A Scottish/Ukrainian Odyssey

Chapter One

Three years after the full scale invasion by russia, Dmytro and I made the decision to visit Ukraine. We had been invited by a friend, who has since turned out to be a distant relative of Dmytro's. Victoria was helping Dmytro locate his lost family from the Second World War, the brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles that his father, Teodor often spoke of. He suffered all his life from not knowing what happened to them. Some taken to the Nazi concentration camps and some taken to the russian gulags.

In her searches, Victoria discovered that Dmytro probably has a half brother, born soon after Teodor was taken by the Germans - did he know of this son? We think not as he never mentioned it and he always took his responsibilities seriously, even helping a Ukrainian friend by looking after his financial legacy for the son he'd left behind in Ukraine. 

So, Dmytro now wishes to make a bit more sense of the records that have been found, some in Ukrainian, but others in russian or Polish and the best way is to visit and meet with people personally. Although Dmytro visited Ukraine in 2006, he has never been to his father's village and it probably holds the answers to many questions. 

However, we worried about intruding in a time of adversity, we didn't want to go as 'war tourists'. Then we heard Scottish journalist, Jen Stout give a talk at Pitlochry Festival Theatre and we then understood that by going, we would be giving support, energy and empathy to Ukrainians who wanted people to visit and not abandon them. Jen encouraged us with our plans.

As a Scot who grew up thinking a ten-mile journey was an adventure, who visited the Travel Agent before moving to the East of Scotland for college and who purchased Travellers Cheques when I first visited England at the age of 18, going to Ukraine would certainly be outwith my comfort zone. I have travelled a little, mainly in Europe with Dmytro for his concerts and also once to Canada, so I'm no longer as naïve about travel as I once was. I didn't actually have a passport until I was 34. However, a visit to Ukraine isn't about the travel but more about the love I now have for Ukrainians and their generations of struggle for freedom. We seem to share so many values, love of mountains and animals and green spaces, and a love of freedom, art and music. In my last published book of Isobel Wylie Hutchison essays, the final essay ends with the line, 'He lives at ease who freely lives.' 

So although many people see me going to Ukraine as a way to support Dmytro, it is much more than that. It is about discovering why I have such passion about the country and how the people have responded to a brutal invasion with such dignity and strength. I have always hated injustice and the injustice done to Ukraine over many generations shocks and angers me, yet still they endure. Dmytro and I have made many new friends through social media during this invasion, and we hope to meet a few of them in person along the way. We have also lost friends and it is hard to express our emotions around this. Perhaps it will evolve through this blog.

Taken by Dmytro in 2006, a sculpture in Kyiv to commemorate the victims of 9/11
It is engraved in many languages of the world, 'Do Not Kill'.

The journey started with the paperwork beforehand. We like to travel by train so decided this would be our travel choice. It's a long way and there are several options but in the end we chose to go via Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine. I will update this blog after each journey.

Meanwhile, here is a photo sent by a friend in Kyiv that we hope to meet up with. It is of people dancing in Independence Square after being severely attacked with missiles the night before. I hope we get a chance to dance with them.

I have purchased InterRail tickets because it will be easier to make changes. I'm not sure if it will work out cheaper but at least we have covered the cost of travel within Europe. I have found the process of setting up the digital tickets quite stressful but I am told by others who have used them, that they are very easy to travel with. There is a Facebook page for uses of InterRail and I have found it extremely helpful in answering some of the obscure questions and giving little bits of useful advice.

We have purchased a variety of gifts for family and friends, always keeping in mind weight and our ability to pack them without breaking or damage. Because we have these Scottish gifts, it reduces the space we have for our own things. I've aimed to travel light, we'll see!

I've no doubt we will bring gifts home. I love Ukrainian art both folk art such as Petrykivka painting and the traditional block printing of Vybiyka.  A couple of years ago we bought Vyshyvanka's  which were made to order by a Ukrainian company. This is a traditional embroidery technique which is described as 'Spiritual Armour'. I think we will take these with us on our travels, mine is a collar and Dmytro's is a full shirt. Here we are wearing them at Wilton's Music Hall.

Below is an edited piece by The Kyiv Independent newspaper on train travel in Ukraine.

