W E ’ R E H A V I N G A W E D D I N G !

Adrian and Natalia are pleased to announce their upcoming nuptials. The ceremony is scheduled for the morning of 15 January, 2011 at the Dominican Cathedral in Lviv, Ukraine. There will be a formal dinner and reception afterward at a location still to be confirmed, but that is likely to be the formal premises of the University of Lviv nearby.

The wedding weekend itself will be preceded by a week of skiing and fun at Bukovel Ski Resort, located in the Carpathian mountains approximately 5 hours from Lviv. We hope that the prospect of a week’s skiing at an international-standard ski resort will tempt some of you who might otherwise find the prospect of a trip to Ukraine daunting to make a holiday of it. Of course, you’re welcome to come to just the wedding itself, but if you do manage to make it for the skiing part as well, it will be fun! Never skied before? Don’t panic – Bukovel is an excellent place to learn and there’s plenty more to do besides skiing, too.

THIS IS NOT THE FINAL VERSION OF THIS

DOCUMENT. EXPECT SMALL DETAILS TO

CHANGE AND FOR INCOMPLETE SECTIONS TO

BE ADDED AT A TIME CLOSER TO THE EVENT.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Lviv, Ukraine? In winter? ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Coming to Ukraine ........................................................................................................................................................ 5

When to Arrive .......................................................................................................................................................... 6

Getting to Lviv ................................................................................................................................................................ 7

by Plane to Lviv Airport ........................................................................................................................................ 8

by Plane to Krakow (or Rzeszow, or Warsaw) and then by train ........................................................ 8

by Plane to Kyiv and then by train .................................................................................................................... 9

by car or bus ............................................................................................................................................................ 10

by train from Europe ........................................................................................................................................... 10

Getting Around and Staying in Lviv.................................................................................................................... 11

Getting to the Lviv town Centre (your hotel) from Lviv Airport ....................................................... 11

Getting to Lviv town Centre (your hotel) from Lviv train station .................................................... 12

Accommodation in Lviv ...................................................................................................................................... 12

Skiing at Bukovel ........................................................................................................................................................ 13

Getting to Bukovel ................................................................................................................................................ 13

Accommodation in Bukovel .............................................................................................................................. 14

Quality of Skiing ..................................................................................................................................................... 15

Ski Equipment Rental and Lift Tickets ......................................................................................................... 15

Help I can’t ski! ....................................................................................................................................................... 16

Internet, Mobile Phones, and Power .................................................................................................................. 17

Checklist / Things to Bring .................................................................................................................................... 17

List of things for everybody: ........................................................................................................................ 17

List of things only for those going skiing: .............................................................................................. 18

List of things for anybody joining Adrian on his Lviv ‘hill runs’: .................................................. 18

Food and Dietary Requirements ......................................................................................................................... 18

Ukraine: Language, Visas, Money, and Prices .......................................................................................... 18

Renting a car In Ukraine ......................................................................................................................................... 20

The Dinner .................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Ukrainian Language – Helpful Stuff .................................................................................................................... 22

Logistics .............................................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

SATURDAY 8 January .......................................................................................................................................... 23

SUNDAY 9 January ................................................................................................................................................ 24

MONDAY 10 January ............................................................................................................................................ 24

TUESDAY 11 January ........................................................................................................................................... 25

WEDNESDAY 12 January ................................................................................................................................... 25

THURSDAY 13 January ....................................................................................................................................... 25

FRIDAY 14 January ............................................................................................................................................... 25

SATURDAY 15 January ........................................................................................................................................ 25

SUNDAY 16 January ............................................................................................................................................. 26

LVIV, UKRAINE? IN WINTER?

Lviv is a beautiful old city that is currently coming into its own. The architecture is beautiful and our wedding is scheduled for right after the Christmas season (Christmas in Ukraine is celebrated on January 7th) when the city is nicely decorated and everybody’s in a festive mood. The snowy winter chill will be forgotten through the ubiquitous glühwein, hot cocoa, and good cheer.

The horse drawn carriages may now have been replaced by cars, but you will find the rest of the scene depicted Tadeusz Rybkowski’s 1914 “Lviv at Christmas” to be quite familiar as Lviv is very much a classical city with old-time charms.

COMING TO UKRAINE

WHEN TO ARRIVE

When you should arrive depends primarily on whether you want to come skiing with us. We highly recommend that you do your best to come skiing. Please – really make an effort. It will be worth it!

