Rozvadiv is an unassuming village in West Ukraine, located 45 minutes south of Lviv and home to only 5,000. This could be considered “Quintessential Ukraine”: endless fields, livestock roaming through the neighborhoods — and the only sound is the hum of the river Dniester and rumbling of the occasional train. I enjoyed my weeks in Kiev and Lviv immensely, but I didn’t feel I truly experienced Ukraine until I took a walk through Rozvadiv. When Hitler marched Eastward through West Ukraine, Rozvadiv didn’t remain untouched. Nazi soldiers passed through, kidnapping teenage boys — one of whom was my grandfather. It has been left largely as it was after the USSR collapsed, save a few exceptions: a few more automobiles and satellite dishes; plus a fresh coat of paint on the main cathedral. The cathedral could be described a Rozvadiv’s the main attraction, which is impossible to miss from almost any place in the village. Since the crumbling of communism, finding employment and maintaining survival in these villages has been tricky. Most homes have beautiful, elaborate gardens and some form of livestock. I was surprised to learn that while several have cell phones and electricity, few have indoor plumbing. Rozvadiv has its own school, government office, and a pair of product shops, but no options in the way of eateries or restaurants. (When I went out to lunch with my family, we went to the neighboring town of Mykolaiv, which has three times the population and a larger array of businesses and employment opportunities). Perhaps it was Soviet influence, but Ukraine loves their larger-than-life monuments — and Rozvadiv is no exception. I first saw this dramatic angel statue in my grandfather’s 1992 video of Ukraine, and for one reason or another, he had edited into the Lviv portion of the video. I assumed it was in Lviv, and that it would be one of the main tourist attractions.  I asked every local I met, “Where is the giant angel statue?!”, only to be answered with bewilderment. I eventually gave up, figuring the statue had been demolished. When we turned the corner of the main street in Rozvadiv, there it was. I gasped with surprise. It was even larger in person than I’d imagined. The River Dniester The Dniester is one of Ukraine’s main waterways, and it was also a place of joyous...