Day 03. 22 July 2011

I get up at 7 as the breakfast is not served earlier. The night before i decided to head too Lviv as i would like to see it. Im ready to leave a litte past 8. The road to the Ukrainian border is quit good. I arrive at the border. Just as a local Ukrainian passes me on a motorbike, we chat a bit with sign language while waiting in line. He just drives to the front of the line, and i decide to follow him. It seems very natural, and nobody takes any offence. The borderguard are very friendly, and the paperwork is quickly done, and im free to go into Ukraine with a big smile and ”Welcome to Ukraine”. I drive 200 meters to a tjeckpoint, and there im missing a stamp from customs. Ups... back to the border, but its no problem, i get the stamp and off i go again.

After a few minutes of driving it becomes very clear that this is a different country, just the looks and feel of everything is different. The roads are in so bad shape, i never seen anything like it. Soon i catch up with 3 Ladas doing some kind of slalom. It looks weird from a distance, but as i get closer i see that they are dodging pothols. Im very happy to be on a offroad bike, as the suspension makes it possible to go quit fast without too much trouble. I pass some weird Chimney/monument thing and decide quickly to stop, and take a photo, as i brake and pull off the road I stop next to a big puddle. Suddenly my bike get out of balance and i drop it... it lands in the puddle... and get all muddy. On top of dropping my bike it also starts to rain. I continue to Lviv, and as i enter the city it pouring down. Lviv is a Unesco World heritage site, so a lot of it is kept as in the old days. So the roads are copplestones mixed with railroad track for the metrolines. And its not like the copplestones is all nice and flat, no they are just one big jumble. Mixed with the rain it makes for some very interesting riding.

I arrive at Sun Hostel, which is in the city center. The girl in the lobby is very nice, but there is a problem with my reservation. I reserved for two nights but they only had room for the first night. She solves the problem, but i decide to just continue the next day as half a day in Lviv is ok for me. I ask about parking for my motorcycle, and she tells me to bring it in the lobby, good service!! I walk around town for the afternoon, its very beautiful. After dinner i come back to the Hostel and there is quite a few people in the lobby drinking beer and chatting. I get a beer and sit down. Soon its a party, with people from Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine. I must explain countless times what im doing and where im going. We end up drinking vodka and dancing till 4 in the morning. Lots of fun!!

The puddle and a Lada.

Secure parking