37 images

27Apr2008Odessa

DSC00629.JPG View from my window on to Primorskyy Blvd., which, as you can see, is being renovated. Notice the worker picking up one large brick, walking over to the backhoe, and putting it in the backhoe, then repeating until the backhoe is filled, at which time the backhoe lifts its load and dumps it into the waiting truck in the foreground. That's the way workers work here. Don't even ask why the backhoe doesn't just scope it all up and dump it.	DSC00630.JPG Another view out my window past Primorskyy Blvd. The Black Sea harbor is in the background through the trees.	DSC00631.JPG The window of my room overlooking Primorskyy Blvd.
DSC00632.JPG My room looking away from the window. It's a long, narrow room, with a long, narrow hallway, and a long, narrow bathroom. Meant for long, narrow people, I guess.	DSC00633.JPG My room looking from the hallway to the window. The TV has a digital box that allows digital cable and about 90 channels, 89 of which are Russian dubbed over in Ukrainian. If you want to listen to something that you will have absolutely NO WAY of ever understanding, listen to that. The other channel is CNN BBC, which is broadcast from England, so I can almost understand it.	DSC00634.JPG Bathroom. Cold on the left, Hot on the right. That's all you need to know.
DSC00635.JPG Breakfast buffet. Not like a buffet in America - much better (IMHO)!	DSC00636.JPG Typical busy "locals" street (no tourists - all working locals.) Not pretty, but functional.	DSC00637.JPG Another typical local street. Notice the run-down look of the buildings in the foreground, and the nicer appartment building in the background. The run-down buildings still vastly outnumber the nice, clean, newer buildings, but they are trying to catch up. Probably never will.
DSC00642.JPG More of the same. Notice the new building going up in the background (all you can see is the crane.) What seems to happen is that the newer buildings will eventually replace most of the older ones, but be much more expensive to live/work in, thus moving the poorer people out to somewhere else. Same thing that happens in America, but here the rate is slower. Neither good nor bad - just what's happening.	DSC00640.JPG I passed this building and couldn't help but marvel at the dichotomy. Absolutely beautiful sculpture of those figures holding up the corner of the building. And then part of the facade that they are holding up is falling apart. Pretty much describes what I've seen here and in Russia.	DSC00641.JPG This one is maintained a lot better!
DSC00638.JPG The largest (indoor) shopping mall that I've seen. New, clean, and 95% of the stuff is for rich people.	DSC00639.JPG The basement of the mall has a cafeteria with GREAT local food (and cheap!), and a "supermarket", which is also pretty nice (not as cheap, but OK.) Places like this have guards everywhere. I don't see any evidence of crime, but I'm sure it exists. I think labor necessary to protect property is fairly cheap here.	DSC00643.JPG The Opera House at night. It's so pretty at night I can't resist taking pictures of it, even though they don't turn out all that well. Sorry...
DSC00645.JPG In contract to the preceding delapadated buildings, there is a fair amout of effort going into restoring some of the buidings near the business and tourist center of town. Here is a round-about with a statue of Catherine II, credited for founding Odessa in 1795. Notice the building in the background.	DSC00646.JPG Another side of the round-about surrounding the statue of Catherine II. Gambling is legal here, which is probably a source of the money necessary to fix up the place.	DSC00647.JPG A closer picture of Primorskyy Blvd. I don't know why they are tearing up the beautiful brick used to pave the street. I hope we won't see asphalt in it's place!
DSC00649.JPG Primorskyy Blvd. at night.	DSC00650.JPG The bell captain on the first flight of stairs from the lobby to the first floor of rooms.	DSC00652.JPG Primorskyy Blvd from my window of my room. The window wouldn't open, so to avoid the reflection from the flash I covered it with my finger. Cool reflection of the inside of my finger, huh?
DSC00654.JPG Better picture of Primorskyy Blvd at night from my window.	DSC00657.JPG Hotel LondonSkya (my hotel) lobby looking at the front door from the stairs leading up to the rooms.	DSC00658.JPG Stairs leading to the second floor of rooms.
DSC00659.JPG Hall way leading to my room (all the way to the end, on the left.	DSC00660.JPG He stayed here.	DSC00661.JPG He stayed here, too.
DSC00662.JPG The first sign of Easter that I recognized, and I saw it on Easter sunday (27Apr08 was Russian Orthodox Easter in East Europe.) The XB represents the Russian words for "Crist has Risen". The blossoms on the tree limbs and other plants which I don't recognize represent Spring (duh!)	DSC00663.JPG The Municipal Gardens. The city has many such gardens/parks, but this one is one of my favorites. This is Easter Sunday, and it's cold and almost raining, but the kids are enjoying it because, I suppose, they are old enough to know about the Easter Cakes that are coming!	DSC00664.JPG More of the Municipal Gardens.