First impressions of the city are slightly blurred as we rattle and role in the old Lada taxi toward Yevgeniya's flat in Korolova. Huddled together we are trying to talk to each other its proving difficult we are using sign languge speaking very slowly, somehow we sort of understand.
Yevgeniya is talking in Russian to the taxi driver giving him instructions, the fact is I have no idea where we are going or what she's saying, she senses my questions and squeezes my hand as if to tell me don't worry everything is going to be fine, I believe her I believe everything she says.
Soon the car turns off the main road into a collection of blocks of flats this is our destination.Climbing into the lift, four levels later Yevgeniya is unlocking the door,We are greeted by three very excited young boys Yevgenia’s grandchildren, Tolik 7, Kola 8, and Genya 4. Irena and Lena her daughters are there waiting to greet us too,soon they are having an animated Conversation, the gist of which is about dinner. This is my introduction to Ukraine hospitality, I was somewhat apprehensive but need not have worried the food was delicious. I had my first taste of wine from Moldova and Ukraine it was not to bad at all. To my relief I find that Lena has a small amount of English so at last I could talk to them a little. After dinner we sat at the computer where using a translation programme we painstakingly got a dialog going. After a while Yevgeniya disappears and returns with a package we open it, inside is a portable translator, it's so clever, type in your sentence click Russian and bang there are your words done, same the other way Yevgeniya types Russian and there it is English, at last we are free, I ask why she waited until now. she smiles and says ”I wanted to give you a nice surprise.”
Next morning after breakfast making our way to the bus stop we got on a maxi-taxi to the city centre. I discover there is a very comprehensive well used public transport service, Trolley buses and Trams run everywhere as well as very old diesel buses belching black smoke, no worries about pollution there then.
It's about a thirty minute ride about 15 kilometres. I now get a real chance to take in my surroundings it looks as though everything is grey from the sky,the earth, the trees, to the blocks of flats,and even the people, it's odd a strange thing I noticed that around every tree for about a metre or so up the trunk was covered in white paint Yevgeniya says its a bug repellent I think the translater is screwed up on that one. Not a trace of green it's been a hard winter spring is only now kicking in. Everywhere folks are going about their business the bazaar and street surrounding it are full, street traders have their stalls laid out the earth around them strewn with secondhand goods, clothes, shoes, you name it it's there, I am told they work from before dawn to after dark for very little money. These are the lowest part of the buying trade next would be the bazaar,small shops and kiosks, finally the supermarkets with the larger more expensive shops in the city centre. A somewhat simplistic view but thats how I saw it then.
As we drove on I experienced a very different way of doing things someone tapped me on my shoulder and thrust some notes into my hand Yevgeniya seeing my bewilderment took them from me tapped the person in front and gave them the money, a few moments later the change came down the bus in the same way, likewise Yevgeniya bought our tickets,”how does the driver know what to charge?” I asked simple the fare was the same throughout the route about 30 pence. There were recognised stops on route however the driver would stop and pick anyone up if they stood and held up their hand, folks would hop on and off at random as the journey suited them,how different from our controlled and over regulated service I thought but it works the buses were always full. I think there was some sort of time table however when a bus was full the driver set off there was so many of them that if you missed one there was soon another to take its place.
The Maxi-taxi rolls and bumps its way along the potholed and cracked highway the winter has played havoc with the surface already teams of menders are busy with their rollers and steaming buckets of tar.
We pass the prison grey and foreboding its walls strung with razor wire, carry on by the defunct racecourse, I see my first shopping mall all shiny black glass and chrome we go there on another visit the windows are full the shelves are sparse. Now past the railway station razed to the ground by the German retreat and rebuilt brick for brick to its original state,then into Pushkin street. This is different: the greyness is lifting. A cobbled street lined with Plane trees, long and wide, flanked on either side by some very old tired buildings. Occasionally a gem arises, among them in this instance a church painted blue and white it's onion shaped minarets covered in gold, outside are sellers of palm as it is almost Easter Sunday, further along is the Philharmonica Hall a severe looking place, in contrast to the Hotel Krasnaya The Red Hotel named for the red banner of the revolution. It's more pink than red the plasterwork is superb highlighted in white situated on the opposite side of the road. Pushkin street ends at the Maritime Museum and the Beautiful Opera House the gem in Odessa crown.
The bus turns off before there to terminate in Martinovska Square. It's now a short walk to the main shopping street called Deribasovskaya this is a wonderful old avenue named after one of the the founders of Odessa. Here is to be found the park bustling with stalls selling souvenirs and craftwork of all types it's a tourist honey pot, at last the sun is shining we take an outside seat at a cafe blaring out Russian pop music, I don't care I am being assaulted by sounds and smells alien to me I am so loving this. I have my first taste of Ukrainian black beer, now I'm not a beer drinker preferring spirits and wine but this I could easily get used to. This where I find that Yevgeniya has a round bottom she can't sit still for five minutes. ”Come on let's go” she said. This proves to be the pattern for the days following.