"Starting late January, Ukrzaliznytsia, the Ukrainian state railway service, implemented additional security measures following a Russian attack on a passenger train in Kharkiv Oblast that killed five people and injured two others. Since then, Russia has escalated attacks on trains. They became a daily occurrence.

Now, train passengers must be prepared for long delays, sudden route changes, and evacuating the train in the middle of the night because of a drone threat.

One of our colleagues recently experienced this firsthand. On March 22, the Kyiv Independent's videographer Olena Zashko was traveling from Kyiv to the city of Dnipro on an electric train.

'The train stopped several times due to the threat of a drone attack,' she told me.

'An hour and a half before our final destination, the train stopped again — Shahed drones were flying over it. We saw them being shot down around us and could hear the sound. We were told that this will go on for a long time. One of the railway power stations had been hit, and there was no electricity. So we had to wait for another train.'

The passengers were standing in the cold near the tracks when residents of a nearby village came to their aid. They opened their local community center, which served as a shelter for the night. Practically the entire train, so many people and children, were sitting inside this club, waiting,' Olena recalled. 'Eventually, another train arrived to take them to Dnipro — seven hours after their planned arrival time.

Many Ukrainians will still travel — and adapt to delays, uncertainty, and moments like these. The urge to be with your family doesn't go away when there’s a war.'"

We are aware that we are taking some risks but Ukrainians have become very good at reducing risk. However, we do not want to add to their burdens so will do all we can to keep ourselves safe. 

Chapter Two

Starting at Grantown-on-Spey bus stop, we headed for Aviemore then a direct train to London, an 8 hour journey. Two people were in our booked seats and normally i find another but with the long journey ahead, I politely claimed them, having travelled this journey so often, I knew exactly where I wanted to sit and we were rewarded with a peaceful and comfortable trip.



We stayed at the  Docker's Inn in Wapping - not the Wapping I remembered from News reports of my younger years. We had a very old squeaky sign outside our room, reminding me of a favourite pub in Findhorn!

The next night Dmytro performed his final big concert at Wilton's Music Hall. In the introduction, I told the audience that we were dedicating  the performance to Ukraine and all those who give their lives to allow us to be here and create such events. I was very touched by the huge response from the audience. Dmytro then gave a wonderful performance of Nosferatu which received a fantastic standing ovation. (It's strange, in the introduction, when I mentioned Ukraine, I noticed this one gent not clapping, as you do! However, at the end, I also noticed that same gent first to his feet in appreciation) Someone said afterwards, 'I hope you felt the amount of love and respect from that audience?' I will share some video footage on YouTube at some point.

A quick look around an exhibition about ageing at the Welcome Foundation, which included exhibits such as Charles Darwin's walking stick and a video about the Hydra. There was a Japanese care robot, which was used to help with the care of the elderly but the idea was abandoned when they discovered that those who used one were more neglected by their human friends. Quite a thought to consider.

We then said goodbye to family and friends and took the Eurostar to Brussels. We had heard a lot about the delays caused by the new passport checks but our transfer through was instant and the easiest I've ever gone through a border control. We were heading for my cousin Lynn and her husband Leo who live in Leuvan. Finding the train transfer from Brussels to Leuvan was problematic as like Waverley Station, the platform signage is either missing or hidden. We dropped on the train with 30 seconds to doors close but otherwise all went well and Lynn and Leo were waiting in Leuvan where they very kindly looked after us for the evening and we enjoyed a nice breakfast in their beautiful garden the next morning. We went back to Brussels and had time to look at the Grand Place and enjoy the beautiful sunshine.

There were a few interesting sculptures in the centre of Brussels, the first of which was Don Quixote (this book is the most translated in the world), a story which I will contemplate as we two travel on. There was also a statue of the composer Bela Bartok, Dmytro says 'he banged a square peg into a round hole'. He certainly didn't look happy about it. 😏 We had time for a beer in the very busy Grand Place and enjoyed the vibe of May Day tourists.

