ukraine: odessa

I had an open weekend, so I decided to revisit another city in Ukraine. This was my third visit to Odessa, in southern Ukraine.

I had booked myself onto a night train from Kyiv, walking from school to the train station in order to catch the train on time. The train left on time, as most Ukrainian trains do.

Despite leaving on time, the train was just over an hour late in arriving the next morning in Odessa. I didn't mind, since it was supposed to arrive at 0500 but actually arrived around 0615. The late arrival saved me sitting around the train station for an hour, waiting for sunlight.

I took photos of the train station, since this one is pretty grand. It is also quite busy, with plenty of cars and taxis in front, and people walking every which way.

I followed the map and walked straight up the street in front of the station, called Pushkin Street. Odessa was once the third largest city in the Russian Empire, and still has some of the old grace. Sadly, many of the buildings haven't been kept up very well, but you can see what used to be. I really wished I had a ladder and a proper camera and editing software. I took heaps of photos even without all that.

At one point a guy a few years younger than me came up to me and asked for money. I said no, several times. He kept asking/telling me to give him money, I kept saying no, and trying to ignore him. He then called me a 'b***h when he finally walked away. I rarely give money to strangers or beggars, but I can pretty well guarantee that yelling at me and intimating physical aggression are not going to get me to give you money. Argh.

Along the way I stepped into a church, which was in the middle of a Saturday morning service. Do services always happen this early on a Saturday morning? Heaps of people were coming in with bags of bread, then they put candles into the bread when it was sittingo n a table. Is this part of the season of Easter?

Further along the street I passed the Philharmonic Theater, which is a pretty impressive building. The inside wasn't open, which wasn't a surprise at that hour. Maybe I can figure out a way to get inside without seeing a performance?

When I got to the end of Pushkin Street I caught a glimpse of the opera building. It's a pretty magnificent building, an iconic spot in Ukraine. Since it was early on a Saturday morning there were very few people around and I was able to take a photo without anyone else in the frame.

Nearby is one of the many museums of the city, not open at that hour.

I kept walking, and found my way to a statue of Catherine the Great (Katarina the 2^nd,) and the other founders of the city, in the middle of a traffic circle.

My walk took me over a bridge (that crossed a street, not water,) and to the building in which my accomodation was located. Just like many other buildings in the country, it is a big building, with many entrances.

I called the phone number listed on my booking to figure out how to get to the right entry, and found my way inside.

I stayed inside for a couple hours, warming up and relaxing. In the hallway I discovered the (fake) crocodiles who were 'guarding' my room. (Why this place had crocodile statues in the hallway I do not know.)

I got ready to walk again, and when I got outside I discovered it had started to rain. Argh. Not heavy rain, but still really annoying. Rain is by far my least favourite weather to deal with while traveling.

I started walking in the direction from which I'd come to get to my first sight of the day. I didn't have to go far, though it took me a few minutes to find the entrance. The guidebook listed it as a 'house of scientists' but I was attracted more by the photos than by the name. Like the building with the same name in Lviv, the rooms promised interior design beauty.

The outer door wasn't open, and I didn't see hours listed anywhere, but I decided to try anywho. When I walked in, I found two ladies sitting in a coat check area. I indicated that I wanted to look around, they didn't look happy. Was I there when I shouldn't have been?

They were sitting in the coat check area, which didn't seem like an obvious place to hang out, so who knows.

Since I didn't know if there were open hours, I just stood and waited. The lady gave me a number and I handed over the money. It was probably more than it should've been, but I didn't feel like fighting. She seemed really surprised that I was there by myself, not with a tour group.

She took me up the stairs and unlocked the door. Then she left me alone, and went back down to her friend.

I immediately got out my camera and started clicking away. The first room you see when you enter has big windows, goldish coloured paint in areas, etc... It's beautiful. I went into another room, this one decorated in red. Yet another room was also red, this one with a beautifully decorated piano.

As I was walking out of this room the lady from downstairs came into the room and seemed shocked that I was taking photos. She said I hadn't said I wanted to take photos, that that cost extra. The price she quoted was crazy high, I wasn't about to pay that much for photos. I walked through the remaining couple of rooms, thankfully they weren't quite as beautiful, so I didn't feel like I was missing out on photos.

