The last two days of our trip through western Ukraine: A long bus ride to Lviv, a meeting with Edgar Hauster and a last walk. Farewell Ukraine, I will return!
Vasyl, our great driver, brought Sylvia and me to Vinnytsia in Podolia today. On the way we have taken a look on the Jewish cemetery of Ternopil and have visited Medzhybizh – the place where the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, was buried. A magic place.
A last day in Lviv for Sylvia and me before heading to Podolia/Transnistria. Sylvia gave an impressive speech at a conference. At noon we walked to the site of former concentration camp at Janowska Road. In the evening there was another opportunity to meet old and new friends.
Sylvia, Katharina, our wonderful driver Vasyl and I have just returned from Trochenbrod (Trachimbrod). It was a long day trip to a place that has completely disappeared. An all-Jewish town which was wiped out in the Holocaust and resurrected as literature in the novel “Everything Is Illuminated” by Jonathan Safran Foer.
Today Sylvia and I started to explore Lviv together. The city is a familiar place for me, a new one for Sylvia. It was also a chance to meet friends. It was a day of talks.
A long day comes to an end. Sylvia and I got up at around 3 o’clock in the morning – she in Amsterdam, I in Cologne. Finally, we met at the airport of Vienna and flew to Lviv together. Here we are now – at the very beginning of a new journey.
At the turn of the year I traveled in Ukraine again. This time I was in Volhynia (Volhyn), a historical region between Galicia and Belarus. My trip took me to Trochenbrod, Lutsk, Rivne, Dubno and Ostroh. Back in Lviv, I made an excursion to Olesko and Busk in Galicia. Now I have completed a selection of black and white photos of the trip.
Again, I was travelling with Vasyl and Renata. I highly appreciate both of them – because of their kindness and because of their excellent knowledge of local history. My journey is slowly coming to an end and it was a final opportunity to explore Galicia during this trip. Olesko and Busk were the places we went to.
After so many years of returning, it is a kind of homecoming when I go back to Lviv (Lwow, Lemberg). This time, Lviv welcomed me with snow. Upon my arrival at the airport heavy white snowflakes were falling and now it looks like it will not stop. A nice start for a new journey.
Many of you followed my wanderings through Galicia and Bukovina and I’m grateful to you and your comments. With me was my old camera; I took photos whenever I was travelling in the last two years. Classic black and white photography. Thanks to the Rhineland Regional Association I’m now able to publish some of my photos as a book.
Vanished World 