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.
//
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.
//
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.
//
Odessa train station.
Derybasivska tänava ümbruses.
//
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.
//
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.
//
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 :)
//
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.
Võiks uusi pilte juba tulla, see on mu lemmik fotoblogi kohe kindlasti!
ReplyDelete