Our next journey was on a sleeper train to Prague. I hadn't checked the route beforehand and was surprised to discover the first stop was Amsterdam. The train itself was once again hard to find and we were booked in to Carriage 22. We ran the whole length of the train to find it finished at Carriage 21, then ran all the way back to find a guard who informed us that our carriage had been changed to No. 10, the last carriage which we ran to and got on just before departure. The sleeping cabins are made up of five beds. We were so lucky to have been put in with three young French people (not so sure they felt the same about two old Scottish people LOL). However, the cabin next to us was empty and the guard said we could use it until Amsterdam (that's when I discovered the route). We arrived in Amsterdam at 10 pm so a good time to go to our allocated carriage to sleep though we ended up sitting and chatting with the French youths until midnight. There is a lot to be said about spending time with young people. All three were from different parts of France and travelling separately. When we saw the passengers coming on in Amsterdam, we were even more relieved we had these three companions. Sleeping was not so easy, the beds are quite hard and there is no spare space. Dmytro managed better than me. We had put on camping slippers and I was so glad of them as I went to the loo or for a walk in the corridor many times. When I lived in Yorkshire, it used to amuse me that I crossed the same river five times to get to work from Masham to Boroughbridge, now I was crossing, not a river, but borders, and modern technology allows for my phone to send me a text, 'Welcome to France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and then finally Czech.  We saw the full moon rise as we came in to The Hague.  

The journey was fifteen hours long, not getting in to Czech until 10 am. However, we were up and looking at the amazing scenery from 8 am. The train went through Dresden and along the Elbe river. The skies were blue and the train gave that familiar constant chugging sound which reminded me of my youth. In fact the train was not dissimilar to those old trains, it had windows you could open and stick your head out (not recommended if moving!) but that was a lovely piece of nostalgia though I still didn't like walking between carriages as they rocked loudly and gave the impression of being about to disconnect!

Chapter Three

On arrival in Prague station, you can't help but be impressed by the architecture. There were a couple of memorials and I found the one with hands very moving as it in memory of the children who were sent away by their parents for safety and never reunited.

The entrance to Prague station. 

When we opened the room door of our hotel in Prague, we gasped. I don't know how I managed to find such a room at only £50 more than what we'd paid in London, but we came up trumps. Not only was the room more of a suite, it had a bathroom the size of our house...with a jacuzzi bath. The situation was perfect, on Wenceslas Square with the extraordinary National Museum at the top, but we didn't visit inside, instead I took Dmytro to the outside walls where you can still see the damage by bullets fired by the russians in 1968 when russia invaded Prague with tanks, an abiding memory from my childhood, perhaps one that either engaged me in politics or one that I remember because I am naturally interested in politics.  

Prague is a popular city and I came here for my 40th birthday 26 years ago, so I knew some of the special places to take Dmytro. It was much busier now and the Prague Marathon was on the next day. It was warm and glorious in blue skies. Dmytro was surprised at the grandeur and the number of Art Nouveau buildings We wandered on the evening of our arrival and the next day as our train wasn't until 10 pm. During our wanders we found the wonderful modern art museum which had a fascinating exhibition by Sahej Rahal, and like UK museums, there was no entrance fee. 

Then we found a Kafka museum. As Dmytro had composed Amerikan Requiem with a nod to Kafka, I really wanted him to see some Kafka exhibits and this one we randomly came across was perfect. It made us laugh. Full of irony, alienation and disfunction.

 Prague gave a real sense of medieval and the Golem (a story created to protect the Jewish community against antisemitic attacks.) We passed the Synagogue Staronova where the legend was created. 

That evening we were back at the Railway Station to head for Poland. We arrived a bit too early and had a long wait in a crowded area. Once again, we couldn't find our carriage and went the length of the train. When I found the guard, and showed my seat booking, 'oh, you are the one'! I wasn't sure what I had done to merit this but there was a lot of discussion between two train guards and finally we were shown our seats, once again at the very end of the train. We seem to be at the 'coo's tail' on each journey. I queried the seats as I thought I'd booked beds, but no beds on this train. When I double checked, it seemed the bed apartments were removed in December. We sat opposite a young couple who were jolly and asked where we were from and if we'd been to Poland before, not me, said I, then Dmytro added 'we are going to Ivano-Frankivsk' , she immediately changed her look and turned away. They then both sat scowling for the rest of the journey. It was strange, we hadn't killed their parents, or tortured their children, yet they made their mind up about us in a sweeping instant. A reminder of why 'The Golem' had to be created. There are people who apply their prejudices with a wide brush. And as many will know, Dmytro and I are completely disparaging about russians, though if we had sat opposite two russians, we would have given them an opportunity to show their individual humanity. A bit of civility goes a long way. It has always been the problem with the world, ignorant and judgemental. After 7 hours sitting opposite each other, they got up to leave at Rzeszow and never turned to acknowledged us. A small low point. At least with them gone, we were able to stretch out a little.

