From the church I went down Svobody Prospect (Freedom Prospect). One of the things I noticed were the "Walk / Don't Walk" traffic signals. Not only do they tell you when it is safe to cross, but it also tells you how many seconds you have until the light changes, or how long you have to wait for the next "Walk" signal.
Hotel Zakarpattia in the background.
This cafe on Svoboda Prospect had some interesting sculptures. The first has some snails crawling on the tree stump; the second is some kind of lizard.
Further down was a playground, with pig and monkey statues.
Another cafe ( I remember reading that there were over 300 cafes and restaurants in Uzhgorod). This one had a sign outside, advertising the prices of their submarine sandwiches. "Bacon Sandwich - 12 Hrivna - One Dollar". "Salami Sub - one dollar" "Ham and cheese sub - one dollar" etc, etc, all one dollar!
Next month national elections will be held. Below is one of the many billboard signs for the various political parties. This one is for the party "Svoboda" (Freedom). Members of Svoboda hold up three fingers, representing the Trizub, the stylized trident which is the symbol of Ukraine.
The Regional Library, and Uzhgorod Hotel:
One of the shops along Svoboda Prospect had this mural at its entrance:
Svoboda Prospect brings you to the Kiyivska Naberezhna (Kiev Promenade) on the Southern Bank of the Uzh River, and across the river from the Linden Tree Promenade. I don't know what kind of trees these are. I thought they were maples by the shape of their leaves. These trees look as if they don't have any bark, except for a little on the trunks.
There were a few people fishing in the Uzh River with their ten foot long fishing poles:
Svoboda Prospect ends at the bridge for automobiles; across the bridge is a little park with a statue honoring Thomas Masaryk, the founder and first president of Czechoslovakia, of which Zakarpattia was a part until 1945.
From Masaryk Park I went down Dobzhenka Street to the statue honoring Taras Shevchenko, founder of Ukrainian literature and the modern Ukrainian language. Shevchenko was born a serf; when he was 24 his freedom was bought with the proceeds of a lottery. The lottery prize was a painting by Karl Briullov, which Briullov donated for the purpose of buying Shevchenko's freedom.
I found this plaque on one of the buildings on Dovzhenka Street; no idea what it commemorates:
Don't know what this statue commemorates either!
The back of the statue is carved to look like a set of drawers, with one drawer, the bottom right, slightly open. I can't imagine what this represents.
,When I reached Teatralna Square, there was a choral presentation going on, calling for peace. After a short speech, the chorus, dressed in national costume, sang "Hymn to Ukraine". Afterwards, women handed out origami doves to the crowd. A Ukrainian television reporter was also there, interviewing and filming.
I've uploaded a video of the chorus to YouTube. The link is below:
There was someone dressed in a rat costume. I think he was part of a group promoting a circus.
Back at Klara's, one of the university students who had been boarding with Klara last year came by for a visit. Maryanka is from the village Lysychovo in Irshava District, about three hours away by bus.Lysychovo is famous for the "Hamor" smithy, the only water operated smithy in Ukraine. Every year they hold a huge blacksmith festival. Maryanka is a law student.
Big day tomorrow: wedding in Dovhe Pole; in Dravtsi the church starts its celebration about 5 PM. The Bishop will be there, and there will be a procession. This is just a prelude to the bigger celebration on Sunday.
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