After another long border crossing (come on EU, let Ukraine in) we (Claire Nina and I) made it back to my city-like village. It was nice to have a more relaxing day, and highlights included blueberry picking, swimming in the river and making banana bread for Ira's birthday. Unfortunately, by the time we got to her house on a trail which didn't really exist, we forgot to sing her happy birthday.
The next day we explored Lviv, it was cool to see new reactions to things that had become routine for me. I saw my second ballet and made a complete fool of myself trying out some dancing moves afterwords.
That night we took a train to Uzhgorod, a border city mixing Ukrainian, Hungarian, Roma, Romanian and Slovakian cultures. Most poeple there seem to think of themselves as more European than Ukrainian. We could see the mountains in the distance, but didn't have time to get out there. It was nice to stay in a hotel with a stand up shower.
The next day we crossed the border to Slovakia. Everybody was bringing things they bought in Ukriane across the border to resell at higher prices. Trying to understand what one dude on the bus was trying to get us to take for him until we crossed the border provided an introduction to Melanie, a Switzerlandian girl who was brave enough to travel Ukraine by herself.
Slovakia was absolutely beautiful, the same rustic feeling as Ukraine, but cleaner somehow. Maybe it was the addition of trash cans in public places, or maybe a growing recycling industry, but it was nice to see a really clean country.
