The Grandeur of Odessa

Odessa, Ukraine, 5/21/17 5 PM

A perfect Sunday in the Grand City of Odessa.

I met a guy from Finland as both of us were checking out of the little supermarket. when he asked me where I was from.  He lives here as an ex-pat with his wife and two little sons under 2 years old and divides his time between here and Helsinki.  He's a business coach and involved in the export/import business. Like me, he was quite taken on his first visit with the magnificent architecture.

In describing Odessa he mentions its prominence in Czarist Russia as one of its 4 great cities together with Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Warsaw.  It was also Russia's most important sea port. He likes the weather here particularly, I imagine, compared to Finland in winter.

As do people here in general, he speaks Russian, not Ukrainian and he speaks, unsurprisingly, fluent English.

My new friend tells me the place the ex-pats hang out is the Irish Pub.  So I plan to check that out to learn more about life here from the ex-pat perspective and with the easier acquisition of knowledge with the ability to use English. He tells me that with two young sons he doesn't get to go there much anymore which I told him I can well understand given the time my son and his wife devote to caring for my two young grandsons.

We exchanged cards and he asked me to contact him so we can talk some more as he had little time this day because of an impending flight to Helsinki.  I assured him that I would if, as I hope, I return to Odessa.

And I do hope to come back.  When I arrived, I planned to sleep for a few hours to catch up on the lost sleep on the train but as it was a sunny day and the forecast for coming days didn't look that good (actually the weather has been wonderful). I made myself take just a short nap after a shower all of which made me feel like a new man and I hastened out to walk about and get some photos in the bright sun.

As I walked and saw the grandeur of this great city and its magnificent architecture I wondered that I had not come earlier.  Well, my reasons are it's a bit of a hike from my Lviv base and the language they speak here is Russian, not the Ukrainian which I have tasked myself with learning.

Here is a picture of Odessa's most famous building, the Opera House.

Today I walked to see and photo the St. Sophia Cathedral.  St. Sophia is a big deal in this part of the world with the major cathedral here being named after her as are the main Cathedrals in Ukraine's capital, Kiev and across the Black Sea in Turkey's capital. Istanbul.

Then I walked down to the Philharmonic Symphony Hall.  For some reason, they don't publicize their concerts on the Web or at least I couldn't find them so I decided to walk over there just a few blocks (as is everything) from my hotel.



Much to my delight, there was to be a concert this very evening and using my limited Ukrainian I was able to get directed to the ticket office and purchase a ticket.























Following that, I walked down to and along the harbor where I was surprised and very happy to be able to see the famous Potemkin Steps,  famous for the iconic scene in the Soviet propaganda movie "Battleship Potemkin" which a friend told me I must watch when I told her I was coming here.

and I'm glad I did and for the suggestion, as it gave an appreciation and understanding that I would have otherwise lacked.

On my walk the day I arrived, I had been greatly disappointed that I had not been able to see the steps from the walkway above as the view is completely boarded up due to construction.

What's so interesting about the steps is their width decreases from the bottom to the top of the staircase so if you are standing at the bottom the top of the stairs looks much farther to climb than it actually is. Also if you are standing at the bottom of the steps the landings are not visible from that perspective as they are in this picture due to the elevation of my position across the road.

It was hot in the sun particularly as I had walked several miles and so I removed 3 layers: jacket, sweater, and down vest.

Then I thought about returning the way I had come as I was quite tired.   Pressing onward would take me farther from my hotel and mean a longer way back and I didn't know if there was another way to get up to the city with the Potemkin stairs being closed off for the construction.

But, I wanted to see what I might find so on I went and saw a trail leading upwards.  I thought it might be a dead end leading possibly to a private mansion or something and didn't see anyone on the path.  But I decided to try it anyway as it was definitely leading up in the direction I wanted to go and it was nice and cool.

And so I found myself walking in a narrow tranquil forest, a very pleasant peaceful respite from the busy port to my right and the busy city to my left. In my travels, I've found the best experiences seem to come from just wandering.  I doubt any guide book mentions this fine walking trail.

As I climbed upward I passed a few people. So I thought they must be coming from somewhere and I would get to where I wanted to go. Eventually.

Then I came around a bend and the trail led downward.  Uh oh.  I certainly didn't want to have to retrace my steps down and then make the climb up again another way.

But then just around the next bend, there were steps that led upwards and I got to where I wanted to be. Back in the city.

