Trip to Lviv - A Travel Report

Dear all, it's been a few days, but don't forget. Here is the travelogue of our trip to Lviv for food to the wildlife station Domivka to deliver. The last few weeks Bob and I have raised a lot of money and converted it into food. I had already reported about my activities. You can see the result of our efforts in the picture. At first you might think, there is still a lot to put in, it's hardly worth it, but we did the maths. The maximum load (1.2 tonnes) was reached and certainly exceeded by a gram or two. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to pack any more - even worse, we had to leave a good 600 kg of food at home.

But don't worry, the food is arriving! We will continue to buy food and send it to Ukraine. Because my promise to you is that every EUR donated will arrive where it is urgently needed.

After the loading is before the journey! So we were able to set off from Bruckmühl on Monday evening at around 8:30 pm. Due to the location, we decided to take the route via Vienna. In the following pictures you can see the transporter, me at the coffee shop 😀 and our arrival in Przemyśl before reloading. We had to change the van because we were not allowed to enter Ukraine with ours.

And why the entry restriction can be quite sensible can be seen in the following pictures.

Our vehicle for the final stage had already made the acquaintance of the Russians on one of the previous trips. Fortunately, nothing else happened then, but it could have turned out differently!

On the way to Lviv, we first drove about 20 km to the left of all the parked vehicles before the border. As an aid transport, one enjoys special rights and is allowed to drive past the "normal" entry queue. Arriving at the front, we only had to wait 37 minutes before we were allowed to go through passport and customs control. In the end, it took us about 1 1/2 hours before we could drive the first metres on Ukrainian roads.

On the way to Lviv we saw many great places, impressive buildings and experienced "normal" life. If you didn't know that you were travelling in a country at war, you wouldn't realise it on the way.

It was different when we entered Lviv. Here the war became immediately clear. In addition to gun bunkers, there were also several tank barricades at the side of the road. This brought me right back to reality. It was a slightly oppressive feeling ...

After we had digested the first shock, we went to the wildlife station and unloaded.

After unloading, we went for a walk through the wildlife station and had a look at everything at our leisure. In addition to the temporarily admitted dogs and cats, there are also many different wild animals. In addition to three different types of foxes, there were also storks and monkeys that had been rescued from Kharkiv Zoo and housed there.

It was impressive to see how devotedly the helpers worked there. Even regular air raid alerts do not stop them from caring for the animals. In addition, the station also serves as a temporary storage facility for the hard-working helpers who are on their way to Ukraine to stock up on food, which is then distributed. Another reason why further food deliveries from me will go there. My trip has shown me that everything gets to where it is needed. And thanks to WhatsApp contacts with the people in charge, the right food can be sent as the situation demands.

After all the impressions, we went back, first to Przemyśl to change the vehicle and then on to Bruckmühl. It was a long and very intensive trip, but it was worth it. Many contacts were made, we got to know each other personally and were able to build trust. I am now sure that everything we send will arrive at 100% where it is needed.

And last but not least: After the trip is before the next campaign. And for that, of course, I need your active support. I hope I was able to show you with this travel report that the help is reaching where it is urgently needed. But in the end, 1.2 tonnes of food is a drop in the ocean. Therefore, it has to go on. I won't sit back and say: I've done something now, that's enough! And I hope you don't either. Help me to help. Because only helping helps.