A day in Odessa
Odessa was, sadly, our last real stop in Ukraine before heading to Moldova. Because of the war between them and Russia, a lot of areas we were planning on visiting were out of reach due to military forces and it became clear that we should keep driving.
A Bit of History
Odessa is the third most populous city of Ukraine and a major tourism centre, seaport and transport hub located on the north-western shore of the Black Sea and is sometimes called the “pearl of the Black Sea“, the “South Capital” and “Southern Palmyra“. In 1794, the city of Odessa was founded by a decree of the Russian empress Catherine the Great. From 1819 to 1858, Odessa was a free port.
During the Soviet period, it was the most important port of trade in the Soviet Union and a Soviet naval base. On the 1st of January 2000, the Quarantine Pier at Odessa Commercial Sea Port was declared a free port and free economic zone for a period of 25 years. Its historical architecture has a style more Mediterranean than Russian, having been heavily influenced by French and Italian styles. Some buildings are built in a mixture of different styles, including Art Nouveau, Renaissance and Classicist.
It felt like summer!
It felt like summer when we parked our dear Toyota Corolla in Odessa. Indeed, the sun was shinning it’s 21 degrees rays on us and it was finally time to wear our sunglasses. We walked towards the lovely Airbnb we rented for one night and fell directly in love with it. We were quite tired from the night before in some of the worst hotel stay I have ever experienced, as well as the drive towards the city, and decided to stay in a bit.
It’s around 16.00 that we walked around Odessa, not quite sure of the route (for once) and wandered about enjoying the sun. We really felt like we were on some summer holidays and simply enjoyed the beauty of the buildings, the positive vibes of the sun bathed streets and the thought of, again, sleeping in a real bed this night.
Afternoon
We took a glass of rosé above the famous Potemkin stairs , walked back to the centre to happily find, again, the Drunken Cherry Bar where we enjoyed a warm cherry liquor this time, before walking back to our home for the day and cook some delicious food before watching a funny movie and go to bed early. The stairs are considered a formal entranceinto the city from the direction of the sea and are the best known symbol of Odessa The stairs were originally known as the Boulevard steps, the Giant Staircase, or the Richelieu steps. The staircase extends for 142 meters, but it gives the illusion of greater length.
The next morning
The next morning, we decided to visit Lanzheron Beach where we enjoyed a delicious and gorgeous lunch with a sea view at the restaurant Terrace and its amazing location.
Sadly but full of beautiful images, we went back on the road, leaving Odessa and it’s sunshine to drive towards the border with Moldova and were definitely not ready to cross the border the way we wanted to… traveling is always a learning process, and if you’re interested to know about the struggle we’ve been through, don’t hesitate to read how we crossed the border to Moldova.