The lady stayed with me as I walked through these last couple of rooms, presumably to make sure I didn't take photos. Argh.

I got back out on the street and continued my walk. My next stop was a building called the building with Atlanteans. Two statues, holding up the world, underneath a balcony, are the photo everyone takes. It's a good photo, but that's about it. Sadly, the rest of the building is not in good shape; you can see where the paint is peeling and everything is just old.

My next stop was what I thought was Vorontsov Palace. It turns out I was wrong. What I thought was the palace was actually called the Colonnade.

As the name indicates, it is a bunch of columns. Despite the rain, I wasn't the only one out exploring, I had to wait my turn. I wasn't necessarily patient about it, but I did wait. A couple girls had an umbrella, which I wished I had, as it would've looked really good in a photo. (Gray skies, white columns, the umbrella was a great pop of colour.)

The building that actually is the palace has Arabic written in a couple places, and didn't look open to the public. Argh. Why do apps and books list sights when they're not open?

More walking took me to what I wanted to see next. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. This set of stairs was closed off at the top, being renovated I think. Argh.

I think the sign said the steps would be open in May, but I'm not really sure.

Potempkin Stairs are well known because they were featured in a movie years and years ago. I haven't seen the movie, but I've been told there is a scene when a baby buggy goes bouncing all the way down the stairs. The stairs are an optical illusion, so they look as if they go straight down the whole way, instead of widening as most stairs look like they do.

Near the top of the stairs is a statue of the Duke de Richeliu, who was a man beloved by Odessans back in the day. I don't know why.

I walked more, ending up at an area called the City Garden. It isn't really much of a garden, argh. There are some green areas, but no special landscaping. There is a gazebo in the middle of everything, but that's about it. My photo looked decent only because of the clouds.

One side of City Garden is bordered by a pedestrian street.

This street took me past bars and restaurants and cafes and shops. One of the restaurants had a statue of a bull in front. I wouldn't have thought of it as anything special, but it was covered in flowers. How often are the flowers changed?

I walked back in the other direction, taking a couple more photos. Both of these were of people from books well known in Ukraine. I don't remember the name of the guy on a bench, but the other photo is from the 12 chairs story.

My next sight was a church. No matter how many of these I see, in countries all over the world, they still fascinate me. This particular church was big, and in the middle of another park. The outside of the church is dark yellow, but isn't very exiting.

I put on my headscarf and walked in. The inside of the church on the other hand is absolutely lovely. Mostly white, with a lovely ceiling, large windows letting in heaps of light, and gold iconostases in the front. I could tell immediately that my neck was going to get a workout from me looking up and around and up and around.

Even though I'm not Orthodox, the atmosphere of this church felt quite welcoming to me. I loved the colours of the church, and I loved the chandeliers. I stayed inside the church longer than I normally do because I liked it so much.

I walked through a place called the Passage, basically a building with a mall of sorts.

The architecture of the interior walkway is totally awesome. Skylights line the entire ceiling, and there are statues leaning off the walls. It's just a mall, but it's really pretty. I stopped into a tiny cafe in one corner and took a break. It's not as if I'd walked a long way, but I was cold and hungry. Tea and macaroons was definitely the way to go.

I started walking again, making my way back to the train station by following another street. I stopped into a couple supermarkets along the way, for more snacks. I took photos of more old but pretty buildings, and admired others. I walked past another church, the old synagogue, and the Arabic center/mosque.

I noticed that security folks were standing outside the synagogue and the Arabic center. Are people behaving inaapropriately at religious sights a thing in Odessa?

Near the train station is a church everyone sees when they leave the train station. St Panteleimon has gold domes, and is not a separate building.

To get into the church, you climb a couple flights of stairs. I put on my headscarf again, and walked in. Immediately I noticed that the center of the sanctuary was being renovated. There was scaffolding around the middle, basically blocking it off. Amazingly, a service of some kind was still taking place along the side aisles of the church. I stayed at the back, staying out of the way.

From there I walked all the way back to my room to drop off a couple bottles of water. They were heavy, my shoulder was starting to hurt.

After that I walked to an Indian restaurant for dinner. At least, that's where I thought I was going. When I got there, I found a sign on the door saying it was closed, argh.

