Oh dear, how to describe this days. Each day is so very special and awesome, each in its own way. Today we began the day in Kamianets-Podilskyi, and we are ending it in the same hotel. We decided to stay another day, but we had to change rooms and pay a bit more, but still quite cheap by American standards. So we eventually got that straightened out, and left our luggage in one of the rooms that was being cleaned, to be retrieved later.
And so we took off. We had a nice tour of this are of Ukraine on the way, but our first stop was Kryvche where there is a cave.
• Kryvche is known mainly because of its cave system, one of the longest in the world. It is also known for Kryvche castle which dates from first half of the 17th century and is built of sandstone, representing a typical castle from that period. So we decided to tour the cave. As luck would have it, a tour was about to leave. The tour was in Ukrainian, so I understood just a little, but I did understand a bit. The tour goes about 500 meters into the caves–it really is fascinating, but definitely not for the claustrophopic or anyone not sure of foot. It was up and down, through very tight places, many times bending way down. We probably walked for a good hour. The place was lit…for a while… but it still was not for the faint of heart. Bats fluttered about, and we saw some amazing rock formations that look like various animals and people. It was a very amazing place.
We were on our way back when the lights went out! Fortunately, our tour guide had a few flashlights and several others had as well (we were a total of 12 people). It really was amazing and I’m so glad I went, very interesting. I hope my pictures turn out!
Along the way there, and after, we saw several ruins, some small castles and palaces, and a few Polish Churches, all in ruins. We stopped at Skala Podilska and ended up having an excellent lunch there from a street vendor. They were called czeburaki, and were like a large pierogi, fried, and filled with chicken and some sort of cheese. They were excellent. We ate very well.
Eventually we headed back to our hotel. The scenery on the way was equally spectacular. Large open fields, some still growing crops, some already harvested. In some places we saw large farm machinery, in others, we saw horses and wagons, but not as prevalent as in previous days. We eventually made it back to our hotel and got into our rooms, about 3:45, and decided to have an hour’s nap. I did nap for about 40 minutes of that time, and it felt very good–I was very tired.
Eventually, I got up and found that Filip was still napping, so Wojtek and I took off for the castle here in Kamianets-Podilskyi. It turns out it’s just a few hundred meters down the street. So we spent a good hour exploring the castle. It really is quite fascinating. And here you could go up in some of the towers and walk some of the battlements…very, very cool. I took lots of pictures and we had a nice time, fueled in part by a beer or two. There is no OSHA in Ukraine so it was a bit dangerous at times, but it was a lot of fun, I really liked it.
Eventually we met up with Alicja and Filip and had dinner in the restaurant in our hotel. It was good and the total bill for three people with three beers and everything was under $20! Can you believe that? Quite inexpensive, and the food was pretty good, too!
After dinner, we took off to walk around the town square area and saw quite a few historic and old buildings. It was quite fascinating and was a very nice evening and a great time.
I am really enjoying my vacation to the max, it is the best time ever. Alicja is a great tour planner and we’ve seen some extraordinary sights. And who knows what tomorrow will bring. Well, for one thing, I know that it will eventually bring some relatives. I cannot wait! It’s the best vacation ever!
