Lviv - Odessa - a journey on Ukrainian railways

[Barciur]

What language did you use in Ukraine, is English much understood?

I used Polish mixed with Ukrainian. Polish language is very similar to Ukrainian, except for the alphabet - so they look drastically different as Ukraine uses the cyryllic, while Polish uses standard latin alphabet. But many words are similar and I had a lot more luck with Polish than with English, esp. with the train crew, train station etc. Hostel and waiters in Lviv were very tourist oriented so they used English. In Odessa, on the other hand, it's best to know Russian.

I am adding this ride to my wish list...

Ha yeah, you get hooked easily! I am thinking of taking a train to Russia next year, although that will require more planning, as visa is involved.

 

[Shanghai]

I've been to Kiev, but have never been to Odessa or seen the Black Sea.

We are considering a river cruise from Amsterdam to the Black Sea next summer.

Thanks for the photos, they were most interesting.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Ooh, I see a Chs7!

 

[user 6862]

You appear to be fairly relaxed about the security side of travelling in the Ukraine even though there is a civil war happening. Would you say that western Ukraine is not at all affected by what's happening in the east?

Would German be any use in Ukraine as an everyday language and buying tickets online is that only in Ukrainian?

Enjoyed your trip report a lot and found it quite inspiring, thanks

 

[Barciur]

Thanks for the kind words first of all!

Yes, I had no qualms at all about travelling in Western Ukraine and even in Odessa and in fact I was proven right - there was really no signs of any kind of conflict in Lviv whatsoever. The only reminders were a few billboards calling to help the troops, a few stands in a park about that and a display of a destroyed car with bullets and a lot of Ukrainian flags gathering support for the war effort. Otherwise, there is zero problems and you could probably fool yourself into thinking there is nothing going on in the east.

I don't think German would be of any use in Ukraine honestly - you're better of trying anything in English. Russian is also widely spoken and very useful, so I would perhaps recommend trying to learn a few things in Russian at least. Otherwise, English is your best bet. If you're in Lviv, most places downtown will probably be able to help you in English - bars, restaurants etc. Train station - not so much. So learning a few basic things would probably be useful, although I'm sure you can get around without it.

Buying tickets online is in ENGLISH The website is this: http://booking.uz.gov.ua/en/and you need to create an account but it seems rather painless. Also, if at first try you book and it rejects your card, worry not - try again. It seems to do that every now and again. Some of the tickets are online and spit out a pdf with a boarding pass and some you actually have to take to a ticket agent and ask to print - the word for that would be друк and it's pronounced "d-r-oo-k" If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to ask

 

[user 6862]

Thank you Barciur, very generous of you.

We have a client who we had to deliver a large item to in Kiev but it was becoming quite problematical, we ended up delivering to southern Poland and they used their own transport to ship it from there. That and what we read and see on tv made me ask the original question.

Have to say that on various travels we entered countries that the British Foreign Office advised against visiting, but info from people we met coming out of these countries suggested it wasn't as bad as the Foreign Office implied. I suppose like all of life it's possible to get unlucky being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but seeing your route the problems in the Ukraine are a long way to the east of where you were.

We are thinking of travelling early next summer, just maybe 5 or 6 days through to Odessa and back to the border, entering the Ukraine through Slovakia. We have both always wanted to go to Odessa and maybe Sevastopol and Yalta but we'll see.

Hope you also write here if you go to Russia, it's all such an interesting world out there.

 

[Barciur]

Yes, I will definitely share a trip report from Russia when i visit! I am planning on doing so in the summer next year.

As for your plans - Sevastopol and Yalta are currently under Russian jurisdiction (de facto), it is not possible to enter without a Russian visa and via Ukraine. Furthermore, legally, entering Crimea is against Ukrainian law, so if they do find out, you are risking a ban on entry into Ukraine for 3 years. I would not recommend doing that - the only way if at all I would recommend visiting Crimea is via land from Russia without any crossing of borders in Crimea so there is no indication of your visit there.

 

[user 6862]

Of course... I knew that Russia had annexed / agreed to take back their former region but in my excitement thinking about the travel possibilities I completely forgot that and had concentrated on the Ukraine situation only. Thanks for the reminder and for the idea of how to get there without creating further problems.

Borders imposed by geography and man are a constant source of amazement to me, in years to come will people wonder why we had them?