Odessa

I had an easy 1 hour morning flight from Kiev to Odessa, Ukraine.  The flight went fairly smoothly and we arrived right on time.  Everyone clapped after we landed which seems to be the norm on Eastern European flights.  I avoided the usual crew of taxi guys in the arrivals area and headed to the area with the public buses to the city.  They had a mashtruska (mini-bus) that went very close to where I was staying and was only $.20!! That beats paying $15-20 for a taxi.


The apartment that I rented in Odessa was a small simple studio, but it was inexpensive and very quiet at night.  It was just a few minutes from the main tourist area.  When the apartment owner saw that I was a single middle aged guy from the USA, she asked if I was there to find a wife. I told her no, but I did see an American guy my age with a young Ukrainian woman on my flight.  Apparently this is a big industry in Odessa, see the article linked below.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/marriage-ukrainian-style-hopeful-bachelors-from-all-over-the-world-head-to-odessa-in-search-of-a-8701428.html


Entrance to the apartment building where I stayed in Odessa

Odessa is a town on the Black Sea that known for it's beach area and historic downtown.  There are plenty of good inexpensive restaurants close to where I stayed including a really good Georgian restaurant.  The main street in the tourist area is closed to vehicle traffic and there are lot of people there in the evenings.



During my visit to Odessa, I did a walking tour of the city, walked along seafront, and went to the famous beach area called Arkadia. The city's tourism has struggled over the last few years since it was a popular place for Russians to visit prior to the war.  Now the visitors are from other parts of Ukraine, Turks, and single middle aged westerners looking for wives😀

I liked Odessa, but it would be a more interesting place to visit in the summer when it is warmer.

I have a long slow 5 hour bus ride to my next stop (Chisinau, Moldova).  Moldova should be interesting, but it was also a way for me to get to Russia since there are no longer flights from Ukraine to Russia.

Here are some photos from Odessa.









Comments

  1. UnknownMay 3, 2017 at 5:30 PM

    Glad you made it safely to your destination. This is Steve and not Judy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 5, 2017 at 9:07 PM

    Chris,

    Jason Here. Great blog...again! My father worked in Odessa for a while back in the late 90's helping rural farmers secure bank loans. He didn't find a new wife there either :)

    ReplyDelete

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