Kiievist Odessasse sõitsime öörongiga kaheses kupees. Kuigi aastal 2006 sai Moskvasse samuti rongiga sõidetud, ei olnud seekord unega sama õnne - öö jooksul ei õnnestunudki kordagi magama jääda. Sihtkohta saabusime umbes 06:20 paiku ning juba rongijaamas tervitasid meid väsimatud kohalikud teenusepakkujad - üle jaama kõlasid hüüdlausetena pakkumised korteritest ja taksodest.
Õnneks oli korter rongijaamast vaid tagasihoidliku jalutuskäigu kaugusel ning transporti me ei vajanud. Ilmselt oleks sealt taksojuhi värbamine läinud maksma ka keskmisest kõrgema hinna, nagu ikka enamikes turismipiirkondade transpordipunktides.

Peale korterisse maandumist, otsustasime veidi süüa ning tutvuda esimeste vaatamisväärsustega. Siiski sai varsti selgeks, et magamata öö mõjub raskemalt kui esialgu tunda andis ning seetõttu naasime korterisse, et paariks tunniks silm looja lasta.
Ilm saatis alguses vastakaid signaale - päikesepaiste, sadu, siis sadu ja päikesepaiste. Lõpuks pöördus see siiski eelduslikult palavaks rannailmaks. See oli ka üks põhjus, miks Odessas pildistamine mul eriti ei õnnestunud - ei olnud jaksu lämmatavas kuumuses kaamerat kaelas kanda või seda kotist rannarätikute ning reisitarvikute vahelt otsida. Mõne kiirema momendi jäädvustamiseks kasutasin pigem käepärasemat telefonikaamerat.

Enne reisi tegime muidugi ka veidi eeltööd ja uurisime Odessa igapäevaelu kohta. Selgus, et taskuvargused ja agressiivsed kerjused pidid olema väga teemas. Kohati tundus, et pole ühtegi inimest, kes oleks sealt ilma varguse ohvriks langemiseta lahkunud. Paranoia võttis võimust ning piltlikult öeldes kasvatasime silmad isegi kuklasse, et olla maksimaalselt valvel. Õnneks võib öelda, et keegi meid nende päevade jooksul paljaks ei röövinud. Vaatamisväärsuste juures hoidsime silmad lahti ning rahvarohketesse ööelu tulipunktidesse väga ei sattunud.

Tõele au andes oli kerjuseid tõesti palju, kuid mida mõeldi postitustes mainitud "agressiivsete kerjuste" all, on vast tõlgenduse küsimus. Keegi meilt otseselt raha välja pressima ei tulnud. Küll aga leidus seal rasedaid ja lastega naisi, kes tulid söögikohtade väliterrassidel raha küsima ning see oli ka üks meeldejäävamaid momente Odessa kurvemast poolest.
Ühel õhtupoolikul külastasime ka legendaarset turgu, mis jätab tallinlastele tuntud keskturu tumedasse varju. Kuna turupäev oli lõppemas, ei näinud me ilmselt päris täisvõimsusel toimivat kauplemismelu, kuid sellegipoolest oli vaatepilt võimas. Kes tahab ja jõuab seal korraliku ostlemistuuri ette võtta, ei pea kindlasti pettuma. Meie sihiks oli kohalikku arbuusi proovida ning ühe neljakilose pooliku sealt koju ka vedasime. Müüja sõnades kahtlema ei pidanud, sest arbuus oli tõesti magus ja mahlane.

Üllataval kombel märkasime just Odessas reisi esimesi eestlasi. Nende nägemise osas oli rõõm nii suur, et nad kuulsid mu kilkamist isegi peale möödumist ning lehvitasid rõõmsalt vastu. Hiljem sattusid vastu veel vähemalt 2 eestikeelset seltskonda.
Tagasilend toimus ümberistumisega ning Odessast startis lennuk Riia poole kell 03:40 öösel, seega paraku taas üks unetu öö. Reisile pani Ukrainale omase stiilipuhta punkti Dacia Uber (50 km/h alas 100 km/h ilma turvavööta - sest miks mitte!), mis meid lennujaama viis.
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We chose a night train as our means of transportation to get from Kiev to Odessa. Although I've spent couple of nights on a train before in 2006 from Tallinn to Moscow, I had no luck falling asleep this time - the swaying was just a bit too much. We arrived at our destination at 06:20 AM and were instantly greeted by "vocal locals" offering apartments for rent and taxi rides.
Thankfully our apartment was not that far away from the train station and we didn't need a car to get there. The taxis probably have a much higher rate that usual, just as expected in any tourist-filled place.

