Kiev, Ukraine

If driving to Lviv was a real hassle, it was nothing compared to the drive from there on to Kiev. The city was well sign-posted and the roads were much smoother but my problems came from the long arm of the law, the police - who are not only everywhere but are mostly shifty characters too. I must have passed at least a dozen police checkpoints on the way and five of those pulled me over:

1 - Barely out of Kiev I passed my first checkpoint and, half expecting to be flagged down, I watched them closely as I passed. A minute or so later and a police car came speeding past with it's siren blaring and I pulled over to the side of the road. I had my documents seized and was asked why I didn't stop at the checkpoint when I was signalled to do so. Now, I take issue with this point as I am fairly certain that I was in no way signalled to do anything but I had to follow the police back to where the others were - which turns out to also be the police station.

After discovering I spoke neither Ukrainian nor Russian, one policeman pointed to a fine of 1530hry (£120 roughly) on a piece of paper. Now, I knew the deal with the police that a charge can be reduced to whatever you have in your pocket - which is then transferred to their pocket in a subtle motion. I had a pathetic 41hry on me (£3 - and not enough for a police bribe) so I was suddenly in trouble as he sighed and put my driving licence in his shirt pocket. Then I had a brainwave, "euro?" I said, "euro" he replied nodding. I had some knocking around in the back of the van so €20 lighter, and with a warning not to mention this to anyone, I was back on my way. You will keep this to yourselves, right?

2 and 3 - The next couple of times I was pulled over it was for a routine, if none-too-friendly, check of my documents and look around the van. After kicking the tyres and checking there was nothing they could do me for, I was left to go on my merry business once more.

4 - After seeing the police ahead, I checked my speed but was flagged over all the same. It turns out that both myself and the sat-nav were wrong in thinking this was a stetch of 90km/h road, it was infact (although not signed) reduced to 60km/h in this particular spot. They showed my the speed camera with a picture of me doing 88km/h and they had me. They knew they had me. I knew they had me. And they knew that I knew they had me.

The fine was supposedly 1700hry and they were clearly going to hold out for a pretty substantial bribe this time as they conferred to each other in the car. Having already given my cash away though, I had nothing on me so with the police holding my documents I was made to follow them back the other way for miles to an ATM. My clever story, thankfully which was believed, was that my bankcard would only let me take out 500hry (about £40) in another country. They begrudging agreed and after a discreet passing of money I was back on the road again.

5 - Nearly at Kiev I was pulled over yet again and by this time I was fed up and just wanted to get out of this damn country. The policeman made me open the rear doors and noticed I was carrying a football with me. We talked for a minute and our mutual rivalry with Liverpool (he was a Man Utd fan) and then with a joke and a smile I was on my way again. Maybe they aren't all bad eggs.

I reached Kiev, the most eastern point of my proposed trip, and stayed at Prolisok Camping. The site was full of various bible camp groups and people here for Independance Day with no room for little old me. Without another campsite anywhere near the city, I was luckily allowed to stay in the carpark with use of the shower and toilets for 25hry/night (a bargain £2) - result!

The first day, I biked the long trek into the city to visit the Pechersk Lavra (or Caves Monastery) - one of Ukraine's most famous sights. It is divided into the Upper Lavra, housing the majority of the better church buildings and courtyards, and the Lower Lavra where the actual "caves" are situated underground. Entering through the upper Trinity Gate, plastered with biblical figures brings you out onto the square with the spectacular gold-topped church, the tall belfry (currently being patched up) and the green domed cathedral.

The best part though is went you head down the hill to the Lower Lavra area and wander through the weird passageways which run under some of the other church buildings (really, too many religious building to keep track of). Lit only by your own candle, you move slowly through the passages which were once living quarters and underground chapels. Now they are lined with the green cloth covered bodies of former monks in glass coffins and people stop at every coffin (or indeed picture frame, piece of tapestry, section of wall, or anything else) in order to kiss it and say a quick prayer.

After leaving the monastery, I visited the park just to the south which is dominated by the massive Statue-Of-Liberty-like Rodina Mat. Known affectionately to the locals as "Tin-Tits", for obvious reasons, the huge soviet statue is to commemorate "Defence of the Motherland". The rest of the park holds various old tanks and war memorials too.

