Odessa Hot News

[altiva]

Good news, people.

Potyomkin stairs funicular has a new schedule, again.

Now it works:

from 9 to 19 every day.

2 to 2.30 is a "technical break".

Hope it will continue thus.

[altiva]

so, there is no need now to climb the stairs on Odessa Ukraine.

[altiva]

March of the Zaporozhian Cossacks

 

 

 

The cossack in front, smoking his pipe in battle is a kharacternyk

(on the photo, on the far right). A

kharacternyk is a cossack with special powers. He could do magic. You

could not kill him with a bullet. He could catch the bullets, shot at

him, with his bare hands, and throw it back at the enemy. If such a

bullet even skimmed you, you died on the spot. They could become

invisible, cure wounds, be in several places at the same time, breath

underwater, see future, come out dry from the water, find treasures.

It was also believed that you could kill a kharacternyk only with a

silver bullet to the heart, so they often lead in battles.

The first and most known and legendary kharacternyk is cossack Mamai.

After him, all great Ukrainian hetmans, were considered to be

kharacternyks.

[altiva]

 

hi people,

Odessa is celebrating New Year today.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year! Let all your dreams come true!

Ukrainian New Year

Ukrainian is a very ancient nation. They celebrated New Year in

spring, originally, during spring solstice. The holiday was called

"new summer/new year". After Prince Volodymyr baptised Ukraine in

998, New Year was celebrated March 1. In 14 century, Ukrainians

started celebrating New Year on January 1.

The night of December 31 is called "generous/rich evening" in

Ukrainian language. Ukrainians serve 12 dishes to celebrate it. All

the dishes must be lean, because Ukrainian Christmas is January 6,

and you can't eat meat/diary till then. People also believe that this

night, heaven opens, and your ancestors (great-great parents) come to

visit their families. Also, God looks down on earth through the open

sky, and you can ask him for anything.

Instead of a fir tree, Ukrainians had a sheaf of corn in their

houses, which was called "diduh". Diduh means "grandfather, a divine

grandfather".

You need to celebrate New Year in new clothes, it means that you will

have new clothes the rest of the year.

[altiva]

And, returning to modern days.

 

Statistics say that an ordinary Ukrainian family would spend about

1380 hryvnas on New Year celebrations (approximately 138 euros).

They are to spend:

1. 516 hryvnas (51.6 euros) on their food and drinks.

2. 476 hryvnas (47.6 euros) on presents.

3. 388 hryvnas (38.8 euros) on other expenses.

The most popular New Year presents were:

chocolates and delicacies (29%), toys (16%), cosmetics and perfumes

(14%), souvenirs (13%).

Happy New Year!

[JC2922]

Happy New Year Altiva!!!!jc2922.:)

[BenLynn]

Ifind your posts quite interesting and will be visiting Odessa in early October 2013. My grandparents came from Tiraspol which I beleive is now in Moldova. How can we get from Odessa to Tiraspol? Can we hire a driver to take us to Tiraspol? Thanks in Advance and Have a Happy and Helthy New Year Ben

And, returning to modern days.

 

Statistics say that an ordinary Ukrainian family would spend about

1380 hryvnas on New Year celebrations (approximately 138 euros).

They are to spend:

1. 516 hryvnas (51.6 euros) on their food and drinks.

2. 476 hryvnas (47.6 euros) on presents.

3. 388 hryvnas (38.8 euros) on other expenses.

The most popular New Year presents were:

chocolates and delicacies (29%), toys (16%), cosmetics and perfumes

(14%), souvenirs (13%).

Happy New Year!

[altiva]

Ifind your posts quite interesting and will be visiting Odessa in early October 2013. My grandparents came from Tiraspol which I beleive is now in Moldova. How can we get from Odessa to Tiraspol? Can we hire a driver to take us to Tiraspol? Thanks in Advance and Have a Happy and Helthy New Year Ben

 

hi Ben,

already replied to you at another thread. Repeating what I said

there, here:

It's only 2.5 hours by bus. There

are buses from Odessa main bus station, and mini cabs from Odessa

railway station. All the buses and mini-cabs which go Odessa-

Chişinău, pass Tirapol, which makes it double! I am though certain

that you will have to stay overnight in Odessa to achieve this. You

won't be able to do it in a day, if your ship departs in the

afternoon.

