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.