We walked everywhere, along Prymorsky Boulevard, with the City Hall at one end and the Vorontsov Palace the other, in the middle the Potemkin Staircase all 192 of them, The boulevard is a popular stroll, it's long, wide,lined,with Linden,Maple and Sweet Chestnut trees offering cool shade in the summer heat, with views across the harbour and docks to the lighthouse and beyond.
Yevgeniya took me to many beaches including Arcadia Beach and Golden Beach amongst other attractions along the way.
I loved the opera house refurbished inside all red plush and gold leaf, it is said to be modelled on the Vienna Opera house I cannot comment on that but it sure is beautiful, outside its a different story due to subsidence caused by the Catacombs which undermine its fabric, the building is in urgent need of repair fund raising is ongoing as this will be a very costly job.
The catacombs are a labyrinth of tunnels undermining large parts of the city. Builders carved out the limestone into blocks used in the construction of the city it is soft and has to be rendered with plaster, part of the reason for the distinctive look of the properties (In my opinion). During the war the partisans lived in there storing arms and ammunition to Harass the enemy.
Odessa is well catered for culturally from the Opera House,wonderfully acoustic Philharmonic Hall, Pushkin Museum, there are majestic churches, a planetarium, maritime museum, art galleries so much to see so hard to remember it all. Throughout, Yevgeniya is a fount of knowledge much better than any guide book, she loves this city, knows all the best cafes and shops every little street and courtyard constantly pointing to details most others would miss.
If I had to choose my favourite places, they would be Deribasovskay with its little park, Primorski Boulevard, the Opera House, Restaurant Kumanets. Where?. I kept this one until last, it's a place where the menu is exclusively Ukranish dishes, the translations of which into English can be hilarious, the food is interesting really tasty,the presentation is excellent staff dressed in traditional costume, the decor pseudo peasant cottage. Ok so it's there to attract visitors, however the locals love it too. Genny tells me the name derives from a traditional cooking pot used for the storage of cold or cooked food, it could be used from the oven to the table.This was where we chose to celebrate after buying Gennys engagement ring, therefore will always hold a special affection for us.
Engagement ring? Yes: it was always my intention to ask Yevgeniya to marry me. A few days after my arrival I did so and to my great joy she said Da (yes).
Soon the car turns off the main road into a collection of blocks of flats this is our destination.Climbing into the lift, four levels later Yevgeniya is unlocking the door,We are greeted by three very excited young boys Yevgenia’s grandchildren, Tolik 7, Kola 8, and Genya 4. Irena and Lena her daughters are there waiting to greet us too,soon they are having an animated Conversation, the gist of which is about dinner. This is my introduction to Ukraine hospitality, I was somewhat apprehensive but need not have worried the food was delicious. I had my first taste of wine from Moldova and Ukraine it was not to bad at all. To my relief I find that Lena has a small amount of English so at last I could talk to them a little. After dinner we sat at the computer where using a translation programme we painstakingly got a dialog going. After a while Yevgeniya disappears and returns with a package we open it, inside is a portable translator, it's so clever, type in your sentence click Russian and bang there are your words done, same the other way Yevgeniya types Russian and there it is English, at last we are free, I ask why she waited until now. she smiles and says ”I wanted to give you a nice surprise.”
Next morning after breakfast making our way to the bus stop we got on a maxi-taxi to the city centre. I discover there is a very comprehensive well used public transport service, Trolley buses and Trams run everywhere as well as very old diesel buses belching black smoke, no worries about pollution there then.
It's about a thirty minute ride about 15 kilometres. I now get a real chance to take in my surroundings it looks as though everything is grey from the sky,the earth, the trees, to the blocks of flats,and even the people, it's odd a strange thing I noticed that around every tree for about a metre or so up the trunk was covered in white paint Yevgeniya says its a bug repellent I think the translater is screwed up on that one. Not a trace of green it's been a hard winter spring is only now kicking in. Everywhere folks are going about their business the bazaar and street surrounding it are full, street traders have their stalls laid out the earth around them strewn with secondhand goods, clothes, shoes, you name it it's there, I am told they work from before dawn to after dark for very little money. These are the lowest part of the buying trade next would be the bazaar,small shops and kiosks, finally the supermarkets with the larger more expensive shops in the city centre. A somewhat simplistic view but thats how I saw it then.