On arrival at Przemyl we decided not to stay in the city for a couple of hours, as planned, instead we headed to buy a ticket for the next train to Ukraine. 

CHAPTER FOUR

We found the ticket room, inevitably at the furthest point from where we were and up many stairs. If you do travel these routes, be warned there are a lot of steps and not many lifts, travelling light is recommended, We asked about trains to Lviv. She shook her head and said we must go through passport control first. Ah, so no ticket here? Passport check and then a ticket? Yes she nodded.

Passport control was entirely at the other end, near where we started so back down the stairs and along we trundled. There was a huge queue for passport control though we were told it was short compared to normal. After about half an hour as we got nearer to the offices, we got chatting with a lady near us. She was surprised we didn't have a train ticket, 'you must get that first' she said. 😕 We hovered, not really wanting to leave our spot so I went online to try and buy a ticket, but just as I was about to buy, the train that would be leaving in an hour, vanished from the screen and the lady also moved to her destination. We went to passport check and mine was fine, yet Dmytro had a problem, where was his residence pass? I could hear him say, 'I am a British Citizen' and knew there was trouble. I was called over, I explained all was fine with me so what was different with Dmytro. A conversation then developed between the chap that checked me through and the lady who was checking Dmytro. We were then allowed to the other side of the barrier where a large train was boarding. However, we had no ticket. 😳

We tried to explain to the lady who was checking tickets, but she couldn't speak English. She started speaking into here phone and voila! Google translate came to the rescue. After a long time, she managed to work out the problem, we needed to download the English version of Ukrainian railways in order to book a ticket. All tickets are electronic and must be purchased before boarding. However, even though the train was still sitting there (they hold it until all passengers are through passport control) we could not buy a ticket as the app thought it had left. 😂 There was nothing for it but to book the next train which was scheduled for 2 hours later but was already sitting in the next platform.

I honestly am amazed at that guard's patience with us and how she managed to check passengers boarding in between helping us buy tickets. As we walked away to wait for boarding of our train, I went back and gave her a fridge magnet that I had in my handbag. It was from Grantown on Spey and depicted a Highland Cow, it read 'Nobody is Perfect but being Scottish is Close Enough'. I should change that to 'Ukrainian'.

On the train, we were once again at the last carriage and we were on the last cabin in the carriage! It was perfect, we had the cabin to ourselves and each carriage seems to have its own guard to help and bring tea.  

The tea was served in spectacular glass & metal mugs, including decorated metal spoons. I should do another post about all the toilets we have visited, an amazing range but on this train it wasn't like the little toilets back home but a proper room with the necessary facilities.

After about twenty minutes we crossed the border to Ukraine and the train stopped to allow soldiers and police to board. We were asked if were diplomats? That was amusing, then asked if we had anything illegal. I was thrown by the question, and said 'Whisky'? The soldier laughed, 'that's not illegal! Have you any weed or cocaine?' We laughed, 'we are too old for that.'

The soldier asked the purpose of our visit and Dmytro explained he was looking for family as his father had been taken by the Germans in WWII, there was an instant acknowledgement. 'Good luck with your trip.'

Arriving in Lviv was lovely, the sky was still blue and it was warm. 

I could see on the map that our hotel was a little too far for walking with luggage and the app suggested a tram. We jumped on No. 1 as suggested and it took off. There was what seemed a card scanner and we tried it without success. A young girl with a little English tried to help but still no success. Then a young man with full English helped. After a bit I realised we were on the wrong tram and going further from our hotel, so we got off and as it turned out it was the same stop for the young man. We got talking and he said he was studying law and hoped to visit Scotland one day. Discovering Dmytro was a composer he was very excited and wanted to know more.

We gave him a card and then we took photos and as he left he said his name was Roman - the same as Dmytro's brother. 

