Odessa 2007
By summer time our family once again went for vacation in Ukraine, in the city of Odessa on the coast of the Black Sea. Beside my wife, our son, and me, from Kostroma, Russia three other couples and two children went to Odessa. All of those visited Odessa for the first time. One couple had previously visited the Crimea, that peninsula being named The Pearl of the Black Sea. From Odessa to Crimea is a 12 hours drive by bus, or one can get there by ferry. In Crimea there are many sights and historical monuments, and the water is warmer there than at the coast of Odessa.
But in Odessa the nudist beach is located almost in the city center. On holidays approximately 500 people frequent the beach. Each year new persons come, and among them a lot of youth. This year we met visitors from Germany, Holland, and Poland. We also met an American who lives in the Hawaiian Islands. He is a musician and at this time has a gig in Kiev. And he came to Odessa specifically to vacation at a nudist beach. The beach is located not far from the railway station. One takes tram number 5 four or five stops to “sanatorium named for pilot Thkalov”. From there, any passer-by will show you the road to the beach.
On the beach is a small bar. There they sell hot sandwiches, beer, and cool soft drinks. On that same beach is also a group of local men who look after law and order. They expel the most sexually inclined people. Furthermore, a group of policemen drop in on the beach several times a day.
Prices for accommodations vary a lot – like everywhere. They go from $20 up to $80 for double occupancy. For example, in sanatorium “Magnolia” (close to the beach) a double room costs $50 per day without meals, and $70 with meals. There are ten such sanatoriums, and every one of them is near a nudist beach. One of our couples rented a two-room apartment in a five-floor brick building, for $30 per day.
It is best to inquire about lodgings at the railway station. There you will always find people who offer rooms for rent in different parts of the city. If you wish to be put up near a nudist beach, it is necessary to ask about lodgings on “the French parkway”.
Odessa also has evening entertainment. We visited a restaurant in which they sing blues in English, and we went to parks for other entertainment. Right from ships in the naval harbor, to the center of the city, there are concerts of rock music, and we went to one of them. Also musicians from the U.S.A. were playing, among others.
For relaxation we went to “Kyialnik”. It is a reservoir with seawater, but isolated from the sea. The reservoir contains very salty water, and mud, which has a great medicinal effect. Many people have been cured of skin diseases here, and some women of female, internal diseases. Now this reservoir is somewhat desolated. On the shore of the reservoir lies a lot of dust, but all the same, many townspeople and visitors still visit this reservoir for its cures.
Though the level of service is lower in Odessa than in resorts of Western Europe, a lot of Europeans with pleasure vacation here. This is of course widely promoted, but also the fact that you will find low prices for meals, both from the tourist services and from the benevolent inhabitants of Odessa. Finally, it is most probable that someone who has visited Odessa once, will want to return to this place again.
Alexey Skvortsov
(Edited by Leif Heilberg)
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