odessa is awesome...this was my second trip to the city...when i planned the trip and bought the train tickets, there hadn't been any violence in odessa, all of that had been happening in eastern cities...i should've known better...
after returning from izmail, i walked to the guesthouse i'd booked, only to find a locked gate...i was lucky i was able to pull up my confirmation email, which had the phone number of the owner...she answered my call, and i was able to communicate that i was right outside, so she came out and showed me how to get in, and checked me in...
after relaxing a little, i headed out for a walk...i thought it would be a calm walk, just wandering...since i'd been to the city before, i wasn't heading for anything in particular, just making sure i could figure out where i was going...as much as odessa is a modern, russian leaning city, there are also plenty of places even in the city centre that are clearly old, falling apart, and even abandoned...i wonder if anyone plans to fix up buildings that are falling apart, or if anyone even owns the flats in the building...needless to say, there is no one i know to ask...
as i came up one street, i could see a group of police watching a demonstration...it looked like a pro-russian demonstration, it seemed to be peaceful...i watched for a couple minutes, then heard a loud crack, and saw a body pulled over to a set of stairs...people rushed over to see the man, especially a lot of people with cameras...i thought he'd been hit (with a fist) or something along those lines...later, i thought differently...
i turned around to go back, and saw another group coming up the street, these people were clearly on the pro-ukrainian side...the policemen were the best prepared of everyone...
the pro-ukrainians had a small fire truck with them, and were beating sticks on 'shields' and most were wearing helmets of various kinds...
i made a short video, panning between the groups, then someone on the street indicated i should move...so i did...i went behind the pro-ukrainian group, and watched them advance up the street...by this point, the police who'd been watching the pro-russian rally were moving out of the way, they could see what was coming...at that point, i'm not sure why they were there, as everyone knew they wouldn't do anything...
then the craziness started...someone started throwing bricks that had been taken from the sidewalk...really fast, bricks were going back and forth between the two groups...i don't know how many people were hit...standing behind the pro-ukrainian group, i could see how a group of three people would work together to dig up bricks from the sidewalk, then break them in half so they could be thrown easily...at one point the water was turned on for the fire truck, and it was sent into the russian group...i don't think any damage was done, or anyone hurt, but i don't know for sure...the bricks and yelling kept going for about 30 minutes, then the pro-ukrainian group backed up and left...as did i...
i walked over a couple streets, and realized the fight had continued on other streets...as i was watching a fight in another area, i heard what sounded like fireworks, but i never did figure it out...i saw one guy shooting a gun straight into the sidewalk, so i thought he had blanks...while i was watching him, i felt something hit my face...
i was completely shocked when i realized i'd been hit by part of a flying brick!!! it wasn't a full brick, and it wasn't a head on shot, but still, eeeeek!! i took off running, and i don't think my heart calmed down for at least a couple hours...
i stepped into an indian restaurant for dinner, one that had been recommended by indian friends...i was very rattled, and splurged on yummy food as a way of calming myself down...in the middle of eating, a friend called to warn me about the violence happening in the city...when i told her i already knew, she was surprised and asked how i knew...i told her i had been there, and she was even more surprised...obviously, i was glad to have gotten out of the situation...
that sums up my experience with 'wartime' situations, and i came to the conclusion that i could never be a war journalist...how do those people do it?
the next day i went to bilhorod dnistrovsky...
my third day in odessa, i checked out of the guesthouse, then dropped my bags at the train station...i walked back to the city centre, or at least the tourist city centre...after finding a cheap place for lunch, i stepped into a cafe for a dessert cake slice...i sat for 15 minutes before getting a menu, then no one came to take my order, so i left...booo...
then i walked to the potemkin steps...it's a set of steps well known from a movie, in which one scene shows a baby carriage bumping all the way down the steps...the steps are built in an optical illusion, they don't widen or become narrow as you look down the steps...lots of people hang out on the steps...
from the top of the steps, a tree lined street has a park sort of area in the middle, leading to vorontsov 'palace'...i have no idea why it's called a palace, since there is no indoor section...it's more like a gate made of columns, if that makes sense...while i was in the 'palace' it started raining...ugh...i tried to take cover, it didn't work very well...
right next to the 'palace' is the so called mother in law's bridge, it's covered in locks placed there by couples...(just like bridges around the world)...interesting to see the variety of locks people choose...there is also a small gazebo, and another bridge...i like the giant heart made of thick wire, it's also covered in locks...i'd love to know where in the world the lock tradition started...
after a while, i started walking back toward a street where i could find food...since the weather was awful, and i had nothing to do until my train left, i stayed at dinner for a couple hours...fortunately, as i walked to the train station, it was no longer raining...
i arrived back in kyiv the next morning, ready for another week of school...
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