A couple weekends ago, my fantastically wise friend; Leigh-Ann, and I were wandering about an overcrowded Moscow when we had a well thought out conversation that went something like this:
Leigh-Ann: I'm bored here. Let's go to the Ukraine next weekend.
Gina: Okay.
Profound, I know. I'll understand when you tell me the difficulty you've had following this conversation.
So the next Saturday morning we were on a plane headed to Odessa, on the Black Sea.
I have been dying to go somewhere coastal with fresh air since January, which made this a perfect spring weekend getaway.
By the way, in Odessa, everyone speaks Russian. Just as an update: No, I am absolutely not fluent in Russian. But I can throw together fragmented thoughts that are possible to be understood by a patient native Russian speaker (...not so surprisingly, I found much more patience in Odessa, than in Moscow). My travel buddy is fluent in Russian...and often is mistaken as a Russian. As for me on the other hand...whether I'm speaking English or Russian (more like "Russhglish")...most of the time, it is clear as day that I am all American.
Once we landed in Odessa, all I wanted to know was the exact location of the sea. So I asked the taxi driver:
где черный воды?
He responded in laughter. Perhaps it is slightly silly to hear a foreigner sputter out in Russian with her deep American accent "Where black water?"
"Sea" was not in my Russian vocabulary yet.
Once we reached our hostel to set up camp, we headed out to explore the city by foot:
Odessa Opera House
A fandangled tree.
The Potemkin Stairs.
These steps lead to the port of Odessa. They were built in the later 1800s as easy access to the harbor...as Odessa is on a plateau. They are supposed to create an optical illusions. Looking down, you aren't supposed to see the stairs...so it sort of looks like a bunch of ledges. Looking up, you aren't supposed to see the landings, so it looks like stairs just go on forever. Either way, I was not fooled.
The Odessa Cathedral
What happened next was odd. We concluded that oxygen levels in Odessa were MUCH higher than in Moscow. The fresh air literally knocked us off our feet. We were exhausted and were forced to take an hour time out to power nap before the evening commenced.
Once feeling refreshed, we headed out to dinner....and the night ended with a horseback tour through the city!
Sunday:
After having a deliciously fresh breakfast prepared by my travel buddy, we packed Sunday with outdoors activities.
Bright and early, a tour guide picked us up, and took us to the Odessa catacombs. The catacombs are a network of underground tunnels all throughout Odessa, that were mined in the 19th century for limestone to build houses/buildings/etc. During WWII Soviet partisans used the catacombs as a hiding place. Villagers who lived above would lower food and certain necessities down holes in the catacombs for those in hiding.
An entrance outside of the city into the catacombs.
That's me... exploring. Just call me a regular ole' Chris Columbus.
The catacombs are such a labyrinth, and so large, that there are cases where people enter to explore and never come out. Luckily, Leigh-Ann and I had knowledgeable and trusted tour guides. There is a special club in Odessa who is responsible for search and rescues in the catacombs, one of our tour guides is a member of that club, so we were A OK.
Exploring in the catacombs provided us with enough darkness for one day, so next we rented bicycles to cycle to and alongside the Black Sea.
Upon meeting the Black Sea, we stopped for refreshments and to take in the view.
Leigh-Ann: I'm bored here. Let's go to the Ukraine next weekend.
Gina: Okay.
Profound, I know. I'll understand when you tell me the difficulty you've had following this conversation.
So the next Saturday morning we were on a plane headed to Odessa, on the Black Sea.
I have been dying to go somewhere coastal with fresh air since January, which made this a perfect spring weekend getaway.
By the way, in Odessa, everyone speaks Russian. Just as an update: No, I am absolutely not fluent in Russian. But I can throw together fragmented thoughts that are possible to be understood by a patient native Russian speaker (...not so surprisingly, I found much more patience in Odessa, than in Moscow). My travel buddy is fluent in Russian...and often is mistaken as a Russian. As for me on the other hand...whether I'm speaking English or Russian (more like "Russhglish")...most of the time, it is clear as day that I am all American.
Once we landed in Odessa, all I wanted to know was the exact location of the sea. So I asked the taxi driver:
где черный воды?
He responded in laughter. Perhaps it is slightly silly to hear a foreigner sputter out in Russian with her deep American accent "Where black water?"
"Sea" was not in my Russian vocabulary yet.
Once we reached our hostel to set up camp, we headed out to explore the city by foot:
These steps lead to the port of Odessa. They were built in the later 1800s as easy access to the harbor...as Odessa is on a plateau. They are supposed to create an optical illusions. Looking down, you aren't supposed to see the stairs...so it sort of looks like a bunch of ledges. Looking up, you aren't supposed to see the landings, so it looks like stairs just go on forever. Either way, I was not fooled.
What happened next was odd. We concluded that oxygen levels in Odessa were MUCH higher than in Moscow. The fresh air literally knocked us off our feet. We were exhausted and were forced to take an hour time out to power nap before the evening commenced.
Once feeling refreshed, we headed out to dinner....and the night ended with a horseback tour through the city!
Sunday:
After having a deliciously fresh breakfast prepared by my travel buddy, we packed Sunday with outdoors activities.
Bright and early, a tour guide picked us up, and took us to the Odessa catacombs. The catacombs are a network of underground tunnels all throughout Odessa, that were mined in the 19th century for limestone to build houses/buildings/etc. During WWII Soviet partisans used the catacombs as a hiding place. Villagers who lived above would lower food and certain necessities down holes in the catacombs for those in hiding.
The catacombs are such a labyrinth, and so large, that there are cases where people enter to explore and never come out. Luckily, Leigh-Ann and I had knowledgeable and trusted tour guides. There is a special club in Odessa who is responsible for search and rescues in the catacombs, one of our tour guides is a member of that club, so we were A OK.
Exploring in the catacombs provided us with enough darkness for one day, so next we rented bicycles to cycle to and alongside the Black Sea.
Sunday evening we headed to a Ukrainian restaurant, where I enjoyed a bowl of borsch and Georgian wine.
Monday morning we said "good-bye" to our relaxing little trip with a final meal at the cutest little cafe I've seen in a long time:
...with the freshest apple juice I have ever had!
And that's that!
-Gina
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