I'd booked our hotel at the last minute on the train, taking the cheapest at the best star rating, I also liked the name 'Modern Art Hotel',  then when we arrived, we discovered it was an old cinema building, with a piano theme. It had glass stairs in piano keys and piano decoration on the wall was images of Charlie Chaplin. 😂💓

The lovely breakfast room had reproduction of Egon Shiele paintings and we tried Syrniki  (a cheese pancake served with cream of dill sauce and smoked salmon) for the first time and I am hooked. 

The train for Ivano Frankivsk would leave at 6 pm the next day, so we had time to see a bit of Lviv.

We like wandering cities without a plan and to discover what they throw up. This was an easy city to wander, especially in the warm sunshine. We heard opera singers practice from high windows, we found a local food shop with delicious serve yourself food. Then a fabulous coffee shop area. We chose our cakes with difficulty, Dmytro asked for the cat and the lady took a fit of giggles, 'it is a rabbit', she said. We sat outside and enjoyed one of the best cakes we've had in one of the best cafe areas ever.

We could have been in Paris. 

Of course, we could not be so flippant because on arrival at our hotel, after giving us our keys, we were shown the 'shelter.' In fact it was one of the first things I noticed getting off the train, the signs to bomb shelters.

bomb shelters.

When I went to the toilet, a young lady came over to me and asked if I was a tourist? I said, partly but also we are going to visit my partner's family. She was incredibly grateful, 'we don't see tourists from abroad now, we really appreciate you coming here, and not forgetting us.' We chatted for a while and that sums up our first impressions of Ukraine, beautiful, modern, welcoming and incredibly grateful, to the extent I am embarrassed by some of the things I hear back home. 

CHAPTER FIVE

So much has happened since our relaxing coffee in Lviv. Where to start? Perhaps just giving a few overall comments about Ukraine and the small differences that don't matter but are interesting.

• The British tea culture hasn't come here, as 'black tea & breakfast tea' are not always available, and serving it with milk seems odd to Ukrainians. It also means that a kettle in the hotel room is not a 'thing'. No late night tea and biscuits. 😔
• We haven't had butter since we got here! Butter is my daily life at home but it isn't served with toast or anything else that I've spotted. Instead soft cheese seems more popular but generally just dry toast, though it is delicious, I think a bit of butter would be the cherry on top.
• Talking about cherries - yes, lots of cherry things. Mmmm
• They don't have a ground floor, so it is the same as Americans, the first floor is the bottom floor, I will explain the confusion this caused a bit further on.

Our wanders around Lviv took us to the Potocki Palace, a very grand building with  a classical art collection, including Titian, de la Tour and many others. The entrance ticket said to start on the first floor so we went upstairs, after a bit a lady came and spoke to us but we didn't understand each other. She went away and we carried on. Then she reappeared with her mobile phone and showed a translation ' you should start down stairs on the first floor'. I realised what had happened and used my phone to explain how in Scotland, the first floor is one up. We had a laugh and continued on our way in the wrong direction. The palace also had a contemporary art exhibition by an artist I cannot name, I have tried to find out but without success. But here are some images, I would love some of these hanging in my house.

The colours were the enchantment.

We also looked into the Science Library but public visits were not allowed. Then we came across a little wholefood store not unlike 'Fiona's' in Grantown-on-Spey, so we popped in to buy some dried apricots.

There were a few other odd items and as we browsed the young girl started chatting. She was thrilled that we had visited and quite moved when we told her that lots of people in Scotland support Ukraine. She said she'd been in Europe last year and found them quite disconnected and disinterested. Her friend had been killed in the war and she put 15% of sales towards the army. We left feeling very moved by such a gentle soul having to deal with the horrors of this invasion.

On the way back to the hotel to collect our luggage, we stopped for another coffee, as we relaxed, I received a text from our hotel in Ivano-Frankivsk. 'As you have not arrived, we have cancelled the booking.'  Oh no! I tried to ring but my phone wouldn't connect. We rushed back to the hotel and asked the reception for help. They phoned for us and after a bit of Ukrainian discussion and slight amusement, we were reassured that things were sorted and our room would be available on arrival. 

