1) FOOD
Ok. You may need to bring some food with you. If you only like your Tetley tea or Nescafe then pack some tea bags and put some granules in a plastic bag. You won't get brand tea bags here, but you can get Nescafe at a whopping price. Having said that this town is famous for its tea and coffee. I only drink rooibos and amazingly, the top coffee/tea houses have it. Nb Rooibos is one of the few teas that is entirely safe to drink in quantity while ivf-ing and in pregnancy - most tea has caffeine (this does not) and many herbal teas are dangerous.
A word on milk. Like Moscow, they don't have fresh milk as we do. It's not as bad as uht, but it's close. It comes in cartons and sachets, but get the type in the fridge section of the supermarket. It will say Moloko (looks like monoko in Cyrillic) and don't what ever you do get kafir - same kind of packaging, looks like milk, but is in fact a yoghurt drink the Ukrainians are fond of.
In some places a cup of chocolate is exactly that, a cup of melted chocolate that you eat with a spoon. The best place for this is, Lvivska Maysternia Shokoladu which is on 3 Serbska Str. their webpage is http://www.chocolate.lviv.ua/, literally round the corner from Rynok Square. They are L'viv's own chocolatier and you can watch it being made and moulded in the window, while you sit outside and eat and drink. There is also the Cafe Dukat, which is worth a visit for it's wonderful underground cafe and intriguing panoramic reliefs set in the walls. The chocolate is nowhere near as good as LMS, rather bitter and over flavoured. Their cakes look gorgeous though!
We tend to eat out occasionally as DH at work during day, so I have a light lunch of rice cakes (have to make some concessions for all the chocolate I get thru when here). We also stock up on bread and cheese, salami, fruit and veg from the local shops, so we can do a salad type thing in the evening if we want to stay in.
The Casanova has a small menu, but the food is really excellent. One of our favourite places to eat - we always ate outside in the Moroccan style canopies. I recommend the mozzarella salad and the beef carpaccio, followed by their delicious home made pistachio ice cream and yes, they do have a Menu Anglisky. Nb inside turns into a strip bar later in the day, so be warned. Other good places to eat are ....
the roof top Restaurant of the Hotel Opera, next to the Opera House (mostly Mediterranean and in English if you ask), spectacular views, bit pricey;
Dublin, Irish pub, odd interpretation of some Italian food, but good otherwise, Guinness imported from Ireland so actually tastes better than the crap we have brewed in UK - You can find the Dublin pub in the busy courtyard just off Doroshenka St.;
Amadeus (Katedralna sqr. just off Rynok) is a posh restaurant that does do some very nice food, good wines to drink before ET, worth a visit;
Cafe 1, just off Rynok Square, good for snacks etc, cheese platter is very good; It is also right next to the Boymes memorial - a big black building, fantastically carved and absolutely stunning inside. Hang around in Cafe 1 and then as soon as the doors open get in. It's worth it!
There are lots of sushi bars, which are very popular in L'viv. All are every bit as good as the UK ones, but you may have a long wait for food if you go later than 7.
2) SHOPPING
There are lots of small supermarkets around and about. There are some nicer and larger ones near the opera house on Svobody Avenue. There is a posh indoor shopping centre, called Opera Passage, and downstairs is a very nice Waitrose style supermarket. There are also some super posh dress shops etc and even a Lush (which was very weird, as the place began just down the road from us, in Poole, and the flagship store is still there). Clothes can be more dear than here and probably not the best thing to buy. Electrics are about the same, perhaps a little cheaper.
3) GETTING ABOUT
There are always plenty of taxis on Svobody Avenue (the far end from the Opera House) and you can flag them down. Try to have where you want to go printed (do before you go) on a postcard in Latin and Cyrillic. InLviv can organise a taxi for you and the clinic will always organise one to go back for you. Also try to have an idea of how much it's going to cost - they will charge you more if they can.
There is a fabulous tram service, but it's very tricky to use if you have no Ukrainian language. Again, the postcard might help. It's very cheap!!If you are staying in the 12, Rylyeva apartment take walking shoes. You will never make it into L'viv centre in heels. All the roads are either potholed or cobble stones!! The path in the park is brilliant as it's brand new - but the rest!! Go downhill to the end of the road and walk through the park, it will take you to L'viv and then head straight, but slightly to right to get to Rynok Square (Plosha Rynik) and the Opera House (ask for them if you get lost). Remember that it's downhill there and uphill back - don't get worn out and then struggle home. Although, to be fair I did and my little ones are here to tell the tale!
4) SAFETY
Like any City that has it's fair share of visitors (mostly Ukrainian and Russian it has to be said) there are those who will take advantage. Don't walk through parks late at night and certainly not on your own. My DH was mugged when returning alone from a night out with friends, in Rynok Square, so it can happen. I suspect it was because the Ukrainians are very religious and very anti-gay (there were rallies while he was there) and they thought he was gay (he has long blonde hair). Be as sensible as you would in any UK city and you will be fine.
5) WHERE TO GO
You must have done your own research, but I would recommend
Kriyivka ('Bunker' in Ukrainian) - this is a bar next to the apartment in Rynok Square. You must go through a bunker style door and you will be met by an armed guard. You must say Slava Ukrainie, which is the password and he will let you in. You will be given a shot of vodka which you must drink and then you can enter the bar - great fun. The food is good, but it gets very busy so go early. In the picture below you can see the shield symbol (it appears next to my chair) which is above the door. Our last apartment was nearly next door to it!
The Opera House - Svobody Avenue, do try to get to see a show (InLviv can organise tickets for you) but if nothing else, go and have a look around. It is stunningly beautiful..On some days (not sure which) there is an excellent open air market just behind the opera house, with loads of fabulous souvenirs and bargains to be had.
Rynok Square - the architecture is amazing and well worth a look at. There are several excellent tourist shops, with one very large one. There are a few museums on the square and they are all good value. You can go into the town hall in the centre and climb to the bell tower at the top - well worth it as the view is spectacular
Lvivska Maysternia Shokoladu, 3 Serbska Str - my lovely chocolate shop. If you find Kriyivka, just walk to the nearest corner and Serbska Str is on your right. You will see the two little open air cafe style places next to each other. The first is the chocolate shop, the second is an excellent tea shop.
6) MONEY
There are ATMs (bankomats) everywhere and nearly all accept visa and mastercard. They took my debit card too which made things easy. The notes tend to be 100uah minimum. They also have an English language option, which is fab.
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