We intend on hiring a bus (coach) that will take interested parties from Lviv to the ski resort of Bukovel (about 5 hours away) midmorning (exact time TBD) Monday, January 10th, so you’d probably want to arrive the day before (Sunday January 9th). January 7th is Christmas Day in Ukraine, and so the old city will very much still be in a festive mood, and there will be a lot to do if you arrive early.

If you’re not coming on the ski trip, then you should arrive in Lviv on Friday , January 14th, though if you’re an experienced traveler, you just might be able to arrive in Lviv (almost certainly via train, as there are few morning flights) on the 15th itself.

More details on travel will be provided below.

GETTING TO LVIV

Lviv is a major city in Western Ukraine. Getting to Lviv is not easy. If you’ve not travelled much before, expect a more difficult trip than what you’re used to plus a bit of culture shock once you do arrive. However, fear not – the payoff is great. Once you’ve gotten your bearings, you will discover the place to be wonderful and the reward for your effort will be getting to know a place that is very much at the periphery of the beaten track.

There are a few ways to get to Lviv:

If you are flying from North America and want a reasonable comfortable route, take a flight that ends up in Lviv. This is the easiest.

If you are flying from North America and want a slightly cheaper flight, you may find it better to fly into Krakow, Poland and then take a train from there. However, after a long transatlantic flight, this may prove to be a bit much.

If you’re flying from Europe, there are flights to Lviv via Vienna, Warsaw, and elsewhere

However, if you want to save money, you can fly via discount airline to Krakow or elsewhere and from there take a train or a coach. This may work out considerably less expensive, but is a tougher way to go in some sense. But, it’s also a very interesting trip!

BY PLANE TO LVIV AIRPORT

Your first instinct may be to arrive to Lviv by airplane. The Lviv IATA airport code is LWO and the city is listed in some travel websites by its old Russian name of “Lvov” or its old Polish name of “Lwow.” If you’re arriving from outside of Europe, you can get to Lviv via connections in Vienna (Austrian/Tyrolean), Munich (Lufthansa), and Warsaw (Lot). We strongly recommend booking EARLY and taking advantage of sites such as www.kayak.com, www.opodo.co.uk, and www.expedia.com to search for the best deals. We have planned our ceremony during an aviation low period to help you take advantage of low-cost flights.

If you’re a little braver and/or budget conscious, you may want to consider arriving via Krakow, (or Rzeszow) Poland (see the section below this one).

At the time of this writing, Lviv airport is a disorganized mess, though they promise a massive overhaul in time for the 2012 European football championship. If you are flying into Lviv, after the bus drops you off at the terminal, you will be herded into a rather disorganized immigration queue. Make sure that you fill in your Ukraine arrival form whilst in this queue or beforehand! Occasionally, if you arrive immediately after a flight filled with Ukrainian workers returning from long stints abroad, you may find things a bit argy-bargy. Fear not, this is not a taste of things to come in Ukraine. Immigration and customs are cleared in the normal way at Lviv airport, after which you may pass through a second, small corridor that appears to have a metal detector in it. During this period, somebody may stop you and attempt to sell you travel/medical insurance. Unless you are totally and absolutely sure that the person speaking to you there is somebody official, we encourage you to ignore them – this is basically a scam preying on lost-looking foreigners.

BY PLANE TO KRAKOW (OR RZESZOW, OR WARSAW) AND THEN BY TRAIN

If you’re arriving from Britain (or even the USA), you may find it convenient to fly into Krakow (or Rzezow, or even Warsaw) Poland and then take a train (or, if you’re a glutton for punishment, a bus) to Lviv. Krakow is a particularly attractive point of entry – while it is nominally a bit further from Lviv than Rzeszow is, flights to Krakow are cheap and frequent,

http://www.kayak.com/http://www.opodo.co.uk/http://www.expedia.com/

airport transfers to central Krakow are cheap and easy, and, unlike Rzeszow, Krakow is a wonderful town where you’ll find plenty to do to keep yourself occupied while waiting for a train.

There are two basic trains from Krakow to Lviv. Both of these stop at Rzeszow as well, but, again, we don’t recommend Rzeszow if only because Krakow is easier and prettier in every way.

The first train departs Krakow every day around 1301 Krakow time. It arrives at Przemysl (“Per-em-ish”) at 1700 or so. You then have a couple of hours or so to find the “International (Międzynarodowy) Terminal”, clear customs and immigration, and get on the 1917 Eastern-European looking Blue/Yellow train for Lviv. This train proceeds painfully slowly towards Lviv and gets you into Lviv at 23:44 Ukraine time (2244 Poland time, 2144 UK time). If you steel yourself at the beginning with the knowledge that it will be a long trip on a slow train, the trip can be rather pleasant. Note: you may find this train listed as also potentially leaving Krakow at 1500 with a 13 minute changeover at Przemysl for the 1917 train. Don’t count on being able to clear customs and immigration and making this train in that short time interval! It is far better to catch the 1301 train from Krakow.