No chairs to sit down here but a nice wall to sit on.  After a brief respite, I considered whether I should return or move farther on.  The farther I went the more of interest I might see but also the longer the return would be.  Then I thought of Uber.

I had a difficult time with Uber here my first two times.  The first, when I arrived at the Lviv airport I previously described here and what happened the second time when I arrived at the Odessa train station was that again I couldn't locate the car and in fact canceled the ride but then reconsidered when I thought the 25 cancellation charge might be in Euros (which it wasn't) and almost immediately upon withdrawing the cancellation found the Uber car and as it was driverless I called to tell the driver, in Ukrainian that I was at his car and he replied in Russian (I assume) where he was up in the station, neither of us understanding the other, but I knew he would have to return to his car and he did and all was well.

Except that on the way his car stalled out and he had to keep pressing the starter button over and over til the engine would stay running which eventually it did and we located my hotel and he indicated I should get out.

He didn't get out and instead kept pressing the starter button as his car stalled.   I thought he was just wanting to get his car running and then would get out but when he did finally get it running he began driving away with my luggage in his trunk!

Fortunately, I was able to flag him down and avert a disaster.  Except that thinking about it later it occurred to me that this is an advantage with Uber as I could call the driver and get him to come back. Well possibly if the language problem could be overcome.

I gave him a 125% tip for all the time (45 minutes) and effort he had earlier spent trying to find me while I was trying to find him.  And lest you think that was extravagant let me tell you the fare was only around 80 cents.  Yes, you read that right. Thus his well-earned tip was just a dollar.

So now, I thought, since it's so cheap going by Uber I can wander as far as my energy will take me and not worry about returning as I can call Uber and if I'm not in a busy place as in my two previous encounters, I should have no problem locating the Uber car which was the major problem in my previous two experiences.

And indeed when I got to the end of my walk I called Uber, the driver arrived in less than 9 minutes and we drove the 15 minutes to the lovely City Garden where they had this wonderful free concert.







I then sat outside at a table with a delicious chocolate drink facing the garden, a perfect place to people-watch on a perfect Sunday in Odessa and I thought of Paris and how it couldn't be better than this and possibly nowhere near as nice, all things considered.

More than enough had occurred on this fine day except I still had a concert to attend and after grabbing a bite to eat walked over to the Philharmonic Hall.

For the price of admission (less than $2) you get to sit anywhere you want in this beautiful symphony hall so I arrived a bit early and found a nice seat in the fifth row on the aisle where I took pictures.



And indeed it was a wonderful concert in a wonderful setting.

The capstone for, and a  perfect ending to - - -

A perfect Sunday in Odessa.

Thanks for reading!

Sleeping With Strangers

Odessa, Ukraine,  May 19, 11:17 AM

I'm in heaven.  Drinking my first coffee of the day at my favorite restaurant/cafeteria in the whole world -- Puzata Xata.   In Lviv, they have 2 locations where I eat every meal other than breakfast which is included with my hotel stay there but not here.

As you can see from the pictures this cafeteria is quite elegant. It has a million dollar view of the skyline and my full breakfast, which you can also see here, including coffee, cost less than $1.50. I kid you not!

I thought I was really going to miss Puzata Xata during this 6-day visit to Odessa but was delighted to find it also here and just a couple of blocks from my hotel.

My trip to Odessa from Lviv began with more than a modicum of concern as I planned to take the long 12-hour sleeper train connecting the two cities,  And I also planned to travel in third class.

Third Class?  Why pick a third class sleeper when travel here is so inexpensive?  Well, I wanted a lower bunk and they were all taken in 2nd class by the time I made my reservation.

And, if truth be known, I wanted to see how OK or not OK it might be, having found the 3rd class day trip (just seats no sleeping accommodation)  from Mukacheve to Lviv last year to be OK, although the uncushioned seats were hard, particularly so after 5 hours.

With a likely repetition of that trip in store later during this time in Ukraine, I have since purchased a plastic seat cushion which blows up to full size so it takes up very little space when packing.

The third class overnight sleeper is a real bargain.  For less than $5 you get a bed for the night, a nice cup of tea and you get to be transported  the725 km (450 miles) from Lviv to Odessa.

No, it's no 5-star hotel. Far from it.

But none of the 5-star hotels in Lviv offers the opportunity go to sleep in Lviv and wake up in Odessa!

