Day 1: From Poland to Ukraine
Before we continued our journey to Lviv/Ukraine we had to spend a 4 hour transit in Przemysl on the Polish side of the border. We had a little snack in the beautiful restaurant of the central station. Unfortunately it closed at 20:00 so we were looking for a place to spend the remaining hours. The only place in close proximity happened to be the „Sindbad” Kebab House.
You know how it is: When you are waiting for something, time can move very slow. In order to keep ourselves busy my tour manager Daniel went back to the station to doublecheck the departure time of our train to Lviv.
It was then when we discovered that there appeared to be a lengthier than expected customs routine so we decided to join the queue immediately. Yet for the next three hours nothing happened. The door of the building was locked and we stood in the middle of that queue and it was raining like hell.
But we had some really nice conversations with fellow travellers. Everyone of them had their personal agenda why they were travelling to Ukraine that night.
One Ukrainian girl who has been living in Vienna for many years had an appointment in Lviv to pick up her wedding gown. A German guy from Dresden and his Ukrainian girlfriend were about to take part in her sister’s prom night celebration in Kyiv.
As individual as all our motives were: We were united by the queue and a slight impatience to continue our journey.
Finally the doors to the customs office opened and after another 30 minutes we boarded the train to Lviv.
People around us feel asleep immediately and I took a stroll through this very modern train. The restaurant hadn’t opened yet but was offering tasty snacks, a solid breakfast and great coffee.
Upon crossing the actual border several officials walked through the train. When they discovered my flight case they asked me to show them parts of my equipment.
Realising that we were travelling to Ukraine to perform concerts put a hint of a smile on their serious faces. Shortly after this episode another official with a dynamite-dog checked the train for explosives several times. After all this train connection is vital for the people of Ukraine so they
After nearly three hours we reached the central station of Lviv.