The Odessa File

Typical beautiful architecture of Odessa





Wall etchings from Soviet partisans in the Odessa catacombs






Lone Fisherman Off the Pier At Arkadia, Odessa





So, about Odessa. Getting there ended up being another Transdniestr adventure. You see the bus from Chisinau to Odessa goes directly through everyone's favourite unrecognized state. Anyway, getting in was fine - a small fee for the visa and otherwise smiles and handshakes all around. Leaving Transdniestr going into Ukraine was another affair altogether. I should have expected it but being the only Westerner on the bus I was naturally singled out for extra attention. Brought into an office and sat down it was explained to me through a series of gestures and grunts and the word "problem" that I was supposed to have "closed" my Moldovan visa in Chisinau, showing that I had left Moldova. How I was supposed to have done this when I remained in the country I don't know. Also I pointed out that this shouldn't have mattered as I had already been allowed into Transdniestr and that the Moldovan visa was now no-one's concern. Point is though there's no reasoning with the mafia. So $15 worth of Serbian dinars as a "donation" to the Transdniestr border guards foreign currency collection and I was free to leave.

Once in Odessa I searched the centre for an internet cafe to find the hostel Chris was staying at. It was already dark and the strangest thing happened when a kid riding a horse appeared out of nowhere - just clip-clopping down the sidewalk slowly. I don't know how to explain it but it was like something out of time. For me this sort of defines the atmosphere in Odessa. Sort of lonely and romantic, there's a lot going on but there remains a quietness about the place. In fact it seemed really akin to Montreal - the water, the beautiful buildings that need a fix-up, the second city of former glory type of place. Also, you get the impression that Odessians feel independent of other places, a lot like Montrealers - it's a bubble of sorts.

Eventually I found the hostel. I was greeted at the door by Carey, an Australian expat who was in the midst of opening Odessa's first hostel with his brother. These two guys were classic Australian dudes, easygoing, friendly and straight-on about everything. Because the renovations weren't finished Carey basically let Chris and I stay there for free. It was a great base to explore Odessa from and Carey, Todd and the staff, Ilsa and Katya were fun to hang out with as well.

Because Chris and I had been out of touch over the weekend he had already made plans to go to Lviv so he took off the second night I was there. I decided to hang out and see a little of the city at least. The hang-out, beach area of Arkadia was my favourite of all Odessa's neighbourhoods. I was there in the middle of the day but the clubs and bars were opening up and getting ready for the coming evening. Carnival-type fun games were all over the place as well fast food joints. All of this lent Arkadia a certain kitch and made it appreciable. What's important about Arkadia though is the water, the Black Sea. Once past all of the touristy shit things changed completely - kids were hanging out swimming and having dive contests off the end of one of the piers, couples and groups of friends sipped on beers and talked while dog owners played with their pets in the water. This seemed like something realy genuine and uniquely Odessan. I headed out to the end of one of the piers to sit down and relax and have a beer of my own. My only company was two old couples that were fishing and a single fisherman who had somehow gotten himself out to a concrete block in the middle of the water. There were a few drops of rain here and there but everyone seemed content and quiet, there were even restaurant staff that had come out to the pier on their breaks to see how it went with the old fishing couples. Although central Odessa is beautiful and not to be missed I think hanging out on a pier in Arkadia is as good as it gets.