After we had settled down in our apartment, we decided to have breakfast and do a bit of early sightseeing. It became clear quite fast that the previous sleepless night was weighing us down more that expected, so we took a mandatory nap.
The weather was playing tricks at first - sunshine, rain, then sunshine and rain. It finally stopped fooling around and returned to being super hot and sweaty. And that was one of the reasons, why my Odessa travel photo folders are much emptier from Kiev's. Warm weather makes me quite lethargic plus it's more easier to grab a phone for a quick photo, than to rummage through a heavy bag every single time you spot something interesting.

Something we had come across while researching for Odessa, were the warnings about pickpockets. There were posts talking about aggressive beggars and it seemed as if no one returns from Odessa with all of their belongings. That, of course, made us wary and paranoid - figuratively speaking, we grew eyes behind our backs in order to spot any kind of suspicious activity. Thankfully we didn't have any problems and got back home safe and sound. Just kept our eyes open near any touristy attractions, didn't flaunt wallets, phones or documents around and didn't spend that much time exploring the busy nightlife hotspots.

That being said, I can say that the part about beggars is partly true, there's quite a lot of them. But what is considered to be an "aggressive beggar", depends on the person's experience and point of view, I think. We weren't grabbed and demanded money by anyone, although one of the most memorable incidents of the sad side of Odessa, were couple of pregnant women with children, asking for money from people eating out in the open terrace areas. Be prepared, because you will get approached like this by different people.

The legendary (farmer's) market was also something on our to-do list and we stopped by at the end of the day. It overshadows our own central market by miles. Since the most heated hours of day had passed, we didn't get to see the bargaining in full effect, but the sight was memorable nonetheless. Our goal was to try local watermelon, so we found a smaller (4 kg) half and brought it home with us. The seller wasn't lying, it really was juicy and sweet.

Interestingly enough, we met our first fellow Estonians in Odessa. I got a bit too excited and that drew their attention to us, so they smiled and waved back at us. We bumped into at least two other groups of Estonians on subsequent days.
Flight back departed in the middle of the night from Odessa to Riga (another 24h without sleep :D). We ubered to Odessa airport in a true Ukrainian Uber style - Dacia, going 100 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. By 08:30AM I was back at home.

Potjomkini trepid. Trepid, see ütleb kõik. Kui on soov Rockyt teha, siis agaramad võivad alt higistes dressides üles joosta. Meie lähenesime treppidele õnneks ülevalt ja ei tundnud vastupandamatut soovi alla minna vaid selleks, et neist taas üles rühkida - ronida saime Kiievis täie raha eest. Lisaks läksime sinna peale unetut ööd rongis, seega jõuvarudega just kiita ei olnud. Treppe peetakse küll Odessa üheks vaatamisväärsuseks, kuid paraku ei olnud minu jaoks tegemist meeletut elevust tekitava vaatepildiga.
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Potemkin stairs. Stairs, that says it all. If anyone wishes do Rocky and run in a sweaty gym outfit up the stairs, the stage is yours. We approached them from the top and since we had done our fair share of stair-climbing back in Kiev (looking at you, Motherland monument), there was really no willpower left in us to do it again. In addition, we had been up all night in the train, so the body and mind were not up for the challenge. These stairs are considered to be a must-see in Odessa, but to me, they didn't really have a huge wow-effect.

Odessa rongijaama interjöör.

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Odessa train station.

Derybasivska tänava ümbruses.

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View towards Derybasivska street.

