Odesa in May question, again
Hi everyone, this is a bit of a longer post, so thanks in advance to anyone who reads it and gives advice. I’m still not fully sure about the overall plan or some of the practical details, so I’d really appreciate any recommendations or corrections.
I’ll be staying in Chișinău for a few days and was thinking about taking a short trip to Odesa. Odesa has actually been on my “places to visit someday” list for around 15 years, ever since I first saw the Potemkin Stairs online.
I noticed that SARVALTEH AUTO and GAL Trans run buses very frequently from Chișinău, usually arriving at either Pryvoz Bus Station or Starosinna Square bus station.
My current ideas are:
Option A:
Take a morning bus that arrives around 13:00, get a hotel, spend the rest of the day exploring the city a bit, then on the second day check out of the hotel, leave my backpack there for a few more hours and continue walking around the city until late afternoon, maybe around 17:00, then take an evening bus back and be in Chișinău around 22:30.
Option B: Stay one extra night and spend an additional full day in Odesa.
A few things I’m not fully sure about:
- I read that there is/was a prohibited to be outside in Odesa Oblast from 00:00 to 05:00. Does that still apply?
- When I travel, I usually carry a camera with a zoom lens. It’s medium sized but noticeable enough. I completely understand what should absolutely not be photographed, but I’m still wondering whether walking around the city with a camera could potentially attract unwanted attention / problems. Basically: “why is this guy photographing things?”
- I speak English and some Russian that I learned a long time ago. Would it be better to avoid trying to speak Russian altogether?
- I also installed the Air Alert app and tested it a little, but I noticed there’s often very little difference between alerts for “Odeskyi District” and “Odesa / Odeska Community.” I assume that if either of those goes off, the sensible thing is just to slowly head toward the hotel shelter or a nearby public shelter immediatelly ?
Places I found so far:
Monument to Ilf and Petrov, Potemkin Stairs, Primorsky Boulevard, Odessa National Academic Theater, Palais Royal, Arcadia seaside, Deribasovskaya Street, Odessa Passage, Lanzheron Beach, N.L. Shustov Cognac Museum, City Garden, Taras Shevchenko Park
Places to eat/drink:
Beerteka, The Roastery by Odesa, 12 Coffee and Croissants, Zheto, Dvor 12 City Cafe, Pierre - La Sweet Boutique
Thanks