Odessa
Odessa has two things Kyiv does not:
the sea and attitude.
While on Saturday the city was packed with hundreds of thousands of drunk young teenagers, dirtying the streets in a variety of ways and making it near impossible to enjoy anything after the parade, Sunday was tame, empty and clean. It certainly allowed me to see what was beautiful and ugly about the place all at once.
I was certainly struck by its sheer size. Odessa is big and riding the public transportation reminded me of being back in NYC because the routes were long and it took a long time for buses or marshrutkas to actually appear, which is almost unlike anywhere in N--, wher marshi and buses are quite plentiful.
I was also not particularily pleased with the seediness of the town. As it seems to be the place where everyone comes to let their hair down, there are even more people ready to take advantage of this--particularly young men. Odessa is known for being a tough town with a rough crowd, and on Saturday, being admist a crowd of literally hundreds of thousands of people it only heightened the feeling of being out of place.
The parade was fun, but getting out and away from the crowd proved difficult, although my group had no problems, only my sometimes painfully touchy stomach (in which cases it is wonderful to be an American because unlike locals, I can run into an expensive hotel and use the bathroom with no questions). Our guide showed us some great gems for good (cheap) food and drinks.
On Sunday the weather cleared and was absolutely beautiful. This time taking to the streets the city had magically purified itself overnight from all the dirt and grim left from April Fool's Day. The city was nearly spotless from the night before (save a few broken bottles here or there) and allowed us to leisurely see the real beauty of Odessa: the archetecture, which was crumbling in most places, but amazing nonetheless.
the sea and attitude.
While on Saturday the city was packed with hundreds of thousands of drunk young teenagers, dirtying the streets in a variety of ways and making it near impossible to enjoy anything after the parade, Sunday was tame, empty and clean. It certainly allowed me to see what was beautiful and ugly about the place all at once.
I was certainly struck by its sheer size. Odessa is big and riding the public transportation reminded me of being back in NYC because the routes were long and it took a long time for buses or marshrutkas to actually appear, which is almost unlike anywhere in N--, wher marshi and buses are quite plentiful.
I was also not particularily pleased with the seediness of the town. As it seems to be the place where everyone comes to let their hair down, there are even more people ready to take advantage of this--particularly young men. Odessa is known for being a tough town with a rough crowd, and on Saturday, being admist a crowd of literally hundreds of thousands of people it only heightened the feeling of being out of place.
The parade was fun, but getting out and away from the crowd proved difficult, although my group had no problems, only my sometimes painfully touchy stomach (in which cases it is wonderful to be an American because unlike locals, I can run into an expensive hotel and use the bathroom with no questions). Our guide showed us some great gems for good (cheap) food and drinks.
On Sunday the weather cleared and was absolutely beautiful. This time taking to the streets the city had magically purified itself overnight from all the dirt and grim left from April Fool's Day. The city was nearly spotless from the night before (save a few broken bottles here or there) and allowed us to leisurely see the real beauty of Odessa: the archetecture, which was crumbling in most places, but amazing nonetheless.
posted by Molly | 5:04 AM
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