This time we took no risks and got the reception to organise a taxi to take us to the train station.

The taxi driver was great and gave us a little commentary about the monuments before dropping us off. We had half an hour before our train's arrival. Once again, the train was very spacious and had information screens. We loved looking out at the scenery which was mostly trees which had huge nests in them and every so often small colourful towns and villages.

But then there were the cemeteries full of flags.

We arrived in Ivano-Frankivsk at 9.30 pm and were collected at the station. The Hotel had our room ready and it was laid out like a small apartment. It was an old building in the city centre, and all very pleasant. For those who know me, I always need a coffee before bed otherwise I get a blinding headache that wakes me at 4 am. So we found a grocery store that was still open and had a coffee machine. It took a while to work out, though not successfully as I ended up with hot chocolate. Anyway, I was so tired, it did the trick and we both slept well. This was to be our base for the next two weeks.

CHAPTER SIX

For those reading, I should mention that we must remember Ukraine is under attack from a terrorist state and that I have to censor some of my writing. There are certain photos I cannot share or events I cannot mention at the moment. However, tonight as we wandered around the main square, Dmytro asked how I felt about being here, had it lived up to expectations? I said it had, that it was a grander city than I expected, more open and that I felt safe walking around - then we laughed as we realised what I'd just said. Yes, even though there was an 'Air Alert' alarm on my phone, somehow I felt safer here than in many cities.

Back to the reason we are here: Dmytro's lost family. On the first night with our friends, Dmytro resolved several puzzles which had troubled him for a long time and also the recent belief that he may have had a half-brother. This turned out not to be the case, as the birth certificate showed the father Teodor Morykit, with parents Dmytro & Parasceva and the baby born 1944, the year Teodor was taken by the Germans. However, we had not deciphered further and the maiden name of Parasceva turned out to be different from Dmytro's grandmother Parasceva. So although it seemed strange that there could be two Teodor's from the same village with parents of the same name, I considered it was no different in Scotland. Our town has so many 'Grants' that it is entirely possible that say, there could be two David Grants who had parents with the names Andrew & Fiona. A further look at the birth certificates of siblings confirmed Dmytro's father was indeed not the father. This made sense as Dmytro thought it impossible to keep such a secret unless he of course hadn't known himself.

We also resolved some questions around photos we brought with us which had comments on the back in Ukrainian. There were a lot of dots joined. A good start and we agree we would further investigate the archives to try and fill in further gaps, especially what had happened to Dmytro's grandfather - the man he was named after.

Next day there was a festival in the square and there were many dressed in traditional costumes, embroidered shirts and blouses and flowers in the hair. We listened to a wonderful choir with a host of bandora players (a bandora is a traditional Ukrainian instrument). 

On hearing this distinctive sound, Dmytro became emotional. The music had brought back memories of his childhood and the shellac records his Dad had played. He said, ' Standing in this very square where Dad has been, I can't imagine what it must have been like at 19 years old to be taken from your family and never see them again. His life in effect stopped here. The trauma never left him, even at ninety two years old, on his death bed, he was right back here.'

He had just finished wiping his tears when a young man thrust a large microphone towards him and chatted in Ukrainian. When we explained we spoke English, he immediately changed to English himself. He was from a TV company and could he interview us about the festival? We agreed. Next thing we were standing in front of a camera and microphone.

• Where were we from?
• Why were we here?
• Were we not scared?
• Do we think it is appropriate to have a festival when the country is at war?

We both agreed that such cultural events were important, especially in such hard times, to raise spirits and remember why they are defending themselves and their culture, we don't just exist, we create. I've no idea which TV it was for or whether or not it was shown but it broke us out of that melancholy moment.

We plan to go to the Archives on Monday. Already we feel this trip has closed a lot of loose ends.

There is also another excursion in the planning for next week which I will tell you more about if it goes ahead.

Meanwhile, here are a few photos I've taken as we wander. I do ask permission before taking photos of people.

Ladies sewing. I said 'Slava Ukrainii' and they all cheered!

We met the old lady with the frame twice as she went around cafes asking for help. We wondered how many wars and losses she had endured.

Fantastic wood carving and ironwork throughout the city.

 This light shop was collecting money for arms, you can see the row of bullets on the counter and the collection box.