[altiva]

Happy New Year Altiva!!!!jc2922.:)

 

Thank you, JC!

[altiva]

Hi people, here is a preliminary list of all the cruise ships, coming to

Odessa port in 2013. Changes in time and schedule are possible.

There is the name of the ship, flag, cruise line, date of the visit,

time of the visit. The date is set European style (date and then

month). The time is what, in the US, they call military.

 

MSC LIRICA Panama MSC Cruises 31.03 9:00 17:00

 

DISCOVERY Bahamas Voyages of Discovery 04-05.04 9:00 22:00

 

MSC LIRICA Panama MSC Cruises 11.04 9:00 17:00

 

FTI BERLIN Malta FTI Cruises 11.04 9:30 16:00

 

ARTANIA Bermuda Phoenix Reisen Gmbh 19.04 8:00 17:00

 

FTI BERLIN Malta FTI Cruises 19.04 9:30 16:00

 

MINERVA Bahamas Swan Hellenic 20-21.04 8:30 23:00

 

MSC LIRICA Panama MSC Cruises 22.04 9:00 17:00

 

KRISTINA KATARINA Finland Kristina Cruises 23.04 10:00 19:00

 

COSTA DELIZIOSA Italy Costa Cruises 27.04 9:00 18:00

 

COSTA VOYAGER Italy Costa Cruises 27.04 8:00 18:00

 

MSC LIRICA Panama MSC Cruises 03.05 9:00 17:00

 

MSC LIRICA Panama MSC Cruises 14.05 9:00 17:00

 

SILVER SPIRIT Bahamas Silversea Cruises 15.05 8:00 18:00

 

SEA DREAM I Bahamas Seadream Yacht Club 28-29.05 8:00 6:00

 

AZAMARA JOURNEY Bahamas Azamara Cruises 30.05 8:00 23:55

 

COSTA DELIZIOSA Italy Costa Cruises 01.06 8:00 18:00

 

TERE MOANA Bahamas PG Cruises 04.06 8:00 16:00

 

COSTA MEDITERRANEA Italy Costa Cruises 11.06 8:00 18:00

 

AIDA AURA Bahamas Aida Cruises 24.06 8:00 18:00

 

SEABOURN ODYSSEY Bahamas Seabourn Cruise Line 25.06 8:00 18:00

 

SILVER SPIRIT Bahamas Silversea Cruises 30.06 8:00 18:00

 

COSTA DELIZIOSA Italy Costa Cruises 06.07 8:00 18:00

 

AIDA AURA Bahamas Aida Cruises 08.07 8:00 18:00

 

REGATTA Bahamas Oceania Cruises 10.07 8:00 17:00

 

CRYSTAL SYMPHONY Bahamas Crystal Cruises 19-20.07 8:00 18:00

 

AIDA AURA Bahamas Aida Cruises 22.07 8:00 18:00

 

PACIFIC PRINCESS Bahamas Princess Cruises 22.07 8:00 18:00

 

TERE MOANA Bahamas PG Cruises 23.07 8:00 16:00

 

AEGEAN ODYSSEY Malta Voyages to Antiquity 26-27.07 7:00 13:00

 

RIVIERA Bahamas Oceania Cruises 28.07 8:00 18:00

 

SEVEN SEAS MARINER Bahamas Regent Seven Seas Cruises 29.07 8:00 17:00

 

SEABOURN ODYSSEY Bahamas Seabourn Cruise Line 30.07 8:00 18:00

 

COSTA DELIZIOSA Italy Costa Cruises 30.07 8:00 18:00

 

AIDA AURA Bahamas Aida Cruises 05.08 8:00 18:00

 

SILVER SPIRIT Bahamas Silversea Cruises 15.08 8:00 18:00

 

AIDA AURA Bahamas Aida Cruises 19.08 8:00 18:00

 

SEA DREAM I Bahamas Seadream Yacht Club 20.08 8:00 19:00

 

