The Perogy Trail

It started innocently enough, but it didn't take long for this idea to have a life of its own....perogies everyday we were in Poland and Ukraine! Everyday, with no exception!

On the first day in Poland, we found a small traditional restaurant devoted to perogies. They were "almost" the best I have ever tasted. That's when it started!



Sorry Jim..everyone has to have at least one of "these" pictures on the blog.



We tried many types of perogy available, ranging from sauerkraut, cranberry, cheese, Ruskie, meat and deep fried. The cranberry perogies were not a big hit and were ever after called the "bleeders". My travelling companions were far more adventurous than I and were willing to tackle any type, not always successfully.

Fred and I stayed on the trail even after we left Alice and Jim in Lviv and, in fact, had perogies twice in one day. We were attending a local festival when we tried our least favourite perogy - a cheese perogy that was cooked on the BBQ. We bought four of them thinking they were called cheese perogies because of the filling, but they were actually made completely from cheese - no dough. They even squeeked when you bit into them.



We did add to our perogy feast by having local side dishes, some good, some not so good.

Fried potato pancakes.

Pickled appetizers.

Soup sampler.

We tried to have Jim vary his menu by trying the pig's knuckle frequently found on every menu... no luck!

Pigs knuckles.

Following the perogy trail was great fun, but I can honestly say I have had my fill for awhile. As Alice said, "We would all look like the Pilsbury Doughboy if it weren't for the thousand stairs we climbed everyday!"

More Roots and Babas

I forgot to include this picture of Fred and the town name yesterday.

One search over, another one to begin.

Jim's relatives were originally from this area of Ukraine and he wanted to see if it was possible to locate the family townsite/gravesite using the information he had gathered in Canada. It was a difficult task and we were unsuccessful in this search, but we did meet many new people who were more than willing to offer advice.


We were looking for a certain cemetery when we met the first baba - she brought in two other people to help with the confusion of town names. It was a scene I will never forget - the babas giving advice and directions to four Canadians who were in awe.




We drove to the town she suggested and stopped to ask a man walking on the street and in true village hospitality, he immediately took us to see his father. No recollection of the family name.


The search was fun, especially meeting the local people in small villages, but we couldn't get any closer than narrowing down the search area. Maybe next time.

Returning to Their Roots

Andriy's father, Yaroslaw, generously offered to drive us to the villages that Fred's grandfather and grandmother had left around the turn of the century. The trip would take two days and would take us through some of Ukraine's best farming areas. The rural villages were an eye-opener, with some horse drawn carriages and very old, small equipment.

Andriy had made arrangements for us to meet with the remaining relatives in the village of Kotivko/Copechinski. We were greeted warmly by Marika and her two children. Marika is Fred's grandmother's niece. She is a stay-at-home mother as her husband is employed in Czech Republic, something he has done for the last 10 years or more.



We had a great afternoon visiting around the table, eating perogies and drinking homemade apple juice and sweet wine. Marika led us to the cemetery to visit the graves of Fred's and Alice's great grandmother and also their great - great grandmother. We also paid our respects to their great uncles.




No one wanted to leave, but we had another mission to complete on this hot day - searching for Jim's ancestors. This adventure is the subject of tomorrow's blog!

I apologize in advance for the errors in names and locations...Ukrainian names are very difficult for this Irish ear!

Evenings in Lviv

The first day we arrived (at 6:03 am), we kept right on running until we couldn't run anymore - 10:00 pm for us. After our whirlwind tour, we had a quick supper and then walked to Andriy's apartment to look at his new home, his photography and his wife's paintings. All very nice.


On other evenings we strolled through the main square and the parks near the centre. Sunday night was especially interesting as we saw men playing chess on park benches along with young couples enjoying the time with their children.


The highlight was an impromptu songfest, apparently started by one or two couples. By the time we arrived there was a large group of Ukrainians singing folk songs. Very stirring to see and hear.

Lviv

I am struck by the difference between Poland and Ukraine. Even though Poland appears to be progressing at a faster rate than Lviv, we saw some beautiful landmarks and witnessed some unique local customs in this western Ukraine city.





With the rare exception, we have chosen to walk the cities' centre to get a feel of the area. Andriy's tour was a continuation of this method of sightseeing. We visited churches, statues, art markets and even a bohemian bar. The bar was an interesting site as it followed no rules in planning or decorating and a breathtaking spiral climb for a beautiful rooftop view of Lviv. We had a great time - even with a surprise in the WC! Alice can explain this one...


Fred went to his first opera in this Opera House with his family in 2002 - he politely declined on this trip. (Darn, and I really wanted to go!)


Jim,just trying to blend in, much like he did in Turkey.

Lviv, Ukraine

We had to check out of our apartment at noon so it was a long wait until we could get on the sleeper car.


We caught the overnight train on July 15th from Krakow to Lviv - leaving at 10:39 pm and arriving at 6:03 am.



We met with Andriy (Fred's aunt's cousin), Andriy's niece and father for a whirlwind tour of the centre of Lviv. Andriy speaks a little English - Alice and Fred speak a little Ukrainian, so all went well. "Ok, let's go!"

Computer Problems

We have 18 minutes left on this charge and unless we can find an Apple Store in Krakow, we will be without a blog until we get home - computer battery may be kaput! Keep your fingers crossed!

Happy Anniversary

We celebrated Alice and Jim's anniversary today with flowers and a nice meal in the Main Square. Happy fourteenth!

Experiencing Auschwitz

The extreme heat settled one question for us - we took a hired car with AC instead of the train or bus.

George, our driver has lived in Krakow all his life and he saw first hand the destruction at Auschwitz. His parents took him to the camp when it was first liberated [he was eight] and he has vivid memories of the chaos, especially in the barracks.

I think the most noticeable thing about Auschwitz was the eerie silence - even the tour guides spoke in subdued voices. Some areas asked for complete silence.

In Birkenau, we walked the tracks where the hundreds of thousands of Jews were brought to the death camp. We also walked the road to the gas chambers where they led the Jewish people to their death. George told us 1.1 million people were put to death at this camp and the Auschwitz camp.

We saw huge displays of women's hair, children's shoes, hair brushes and eyeglasses, all taken from the Jewish prisoners.

Pictures are not allowed in many areas so our memories will have to suffice. Taking pictures of some of the displays somehow seemed wrong!

It was an exhausting day, partially due to the heat and partially due to the emotional impact it had on all the visitors.

Krakow's Heat

The heat is getting us down! No air conditioning in our room means no sleep. Heading to Auschwitz right away and will post when we return.

The Last Day

Istanbul has been a place of constant walking and exploring. Our last day was much the same as our first - walk, walk some more and finally accept the fact that we didn't know where we were [even though Fred liked to pretend he knew all the shortcuts].


We toured the spice market, taking in some incredible smells.

On the walk home, we passed through unknown territory and eventually saw the slums of Istanbul first hand. Not pretty, but safe enough.




We watched the making of flat bread the old fashioned way!





Our hotel was on the tram track and there wasn't much walking room when two trams met. The tracks were no more than one metre from the sidewalk. Great fun!


Our last meal in Istanbul on a beautiful terrace restaurant, overlooking the Bosphorus Sea.


We even found time to visit with one of the Red River Pub employees during the final World Cup match. It was a busy day and I'm sure all four of us will miss this wonderful city.