Have the time of your life in Odessa – a weekend vacation destination with something for everyone.
No less a writer than Mark Twain wrote nearly a century and a half ago that “I have not felt so much at home for a long time as I did when I ‘raised the hill’ and stood in Odessa for the first time.” So it’s only fair to begin this travel feature with a caveat: I have also completely fallen in love with the place. And nothing that follows here, of course, will be in the least objective. Rather, it will be full of the hyperbolic superlatives you’ve come to expect from me. But, honestly, Odessa makes it rather easy to gush – there’s a reason why the locals here refer to their home as “Odessa Mama:” the warmth of the mood here is at least as enveloping as the thick arms of your most beloved babushka.
You see, Odessa is as much a place as it is a feeling. Sure, it has the requisite magnificent buildings and pre-war charm, but its effect is much more subtle – perhaps even insidious. Kyiv, while wonderful, refuses to let you forget you’re in Kyiv – reminding you constantly that it’s a capital of new wealth and even newerpromise. Odessa could care less what you think. It’s got nothing at all to prove. And maybe it’s just the New Yorker in me, but that’s part of why I immediately felt at home. Odessa doesn’t need to convince anyone how cool it is. It’s just your job to find out. Is it dirty? Sure. Is it raffish? Yes. Is this exactly why you should embrace it? Absolutely. And from the throngs on Deribasovskaya to the great beaches and their pulsing nightlife, from the dramatic architecture of its famed opera house to the quiet sinewy paths of Shevchenko Park, Odessa can easily please a range of visitors. So pack your bags, brings tons of loose clothing in preparation for some of the best restaurants in Ukraine, and make sure the chill of fall doesn’t arrive without a visit to this most infamous and historical town.
Though many believe Odessa to be located on the site of the third-century Greek colony of Odessos, the city in its modern garb is only a little more than 200 years old – a baby as far as this nation’s metropolises are concerned. But spending two centuries as the grandest and most important port for the world’s largest country has certainly left its mark. Relaxed laws and a huge demand for labor meant that Odessa would become the repositoryfor runaway serfs, criminals (it still is, of course, a legendary mob town), political dissidents and oppressed minorities from all over Russia. And, in fact, it still feels more welcoming and international than any other Ukrainian city. This attitude of acceptance has easily carried over into our own era (though, luckily for you, with much more attention paid to a modern tourist industry).
Getting here from Kyiv couldn’t be easier: there are several hour-long flights a day (round trip about $200. Call KiyAvia at 8-044-490-4902 for details). There are also about half a dozen daily trains leaving the capital, taking between ten and 12 hours for the trip and costing around Hr 50. Buses, too, run constantly, but for an extra few dollars you might want to choose Avtolux. I did, and, for Hr 72, I got a seat on a bus that beat Greyhound for comfort any day and took only seven hours for the trip (what’s more, we passed at least a dozen “normal” buses on the way, traveling at barely half our speed, and stuffed with cramped and moody-looking passengers).
Your lodging choices are at least as varied: From the opulent Mozart (13 Lanzheronovskaya, 8-048-237-9394. Singles/doubles for $155/195 a night) to the mid-range and very serviceable Tsentralnaya (40 Preobrazhenskaya, 8-048-226-8406. Singles/doubles $45/65 per night) to the faded grandeur of the centrally located and incredibly priced Passazh (3 Preobrazhenskaya, 8-048-222-4849. Rooms from $10-30. The “grand” suite is $45), Odessa welcomes travelers of all budgets. And any of the voksals will have the usual number of locals offering rooms and apartments. But, in a city known for its scam artists and shysters, it’d be best to exercise relatively extreme caution – especially if you don’t know the language well.
But enough business – on to your weekend. If it’s one of the rare days of summer showers, don’t fret: Odessa boasts some of the best museums in the country. Check out Scythian gold, early Slavic tools from Kyivska Rus and Sarmatian swords at the Archaeological Museum (4 Lanzheronovskaya, 8-04-222-6302. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Wednesdays. Entry Hr 4), or, perhaps more fittingly, peruse the Ship Museum (6 Lanzheronovskaya, 8-048-224-0509. 10-5, closed Thursday. Entry Hr 4) if you’re a fan of model boats or Russian history. Either way, though, you’ll find the carefully wrought displays impressive. The Museum of Eastern and Western Art (9 Pushkinskaya, 8-048-222-4815. Open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed Wednesdays. Entry Hr 3) has a relatively extensive catalog of Central Asian art, as well as pieces from Tibet, China and japan. What’s more, enjoy the occasional Michaelangelo, Rubens and Caravaggio.
But despite the accomplished museums, Odessa is decidedly not about being inside. In fact, on nice days, it seems the whole city is casually walking back and forth along one of the main drags or meeting in the numerous parks for some animated conversation. Talking actually seems to be the official metropolitan pastime here: there’s a reason why you often see the ubiquitous and heavy oak benches pushed around (no doubt with much effort) to face each other. The best thing to do is arrive with a friend or lover skilled in the art of conversation, and then languidly stroll the chestnut-lined boulevards while leisurely sipping a beer. Punctuate this with protracted coffee breaks at the endless cafes until dinner time, where you can find a proper restaurant and build up enough energy for the evening. You see, Odessa is a place that makes the seeming paradox of “intense relaxation” grow miraculously clear.
And nowhere is this propensity for animated rest more clear than at Odessa’s many rightfully celebrated restaurants. The residents here eat in a manner that is decidedly Mediterranean. All consciousness of time melts away during a meal here. And, though I may be banned form the capital for saying so, I think the best food in the country resides in this little Southern city. Though there are several higher-priced exceptional eateries (see this week’s Food section, page 27, for a more in-depth look at two of them), the quality of the many mid-range places easily exceeds Kyiv. Take, for example, Fat Moses (incredibly not a kosher deli in a strip mall somewhere in Florida – though it does have a very nice roast beef sandwich). Pleasantly located on Odessa’s “restaurant row” (8/10 Yekaterynynska, 8-048-714-4774), this charmingboite serves great meals from Hr 30-50 and has great cushions for sitting outdoors. Right next door, Paparazzi (8 Yekaterynynska, 8-048-234-8070) is well-regarded for its grilled meats. And local expat institution Steakhouse (20 Deribasovskaya, 8-048-228-7775) serves very fine and expensive renditions of its namesake. Till Eulenspiegel (12Deribasovskaya, 8-048-242-9046)is a perennially popular Flemish-style tavern that sells great hand-stuffed sausage, and Khutorok, located on Lanzheron Beach, serves great lunches to keep your breaststroke steady (if you need something even quicker, perhaps the best shwarma sandwich I’ve ever had in my life can be found on the corner of Yekaterynynska and Deribasovskaya). But after dinner, make sure to take part in Odessa’s legendary nightlife. Choose between a languorous evening of drinking red wine and people-watching at the dozens of late-night cafes (rare is the establishment that will close before you’re ready to leave) or the matrix of clubs lining Arkadiya Beach (Odessa offers everything between conscientious classiness and enjoyable sleaze). Have a beer at expat watering hole O’Neill’s (13 Deribasovskaya, 8-048-226-8437) – though be warned that food is both overpriced and well below average – and then dance the night away at Buffalo 99 (5 Richelevska, 8-048-731-4187). But, just as during the daylight hours, your best bet is to blithely stroll around and enter wherever the music calls. So, if you live in Kyiv, there’s no reason not to make an annual summer pilgrimage. Grab your bathing suit, a good pair of walking shoes, and let yourself be succored by the spirit of one of the coolest cities in Europe.