PACIFIC PRINCESS Bahamas Princess Cruises 23.08 7:00 17:00

 

COSTA DELIZIOSA Italy Costa Cruises 23.08 8:00 18:00

 

AZAMARA JOURNEY Bahamas Azamara Cruises 27.08 7:00 23:55

 

SEABOURN ODYSSEY Bahamas Seabourn Cruise Line 03.09 8:00 18:00

 

CELEBRITY CONSTELLATION Bahamas Celebrity Cruises 03-04.09 9:00 16:00

 

ISLAND SKY Bahamas Noble Caledonia 04.09 9:00 14:00

 

AEGEAN ODYSSEY Malta Voyages to Antiquity 9-10.09 7:00 13:00

 

THE WORLD Bahamas ResidenSea 12-15.09 9:00 18:00

 

SILVER CLOUD Bahamas Silversea Cruises 13.09 8:00 18:00

 

ISLAND SKY Bahamas Noble Caledonia 14.09 7:00 22:00

 

COSTA Neo ROMANTICA Italy Costa Cruises 15.09 8:00 18:00

 

PACIFIC PRINCESS Bahamas Princess Cruises 16.09 7:00 17:00

 

SEA DREAM I Bahamas Seadream Yacht Club 16-17.09 8:00 6:00

 

OCEAN MAJESTY Portugal Majestic International Cruises 17.09 8:00 13:30

 

AZURA Great Britain P&O Cruises 19.09 9:30 18:00

 

COSTA PACIFICA Italy Costa Cruises 22.09 8:00 18:00

 

NAUTICA The Marshall Islands Oceania Cruises 25.09 8:00 17:00

 

MSC MUSICA MSC Cruises 26.09 9:00 17:00

 

ISLAND SKY Bahamas Noble Caledonia 26.09 8:00 16:00

 

COSTA DELIZIOSA Italy Costa Cruises 27.09 8:00 18:00

 

SILVER SPIRIT Bahamas Silversea Cruises 30.09 8:00 18:00

 

EUROPA II Bahamas Hapag-Lloyd Cruises 02.10 8:00 13:00

 

QUEST FOR ADVENTURE Bahamas Saga Cruises 04-05.10 8:00

 

COLUMBUS 2 Bahamas Hapag-Lloyd Cruises 05.10 12:00 0:00

 

MINERVA Bahamas Swan Hellenic 06.10 8:30 23:00

 

ISLAND SKY Bahamas Noble Caledonia 06.10 8:00 16:00

 

MSC MUSICA MSC Cruises 07.10 9:00 17:00

 

PRINCESS DAPHNE Portugal Classic International Cruises 07.10 8:00

15:00

 

ARCADIA Bermudas P&O Cruises 08.10 8:00 17:00

 

ARTANIA Bermudas Phoenix Reisen Gmbh 09.10 8:00 18:00

 

DELPHIN Bahamas Passat Kreuzfahrten GmbH 11.10 8:00 0:00

 

VOYAGER Bahamas Voyages of Discovery 11-12.10 13:00 17:00

 

CELEBRITY CONSTELLATION Bahamas Celebrity Cruises 11-12.10 12:00 17:00

 

DISCOVERY Bahamas Voyages of Discovery 13.10 7:00 18:00

 

ASTOR Bahamas Transocean Tours 14.10 8:00 18:00

 

MSC MUSICA MSC Cruises 18.10 9:00 17:00

 

PRINCESS DAPHNE Portugal Classic International Cruises 18.10 8:00

17:00

 

EUROPA Bahamas Hapag-Lloyd Cruises 20-21.10 8:00 12:00

 

ARTANIA Bermudas Phoenix Reisen Gmbh 24.10 8:00 18:00

 

DISCOVERY Bahamas Voyages of Discovery 25.10 9:00 22:00

 

COSTA DELIZIOSA Italy Costa Cruises 01.11 8:00 18:00

 

Altogether, 78 cruise ships.

[altiva]

Today, people celebrate Christmas in Ukraine.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

It's a magic holiday, when all your wishes can come true. You can

meet your ancestors, become rich and happy, find your true love and

more.