I think the sign gave a reason for the closing, but I don't understand enough Russian to know what it said. It didn't give any dates, so I don't know when it closed, or when it would opem again. I was hugely disappointed, as I'd really liked this restaurant the last time I was in Odessa.

Since I was in the mood for Indian food, I found another Indian restaurant listed on an app, and made my way there. It wasn't nearly as good, but oh well. After dinner I went back to my room and fell asleep rather quickly.

The next morning I woke up early and wasted the morning doing a whole lot of nothing. This is my typical weekend travel behaviour, even though I hate that I waste so much time behaving this way. Argh.

I packed up my stuff and checked out, which seemed to surprise the lady who ran the place. I hadn't checked, but I assumed check out time was around noon, so I needed to get going. The lady let me leave my bag behind the front desk, which was nice.

It wasn't raining that day, thank goodness. I made my way back toward the area with the statue of Catherine the Great, and found a falafel restaurant there. It wasn't big, more like a fast food falafel/shwarma kind of place. They made juice straight from the fruit, it was good.

My first stop of the day was the Museum of Western and Oriental Art. I'd noticed it the day before, while walking up Pushkin Street.

The entrance was pretty, and I was happy as soon as I walked in. The ticket price wasn't big, and I checked my coat. The ticket lady asked me if I planned to take photos, I answered in the affirmative. She told me I could only use my iphone, which didn't make any sense to me, but oh well.

The museum itself is on the second floor, so I walked upstairs. The first room is grand, with a great ceiling. The ceiling was awesome, with guilded gold everywhere. There was some art on display in the room as well, but I didn't pay any attention to it because I liked the decor of the room so much.

The next two rooms were lovely as well, with more art on display. There were also several items of old furniture on display.

From there I went through the remaining five or six rooms of the museum which were very bland in comparison. The focus was entirely on the art displayed on the walls of each room. The walls were painted simply, a different colour in each room. I'm not a huge fan of art museums, but I really liked this one.

Like other museums, this one had an attendant in every other room or so. I assume when traffic is low they turn off the lights.

Back out on the street I continued my walk. The next place took a lot longer to get to, I walked all the way to the beach. Well, one of the beaches in the area. Odessa is more of a summer town, as there are beaches all along the coast, with clubs in nearby areas.

The first beach was close to a set of cable car like chairs, which were tempting just because I like those sorts of things. I didn't see them moving though, and since it was only mid March, I'm not sure whether they were working yet.

I really ought to go back to a beach town when it is a lot warmer.

As I got to the beach I walked to the water just to put my feet in, and say I'd been in the Black Sea. I found a pier and took a couple photos, then got back on a path that was parallel to the beaches, going through park areas. The path was pretty well developed, with lines indicating direction and even separations for pedestrians versus bikers.

At one point I was walking in the pedestrian lane and got honked at by a biker, which annoyed me. Apparently it annoyed the couple in front of me as well, as they yelled at the biker for not staying in his lane. (I don't speak or understand nearly what I should, but sometimes I can figure it out and it's funny.)

I passed by another cute small beach, this one with a couple bigger rocks. With the sky being various shades of gray, I set up a mini photo shoot for myself. Time delayed camera settings are awesome.

More walking eventually brought me to the area of beach and clubs that most people in Ukraine know, Arcadia. I realized really fast that it had been redeveloped since I'd been there 5 years ago. I admit I didn't like the redevelopement, it didn't feel much like Ukraine.

At that point I was pretty chilly and tired, so I found a cafe and ordered a giant hot chocolate. It wasn't nearly warm enough, even though I'd asked for extra hot. I know that baristas don't like it when things are ordered extra hot because they say the milk will get burned, but if I can drink it like cold milk, then it isn't hot enough. Hot chocolate is supposed to be hot!

I found the tram stop, and hopped on the next one that brought me back to the train station area in Odessa. I could've walked it, but I wasn't in the mood. From the train station I walked back to my hotel (which was walking enough,) and grabbed my pack.
From there I walked through City Garden again, the gazebo was lit up at night; kinda pretty to see. I also walked back to the big church, it was lit up at night as well. Since the exterior of the church wasn't all that extraordinary and noteworthy, I was more interested in the groups of locals that had gathered in one area and were playing games like chess. Very cool to watch that for a little while. 

