s.
Since then it has been shared between the Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholics, with the building having undergone a major restoration. This process is still ongoing, with the interior of the church now bright with vibrant colours. The murals on the wall are mostly modern and some of them have some quite disturbing scenes on, I wasn’t at all sure about the ghostly ones.
Some parts of the stonework removed during the recent restoration of the church and older gravestones.
Situated outside the city’s Dominican Cathedral, this fun sculpture is of the artist Nikifor Krynicki. He was a quirky artist who painted over 40,000 pictures during his lifetime, despite no formal training. He lived from 1895 until 1968 and this sculpture was unveiled in 2006.
Some more parts of the sculpture.
After lots of church visiting I felt that it was time for coffee and cake….
Well, how tempting! As usual I never quite know where to order from, so I ordered at the counter and the food and drink was brought over promptly. I think it was probably table service, but either way, it was efficient and the staff were friendly and spoke excellent English.
The dining environment was comfortable with numerous customers sitting with their computers doing work (or looking at Facebook for all I know….) and the ambience was laid-back. It was all clean and well organised, with the staff member at the till finding my order promptly when I went to pay.
The coffee was well presented, at a drinkable temperature and with a pleasant flavour. The chocolate eclair was creamy and there was a generous amount of chocolate on top, all with a fresh taste. Reasonably priced, the drink and eclair cost around £2.
I have this habit of always visiting the best rated burger restaurant in any city, as they’re usually on-trend, customer service friendly and have a high quality product. So, in Lviv, that restaurant was Delicateka.
I couldn’t find the menu on-line, so here’s the English version for anyone who wants it. They hadn’t translated the drinks menu, but the staff member spoke excellent English, so it didn’t matter.
Some of the decor.
This is Red Eyes, a local beer made by Pravda Beer in Lviv. It was a very drinkable beer with a slight citrus flavour.
The bar area.
I ordered the Tex-Mex burger and managed to forget to order chips….. But, the burger was excellent, although it was slightly messy to eat because of the chilli. The beef was tender and rich in taste, and although it was cooked well done the meat was still soft and full of flavour. The tomato and sauce added extra taste and the bun was of a decent quality, with the bacon adding some texture. This was above average, one of the better burgers that I’ve tasted.
Jonathan went for the ramen, which looked rather decent.
The service was friendly, engaging and pro-active, with the environment being modern and on-trend. The food was reasonably priced, about £3 for the burger.