The second train doesn’t run every day, but is far faster and more comfortable than the first one. This train leaves Krakow Glowny at 22:34 and travels overnight so that it arrives at Lviv at 0603 the next morning. It’s a comfortable modern train comprised of three-bunk compartments. You must buy your tickets for this train at least three hours before its departure in Krakow – if you don’t, have a cash-laden conversation with the UKRAINIAN conductor and just get on – you’ll be able to “negotiate” something. You will be woken up a few times during the night for immigration and customs.

Remember that on Ukrainian trains, it is typical for the conductor to take your ticket. This way, he knows when to get you when your station is coming up.

To look up the polish rail timetable, do an internet search for “PKP On-Line Timetable.” This will almost certainly get you a page at www.polrail.com. For searching your route, use “Krakow Glowny” (Krakow Central) for Krakow and “Lwow” for Lviv.

Ticket prices: these seem to be somewhat random, but expect to pay about, oh, 80-120 Polish Zloty for the day train and about 160 for the overnight sleeper.

Take extreme care when changing money in Poland – while many places will give you a decent rate, a few, especially in the station building in Krakow itself, are absolute rip-offs. At the time of this writing, the ‘spot’ rate is about 2.85 zloty per USD and it is possible to exchange money therefore at around 2.75-2.80. In the station, they modern-looking cambio was offering 2.05 – that is, they were offering to steal a quarter of your money!

BY PLANE TO KYIV AND THEN BY TRAIN

www.polrail.com

Kyiv (Kiev) is the Capital of Ukraine. It is several hundred kilometers away from Lviv, though the two are linked by overnight (and other) trains. For most people, there is no need to fly into Kyiv. However, if you do there are several trains (both overnight and not) from Kiev central station to Lviv. If you need help with this, let us know! Remember, it’s about a 6 hour ride on the fastest train. However, if you’ve never taken an overnight train before, this works!

BY CAR OR BUS

It is in theory possible to drive to Ukraine from Europe (or Asia, ha ha), but generally speaking it is not worth the trouble. Queues for crossing the border into or out of Ukraine can take as much as a few days under the worst cases (though often they are in the 3-5 hour range) and once you get into Ukraine you will be at the mercy of road conditions and Ukraine’s notorious traffic police. Additionally, your GPS’s ability to map Ukraine may be at best questionable and at worst nil, and unless you have driven in Ukraine before, maps will be mostly useless, especially in winter.

If you are coming from Europe, you might as well leave your car at a safe place in Poland and take a train from there. That said, it’s not impossible, and if you are coming from somewhere like Germany, it may be ok. Let us know if you need help with this. Ensure that you have a GPS which is capable of mapping Ukraine, as road signs are insufficient.

An alternative to trains are buses. There are several buses that run from, for example, Krakow, Warsaw, and Budapest to Lviv. These have the advantage of being faster than cars since they benefit from special bus queues at the border. While in a pinch (i.e. tickets for your train have sold out) it may be possible to take a bus, in general there is little to recommend for buses.

BY TRAIN FROM EUROPE

It’s possible to take direct trains to Lviv from as far away as Vienna and indirect ones from, well, Singapore. Realistically, you may find www.seat61.com to be useful for overall orientation as well as www.polrail.com for Polish schedules and www.poezda.net for Ukrainian ones.

http://www.seat61.com/http://www.polrail.com/http://www.poezda.net/

GETTING AROUND AND STAYING IN LVIV

GETTING TO THE LVIV TOWN CENTRE (YOUR HOTEL) FROM LVIV AIRPORT

After clearing Lviv customs and immigration, you will soon be deposited in a large arrivals hall where you will be solicited for taxi rides. Taxis from the airport are ridiculously expensive by Lviv standards—expect to be taken for a ride to the tune of $10-$20 for the short 10-15 minute trip to your hotel. Alternately, you can catch the number 9 tram or trolleybus for under $1. You can ask the driver “Center?” (or, more correctly, “Tsenter?”) and if he says yes, you can be pretty sure you’re getting on the right one. If you don’t have Hryvnia, we suggest exchanging a minimum amount at the airport, as rates there tend to be bad.

If we know exactly when you are coming, we can arrange to have somebody waiting at the airport who will either take you to your destination in the city or point you in the right direction. Please use our online system to make us aware of your need in this regard!