Going north brings you to another soviet style monument, Russian and Ukrainian men shaking hands under a massive steel rainbow. It is a nice place to stop for a beer and look out over the Dnipro river and the less reputable east side of the city which I am ashamed to say I never reached. While I was there, work was vigourously underway to set up stages and fairground rides ready for tomorrow's big day - Ukraine's 20 years of independance beckons.

The next afternoon, I went into town to join the celebrations. To my surprise, I was met by a wall of uniformed police, followed by a wall of riot control police, followed by a wall of military soldiers - each with more substantial weapons. Apparently there were some sort of religious protests to be going on in the city that day and there was no way the government was going to let it get out of hand and ruin the big party.

In town, huge areas of the main streets were pedestrianised for the day with lots of stages, kids activities, and shows ongoing in the afternoon. There was a breakdancing dance-off, a kids football cup competition, the obvious karaoke stage, a rollerblading high jump contest and skateboard park free-for-all to name but a few.

As the evening approached though, all eyes turned to the main stage on Independance Square (appropriately) where cheesy Ukrainian pop-stars took it in turn to perform with a break in between each one to showcase Ukraine's big moments in history on the big screens. It turns out no act is as popular here as any reference to boxing and the Klitshcko brothers or to football, Euro 2012 and Andrei Shevchencko.

When the final act finished there was a quick message from the president displayed before a monumental firework display over the city which lasted for nearly 30 minutes. The streets were lit up by this point with Christmas style lights stretching down the road and by the time the fireworks were finished, there was a strong smell of gunpowder as people finally made for the exits - a special night!

In the morning I set about exploring the remainder of the city, beginning at the two church complexes which look almost identical from the outside - big bell towers and surrounding walls - and face each other across a big road junction. These are St Sophia Cathedral and St Michael's Church. I should explain at this point that Kiev is very much a spiritual centre where western and eastern philosophies meet and as a result is peppered with numerous churches and cathedrals - people now flock from across the country to Kiev just to visit these famous church complexes.

St Sophia is definitely worth the visit and you enter under the big tower to the big green multi-dome cathedral in the centre (as well as a few other negligable buildings). Inside, the walls and ceilings are plastered with 11th century paintings, which the reading material dismisses as "graffiti", as well as alcoves of mosaic patterns.

Kiev's most successful ruler Prince Yaroslav has a tomb here while the upstairs area houses a gallery of modern religious artwork such as the picture below made from thousands of traditional Ukrainian hand painted easter eggs.

Currently under restoration work

Prince Yaroslav's Tomb

St Michael's Church is the smaller quainter of the two with a pastel blue exterior and golden towers. Inside it is a mix of gold and biblical chaps looking down from above.

Elsewhere there are a few other buildings of note. Starting with the old, there is the Golden Gate which used to be the gateway to the old town but appears to be right in the middle of the city. Then inside the parliament area is the Chimera Building, absolutely covered in the heads of elephants, frogs, antelope, crocodiles, etc, like some mental taxidermist's house.

Going up at the moment is also a brand spanking new stadium for the European Football Championships next year. It looks great, although far from finished, and I can see why UEFA are keen for them to get a move on with it.

It is a huge event in these parts with loads of Adidas stores popping up in all the host cities and plenty of people sporting t-shirts in anticipation of the tournament. I wait with anticipation of how the police will deal with thousands of decending football hooligans next summer.

Finally, there is St Andrew's church, a big colouful blue and white building topped off with dark green and gold domes. It looks fantastic on top of the hill but a big security fence stops people getting up close to it.

On the whole Kiev has been a great and vibrant place to visit and I couldn't have picked a better time with the sun out and celebrations in the air. It almost makes the whole driving experience in Ukraine bearable. Almost.

Lviv, Ukraine

It was a long drive into the Ukraine from Slovakia and I eventually crossed the border via Poland in glorious weather. After an hour-long wait, having had my passport and other documents checked, van inspected and myself questioned (they thought I was planning to sell the van in their country), I passed through thinking "that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be".

Well, that was part one of about 8-10 booths and sections which you have to go through which eventually finished five and a half hours later with me finally going through the gate into the unknown of Ukraine.

Arriving at the border from hell.

It was an immediate change to cosmopolitan EU Europe, with single cows tied to trees grazing on the side of the potholed roads, bonfires on the edge of vast self-sufficient vegetable plots and men with proud moustaches hanging around outside derelict petrol stations. It is stange to say, but when planning the trip, this was the kind of culture shock I was looking forward to, onwards to Lviv.