11th May 2026

CHAPTER SEVEN

We went to the archives this morning, but first a few other stories.

In Ukraine you must buy bus and train tickets in advance of getting on, so we went looking for the bus depot to buy tickets for an outing on Tuesday. We were told it was near the train station and that was a landmark Dmytro wanted to visit as it was where his Dad was taken after being captured by the Germans. We found the buses but not the ticket office until we were directed to the train station. Ah! They must sell both, we thought. A very stern 'soviet-style' lady was serving and we could tell she was annoyed we couldn't speak Ukrainian as she had no English so I used my phone to show where we were going, then a calendar to show the day and then she wrote down all the times for us to choose one. Success! Two tickets were printed after we showed our passports.

I then asked where to find the bus stop - she pointed in a particular direction and when we went off to look, there was only a train. Our puzzled look drew the attention of a young girl who spoke English. Turned out she was from Zaporizhzhina and like a young Mum we met on our first day, had moved here after the invasion. She explained we had train tickets and not bus tickets - oh well, it still took us to the same place.

We headed home and stopped at a church where there was lovely singing. We saw an old beggar man outside and Dmytro gave him some cash, I then went to get my purse and it was not there! The only place it could be at the station so we headed on back at speed. There was a large queue at the ticket office but no sooner had we joined it than the ticket lady spotted us and started waving my purse in great joy. What a relief and what a transformation to that ticket lady. We were very grateful.

In the afternoon we did some browsing of nearby shops, as we wandered through a china shop, the shopkeeper and assistant called us over, I was wary, would I be sold something I didn't need or would she lecture me about touching things? When we reached the counter she handed us a plate of cheese and garlic sausage, then pulled out a small bottle of vodka and four glasses from below the counter. 😋 

There was a lot of Na Zdorovya and Slainte Mhath. At one point, she pointed to each of us and said 'good', I smiled and said, yes, not monsters. Immediately she nodded, monsters, then shook her head and raised her arms in disbelief and horror. After sharing photos of grandchildren (it was Mother's Day), she gave us both a big hug. Before arriving, I did wonder if it might be difficult to show open support for Ukraine, if there might be russian supporters lurking, but of course it isn't. Everyone supports Ukraine. I asked Yuriy what happened to russians who lived here when the invasion happened, he said 'they became Ukrainian, although some used their Ukrainian passport to leave and live in other European countries.' It is a weird world where russians who hate the west, still want to live there and do very little to improve and invest in russia.

This city is like most other modern European cities, a mix of old and modern, I'm still considering making a separate blog about toilets 😂 today I saw a brilliant one in a cafe, a place that also allowed dogs and served them with their own bowl of water.  Many restaurants and cafes expect you to order via QR codes on the tables. There are generators everywhere outside businesses to enable them to carry on when russia attacks the power grids. They are adapting regularly. I was told that the city are now implementing more disabled access because of the number of disabled veterans.

The buses are a mix of old and ultra modern. 

We went to an exhibition and an outdoor concert of Ukrainian music of the 90s. We met some young people who were very pleased to meet us, one had a grandfather with a similar story to Teodor and he had ended up in Ayr. He told us he had gone to that family in Ayr at the beginning of the invasion but missed home too much so after six months he came back to Ukraine.

There was also a lad called Nikita from Odesa and Dmytro enjoyed telling him about the Strictly dancer called Nikita from Odesa. When they discovered Dmytro's Dad was in the Divisia, they were in awe, which needs a little explanation...

The Divisia (The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), commonly known as the SS Galicia Division was a WWII military unit formed in 1943 but in 1944 at the Battle of Brody it was significantly destroyed by the russians. 

After the war, most of the surviving members surrendered to British and US forces. The Deschenes Commission reviewed the case of former Galicia Division members and found no evidence of war crimes or criminal affiliation by the unit.

In Ukraine it was rebuilt and re-designated as the 1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army (UNA) in April 1945.

Dmytro's Dad was not involved in the Battle of Brody, he was sent to the unit by the Germans later in 1944 after he was forcibly taken whilst the Germans were retreating and needing manpower against the Red Army. He was an engineer, building pontoons and blowing up bridges. He often recounted going through Slovakia and the former Yugoslavia in German Uniforms yet the partisans never fired one bullet because the unit sang Ukrainian songs as they passed through.