GETTING TO LVIV TOWN CENTRE (YOUR HOTEL) FROM LVIV TRAIN STATION

As with the airport, you will be accosted by taxi drivers who will be more than happy to take you the short distance to Lviv city center for a ridiculously overinflated price, especially if you do your best impression of a tired and lost foreigner with expensive clothes and baggage. Alternately, you can take one of the trams into the center.

Better still, however, let us know exactly when you are coming and we can arrange to have somebody waiting at the platform who will either take you to your destination in the city or point you in the right direction. Please use our online system to make us aware of your need in this regard!

ACCOMMODATION IN LVIV

There are many options for accommodations in Lviv, and we generally leave it up to you. Prices vary wildly, even within the same hotel.

At the top end are three hotels in the center: The Grand Hotel, Leopolis, and the Opera Hotel. While they are all very close to each other, the Grand Hotel is the oldest and best situated, though it probably rests on its laurels a bit in terms of service and amenities compared to the other two. We personally found Leopolis’ staff to be particularly excellent.

At the time of this writing, the George hotel is undergoing restoration. The quality of the George is highly variable—people who have stayed there have described it as everything from decent to terrible. How it will emerge from its reconstruction is yet to be seen, but the location is good.

A popular choice besides regular hotels is to rent apartments in Lviv. This typically works out to about half the price of hotels. However, remember that it is winter and that it will be cold. If you opt for an apartment (do an internet search for “Lviv rental apartments”), make sure that it will be well heated and that it is within walking distance of the center of Lviv!

Finally, if you are arriving late one night and just need a place to ‘crash’, such as if you’re arriving Sunday night and plan on getting on the bus to Bukovel Monday morning, we can perhaps offer a limited number of “crash” spaces. This will be either in Lviv or in our family home in a nearby town. It will consist of not much, but it will be free and warm. This is available on a space-available basis.

Alternately, if you are a family member, including cousins, who are really straining their budgets to make it to Lviv, we can possibly find accommodation for you with our family at very low or no cost. We really do appreciate the effort and hope we can help!

SKIING AT BUKOVEL

For general information about the Bukovel ski resort, see www.bukovel.com

GETTING TO BUKOVEL

We will be providing a bus to Bukovel from Lviv. This bus will then be used in the Bukovel/Yaremche area to take us to and from accommodation, the ski area, and restaurants. If you want to go skiing with us, it’s probably in your best interest to get “on the bus.” We will probably also have the services of a limited number of private cars for assorted shuttle runs and tasks. Please let us know whether you wish to use the services of the bus – we will hire a bus based on the anticipated number of users and the costs will be split fairly among all.

www.bukovel.com

If you don’t want to be on the bus or are unable to join the standard plan to Bukovel, there are a few alternatives. For example, you can take a train to Ivano-Frankivsk (a city about two, rather than five hours’ drive from Lviv) and then take a bus from there, though this is for experienced travelers only. Alternately, there are inexpensive (youth-oriented) night buses that go from Lviv central station directly to Bukovel, though they may not be the most comfortable. In some cases, some of our friends might be taking private cars to Bukovel and we may be able to connect you with them at various times. Under absolutely no circumstances can we recommend that you attempt to drive to Bukovel on your own unless you have substantial experience driving in Ukraine in winter already.

ACCOMMODATION IN BUKOVEL

The “standard ski tour” will be staying in the hotel Karpaty (or a similar hotel, if we are unable to secure it) in the town of Yaremche, which is a solid 40 minute ride from the ski resorts of Bukovel. So, why the Karpaty?

The Karpaty hotel is big enough that we can all fit in comfortably and have room to roam. It’s a big old conference hotel.

There are several good and reasonably priced restaurants in Yaremche that can accommodate groups like ours

There’s an indoor sauna and pool big enough for a bunch of us.

They have a buffet breakfast suitable for a large group.

Rooms are reasonably priced for a decent standard

If somebody opts out of skiing for any given day, the hotel is big enough to wander around in.

We’re hoping that most of you who want to go skiing will join us at the Hotel Karpaty during our ski trip. We need to reserve rooms there soon, so please let us know ASAP. However, if you choose not to stay at the Karpaty, you have two basic alternatives:

1. Stay at a more expensive place, including right at the ski resort of Bukovel itself. www.bukovel.com. You can rent a place as close as right on the slopes if you so desire. We’ll see you there!