My sat-nav knows about 5 roads in the whole of the country so I was following signs which started with a "pi" symbol and ended with a capital "B" with a few hieroglyphics thrown in between - not easy. What's more, insurance in the Ukraine is not mandatory, you can buy a driving licence or pass a driving test, and there is often three lanes between the two directions of traffic with the middle lane acting on a "first come, first served" basis. In other words, be on your guard when driving between the mix of 25-year-old Lada's and new BMW 4x4's.

Needless to say, by the time I got to Lviv it was late and I wild-camped before searching for somewhere to stay in the morning. There are no campsites in Lviv at all so I had the option to either stay in the garden of somebody who signs up to have campers stay with them (100hry/night) or to stay in a hostel dorm bed (65hry/night) with the van parked on the side of the road nearby. Having been assured that the roadsides are safe and applied my numerous extra locks, I booked into Sun Hostel in the centre ready to explore the city.

The hostel has a bath and as my washes have so far ranged from a warm communal shower to a cold dip in a river, to get a bath for the first time since leaving England made me more excited that it really should have done. I celebrated a long hot soak with an ice cold beer - bliss.

The central square, Rynok Square, is the best place to start wandering, and the Town Hall is located right in the middle. You can go up the hundereds of steps to the top of the tower which gives a cracking view over the city and helped me get my bearings. On the corner of the square is the Pharmacy Museum, a normal working Pharmancy in the front and an old one in the back full of wizard-esque potion bottles of different shapes, sizes and colours.

Behind the Rynok Square are St Eucharist Church with it's big dome and gold and white interior and Assumption Church with it's red tower and green dome.

There is also the plain Carmelite Monastery with twin towers and an extravagently painted ceiling and walls. These religious buildings supposedly form the centre of the old town. As a city, it seems packed with churches - but still not enough, as they get filled to overflowing with religious revellers pouring out onto the street and blocking the traffic.

Elsewhere is the University which is a grand building overlooking the park and the hilltop St George Cathedral. Inside, I accidentally crashed some poor kid's christening while in the corner is a tatty stretch of cloth in a big picture frame which is kissed on the way past by all the locals as well as a sort of 3D magic-eye picture of Christ, very surreal. Closer to the centre of town, there is also the Potocki Palace and the stunning Opera House with a big fountain outside.

North of the town centre on top of a sharp hill is the High Castle. It is a steep climb but the top is more of a viewing platform than a fortress and the view is somewhat overcast by the big reception tower next to it.

Out to the east is one of Europe's most special cemetaries and one of the highlights of Lviv. The Lychakiv Cemetary is a huge area of trees and graves ranging from simple iron crosses to elaborate stone tombs. Many of the graves are adorned with bright glass candle lamps which gives the whole place an infusion of colour.

One large area of the cemetary is dedicated to over 2000 Poles who died fighting here and is marked with identical gravestones stretching in all directions.

The best part of being in Lviv just now though is the lead up to 24th August, otherwise known as Ukraine's Independance Day, and this year will mark 20 years. There is a clear difference in the generations in this country with those that grew up during Soviet occupation and the fresh younger generation which grew up with the "Orange Revolution" and democracy. I know which one I would rather be part of.

The days leading up to Independance Day here involve a Folk festival of dancing and foodstalls in the main square where the locals dance the night away (very well too).

On my last day here, the festivities continued, but not just in the main square but several places in the city. In the park to the south of the hostel was a fairground and a big stage hosting various local kids and Euro-pop acts while several radio DJ booths spaced around the park tried to drown each other out resulting in a huge mess of sounds and tempos.

Elsewhere in town was another stage, blatently sponsored by an ice cream manufacturer as there were 6 ice cream stalls lining each side. When I dropped by, some German pop duo were playing "Das ist gut, Das ist fantastisch, Das ist gut, Ja Ja" over and over again to a techno beat which drove me mental. It was like a song written by a 4 year old and went on for at least 10 minutes (9 and a half minutes too long).

Back at the folk festival, the square was packed and the acts kept coming: some gypsy tin-whisle band, a guy juggling flaming batons, a folk dance group, and finally a couple of african drummers who balanced the drums on their head and danced around. Add to that some traditional Ukrainian food and a cracking ice cream and it was another superb festival night to end my time in Lviv.

It's now time to get back onto the dirty, potholed, poorly signed roads and head forward to Ukraine's capital of "Київ". That's Kiev to you and me.