Please, remember, that on a Christmas eve, the fast is still on, so

you can eat till the first star. This day is called Shchedryi vechir,

a bountiful evening. People prepare a special dish, called kutya.

It's has a special sacred meaning. If you break your fast with kutya,

you will be successful and wealthy all the year to come. You should

put kutya on the most prominent place in your house. This eve, you

should recollect the died ancestors. This night, they come from the

other world to look after you.

After people had their bountiful supper, children went to visit their

God fathers and God mothers, bringing their kutya with them to eat

together.

After the supper, people went out. If you slept during the Christmas

night, you were supposed to oversleep your happiness, so no

sleeping. People - young man and women, married man and women - went

out to sing special sacred songs, kolyadkas. They also performed a

play, vertep.

[BenLynn]

Hi Altiva,

Thanks for the information on the buses. Is it possible to hire a cab or a guide to take us to Tiraspol from the port in Odessa? Any idea of the cost ?

Thanks again.

 

Ben

hi Ben,

already replied to you at another thread. Repeating what I said

there, here:

It's only 2.5 hours by bus. There

are buses from Odessa main bus station, and mini cabs from Odessa

railway station. All the buses and mini-cabs which go Odessa-

Chişinău, pass Tirapol, which makes it double! I am though certain

that you will have to stay overnight in Odessa to achieve this. You

won't be able to do it in a day, if your ship departs in the

afternoon.

[altiva]

hi Ben, you are welcome.

I am sure that if you can find someone to help you from this side,

you could do it. It would cost you a pretty penny, too. It's not even

the distance itself, it's the fact that you will have to cross the

border. Consider this: a driver won't speak any English. Anyone who

speaks foreign languages and have a car, has a better job than being

a driver. Then, it's very unlikely that this driver won't know

Tiraspol (he'll be able to cruise around the main streets and such,

but not more). In addition to the driver, you could hire an

interpreter or such. Because I doubt very much, that there are guides

in Odessa who know Tiraspol. It would be just a person who speaks

English! Note, that there are no taxis/cabs in the sea port when you

arrive. Usually, there is a couple of cabs at the end of the drive,

near the entrance to the city, and their prices are high, and they

just drive people around the city.

Today is a holiday in Ukraine. It's a Christmas day.

I will see if tomorrow someone can

give me a quote, or such. Even now, I am sure it will cost a lot.

[altiva]

Do you have a specific address to visit, or just want to see the city?

[BenLynn]

First let me wish you a very Merry Christmas.

Thanks again for the information on the possible transportation to Tiraspol. We do not have any address in Tiraspol but we are trying to find a telephone book in English so we can see if anyone with the same name as my grandparents still lives there and we can try to contact them before our cruise. Also we are looking for a telephone book of Odessa in English because it is possible that some relatives now live in Odessa.

 

We'd problem want to go to the Jewish Temple in both cities and to the Jewish Cemetary in both cities. If we had the adress of the Jewish Temples we could contact them to see if any relatives attend those temples. We'd also like to vist the Churches in both cities and any other famous buildings or museums. Thanks for your assistance.

Ben

[altiva]

hi Ben,

thank you.

As per your journey to Tiraspol. I got a quote for you, about 300 US,

so you can use it as your bargaining point.

Your chances to find a phone book in Ukraine or in Transnistria in

English are the same as someone coming to the USA and asking for a

phone book in Ukrainian, that is, zero.

Here is a coupe of links:

Tiraspol white pages:

http://www.nomer.org/tiraspol/

 

Odessa white pages:

http://newtel.org.ua/od/

 

http://odessa.telkniga.com/

 

Try to use patronymics, if you know them, to make your search more

efficient. Please, note, that many people know don't use landlines

anymore, they simply disconnected them. Also, if you call, there is a

high chance that these people won't speak any English. Please,

before calling, check if it's already daytime there.

In Odessa, there used to be three most important synagogues. One of

them, Brodsky synagogue, is now an archive and is not functioning as

a religious temple.

