Strolling around in Lviv, Ukraine

It has been cold and icy since we arrived in Lviv, which isn't surprising since we are in Ukraine and it is mid-January.  While Annette has been attending her ELF conference in our hotel I've ventured out to explore some of the city.  Monday morning the streets and sidewalks were treacherous as a result of freezing rain on top of existing snow and ice.  Everything was like an ice rink, and I slipped and slid my way around the downtown area for a few hours until I was totally exhausted.  The ice didn't seem to bother the locals however; I just had to swallow my pride as old babushkas and young women with 4" high heels zipped past me on the sidewalks.  I didn't take any pictures, but I managed to stay upright the whole time, which was my primary goal. 

This morning I looked out the window of our hotel room and it was raining, and with a bit warmer temperature it wasn't freezing.  I hoped that would make the walking a little easier, so after breakfast I grabbed my camera, umbrella, walking pole and backpack and took off to explore more of the city.  I couldn't have been more wrong, since the rain added additional hazards to navigating the streets and sidewalks of Lviv.  For the most part everything remained icy, the new rain just shined it up and made it even more slick.  In addition, massive puddles were everywhere, so crossing a street required extensive planning to pick the high points to avoid ankle-high pools of icy water.  Then the cars would go by and splash everyone on the sidewalks.  To make the stroll even more fun, everything was melting from high on the buildings so everyone was zigging and zagging to avoid the cascades of dripping water from above.  It was really quite an experience and after 4 hours I was totally pooped and wet and was very happy to return to Hotel Nobilis.  I am still having flashbacks of fear over one 3 block portion of my walk today.  It had all the ice and puddles and drips described above, but was also slightly downhill and for some reason extremely icy, and the sidewalks were large round cobblestones, which are pretty slippery even when they are dry.  I basically tried to skate or shuffle my feet the whole 3 blocks - not fun!  But no slips or falls, so a good day after all. 

I seem to be having the same problem Annette was having the other day so I apparently can't post any photos right now.  But, I will go ahead and post this narrative to the blog now and add the photos of Lviv as soon as I can, so check back soon.