Hello folks, my tenth-grade class is currently studying travel media. I posed a contest to my students to write the best travel-blog-post about a travel destination in Ukraine. Congratulations to our winner, Tania Priymak! Check out her article about Lviv (a truly wonderful slice of Ukraine). A small note — Christmas season in Ukraine starts on January 6th (Orthodox…) rather than December 25th.
CHRISTMAS IN LVIV – by Tania Priymak
Lviv is the oldest city in Ukraine. At all times it has attracted tourists from around the world. Christmas has a special charm here. Residents of the city carefully keep the old traditions and enjoy the new fun. For a month at Christmastime in Lviv people sing different songs. There are Nativity plays, concerts and many fairs and festivals. Everyone can buy products of traditional crafts and enjoy plenty of Christmas specialties, tastiest and most popular of them are pampuhy (small rolls such as a doughnut or donut in USA).
How to get there?
Lviv is situated in Western Ukraine and is a centre of the Lviv region. Distances to Lviv from major cities: / Distances to Lviv from border crosses:
- Kyiv 545 km
- Poland / Krakovets 73 km
- Odessa 749 km
- Slovakia / Uzhgorod 262 km
- Kharkiv 1085 km
- Hungary / Chop 253 km
- Donetsk 1286 km
– Romania / Porubne 290 km
The main international motorways to Lviv are
1. E-40 Shehini-Lviv. 2. E-573 Chop-Lviv.
You can find information about transfer here (http://russticket.com/).
Accommodations (http://www.ct.lviv.ua/en/tourism/hotels/)
1.Vienna (hotel)
Liberty Ave. 12, tel. 244-43-14, 244-43-15; city center www.wienhotel.lviv.ua
2.Grand (hotel)
Lviv, Svobody Ave., 13, tel. 76-91-70, 72-76-65, fax. 76-90-60; city center; www.ghgroup.com.ua
3. Lviv
Lviv, Chornovola str. 7, tel. 242-32-70, tel./fax. 255-00-19; city center
How to spend Christmas in Lviv?
For many people has become a tradition to visit Lviv during Christmas. Every year more and more tourists come here on holidays and the city has a rich cultural program. Near the Opera House there is Didukh (this is the last sheaf of rye or wheat from the field, Ukrainian Christmas ornament).
During the holidays you can hear different carols and see outdoor mini-shows. In the Dominican Cathedral during all holidays until 1 February, the festival will have the “Great Song” during which 77 choirs will perform, as authentic, rural and as folk, vocal and instrumental.
You can also visit the ethno-rock-concert “Rock Carols”. The zest of winter holidays is an exhibition of ice sculptures.
If you’re tired, go to cafeterias in the city. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the service and atmosphere there. Also, you can enjoy delicious coffee during the singing of Christmas carols. Holidays in Lviv continue until January 25. In January the last “street” festival “Holiday of pampuh” takes place in Shevchenko’s grove.
By the way, you may also visit some interesting places or museums:
- Pototsky Palace, phone: (032) 298-67-99
- The Museum of Ancient Lviv Monuments, phone: (032) 272-28-86
- Museum “Rusalka Dnistrova”, phone: (032) 272-47-96
- “Glass Museum”, phone: (032) 272-06-71
WELCOME TO LVIV!
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