Weekend in Odessa

As we wind down our days in Odessa, we are trying to get in the last bits of sightseeing that have been on our 'to-do' list. Arun has been particulary anxious to go to 411 Battery (a memorial park dedicated to WWII.) It was the site of the "siege of Odessa" when the Soviet forces battled the Germans for 73 days. The city was overcome until May 9th, 1944 which is celebrated here as "Victory Day." The trenches, underground catacombs and some weaponry still remain.

It proved to be a rather enjoyable day. We had breakfast downtown at the Mozart Cafe and then headed on the 175 marshrutka down to the Battery. It's right on the sea, so it was actually a bit chilly; not that it deterred the throngs of people out and about!

The funniest thing was that the park is particularly popular for energetic boys- ranging from 7-14. And so for many of the photo-ops, Arun was waiting in line or battling 10 year olds for positioning! It was rather hilarious! And most of the boys were accompanied by their mothers who were taking their photos but in my case, I was following around my 30 year old husband for pictures. Sigh...

There was a wonderful museum displaying a lot of Soviet paraphernalia and propoganda- and of course, Arun was deeply mesmerized.

Odessites are really enjoying the Spring weather and so many folks make a day out of 411 Battery and drive their cars into the park for picnics... it really looks like a form of tailgating! Pretty hilarious!

We left the Battery and headed downtown to enjoy the rest of our day. Arun was really amused near Greek Square by the throngs of old men who gather to play chess. "I never really considered chess a spectator sport!" Arun quipped when he noticed that there were more people watching than playing chess!

We finished our evening with some sushi at Fanconi's (the BEST in Odessa!) and came home exhausted! Quite a Saturday!