As we drove on I experienced a very different way of doing things someone tapped me on my shoulder and thrust some notes into my hand Yevgeniya seeing my bewilderment took them from me tapped the person in front and gave them the money, a few moments later the change came down the bus in the same way, likewise Yevgeniya bought our tickets,”how does the driver know what to charge?” I asked simple the fare was the same throughout the route about 30 pence. There were recognised stops on route however the driver would stop and pick anyone up if they stood and held up their hand, folks would hop on and off at random as the journey suited them,how different from our controlled and over regulated service I thought but it works the buses were always full. I think there was some sort of time table however when a bus was full the driver set off there was so many of them that if you missed one there was soon another to take its place.
The Maxi-taxi rolls and bumps its way along the potholed and cracked highway the winter has played havoc with the surface already teams of menders are busy with their rollers and steaming buckets of tar.
We pass the prison grey and foreboding its walls strung with razor wire, carry on by the defunct racecourse, I see my first shopping mall all shiny black glass and chrome we go there on another visit the windows are full the shelves are sparse. Now past the railway station razed to the ground by the German retreat and rebuilt brick for brick to its original state,then into Pushkin street. This is different: the greyness is lifting. A cobbled street lined with Plane trees, long and wide, flanked on either side by some very old tired buildings. Occasionally a gem arises, among them in this instance a church painted blue and white it's onion shaped minarets covered in gold, outside are sellers of palm as it is almost Easter Sunday, further along is the Philharmonica Hall a severe looking place, in contrast to the Hotel Krasnaya The Red Hotel named for the red banner of the revolution. It's more pink than red the plasterwork is superb highlighted in white situated on the opposite side of the road. Pushkin street ends at the Maritime Museum and the Beautiful Opera House the gem in Odessa crown.
The bus turns off before there to terminate in Martinovska Square. It's now a short walk to the main shopping street called Deribasovskaya this is a wonderful old avenue named after one of the the founders of Odessa. Here is to be found the park bustling with stalls selling souvenirs and craftwork of all types it's a tourist honey pot, at last the sun is shining we take an outside seat at a cafe blaring out Russian pop music, I don't care I am being assaulted by sounds and smells alien to me I am so loving this. I have my first taste of Ukrainian black beer, now I'm not a beer drinker preferring spirits and wine but this I could easily get used to. This where I find that Yevgeniya has a round bottom she can't sit still for five minutes. ”Come on let's go” she said. This proves to be the pattern for the days following.
We walked everywhere, along Prymorsky Boulevard, with the City Hall at one end and the Vorontsov Palace the other, in the middle the Potemkin Staircase all 192 of them, The boulevard is a popular stroll, it's long, wide,lined,with Linden,Maple and Sweet Chestnut trees offering cool shade in the summer heat, with views across the harbour and docks to the lighthouse and beyond.
Yevgeniya took me to many beaches including Arcadia Beach and Golden Beach amongst other attractions along the way.
I loved the opera house refurbished inside all red plush and gold leaf, it is said to be modelled on the Vienna Opera house I cannot comment on that but it sure is beautiful, outside its a different story due to subsidence caused by the Catacombs which undermine its fabric, the building is in urgent need of repair fund raising is ongoing as this will be a very costly job.
The catacombs are a labyrinth of tunnels undermining large parts of the city. Builders carved out the limestone into blocks used in the construction of the city it is soft and has to be rendered with plaster, part of the reason for the distinctive look of the properties (In my opinion). During the war the partisans lived in there storing arms and ammunition to Harass the enemy.
Odessa is well catered for culturally from the Opera House,wonderfully acoustic Philharmonic Hall, Pushkin Museum, there are majestic churches, a planetarium, maritime museum, art galleries so much to see so hard to remember it all. Throughout, Yevgeniya is a fount of knowledge much better than any guide book, she loves this city, knows all the best cafes and shops every little street and courtyard constantly pointing to details most others would miss.
If I had to choose my favourite places, they would be Deribasovskay with its little park, Primorski Boulevard, the Opera House, Restaurant Kumanets. Where?. I kept this one until last, it's a place where the menu is exclusively Ukranish dishes, the translations of which into English can be hilarious, the food is interesting really tasty,the presentation is excellent staff dressed in traditional costume, the decor pseudo peasant cottage. Ok so it's there to attract visitors, however the locals love it too. Genny tells me the name derives from a traditional cooking pot used for the storage of cold or cooked food, it could be used from the oven to the table.This was where we chose to celebrate after buying Gennys engagement ring, therefore will always hold a special affection for us.
Engagement ring? Yes: it was always my intention to ask Yevgeniya to marry me. A few days after my arrival I did so and to my great joy she said Da (yes).
I preferred part 1 because it had more humour, as you did ramble a lot about the town I thought xD haha However, this story has ME in it so I naturally felt obliged to comment :) Great stories Grand Dad :D
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