Teed Arkadia randa kaunistab vihmavarjude installatsioon. Sõit kesklinnast randa kulges tramm number viiega ning soojal suvepäeval oli see üks hullemaid transpordisõite üldse. Rahvast oli meeletult ning imekombel suutis piletikontrolör end sellest hoolimata vedelikuks moondada ning peatuste vahel trammi otsast lõpuni läbi käia, müts maha nende tädide ees.
Randa läksime tegelikult tööpäeval ning ilmselt on seal puhkepäeval võimatu vaba liivaruutu leida. Päev ise oli minusuguse soojapõlguri jaoks liigagi palav, must meri seevastu üllatas üpris jaheda veega. Rannas on võimalik rentida ka lamamistoole ning päikesevarje. Söögipoolise eest hoolitsevad väsimatud "rändkaupmehed", kelle sortimendi hulgas leidub kuivatatud kala, külma õlut, maisitõlvikuid kui ka krevette.
Arkadia rannast endast ma kaameraga pilti ei teinud. Alljärgnevad pildid on tehtud Lanzheronil ning Goya Art Beachil. Lisaks neile käisime ka Kuldse kalda rannas.
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Road towards Arkadia Beach is partly decorated with these colorful umbrellas. Journey to the beach from the city center, was one crazy tram-ride. The amount of people that these trams could hold, is absolutely amazing. More amazing though, is the ability of the ticket lady to somehow transform herself into liquid and flow through a fully packed tram to sell tickets.
We went to the beach on a work/business day, so I can only imagine how crowded it would be on the weekends. The day was too hot for my taste and the Black Sea was surprisingly chilly, which was exactly what I needed. It's possible to rent beach chairs and umbrellas as well. Various food, such as shrimp, dried fish, corn cobs and cold beer, was sold by hard-working men and women, strolling up and down the beach.
I didn't take any photos of Arkadia Beach with my camera, the following images are of Lanzheron and Goya Art Beach. We also checked out the Golden shore Beach.

Esialgu oli meil plaanis võtta osa Odessa sisehoovide tuurist, kuid see läks veidike vett vedama. Parim järgmine valik oli kriminaalse Odessa tuur, kus liiklemine toimus osaliselt bussiga, osaliselt jalgsi ning mille käigus tutvustati ka mõndasid temaatiliselt seotud sisehoove.
Mulle jubedalt meeldivad sellised lihtsad, veidi räsitud elamised, mis on täis värvikaid ja omanäolisi lahendusi. Iseloomu jagub, sest sellist disaini juba kataloogist ei telli.
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We had planned to participate in the courtyards tour, but that unfortunately fell through. The next best thing was to go on a criminal Odessa tour, which took us to some thematically related courtyards and introduced the darker side of how the city once was.
I really like places like these, simple and rugged yet homely at the same time. They're full of unique DIY decorative pieces and every home has so much character. Definitely designs you can't buy from just any other catalog.

Nagu piltide järgi võib juba aimata, oli Odessas palju vabalt liiklevaid kasse (ning ka koeri). Esialgu pidurdasid nad mind iga kord, sest kõiki oli ju vaja käppapidi tervitada :)
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As you can probably tell, there were many cats freely roaming the streets :) It was starting to slow me down, because at first I wanted to shake paws with every purring creature that crossed my path.

Exclusion zone, Ukraine: Pripyat

Viimaks siseneme ka Pripyati. Esmalt väike peatus sildi juures, jutt/tutvustus punasest metsast ja seejärel juba linn ise. Eeldasin endas tunda kohest äratundmisrõõmu, sest lugematul hulgal pilte, videoklippe ja filme olen sellest kohast vaadanud juba aastaid. Paraku ei suutnud ma esialgu aru saada, kuhu täpsemalt meid viidi - suured ja avarad alleed on kõik parajasse džunglisse mattunud. Isegi rohkem, kui suutsin ette kujutada.
Giidi sõnul oli tegemist oma aja näidislinnaga, mille looja/arhitekti eesmärgiks oli luua (autovaba) linn, kus ühest otsast teise on võimalik 20 minutiga jalgsi/jalgrattaga jõuda. Praegu tuleb hoonetele ligi pääsemiseks ronida praktiliselt läbi metsa. Giidil olid kaasas ka tolleaegsed pildid, mis andsid aimu, kuidas kõik varem välja nägi. Sarnasusi neilt piltidelt oli praegusega raske leida.
Peale 2011. aastal kokku varisenud koolimaja, on väidetavalt keelatud viibida sealsetes hoonetes. Meie käisime sellegipoolest paaris kohas sees ning kipun arvama, et privaat - ja mitmepäevastel tuuridel saab ilmselt ka rohkematesse kohtadesse (võimalik et ka kortermajadesse) siseneda - aga see on kõigest spekulatsioon.
Üllataval kombel on tsoonis ka kiirusepiirang, 40 km/h, aga sellest ei pea keegi kinni.
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Pripyat, finally. First, a small stop by the sign, talk/introduction of the red forest and then city itself. I was expecting to recognize it instantly, having watched thousands of photos and hundreds of movie clips/documentaries, but jeez, I couldn't even understand where the first stop was, no buildings were clearly visible. Gone were the big and spacious streets, it all looked like a jungle. It was definitely worse than I had expected.
The guide said that Pripyat was supposed to be a model city. Its architect had in mind a small, car free city which one could walk/bicycle from one end to another in 20 minutes. You'd have to walk through a forest to get near any of the buildings in the present day. The guide also had some images of the way Pripyat once was, but nothing even looked remotely similar.
After a school collapsed in 2011, it's no longer allowed to go inside the buildings in Pripyat. Despite that we still got to go into couple of places and I have a suspicious feeling that during private or multi-day tours, you could maybe even get into the apartment buildings - but that's just a theory.
Surprisingly there is a speed limit of 40 km/h in the zone, but no one really abides by that law.