In the picture, you can see my compartment on the right with 4 bunks.  Across the aisle, there are two bunks with the lower bunk starting out as two seats facing each other with a table in between which later folds down to form the bunk.

Boarding early I waited to see who would be sharing my compartment.  "Compartment" is probably not the right word as it is completely open to the aisle which is the 3rd reason I thought 3rd class might be preferable to 2nd class where the compartment is completely enclosed.

It seemed to me that sleeping in the company of complete strangers might be safer and therefore wiser in an open compartment.

As I waited, two 30 something guys entered the compartment and then a middle aged man.  One of the guys said something to me, in Ukrainian which I didn't understand but then figured he was asking where I was from, when, with a questioning look, he used the Ukrainian word for "Polish". So I told him in my limited Ukrainian that I was an American and asked each of them if they were Ukrainian.  Both said they were and we informed each other that we were all headed to the final train stop, Odessa.

At 8:40 PM, right on time as always in Ukraine, at least in my experience, the train departed.

The two guys had a lot of stuff with them including a lot of food.  I moved to sit on the left side of my bench (bunk) so they could sit across from each other at the table to eat their big meal.

They invited me to join them in a drink of vodka (I think it was vodka).  But, given I was still in recovery from sleep deprivation and jet lag and anticipating that with little sleep on this journey I would be in bad enough shape in the morning without a hangover, I thanked them for their invitation and with some reluctance declined

Some of the passengers made their beds right away upon boarding while others proceeded to do so an hour or so into the journey.

The conductor gave each of us a sealed plastic bag containing sheets, pillow case, and a towel.  Rolled up mattresses with pillows were stored overhead at the top of the compartment.   One of the guys pulled one down for me. At first, I thought it to be a blanket.
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Surreptitiously I watched as others made their beds, not wanting to appear the greenhorn I was.  At first, I made a hash of it as I got the sheet running crosswise but then figured out you simply line up the stripes on the sheets lengthwise with the mattress.

By 11 PM everyone had made their beds and were settling down for the night except for some talking on their smartphones.

Lying in bed I read a couple of pages of a novel on my Kindle but decided it didn't capture my interest and, as I was really more interested in getting some sleep, I began the effort to do so.

I knew sleeping wouldn't be easy given the strange environment and excitement of being on the train but there were bigger challenges with which to contend.

Very loud sounds of crashing and pounding came from the train's undercarriage  And the train swung in wide sweeps both up and down and horizontally.

I confess I was a bit concerned about the loud banging noises.  I couldn't and still can't imagine what was causing them.  If they were caused by a bad track it seemed we should be derailed. The noise was that pronounced.

However, as no one else appeared to be concerned I decided there was no reason for me to worry.

And as time went by, the track seemed to smooth out and the turbulence was replaced by a gentle swaying of the train and the familiar and comforting clickety-clack of its wheels.

And so.  I fell asleep.

During the night I woke up from time to time and then fell back to sleep.  In all I guess I slept a total of 4 or 5 hours.  While not my usual and desired 9 hours or so, I was grateful for what I did get. More than I got on the 8-hour flight from Washington to Frankfurt.

Indeed it is nice to be able to spread out and lie down flat as opposed to being scrunched up in an airline seat although my feet did extend into the aisle about an inch when I lay flat on my back and they got brushed by a couple of passengers walking by.  Better placement of the pillow, however, fixed this problem allowing me to move my body so my feet were completely out of the aisle, but just barely.

Around 6 or 7 AM  a few people started to get up.  The sun had risen and begun pouring through the window across the aisle.  As it turned out it was low enough on the horizon and perfectly placed so as to shine directly onto my face. Unable to position my cap to block it out I reluctantly roused myself, got up and retrieved my sleep mask from my backpack and so solved this problem.

By 8 AM most people had arisen.  We rolled up our pillows and mattresses and stored them in the overhead rack. And we folded up our sheets and pillow cases and delivered them to the conductor.

Finally, at 8:50 AM we arrived at our destination.  The final stop for the train.  Odessa with its magnificent train station.

The historic (for me) trip was over.


Tired and somewhat in a daze but quite happily, I carefully descended the steep steps of the train and walked with my crowd of fellow passengers to the station.

And as I did, I said to myself ----

Mission accomplished!


Well not quite.  I still had to get to my hotel, which turned out to be a more-than- expected. challenge.

But, that's a story for another day.

Thanks for reading!