Apart from in Ukraine, where the full story was known, the narrative about this unit was altered after the war by the russians. At the start of WWII, the russians signed an early treaty with Hitler (Molotov Ribbentrop Pact) although they fell out within a couple of years and became enemies. Stalin had shown Hitler how to commit genocide as evidenced by Holodomor in the early 1930s, and suppressed information about it. Teodor witnessed this Great Famine. 

After the war, with russia in control of Ukraine and many smaller Eastern European nations, in order to hide their own Nazi affiliations, they spread the false information that Ukrainians were Nazis. Yet Ukrainians (including several of Teodor's siblings) were killed in the death camps...German (concentration camps) and russian (Gulags).

The disinfo was successful for the general public, though Churchill knew exactly what was going on. He brought Ukrainians to the UK and then used many of them to go back and spy for Britain. He wisely never trusted the russians. However, when Dmytro told people in the UK that his Dad had been in the Divisia, it was often viewed with suspicion. His entire life has been about defending his father and Ukrainian history, he was regularly told that Ukraine did not exist as it was a region of russia. There were times even he doubted his father. Now, suddenly here he finds people are almost dropping to their knees in admiration and appreciation of him. Ukrainians know their history and are proud of it.

 

There are many books written about this subject, and it has finally found its Ukrainian voice. The penny is dropping.

What I see, because of this history, is that Ukrainians will never be russians and will never be terrorised.

Even after over four years of constant terror, imperialist russia has only occupied 20% (including Crimea) of this huge and diverse country. One of the most offensive things that you can say to a Ukrainian is that they are 'proxies'. They have spent generations fighting for their right to exist and not be genocided by anyone.

When you see the cities, modern, vibrant and functioning, then the true horror of what russia is doing hits hard. One friend asked 'why are they not bombed out in the photos?' Well, think what would happen if London was bombed, we would immediately repair and clear up and that's what Ukrainians do. Of course some cities near the front have been totally destroyed with the use of millions of pounds of arms and the cost of 1.3 million russian deaths. Barbarism and monsters.

We went on a sunny walk around the city this afternoon, much of the centre is pedestrianised. We came across a lovely lake and park, people were sunbathing, ducks were swimming and young girls were playing volleyball. Any moment an air raid can go off and a random missile can drop and kill any of us. It is total madness that the whole of Europe is not up in arms to stop this. Shame on anyone who finds excuses or ideology to justify it.

Oh the archives, that is next! Run out of time tonight as we have to get to bed early to be up for a big excursion tomorrow.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Archives

On the outskirts of Ivano-Frankivsk, a small, inconspicuous building. We arrived just before 9 am, so stood outside to honour the defenders which happens every day for one minute.

Well, there is no way we could have navigated the archives without Yuriy, he spoke on our behalf and found the books we needed. There was a severe-looking young woman in charge and we had forms to complete and passports to show. Unfortunately, the records for the years 1910 to 1930 were missing. Yuriy couldn't understand this because he explained that at least six copies were made of each church registration book as they were sent out to different offices within the region. It was a puzzle and a very annoying one because it covered the year of Teodor's birth as well as all of his siblings apart from the youngest. The youngest, Maria, born in 1931 we found almost instantly in the large handwritten, yellowed and fragile book.

We then looked for the births and marriages of Grandparents and Great Grandparents. Again, we found these with Yuriy's help. All recorded in the records of the Greek Catholic church of Nadorozhna. However, the one answer we really wanted, what happened to Teodor's father? Well, this we could not answer with these records. Yuriy then discovered more records online so we have a bit more research to do from home. There was a moment of enlightenment when Dmytro mentioned that his Grandmother's maiden name was Jewzick; Yuriy explained that would be the Polish spelling and it should be Yevchuk in Ukrainian. The complexities of Ukraine is that many records are not only in Ukrainian but can be in Polish or Russian, depending on who was occupying the area at the time! Now he knew his grandmother was not Polish, or unlikely to be, but Ukrainian.

So our next hope was to visit the Nadorazhna to see if we could find a grave or someone who knew what happened to Dmytro's grandfather.