I have been to Odessa a couple of times and I really enjoy the city. Full of interesting history and an obvious touch of French architecture. Nice parks, good food, street life, beaches and a nice atmosphere.

The main task is obviously to get the bike ready for the road but first day is focused on just walking the city and get the feeling of this nice city.

 

My friend Konstantin that I met last time has been taken care of the bike very carefully. He and his biker friends have given it a thorough check and changed some worn out parts. Feels good and I will have the possibility to road-check in Odessa before going out on the road. After meeting with Kosta, we go for a ride around town, getting some roadside tools and other equipment and just having a good time. Afterwards, his wife Tania joins us and we go down to the port and eat at the Di Mare fish restaurant.

The next day main activity is a visit to the Odessa winery. Beautiful entrance with two heads over the entrance – one of Russia and one of France. The factory was founded in the Russian times by French winemaker Henri Roederer. They make different styles ranging from dry to sweet and white, rose and red sparkling wine. To me the dry is the nicest but their main production is the semi-sweet ones. Interesting fact that they also hold a special line for Kosher wine where only Jews are allowed to be active in the process. Over the factory, red tapes indicate that this is hands-off for us non-Jews. The guide Evgeniy is very skilled and has a good way of explaining both the history and the wines. A very interesting visit.

After the wine tasting, I needed a couple of hours to cool down and the nice restaurant Dacha is within walking distance. A very nice place that my colleagues took me to a couple of years ago. A lot of Soviet nostalgia paired with good food and a huge outside garden. A good place to relax.

Next stop is Battery 411 where there were heavy battle as the Romanian/German troops invaded in the beginning of WW2. This is a site with an interesting range of different weaponry mixed with entrepreneurs selling ice cream and renting carts. There was a small museum connected to the park. Very quiet setting and a good afternoon.

May 9 is a public holiday to commemorate the ending of WW2 and my Sigma colleague Evgeniy came along and we first visited an interesting display at the Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern art. Nice building and amazing to see these paintings hanging relatively unprotected and close to the viewer. A very good start of the day that continued with a visit to a good grill restaurant where his family joined topped with a visit to a brewery. A very good day!

And I feel well prepared for a nice road trip!