Gaseeritud vee/kalja automaadid, mis pakkusid erilist huvi ja hämmingut välismaalastele, kui giid ütles, et inimesed kasutasid sealt joomiseks automaadi juures olevat ühist klaasi. NSVL ei toetanud ületarbimist.
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Sparkling water/root beer vending machines which intrigued our foreign friends when the guide said that getting a drink meant using a shared glass (no plastic personal cups) that was always there. USSR didn't support consumerism.

Sadam. Vastaskaldal olevat olnud rüüstajate tõeline paradiis, sest sinna viidi Pripyati elanike isiklikud asjad. Esialgsel evakuatsioonipäeval jäeti elanikele mulje, et linna tullakse tagasi ning paluti kaasa võtta vaid hädavajalikud asjad. Tagasitulekut muidugi enam ei juhtunud ja suurem enamus ei näinud oma vara enam kunagi. Sellegipoolest anti elanikele võimalus hiljem naasta ning võtta endisest kodust ehteid, fotosid ja näiteks raha - väiksemaid asju, mis kontrolliti kõik kiirgusemõõtjaga üle. Infot sellisest võimalusest väga avalikult siiski ei levitatud ning lõppkokkuvõttes tulid oma väärtuslikumate asjade järele vaid umbes 40% elanikest. Ilmselt olid selleks hetkeks linnast üle käinud ka esimesed rüüstajate lained ning rahalist väärtust omav vara oli ammuseks pihta pandud ja Kiievis maha müüdud.
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A small harbour. The officials took all the belongings of the people to the opposing shore, which made that place a goldmine for the looters. On the evacuation day the locals were only asked to take the most important things and were left with the impression that they would return once the danger had passed.  But as we all know, they were never allowed to return and most of them never got to see their possessions ever again. Nevertheless the government still made it possible to return for the smaller belongings (jewelry, money, photos) which were all checked for radiation. Unfortunately this information wasn't that widely spread and thus only 40% of people came back to collect some of their things. I'm not sure how much time had passed until they could come back, but I'm certain that by then the city had had its first waves of looters, who had stripped everything of value and sold them in Kiev.

Hotell Polissija olevat olnud üks uhkemaid hotelle NSVLs. Sinna reserveeringut saada oli kaunikesti keeruline ning ooteajad olevat olnud mitu kuud.
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Hotel Polissija was once one of the most prestigious hotels in the former Soviet Union. It was difficult the get a room there and waiting lists were couple of months long.

Pood, mida külastasid inimesed ka Pripyatist palju kaugemalt. Seal poes oli kaupa rohkem ja kõike oli ka kohe saada, tõeline unelm tollasele nõukogude inimesele. Seetõttu tasus külastus ära ka mitmekümnete kilomeetrite kauguselt.
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A grocery store which was visited even by people who lived much farther away from Pripyat. This store had more produce that was available right away - all sounded like a dream for the ordinary Soviet person of that time and that's why it was worth a visit even if you were not a local.

Umbkaudu on hotelli katuse järgi võimalik pilt kokku panna.

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You can vaguely see the resemblance by matching the hotel's roof.

