Cossacks & Vodka (1) Odessa

We headed off to the Ukraine for a 12-day adventure. Actually a river cruise, something we had never done before. Yes, we were a bit sheltered being on the boat and "managed" by the tour operator, but still got to see quite a bit in the short time we had.


The itinerary was to fly from Tbilisi to Odessa, which is only a bit farther than a 2 hour flight, then to board a cruise ship to sail to Sevastopol and Yalta in the Crimea. From there the ship would go up the Dnieper River to Kiev, stopping at several cities with unpronounceable names along the way.


First stop was Odessa. We went a day early and checked in to the impressive looking Odessa hotel located right on the wharf where our cruise ship was to come in. We had a view of the famous Potemkin Stairs from the hotel.

The Odessa Hotel

Potemkin Stairs across from the wharf

Odessa was actually quite an attractive city and we spent our first day, until the ship arrived, just walking around on our own. The city has many statues, nice shops, and famous buildings in the blocks surrounding the downtown area.

Pushkin

Cossack

Odessa Opera House

We walked through the touristy section of town, and down to the other side. Here we found the largest farmers market in any of the former Soviet republics. The Privoz Market is so huge that the pictures below won't give you the whole picture Indoors and outdoors there were sections for each kind of food that were larger than some whole markets that we have seen elsewhere.

Meats

Fats

Honey

Spices

Eggs

All kinds of stuff

Some cute little chicks.