2. Stay at a less expensive chalet. There are many small ski chalets offering more basic accommodation (though better than basic apartments at Alps resorts!). These tend to be closer to Bukovel than the Karpaty Hotel, but nevertheless require a vehicle to get to the slopes. We typically stay in such places, as they are often family run and comfortable, but generally they are too small to handle groups like ours. Please let us know if you are interested. For what it’s worth, if our plan for the Hotel Karpaty does not work out, we may try to shoehorn our group into such a place.

At the time of this writing, this is our very rough estimate of prices for accommodation in the Bukovel/Yaremche area: Hotel Karpaty - $30-40 PPPN. Immediate Bukovel Area accommodation: $80-$2000 PPPN. Family run chalet apartment: $20-$40 PPPN.

QUALITY OF SKIING

Bukovel is Ukraine’s premier ski-complex. While the Carpathian Mountains aren’t particularly high compared to the Alps or Rockies, there are a surprisingly large number of pistes and the lifts and facilities are up to international standard. If you are an on-piste skier of any standard, you will likely be quite happy with the quality of skiing at Bukovel. On the other hand, off-piste opportunities are somewhat more limited, if you don’t count for the fact that the staff seem to mind far less that at-your-own-risk foray into closed runs and under-lift service roads than they would at, say, American resorts. There are more than adequate pistes for beginners. There is a freestyle park and a slalom course too.

Of course, this all hinges upon the availability of snow. Should we find ourselves in the first such Winter there without snow, we’ll surely pass the time hiking the mountains and learning more about Ukraine’s tipples. Or something.

SKI EQUIPMENT RENTAL AND LIFT TICKETS

Decent (Rossignol, etc) ski equipment is available for hire at the Bukovel resort itself. Slightly cheaper equipment is available for hire from any number of private rental places nearby. Expect to pay in the vicinity of $10-$20 per day for a full set of equipment at a decent standard. Alternately, of course, you can bring your own ski equipment from home, though

http://www.bukovel.com/

given the distances involved, unless you are an expert skier and really want your equipment, we wouldn’t bother. Snowboards are also available for rent, as are helmets.

HELP I CAN’T SKI!

You’re in luck! It’s a great time to start. Skiing is about “doing a little better each time”, and while the first day tends to involve a bit of crying and excuse-making, by the second day the light clicks for most people and they’re able to enjoy themselves. Adrian and Natalia are not expert skiers by any means, but through his time-tested manner of teaching (mostly yelling at you to do something and then giving you annoyed stares if you don’t comply instantly), Adrian has turned a fair number of complete novices into competent and safe early intermediate skiers in only a few hours. As such, Adrian will be conducting classes for novice skiers throughout the week (especially early on) and hopes that other more experiences skiers will take turns in introducing others to the sport as well. Additionally, instructors are readily available for private or group hire at Bukovel at prices less than half of those charged in the Alps and I’d be surprised if you couldn’t find one who doesn’t speak sufficient English.

INTERNET, MOBILE PHONES, AND POWER

If you bring your laptop, WiFI access is available in better hotels and cafes throughout Lviv. Internet cafes are also available here and there, though these tend to be the sorts of places where teenagers go after school to play video games and the PCs tend to be heavily infested with malware, so we heavily suggest against using such places for anything even remotely sensitive. In the center of Lviv, there is a modern shopping complex called “Opera Passage.” On the fourth floor there is a generic modern Italian/Pizza restaurant (take the escalators to the top). When you enter the restaurant, they give you a magnetic ‘credit card’ that you bring to the various tills when you order food and then hand to the cashier as you exit. While the food there is nothing special (if anything, it represents the creeping mediocrity of places such as Pizza Express from the UK), they have menus in English and we’ve seen enough people there with laptops to suspect that there’s free WiFi available. There’s also a café or two a few floors down which might also have WiFi.

Internet Access at the Bukovel ski resort (and in the nearby town of Yaremche) is far more problematic. While a few of the very expensive places might offer some form of off-again-on-again Internet, in general we have had little success with internet there. There may be a café somewhere there that offers it and provides a good service, but we’ve been too busy skiing whilst there to look into this fully. In short, you may be disconnected from the Internet while skiing. We wish you the best with your withdrawal symptoms.

Your European/GSM mobile phone will probably work just fine in Ukraine, though at expected ‘roaming’ rates. Text if you can. If you’re coming from the USA or Japan, only GSM-compatible systems will work in Ukraine.

Power in Ukraine is basically the same as it is in continental Europe with the ‘round’ type plugs. While actually slightly different, most European plugs will fit into Ukrainian outlets with no problem.

CHECKLIST / THINGS TO BRING

LIST OF THINGS FOR EVERYBODY:

Warm clothes. It will be cold. It will be colder than cold. It will be cold. When in doubt, bring more warm clothes. And then, bring a few more. Gloves, hat, scarf. Thermal underwear. Warm socks.

