... and the microphone smells like a beer.
So here is the second installment in my personal series about the Black Sea. We spent four days in Odessa, Ukraine. We moored in kind of an industrial area and unlike Batumi we were forced to take a bus to the center of town. Odessa seems to have all the nice things centered around a beach and the center of town. The advice is to stay in the center and just never venture out into the rest of the city.
The whole town flowed right together. I know that it isn’t really done any justice but here is how I saw the city. First was the port. It was the old eastern European look which is all based more towards the bulk cargo and not containerized shipping like we focus on. There was a large volume of steel moving into the country right where we moored. Traveling up the hill you notice a bridge which is built more for dazzle than for the pure utility that you might find in a strictly industrial town. The industrial portion and passenger terminal sets on a shelf below the main portion of the city and so over the bridge and up the hill we went.
The most impressive thing was that the number of old world buildings was pretty high. They all appear nice with the fancy facades and the ornamental statues. There didn’t seem to be anything to much built after world war two. The other thing is that the city was founded later in history than I would have thought. Just to see all the buildings which must have been built within decades of each other was really something I have not seen yet. I know the city was built to impress Europe as well as provide a port so it all kind of fits in.
There is somewhat of a grand park which sets on the crest of the ridge. Though the face of the hill is overgrown it is still very friendly and the number of shade trees at top make it worth every bit of time you could spare to spend. The square they dropped us off at was directly down the street from the Potemkin Stairs. They were made famous by some revolution or another. They lead directly from the passenger terminal, and are very impressive. It is interesting the number of different pets people bring to sell photos of. There was a golden eagle, monkey, alligator, and lizard of some sort.
I am not going to try and explain all the running around that we did, but I will say that the whole town was very relaxing and that the real parties don’t begin until after midnight. We just did the standard running around during the day and drinking on the way back to the boat.
There is not enough to say about Varna, Bulgaria. We pulled into an industrial part of their port where it seemed they handled more scrap material than new material. From the boat you could see old naval vessels some rusting and some active, and then to the opposite side look and see some mall built on a pier with old style sailing ships moored to it. All of this was within a mile or so by foot.
The first day we missed the bus on the way out and so feeling especially adventurous and having no knowledge that they might not have wanted us to we just started walking right out the gate. The gate was pretty relaxed but still seemed more on lock than a port in the states. We walked right out into what I assume was kind of an average part of town. It seemed to have a lot of the same problems as Flint and other cities in the states where off the beaten path the buildings are not pristine and small patches of grass are beginning to grow wildly.
The first real place we came to was a bar on a square and so we sat down and had a beer. I am under the impression it was a Czech import but then there were only ever one or two local beers in these towns and one here was strongly advised against. Food wasn’t the easiest to find in Varna and so we kept walking. There was a cathedral which was not as nice as I have seen but still impressive. That overlooked the center of the touristy part of town. Down there we were able to find a Kebab stand and just like everywhere else that shit was amazing. I don’t even remember why people like places such as McDonalds.
The other thing that was nice is that they has espresso everywhere. The thing to do in between walking was to set and talk over coffee. I kind of like the style and no place in the states has seemed so inviting. You can set for forty-five minutes drinking a cup of coffee and there is no hassle.
From that we went to an English bar and played darts while one of our party took some time with the Wi-Fi. The place was pretty nice and from there we walked to another restaurant and then a bar and then there was some vodka apparently and I got kind of trashed. I remember getting through the gate and all the time on the ship so it’s alright.
The next day we walked to the mall, bought some European sunglasses, looked at all the expensive watches, had some of the best sausage on a stick that I have had, walked back, cut Will off from the Vodka (I was the sober guy), went back to the English bar, played more darts, was badly beaten at darts by the drunk guy, and then walked to the bus stop. Nothing really stands out aside from stray dogs. They seemed to be tagged and numbered like we might number geese with leg bands. The mall was just a mall where you could not understand either the writing or the language and so I can’t say it was the best. The long walk through he city was worth it though.
I guess that’s all the adventuring I can describe, the trip across the sea was alright. Really rough compared to normal Atlantic weather, but we made due and I saw enough vomit to last me a while. Still never vomited myself from the sea and so I am a bit proud. Saw Constantinople from the water and now I have to visit in person. That city seems pretty great even if the Turks are insane.
When I was in the Baltic states I could just blend in too. Thanks to Aunt Celi I was able to look up Bellorussia and it is right in the middle of all these places I have seen. It explains a lot.