A Trip to Przemysl, Poland

Sometimes it can be refreshing to take a trip across the border just to see what's on the other side. The town of Przemysl is just 5 km or so from the Ukrainian border crossing at Medyka/Schehyni, which in turn is an hour and a half from Lviv. For expats making the proverbial "border run," this border crossing may be a frequent destination anyways.

My preferred way of getting to Przemysl sounds complicated but is cheap and easy. Transportation to Przemysl and back from Kiev costs as little as $30 USD.

Take an overnight train to Lviv from wherever you are. Avoid "express" trains because sitting up for 6 hours is intolerable no matter what movies they show. Platzkart (3rd class) will be roughly 100 UAH ($13 USD) from Kiev, and kupe (2nd class) will be roughly 160 UAH ($20). Kupe typically has air conditioning, which can make a huge difference in summer.

Just outside the Lviv train station to the left of the main entrance is the bus to the border. If you don't dally getting out of the train, you'll probably get a seat. It's 15 UAH to the border ($2 USD) and just under an hour 40 minutes.

From the bus station at Schehyni (the final stop), retrace the last 100 meters the bus drove, turn right, and pass all the currency booths and insurance companies to reach the pedestrian border crossing. Procedures seem to have been streamlined in recent years, and it usually takes just half an hour to get to the Polish side.

There you'll find an ad hoc market area that looks pretty much like the Ukrainian side, with numerous locals holding up one bottle of vodka and two packs of cigarettes apiece. This is the maximum amount allowed, and they cross the border each day to sell inexpensive Ukrainian spirits and tabacco at a profit to Poles who drive by in cars looking for a good deal.

Next time I'll have to try it, too, for fun. You may end up waiting a few hours for a customer to show up, though, which can be a pain. You might also get a few elbow jabs as you crowd up to people's car windows trying to be the first to sell your goods.

With 2 zloty in hand ($0.60 USD) enter the bus that comes by every half hour or so taking people from the border to the nearby town of Przemysl. To get back, repeat all these steps in reverse.

Przemysl is an ancient Polish town of great historical importance, almost up there with Krakow and Lviv (wait, we all thought that was a Ukrainian city, right?) due to its strategic location at a natural geographic crossroads between Central and Eastern Europe. It's got a charming historical center with a bunch of old churches and museums, as well as the "only sloping market square in Europe." Well, every town's got to have its claim to fame.

Przemysl's got a few things going for it over Ukrainian towns, as well as a strike or two against it.

People muzzle their dogs when they take them for walks, and there are no stray dogs or dogs without leashes. No more random dog attacks with helpless owners standing by telling you, "don't worry, he doesn't bite" ("70 percent of the time," they always forget to add).

Automobile emissions standards are tangibly better than in Ukraine, and car exhaust, while present, is not chokingly toxic, but merely insidiously unhealthful.

Finally, the people are not as dour, and seem more relaxed, trustful, and open to outsiders. There is almost -- believe it or not -- a sense of community.

On the other hand, Przemysl and the rest of Poland have wholly embraced the automobile lifestyle to the detriment of public transportation and pedestrian-friendly development. Ukrainian towns are more pedestrian friendly and have more street activity per capita. Depending on your point of view, this could be seen as a pro or a con, but considering the high likelihood that world oil production peaked permanently in 2008, Poland's recent vast investments in automobile infrastructure will probably turn out to be a complete waste of resources.

Photos of Przemysl (from two separate trips)

Getting Around in Ukraine When Traveling

I've done a ton of traveling around Ukraine and am pretty used to the transportation "system." It is so counter-intuitive and hard to master for Americans, and yet so beautifully effective at getting you where you need to go in the most efficient way possible.

Let me describe the transportation legs of a recent trip to Crimea.

1. Home to train station (in Kiev)

Took minibus ("marshrutka" or маршрутка) to a metro station, then took the metro (subway, underground, U-bahn...) to the train station. Total time: 40 min. from apartment door. Cost = 3.70 UAH, or nearly $0.50 USD.

2. Kiev to Bakhchisaray

Overnight train, 3rd class ("platzkart" or плацкарт). Time: 16 hours. Cost = roughly 120 UAH, or $15 USD.

3. Bakhchisaray to Sokolinoe

We hopped out of the train to see what transportation was available at 5 am. I was expecting a different bus, but we quickly altered our hiking route to take advantage of the bus that was there that was leaving soon. Time: ~ 30 min. Cost = 8 UAH, or $1 USD.

From here we hiked through the mountains, enjoying scenery like this:

4. Road near Foros to Yalta

After descending to the road, we asked to find out which direction the nearest bus stop was, walked there, and began stopping any public transportation heading to Yalta. 3 minibuses passed by that were full before a large bus stopped to pick us up. A local lady at the bus stop told us this bus was coming "around 1 pm." Before that I had just about decided to start hailing cars and get a hitch, which might have cost up to 50 UAH after some haggling. We had to stand in the aisle of the bus until some people got out and freed up their seats. Time: ~ 45 min. Cost = 12 UAH, or $1.50 USD.

5. Yalta to Luchistoe turn-off (near Angarskyy Pass)

First we went to the Trolleybus station, but I didn't like that they took so long to get to the pass, so we walked up to a nearby minibus that was filling up with people. I asked if it was going to Simferopol. The driver said no and pointed me across the street. There we waited a minute until a minibus backed in. It wasn't going where we wanted, but someone pointed us to the bus station where a bus was supposedly just about to leave. We ran 50 meters and got the last seats before it filled up and left. I asked the driver to stop at the turn-off to Luchistoe. He asked me to remind him when we got close. The price of 20 UAH ($2.50 USD) for this minibus was standard regardless of destination. Time: ~45 min.

From here we hiked through more mountains, enjoying scenery like this:

6. Generalskoe to Solnechnogorskoe

We got to the small settlement of Generalskoe 40 minutes after one of just 2 or 3 daily buses had left. We started walking down the road till we got to the place with taxis and jeeps for tourists who want to visit the nearby Dzhur-Dzhur waterfall. I waved my hand at the price of 50 UAH a driver offered to take us to Solnechnogorskoe, just 7 or 8 km away (I was prepared to pay 10-20 UAH for a ride with a car already going in that direction). So we walked it and enjoyed the views and the quiet road.

7. Solnechnogorskoe to Alushta

Here we stopped to hang out at the beach for a couple hours, then walked up the road to enjoy some tasty, but fatty Uzbek cuisine for 80 UAH ($10 USD) for two people. Along the way I enquired about buses to get that issue out of the way. They said they drove by every 20 minutes or so. After our dinner we went to the bus stop and ended up getting in a minibus to Alushta, although we really needed to get to Simferopol -- further down the road. Time: ~ 45 minutes. Cost: ~12 UAH ($1.50 USD).

8. Alushta to Simferopol

We were let out at the Alushta bus station. Somewhere nearby was the trolleybus station, but I decided to enquire about buses first. After waiting a few minutes in line, I found out that the next few buses were already all sold out, so we would miss our train if we didn't find another option. So I did what you do in Ukraine -- approach a bus driver directly. I asked him if he had "standing spots" available (стоячие места). He asked how many of us there were. "Two," I replied. Turns out he had one seat free, so one of us got to sit and hold the backpacks. Officially this bus had no seats left. I paid the bus driver directly. We left just a few minutes after getting on the bus. Time: ~ 1:15. Cost: 25 UAH ($3 USD).

9. Simferopol to Kiev

Overnight train. See above.

10. Kiev train station to apartment

Metro + minibus. See above.

Total cost: roughly $40 USD.