If you plan on wandering about Lviv (and certainly if you plan on going skiing), a pair of hiking shoes in addition to whatever ‘formal’ shoes you will wear for the wedding is a must. Lviv will typically be icy and slippery and this is not the USA, so if you fall, you will have nobody to sue. Use caution!

A pen to fill out your immigration form upon entering Ukraine

Your mobile phone

Your passport

Cash. Make sure you bring at least some cash (in whatever currency) in case your various cards don’t work.

This booklet

Wedding ceremony and reception clothes. We request that gentlemen wear black tie for the reception, but if this is not practical, regular suits will suffice.

LIST OF THINGS ONLY FOR THOSE GOING SKIING:

Swimsuit. No, seriously. The hotel Karpaty has an indoor pool and this is useful for certain saunas.

Towel. Some places might have one, but it never hurts to bring your own.

Ski clothes, including but not limited to: goggles, waterproof gloves, ski socks (at least two pairs), ski hat, appropriate waterproof ski trousers, appropriate waterproof ski top, appropriate and warm layers underneath.

LIST OF THINGS FOR ANYBODY JOINING ADRIAN ON HIS LVIV ‘HILL RUNS’:

Running shoes or, in a pinch, hiking shoes that are not too heavy to run in.

Long thermal shirt and/or trousers. You will be scrambling up a snow covered hill in temperatures that can reach as low as -28C (though will typically be -10C). While your body heat from the run will keep you somewhat warm, there are limits. Adrian typically runs in shorts and two warm shirts to about -12, and thermal trousers and three shirts below this.

FOOD AND DIETARY REQUIREMENTS

If you have any, please let us know well in advance via our website.

UKRAINE: LANGUAGE, VISAS, MONEY, AND PRICES

Ukraine is an independent country in Eastern Europe. While many Ukrainian citizens are bi-lingual or multi-lingual, in Western Ukraine, the primary language is Ukrainian. Ukrainian is a language roughly similar to Polish and Russian in the same way that Spanish is roughly similar to French and Italian – that is, only quite roughly indeed.

Ukrainian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet, and while English is becoming slowly more visible in touristy places such as Lviv and Bukovel, by in large this is still the exception rather than the rule. This is a double-edged sword: the lack of English does yeoman’s work in keeping cheap-beer seeking British stag-doers in the tourist ghettoes of Prague and Budapest, but can conversely serve to make you a bit apprehensive about your trip here. Fear not— Lviv is a small and easily navigable place and most Ukrainians will go out of their way to assist you. To help you out, we’ve included a list of helpful phrases further in this booklet.

Holders of almost all passports (including US, Canada, and EU) no longer need any sort of pre-arranged visa to come to Ukraine. Rather, unless you happen to hold some particularly exotic passport, you can just show up at the border, fill out the immigration card, and you will be allowed in. The card that you get looks like this:

Here are some tips with regards to this:

Have a pen handy. These are often not available at border crossings.

Fill out both sides of the form LEGIBLY. The border officials can get quite up-tight about this. You can write in English.

For the purpose of your visit, put TOURISM.

Have the address of your hotel written down beforehand. If you’ve forgotten it, just put the name of your hotel, Lviv – for example “Grand Hotel, Lviv.”

The currency of Ukraine is the Hryvnia (UAH). The Hryvnia exchange rate tends to fluctuate wildly—at the time of this writing, the exchange rate is about 8 UAH to 1 USD, or 10.50 UAH to 1 EURO. Money changers are widely available in Lviv – you will see their signs advertising rates throughout the town. Just walk in and put your foreign money on the counter and they will exchange it for you wordlessly. While it never hurts to be cautious, in general the money changers are honest and accurate, and their commission are typically in the order of 1% - far less than the 10%-25% that are effectively charged by money changers in the west. You should wait until you are in Ukraine to get Hryvnia to avoid the usurious rates charged by western travel money exchange firms. If you have a debit card, you will be able to get your money out of some but not all ATMs. However, to avoid the fees and hassle associated with this, we suggest that you bring at least a a fair bit of cash – you don’t need to exchange it all at once and you may find things easier this way.

Prices in Ukraine border on the Kafkaseque. Long gone are the days when a flat could be had in exchange for a few cassette tapes and western blue jeans – indeed, at the height of the recent property bubble, property in Ukraine approached Tokyo and London levels. Due to a series of import taxes, large vehicles typically cost twice as much as they do even in the EU, though you will find no shortage of SUVs on the streets. All this, and yet the vast majority of people subsist on less than US $500 per month, sometimes dramatically so. While the general trend is for prices of western-quality goods to be converging on European prices, you will find some goods and services to be quite overpriced while other, ostensibly similar ones, are quite reasonable. In general, you should find food and transport to be relatively inexpensive while the price you pay for accommodation will vary greatly.