Since I have a tendency to stick with what I know and like, I went back to the Indian restaurant from the night before for another go round. The food was again decent, and I was a happy camper as I walked back to the train station in time to catch my night train.

The train left on time, and I arrived in Kyiv the next morning safe and sound.

If I can find time to take several days to spend on a beach I'm definitely going back to Odessa. I'd also be happy to go back in order to see the catacombs that are somewhere near the city.

Ukraine: Lviv for the gazillionth time

This was my seventh trip to Lviv in less than five years. Pretty good, right? Obviously, I really like the city. I'm totally comfortable there, and feel as though I know it pretty well for being a visitor. That being said, I'm able to find and see new areas each time I visit.

My train arrived just before 0800, which was after sunrise, but at the right time for morning sun photos. I wanted a photo of the train station with the fountain in front, of course there was one car right in the middle of what I wanted. Argh. 

I walked to my hotel, stopping at various points along the way when something caught my eye. Nothing specific, just views I thought might be interesting through a lens. (And I'm well aware that my idea of interesting is not the same as what everyone else thinks is interesting. 

I didn't want to pay the early check in fee at my hotel, (it almost doubled my price,) so I left my pack on a locked shelf in a locked room. 

I walked back to the train station, going a bit faster this time. I stopped at the suburban train station, but wasn't able to figure out if the train I wanted there would be leaving anytime soon.

Actually, I wasn't able to figure out where any train leaving from there was going. I wanted to go to a town called Sambir, but the train routes didn't list all the stops along the way; they only listed the end stop. Back in front of the train station I found a small lot of marshrutkas with destinations in their front windows, I hopped on the next one to Sambir. I love cheap, relatively efficient, public transport. Around two hours later I arrived in Sambir. 

The drop off in Sambir was in a lot across the street from the train station, not very busy. Sambir isn't a big town, so I wasn't expecting much. I was happy to know that when I went back to Lviv I would be able to find all of my transport options in one place. 

I could see the back side of a church from this park platz, so I headed that way. The property of the church was surrounded by a fence, I had to walk nearly the full way round to enter. As I made this walk I could see some construction happening. I wasn't able to figure out a way into the building, booo. 

I walked back out of the fenced area, and bought cookies from a little stall across the street. Maybe not the healthiest breakfast I've ever had but they were okay. I bought these particular cookies because they were called American cookies. I didn't realize america has a typical cookie? 

Not too much further up the street was another church, but it was closed as well. This was the church of St John the Baptist. It was a lot smaller than the first church I saw. 

My next sight was basically around a corner and up another street. It was formerly the palace of culture, or maybe it still is.

I arrived just in time to find out is just missed an organ concert. The guys standing around wouldn't even let me sneak in the back for the last five minutes, argh. As far as I could tell, that would've been my only chance to get inside the building, so I wish I hadn't dawdled so long around the churches and buying cookies. 

Then I found my third church. It too was closed. What is it with this town?
I found the city center, including city hall and the platz surrounding the building. It's rather cute, if that's a description that should be used about a city administration building. I watched people walking everywhere, going about their daily lives. Awesome. 

I moseyed around until I found other people, and found a typical daily/weekend market. It was larger than I first thought, with sections for dairy, meat, fruit (mostly apples,) etc...

More walking brought me to a statue of Bogdhan Khmelnytsky, a Ukrainian independence fighter from centuries ago. It was covered in copper, very bright and shiny. Or maybe the covering was something else, I just know it was shiny and metallic looking. 

My next intended sight wasn't where a travel app said it would be. I was disappointed (again) as the history museum sounded interesting. I've found local history museums in a lot of Ukrainian towns, both big and small, many of them are quite good. I don't know if the museum doesn't exist, or was/is in a different location. 

I wandered a bit more, and saw another church. There seemed to be construction going on, but there was a lower level open, I was able to peek in.

It was a small area, but I could still feel the power of faith. Even though there was construction going on, the outside still looked rather impressive, especially for the size of Sambir. 

Then I decided I'd had enough of a town that felt mostly closed. I made my way back toward the train/bus station.

Along the way I saw the WW2 memorial. It was big, as usual. As I've said in previous posts,  it's my own joke that you're not a real town in this country unless you have a WW2 memorial, and a big one.

