odessa's got that weird mix of grand and gritty
i just checked and it's 1°c and feels like -4°c there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. odessa's one of those cities that feels like it's still trying to figure out what it wants to be when it grows up. one minute you're walking down these grand tree-lined avenues that used to be the playground of russian aristocracy, the next you're staring down a ravine that's basically eating the city alive.
walking around here is like playing a game of urban roulette. the terraced hills give you these amazing views of the black sea, but then you realize half the city is slowly sliding into the water because of all the chalk mining tunnels underneath. someone told me that the underground tunnel system is so extensive it could wrap around the earth like three times. i don't know if that's true, but it sure feels possible when you're standing on what seems like solid ground and wondering if you'll suddenly disappear into the abyss.
the weather here is... complicated. winters are cold and windy as hell because russian cold masses keep bumping into whatever warm air decides to show up. summers are actually pretty nice - warm, sunny, and the sea temperature finally gets up to something resembling swimmable. but with only 236mm of precipitation mostly falling in the warm season, the landscape has that dry, thirsty look that makes you want to carry water everywhere.
if you get bored, mykolaiv and izmail are just a short drive away. though honestly, with 285 sunny days a year, you might not want to leave the beaches. the port area is pretty impressive too - being an ice-free harbor on the black sea has kept this place relevant for centuries. though i heard that even with the ice-free status, the port still freezes over for about 15 days a year. nature always finds a way to mess with human plans.
one weird thing - the city gets its water from the dniester river via an aqueduct built in 1873. i mean, who builds an aqueduct in 1873? it's like they were trying to be ancient romans while everyone else was inventing electricity. but hey, it works, and with limited fresh water sources around here, you don't mess with what works.
the population density here is insane - about 6,139 people per square kilometer. that's like new york city levels of crowded, except spread across these weird hilly streets that seem designed by someone who really hated pedestrians. but the multicultural vibe is real. this place has been a trade hub for so long that you can feel the layers of different cultures just walking down the street.
check out the reviews on tripadvisor if you want to know which restaurants won't give you food poisoning. and maybe look into the local tourism board's website for updates on which parts of the city haven't collapsed into the tunnels yet. just kidding. mostly.
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