RENTING A CAR IN UKRAINE

There is absolutely no reason for you to rent a car for your trip to Ukraine. Between the ever-present traffic police, bad roads, few signs, and harsh winter conditions, there really is no need. Though, if you really must, there are a few agencies at the airport. Consider buying every iota of insurance that you are offered.

THE DINNER

(not yet available)

UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE – HELPFUL STUFF

English Українська (Ukrainian) Welcome Ласкаво просимо (Laskavo proschmo) Вітаємо (Bitajemo) Hello Вітаю (Vitayu) - frm, Агов (Ahov) – inf Алло (Allo) Слухаю (Sluchaju)

- on phone How are you? Як ся маєте? (Jak sia majete?) I'm fine, thanks. And you? Дякую, добре. А ви? (Djakuju, dobre. A vy?) Long time no see Давно не бачились (Davno ne bačiliś) What's your name? Як тебе звати (Jak tebe zvaty?) inf, sg

Як вас звати (Jak vas zvaty?) frm/inf pl My name is ... Мене звуть (Mene zvuť ...) Where are you from? Звідки ви? (Zvidky vy?) I'm from ... Я з ... (Ja z ...) Pleased to meet you Приємно познайомитися (Prijemno poznajomytysia) Good morning Добного ранку! (Dobnoho ranku) Good afternoon Доброго дня (Dobroho dnia) Good evening Доброго вечора (Dobroho večora) Good night На добраніч (Na dobranič) Goodbye До побачення (Do pobačennja) Good luck Щасти вам/тобі! (Ščasty vam/tobi)

Нехай щастить! (Nechaj ščastyt )̓

На все добре! (Na vse dobre) Cheers/Good health! Будьмо (Bud m̓o), За здоровя (Za zdorovja)

Have a nice day Гарного дня (Harnoho dnja) Bon appetit Смачного! (Smačnoho) Bon voyage Щасливої подорожі (Ščaslyvoji podoroži) I don't understand Я не розумію (Ja ne rozumiju) Please speak more slowly Ви не могли б розмовляти повільніше

(Vy ne mogly b rozmovljaty poviľniše) - frm Розмовляй повільніше (Rozmovliaj poviľniše) - inf

Please write it down Запишіть це, якщо маєте ласку (Zapyšiť, jakščo majete lasku) Будь ласка записати це (Buď laska zapysaty ce)

Do you speak Ukrainian? Ви розмовляєте українською? (Vy rozmovliajete ukrajinśkoju) Yes, a little Так, трохи (Tak, trochy) How do you say ... in Ukrainian? Як сказати українською ...? (Jak skazaty ukrajinśkoju ...?) Excuse me Перепрошую! (Pereprošuju) How much is this? Скільки це коштує? (Skiľky ce koštuje?) Sorry Вибачте! (Vybačte)

Thank you Дякую (Diakuju) Дуже дякую (Duže diakuju) Response Прошу будь даска (Prošu, buď laska) Where's the toilet? Де туалет? (De tualet?) This gentleman/lady will pay for everything Цей пан платить за все (Cej pan platityť za

vse) – gentleman Ця пані платить за все (Cia pani platityť za vse) - lady

Would you like to dance with me? Хочеш зi мною потанцювати? (Chočeš zi mnoiu potanciuvaty?) – inf Хочете зi мною потанцювати? (Chočete zi mnoiu potanciuvaty?) - frm

I love you Я тебе кохаю (Ja tebe kochaju) Я тебе люблю (Ja tebe liubliu)

Get well soon Видужуй[те] (Vydužuj[te]) Leave me alone! Залиште мене у спокої! (Zalyšte mene u spokoji) Help! Допоможіть! (Dopomožiť!) Fire! Пожежа! (Požeža!) Stop! Стій! (Stij!) Call the police! Викличте міліцію (Vyklyčte miliciju) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Веселого Різдва і з Новим Роком

(Veseloho Rizdva i z Novym Rokom) Happy Birthday Многая Літа (Mnohaja Lita) = "Many Years"

З днем народження (Z dnem narodžennia) One language is never enough Однієї мови ніколи не досить (Odnijeji movy nikoly ne dosyt')

Однієї мови ніколи не достатньо (Odnijeji movy nikoly ne dostatn'o) My hovercraft is full of eels Моє судно на повітряній подушці наповнене вуграми

(Moje sudno na povitrianij podušci napovnene vuhrami)

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Here is the general schedule of events:

SATURDAY 8 JANUARY

0900 - Adrian’s hill run. If you happen to be in town this early and want to join Adrian for a run/scramble up Lviv’s Castle hill, you’re welcome to join. See the ‘Adrian’s Run’ section for more details.

