We cleaned up the apartment and packed and left at about 10am. Right now, we’re sitting in the line-up at customs to get into Poland. We got scammed for 150 hryvny ($32 Cdn) for the “fast” line-up. Eugene says that often these scammers are quite honest, but today there wasn’t much of a line-up. Seems the customs officers all took lunch at the same time though.
We stopped at a gas station just before the border. The bathroom was so spotless and modern that it would put many Canadian public bathrooms to shame.
In a few metres, we’ll not be in Ukraine any more. What a wonderful country it is.
We arrived at this border at 12:19. It is currently 2:15 and we’re still waiting. We’ve eaten cheese on bread as a lunch – leftovers from the fridge – and it was pretty tasty. We can see Poland. We can almost touch it. Now if only the cars would move.
Our wait at the border ended up being three hours and four minutes in total. When we finally got onto the highway, the first thing we noticed was that the highway was well-maintained. No potholes. And there were lots of road signs. Very well-organized and easy to get around. We drove to Sanok, admiring the scenery as we went. It looked just like Ukraine, but more prosperous and no litter. This is how I imagine Ukraine could look in ten years. It already looks so much nicer than 2001, but Poland is beautiful. I didn’t expect to like it. I had no expectations.
We checked in to an absolutely beautiful hotel in Sanok called Hotel Jagiellowksa which was on the main drag. Eugene asked a local for directions, and was told to go in the exact opposite of where the hotel was. We finally got there, drove through the very narrow opening to the parking lot and checked in. The room was lovely! Two double beds, hardwood floors, open and airy. A small but functional bathroom and the water pressure in the shower was so good it could practically take your skin off. There was a sofa and two ottoman chairs. Very clean, spacious airy, comfortable.
We walked up the hill to downtown and tried several bank machines for money but we were having the same problem that I had had in Lviv the day before. Eugene was able to get money out on his card so we were able to have dinner at a restaurant off the main square. We were able to find a machine on the way back that would give us money, so we paid him back. Whew, was getting worried about that!
Differences between Ukraine and Poland:
Beer is ubiquitous in Ukraine; ice cream and cake in Poland. The girls where stilettos and trashy clothes in Ukraine; in Poland they look more like us. Ukraine has potholes, trash, poor signage; Poland has the opposite. In both places, the houses look the same, although Poland has a larger proportion of prosperous ones. In Poland, apartment balconies and front steps are decorated with bright pots of flowers. Lots of flowers in Ukraine too, but in gardens.
It was our first early night in a long time. After supper, we had tea and cake at the hotel restaurant.
