Main Post Office Czech Functionalism

"Perhaps I was lucky on my way to/from Ukraine passing through this border checkpoint. Travelled by bus from Košice, where we remained on board after passing the Slovak border point. There were more cars than buses heading into Ukraine and even though we had probably 45min delay to the schedule, the whole thing was painless and professional. A Ukrainian border officer checked our passports & after a while we got our stamped passports by the bus attendant. Ukrainian males must show a permit as they are not allowed to exit the country. I simply had my docs printed (as I was advised) like my booking, return ticket, accommodation and a valid reason to visit but no one asked anything or required any of these docs.

Acknowledging that Ukraine is at war, I found it remarkable that everything simply worked like clockwork. The checks and everything around it was done professionally. I don´t expect a customer satisfaction flyer to fill or expecting them to dispense with unneeded niceties. This makes me want to repeat the visit again and more than once as I found the people in Užhhorod incredibly kind and their pride in their country is unmistakable.

no pics from the border crossing itself as I thought it highly inappropriate (esp. in a country at war)"

Farouk Mogheth

"Poorly organized. You can easily find the point simply not working. Now I am waiting more than 30 minutes for no reason. There are still the same two cars in front of me. If there is a queue you wait because of it, if there is none you still wait."

miso demetrian

"I arrived to the Ukrainian border crossing station on my fully loaded motorcycle (clothes, food, tent, sleeping bags, tools, etc.) after spending maybe 5 minute at the Slovak border crossing station.

It was outside of the main season and major events, so I was crossing alone, nobody in front of, or behind me. Of course, I also heard the stories and expected it will take some time to get through.

You first arrive to the windows with a border officer who will check all your IDs and paperwork (motorcycle ID) and asks you several questions about why you're traveling to Ukraine. Then, the officer will personally walk out and check everything on your motorcycle - I had to open and unload every single bag, take everything out of my saddle bags, show contents of everything, including over the counter medicine like paracetamol, Medi kit or repair tools.

All was okay, so I spent next 10 minutes repacking everything back onto the motorcycle and moved about 15 metres further to two bored gentlemen who watched the process for the entire time. To my surprise, they wanted to see my IDs too. I gave the passport to one of the guys and he took it into the adjacent building. Few minutes of an awkward small talk with the other officer, mostly asking me how much did the motorcycle cost (??), then the other guy walked out without my papers, seemingly ignoring me.

I was waiting another 20 minutes. Meanwhile, one Ukrainian car and several people crossed in the same direction and after checking them, the guards let them through. It started to get clearer and clearer what's expected here...

And so I threw my legs over the front handlebars and lied at my parked motorcycle, resting my head at the back seat to get some good quality sleep. I closed my eyes and after 10 minutes, one of the officers finally came with my passport and some sort of small stamped paper permit and I was allowed to leave.

The last checkpoint was a military barricade. I showed them the stamped permit, they took it and I could finally ride into Zakarpattia. All of it took around 1 hour."

Joe Lobotka