This was the first city that spoke to me through its architecture. I wandered its streets, where fading Baroque facades and the lingering presence of the Middle Ages drew me in. I often paused to absorb quiet details such as textures, domes, and archways that whispered of another time.

Now, nearly a decade later, I’m finally writing it down. It is not merely a memory, but the moment when everything quietly began to shift.

As the train rolled away from Lviv, I watched the land unfold: soft hills, scattered villages, and the unknown that lay ahead.
Kyiv was next.