Numerous Ryanair flights arrive in Krakow throughout the day

Various flights arrive in Lviv on Saturday. If you happen to be on one of them, please let us know and we can provide assistance or, at least, be informed.

1900 - Sushi Dinner. We will likely be going for dinner at the Yapi Japanese restaurant in the center of Lviv. Please let us know if you’d like to join. The place does not take reservations and gets quite crowded on Saturdays, so we’ll play this by ear depending on people’s indicated interest. This will likely be followed by leisurely drinks at the nearby Korzo pub – not the best pub in Lviv, and not even the best Irish pub in Lviv, but easy to find.

SUNDAY 9 JANUARY

0900 Adrian’s Hill run.

1215 Lufthansa Arrives in Lviv

Numerous Ryanair flights arrive in Krakow throughout the day

13:50 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 765 Arrives in Lviv.

15:40 Austrian Airlines Arrives in Lviv (from Vienna) .

19:00 Are you checked in? Meet in front of the Shevchenko Monument in the center of Lviv.

MONDAY 10 JANUARY

0600 Train 035 arrives from Krakow/Rzeszow. This is a comfortable train.

0633 Train 091 arrives from Kiev. 0700 Adrian’s hill run (short version).

0935 Train 049 arrives from Kiev. We do not expect anybody to be on this train. However, if you are, let us know ASAP and we will arrange to delay the departure of the bus slightly.

0945 Chartered Bus Departs from Lviv for the Bukovel Ski resort. Meet in front of the Lviv main opera theatre (see map).

1430 Check-in at “Karpaty” (Carpathians) hotel in Yaremche, Ukraine.

1530 Departure from hotel “Karpaty” to Bukovel Ski Resort for those wishing to night ski. Also, others may check out Bukovel and rent skis. Or, you can just relax in the hotel.

1745 WizzAir flight WU986 arrives from Dortmund Airport to Lviv. This can be a useful and inexpensive flight for those of you coming from western Europe. However, you will miss our bus (see ‘getting to Bukovel from Lviv on your own’ elsewhere). Let us know if you are on this!

TUESDAY 11 JANUARY

0830 Buffet Breakfast at hotel KARPATY

0915 Bus Departs from hotel KARPATY to BUKOVEL SKI RESORT

1000 through 1630 Skiing! Including lessons for beginners.

1645 Bus departs Bukovel for hotel Karpaty. Those wishing to continue night skiing may do so.

1830 Bus takes people from hotel Karpaty to restaurant X for dinner.

1930 Bus arrives at Bukovel Ski resort to pick up night skiers

2015 Bus deposits night skiers at restaurant X or hotel.

2100 Bus brings people from restaurant X to hotel

WEDNESDAY 12 JANUARY

0830 Buffet Breakfast at hotel KARPATY

0915 Bus Departs from hotel KARPATY to BUKOVEL SKI RESORT

1000 through 1630 Skiing! Ski instruction as necessary.

1645 Bus departs Bukovel for hotel Karpaty. Those wishing to continue night skiing may do so.

1830 Bus takes people from hotel Karpaty to restaurant Y for dinner.

1930 Bus arrives at Bukovel Ski resort to pick up night skiers

2015 Bus deposits night skiers at restaurant Y or hotel.

2100 Bus brings people from restaurant Y to hotel

THURSDAY 13 JANUARY

Schedule roughly the same as Wednesday’s

FRIDAY 14 JANUARY

0830 Buffet Breakfast at hotel KARPATY. Likely checkout from hotel.

0930 Bus Departs from Hotel Karpaty for Bukovel ski Resort

10:00 through 1630 Skiing!

1700 Bus Departs from BUKOVEL SKI RESORT for LVIV. By this point, those on the ski trip are all very good friends!

SATURDAY 15 JANUARY

11:00 through 12:00 WEDDING CEREMONY – Dominican Cathedral, Lviv

1300 through 1630 city tour DRESS WARMLY!

18:00 - Late Dinner / reception. Black tie / dinner.

SUNDAY 16 JANUARY

1130 Breakfast brunch. TBD.

1800 End-of-events dinner at Restaurant “Kryivka”