I liked this one. There was also a large statue of Stepan Bandera, a very controversial person in Ukrainian history. 

Across the street was a memorial to the victims of communism. This one surprised me a bit more, for though the sentiment is felt nearly everywhere in the east bloc, it isn't so common to see a visual reminder of those years, and those governments, and those actions. 

I got lucky with timing when I arrived at the bus/train station. I found a train leaving in 15 minutes, yay. My train back to Lviv was slow, around two hours long. We stopped every 34 seconds, or so it felt to me. 

When I finally checked into my hotel in Lviv I was a bit disappointed. Though the room was cheap, it was so small I couldn't open the door completely. I also couldn't open the bathroom door very far, and it smelled kinda funny. Probably due to lack of circulation. It was cheap though, and a private room. 

The next morning I walked further along a street I hadn't previously. 

I don't know how I didn't know this previously, but there is a Holocaust memorial in Lviv. This was the first time I saw it. It is small, but still evokes strong emotion. This particular memorial is specific to the years of 1941-1943. I don't know why. 

On my way along this street I saw a small church I'm pretty sure I've seen before, but never paid attention to. Called St. Paraskaeva, it is actually part fortress. I wasn't able to back up far enough to get a photo that shows this.

I must've shown up not too far ahead of the beginning of a service, as people continually arrived. It's a small church, but colorful (inside) nonetheless. 

Continuing along the street I saw a house designated as an Austrian 'luxury' house. Remember that Lviv was once part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, so you occasionally see some of that architecture. 

I also saw an old mill (still in production, and looked big to me,) and an unknown castle looking building. This one didn't have a sign, despite the unique architecture, so I have no idea what it is. I also don't speak enough Ukrainian (or Russian) to knock on the door and ask for such information. 

I walked back to the city center, and found a restaurant with a buffet breakfast (a fancy buffet breakfast!!) for 90 griven. That's super cheap!! I ate breakfast, then went back to my accommodation to charge my phone, pack up, and clean up. I was able to leave my bag in the same locked room as the day before. 

Back in the city center I walked around until I found the entry to the Armenian church, which is relatively small and almost hidden, compared to the big, visible back end. You can peek into the cloister area through the back fence, but it appears that the public isn't allowed to walk through. It's pretty, I wish I could've wandered through the area. 

In the church itself I got lucky with lighting. I paid the photo fee (a whopping 5 griven,) as soon as I saw the light streaming in through the window in a visible way, if that makes sense. The interior of the church is pretty nifty any who. I will see it again, the next time I go to Lviv. 

Then I shopped for souvenirs, not that I needed any. I bought a mug, a magnet, and postcards. 

Next up was a sight I found on a travel app. The English name is the House of Scientists, thought it has never been such a thing. It was previously a casino!

The rooms are quite grand, including a sweeping staircase in the entry. A photographers dream, to say the least. That being said, it also takes a bit of patience to get a photo you like, as there are plenty of others who also want photos. I was only there 30 minutes, and saw two different sets of bridal photos being taken. I never know if I should take my quick photo, or try to stay out of the never ending photos of such productions. There was also a lady posing rather suggestively, her photographer was using an iPhone. 

I found the courtyard of a children's theater, super cute. The walls were decorated, and I couldn't help taking photos. 

Then I walked to Potocki Palace. I've walked past this place I don't know how many times, but never visited the interior. It turns out it's an art museum. There are two floors, though the first was closed for renovations during my visit. The palace was built in the 1880s, but might be more known because an American pilot crashed into it in 1918, while doing stunts over the city. There was a varied display of art, separated mostly by country. I liked some of it, but not all. 

I walked back into the city center, to a church I've seen many times, I call it the Soli Deo Gloria church, though that isn't the real name. Those words are on the front facade, quite large. 

Behind this church I followed the sidewalk and streets to the top of Castle Hill (which doesn't really have a castle,) for the start of sunset. I wasn't the only one up there, but it was still nice. 

After staying for a bit, I walked back down before it was completely dark, and headed to dinner. I took a while at dinner, because I needed to kill some time before walking to pick up my bag, then to the train station.

My train back to Kyiv was easy and convenient.