Today was a free day, free to further explore Odessa at our leisure.

I ended up doing a big walk, first heading to the Mauritanian Arch, to then take a turn towards town with stops at St. Elijahs Monastery and St. Panteleimon Monastery. From here I continued to Privoz Market – followed by a long walk through the parks of town until eventually I ended up in front of the cathedral and then on to Novyi Bazar and the Odesa Fine Arts Museum.

After a quick visit of the museum, I was heading for and then down the Potemkin Stairs and into the harbor. My attempt for a harbor tour was in vain, as the ship was never leaving (when I bought the ticket, I was told, that it would go in 20 minutes; well – half an hour later we were still next to the pier and yet another 20 minutes were announced … I gave up at this point and left them to scam other people).

I made it back up the stairs and into the Park Tarasa Shevchenka, passing by the Monument to the Perished Sailors and the old Fortress. I continued for the little amusement area in the park for a ride on the Ferris Wheel, to get a bird’s eye view of town and the sea. The amusement park was actually a funny one, with the attractions pretty much looking as coming from a German fair – complete with German instructions to riders etc. I had the strong feeling, that I was essentially looking at attractions, that had been decommissioned in Germany and made their way to Odessa for the life left in them.

I was now heading downhill – this time on to the beach side of town, heading for Lanzheron Beach. The season here was clearly over with only few people on the beach and most businesses already closed down or in the process of closing down. I nevertheless used the opportunity for a quick foot bath in the Black Sea ;-).

I walked along the beach until I hit the small cable car station, to ease my trip back into town. The trip offered some good views over the beaches and the sea and got me back to the Mauritanian Arch, where I already had been in the morning.

After a stop at Odessa’s Museum of Modern Art (which – despite being much smaller – was more to my liking than the Fine Arts Museum) I made it back to the hotel in the early evening. In time for a nice, slightly confused dinner in a Georgian restaurant and a quick shower, before getting to the train station and onto the night train to Kiev.