Ja siin loomulikult üks kõige äratuntavamaid Pripyati sümboleid, lõbustuspargi vaateratas. Mõned hetked hiljem oli seal rahvast juba oluliselt rohkem, seega erilist kunsti selliste massidega teha ei õnnestu. Ka selle pildi jaoks pidin enda grupist ette jooksma, kuid arvestades olustikku ja võimalusi, võin jäädvustatuga rahule jääda.
Lisaks meie jutlevale giidile, oli kaasas ka teine giid, kes inglise keelt ei rääkinud ning kes ilmselt hoidis silma peal, et keegi omapäi seiklema ei läheks. Mees võttis ühel hetkel palja käega vaateratta kollasest kapslist kinni ja lükkas selle liikuma nii, et katuselohku kogunenud vihmavesi uhke kosena alla sadas. Vaateratta peal on ka kuumkoht, kus giidid iga kord radioaktiivsust mõõdavad ning ilmselt omakeskis edetabeleid teevad.
Vaateratta läheduses asusid postid, mille vahele oli veetud okastraat. Giidi sõnul oli tegemist taaskordse fotolavastusega, sest okastraat oli uuem ning orignaalis seda seal polnud. Selliste asjade osas tekib küsimus, et kui see ala on nüüdisajal nii hästi valvatud, siis kuidas jalutab mingi vend okastraadirulliga sisse ja hakkab sellest fotosid tegema?
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And here is one of the most recognizable symbols of Pripyat, the ferris wheel in the amusement park. Some moments later the field was filled with people, so you can't really relax and take your sweet time trying to compose a shot. I also had to run ahead of my group, but taking all the tricky elements into consideration, I'm quite pleased with the outcome.
In addition to our main guide, there was another guy with us who didn't speak English and was probably also keeping an eye out for the ones who wanted to wander around. One moment the guy pushed the yellow pod with his bare hands, making the rain water from the dented roof fall down like a waterfall. The ferris wheel is also a hotspot where the guides measure and keep track of the biggest readings they've gotten.
There were couple of concrete poles with barbed wire between them near the ferris wheel. Our guide said that someone had fabricated this for a photo-op, because the barbed wire was definitely newer and wasn't originally there. Things like these make me wonder how is it possible for someone to walk into a guarded area with a roll of barbed wire and start taking photos there?

See on lasteaed Tšeburaška, mis oli väidetavalt grupile üheks boonuskülastuseks. Võimalik, et see oli tõsi - piiripunktis kaotatud aja kompenseerimiseks, kuid võib-olla öeldakse sama paljudele gruppidele. Igal juhul minult nurisemist kindlasti ei kuule, tegemist oli väga unikaalse kogemusega.
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This is a kindergarten called Cheburashka which was said to be a bonus visit for our group. Maybe it's true, to make up for the lost time at the checkpoint, but maybe they say that to all the groups. Anyway no complaints whatsoever, it was such a unique experience.

Ja ka siin on teoreetiliselt teine boonuskülastus, samuti üks äratuntavamaid sisevaateid Pripyatist. Giidi sõnul kasutati ujulat tööliste poolt veel varastel 90ndatelgi ning mälusopist meenub, et olen sama juttu ka eelnevalt kuulnud.
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And this is another theoretical bonus visit, plus one of the most known interior views in Pripyat. Our guide said that this pool was still in use for the workers in the early 90s, which is something I think I've heard before.

Pripyatist väljudes peatusime ka tuletõrjujate endi poolt loodud mälestusmärgil, millega mälestatakse kõiki, kes päästeprotsessis-operatsioonis osalesid, kannatasid ja hukkusid. Kuna tuletõrjujad ei olnud kunstnikud, ei olnud neil skulptori tööst, kehaproportsioonidest jms aimugi ning seetõttu tõi giid välja, et töö ise on väga algeline - näiteks on kasutatud päris kiivreid, sest tuletõrjujad ei teadnud, kuidas neid kujuna teha. Samuti on proportsioonid paigast ära. Samas on see vastuvaidlematult üks südantsoojendavamaid mälestusmärke, mille osas kunstiklassiku kriitilist pilku omada ei olegi võimalik.
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Leaving Pripyat we had a stop at the memorial that was made by the firefighters for all those people who worked and sacrificed their lives to save others. Since the firefighters are not artists, they had no idea how to make some of the parts, how to make people proportionate and so they improvised (used real helmets, equipment etc) and created something from their hearts. It's definitely one of the most heart-warming memorials, which you can't really be critical of. I personally believe it's beautiful.