Walking around the city is amazing; it’s one of the things I’m really enjoying here. There’s no need to join gyms and find artificial methods of getting in some cardio- you simply walk everywhere! There are gorgeous cobble-stoned promenades, lovely parks with fountains, street painters and musicians; all amongst the colorful fall foliage. They call this the “Golden Autumn” since the leaves all turn gorgeous shades of gold and yellow. People are enjoying the “Indian Summer” we’re having this year, and so park benches are filled with people talking and enjoying the weather. All is not rosy, however. There are a few issues that make walking through Odessa, rather irksome.
#1: Stray dogs. This is a major issue for people, but practically a deal-breaker for Arun. He is… shall we say, ‘pet-averse’ to begin with; and this fear only multiplies with the possibilities of rabies. It also doesn’t help that his Ukrainian colleagues from work have told him horror stories of being bitten.
#2: Cars parked on sidewalks. This is perhaps, unavoidable. In the busy downtown areas, the roads are simply not wide enough for the Lexus RX’s and BMW X5’s parked everywhere (I’m serious, there are so many fancy cars here! Arun’s sure they’re all Russian mafia members.) There are local cars as well; and regardless, these streets were built for wagons, not automobiles- so they wind up being parked all over the sidewalks. It makes for some tricky navigation.#3: Construction. Odessa seems to be in perpetual construction. I suppose I should be grateful for the restoration efforts.
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