Category Archives: Mostly Tourism

Civilized Lviv

I decided to walk home from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I probably passed eight groups of volunteer patrols, 4-8 people, all but one patrol wore reflective vests. One rode bicycles. The cops have disbanded, and the mayor had called for volunteers after reports of provocateurs arriving in the city. There is also a curfew on alcohol sales after 6pm.

A brief visit to Maidan, Jan 30

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A brief visit to the Hrushevskoho barricades of the protests in Ukraine.

@ 1:42, I slipped on the ice and dipped my arm into the hole on that barrel’s lid. I didn’t think it was a big deal, but whatever chemical was started smelling so bad that I got kicked out of the coffee shop I went to to warm up. It smelled like turpentine, but it wasn’t flammable — at least not explosively so. I checked.

The protests are very organized and disciplined. There are guards both at the entrances and roving who enforce a no-alcohol, no-drunkenness policy. Shops, even within the perimeter, continue to function. There have been no smashed windows or looting.

The logistics are impressive too — kitchens, first aid stations, garbage remove, firewood.

Military Instincts

Maybe it’s the smell of revolution in the air. This evening, I was walking to the gym for BJJ training. There’s one pretty desolate street I walk down. I heard an explosion and didn’t know what it was. It made me alert.

Then fireworks erupted so suddenly, and with such intensity that I flopped belly down in the snow. It was a good spot. Beside a sort of low wall. I thought they were explosions, but it was such a good spot that I was safe. No one knew I was there either. I could have exfiltrated quickly and quietly. Only when I looked up did I see the glittering lights in the sky.

I dusted myself off and continued, more proud of myself than embarassed. It’s a good instinct.

Verteps

During the holiday season in Ukraine, which, by some accounts, lasts a month and a half (vid Romana do Jurdana), performance troops wander about. They dress as characters from the manger scene of Jesus’ birth and either sing carols or do performances.

Here’s one particularly absurd one which apparently took place in the office of Ivano-Frankivsk’s mayor:

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Happy Old New Year!

Happy Old -New Year to all my Ukrainian friends!

I had just sat down in a coffee shop when an old man opened the door and called to the ladies behind the counter in a surprisingly powerful voice? “Can we carol?”

Because of the layout of the coffee shop, all the carolers — ten or so — surrounded by table. When they finished another man threw grain on me. Down my shirt. Intentionally. :)