The main synagogue, surprisingly, did not have a web site. So, I

leave you their address and phone numbers:

Evreiskaya st 25 Odessa 7771189, 347850

(Evreiskaya means Jewish street :-)))

The third synagogue, on Osipova street, left me with these:

Adress: 21, Osipova St., 65011, Odessa, Ukraine

Tel.: +38 (048) 728-0770

Fax: +38 (0482) 496-301 Email Rabbi Avraham Wolff, Chief

Rabbi of Odessa and Southern Ukraine: rabbiodessa at gmail dot com

Consider that your relatives can be not very religious and are not

attending the services.

What you are doing is called "genealogical research". You should

consider hiring someone to do it for you.

[BenLynn]

hi Ben,

thank you.

As per your journey to Tiraspol. I got a quote for you, about 300 US,

so you can use it as your bargaining point.

Your chances to find a phone book in Ukraine or in Transnistria in

English are the same as someone coming to the USA and asking for a

phone book in Ukrainian, that is, zero.

Here is a coupe of links:

Tiraspol white pages:

http://www.nomer.org/tiraspol/

 

Odessa white pages:

http://newtel.org.ua/od/

 

http://odessa.telkniga.com/

 

Try to use patronymics, if you know them, to make your search more

efficient. Please, note, that many people know don't use landlines

anymore, they simply disconnected them. Also, if you call, there is a

high chance that these people won't speak any English. Please,

before calling, check if it's already daytime there.

In Odessa, there used to be three most important synagogues. One of

them, Brodsky synagogue, is now an archive and is not functioning as

a religious temple.

The main synagogue, surprisingly, did not have a web site. So, I

leave you their address and phone numbers:

Evreiskaya st 25 Odessa 7771189, 347850

(Evreiskaya means Jewish street :-)))

The third synagogue, on Osipova street, left me with these:

Adress: 21, Osipova St., 65011, Odessa, Ukraine

Tel.: +38 (048) 728-0770

Fax: +38 (0482) 496-301 Email Rabbi Avraham Wolff, Chief

Rabbi of Odessa and Southern Ukraine: rabbiodessa at gmail dot com

Consider that your relatives can be not very religious and are not

attending the services.

What you are doing is called "genealogical research". You should

consider hiring someone to do it for you.

Dear Altiva,

Thank you so much for all of teh information that you have provided. My wife has done considerable genealogical research and we will try to find new leads to locate any relatives.

Best Wishes,

Ben

You can also reach me at ben.goldman@rocketmail.com

[altiva]

Dear Altiva,

Thank you so much for all of teh information that you have provided. My wife has done considerable genealogical research and we will try to find new leads to locate any relatives.

Best Wishes,

Ben

You can also reach me at ben.goldman@rocketmail.com

 

hi Ben,

you are most welcome. I hope you will find what you are looking for.

I e-mailed you a phone of the chairman of Jewish community of Moldova

in Tiraspol. Make sure it won't go to junk, it often happens when

e-mailing abroad.

[altiva]

Odessa factory of Champagne wines.

Odessa factory of champagne wines was founded in 1896. Nowadays,

the wine they produce is considered to be sparking wine, rather than

champagne, but it tastes good nevertheless.

Our tour consists of visiting the factory, then - wine tasting, and

then - time for shopping in a factory store, where you can buy wine,

champagne and cognac, paying factory prices. The store has a bar

where you can buy a drink.

They produce different kinds of champagne (or sparkiling wines) - brute,

pink, red, dry, sweet, half dry. Also, different kind of whines (red, white),

cognac and brandy. The brandy has a certificate stamp on it, so perhaps it

does qualify worldwide as a brandy, and it's called "Frenchy".

What: wine tasting, Odessa champagne factory

Where: 36 French boulevard Odessa Ukraine

When: very day but or Saturday, Sunday and national Ukrainian

holidays.

 

 

 

More photos:

http://odessainterpreters.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=38

[altiva]

Happy Valentine day, people! Have a lot of love in your lives.

[altiva]

Limoncello, a restaurant pizzeria

 

I've never eaten there, just like the way it looks. Sorry, folks!

What: Limoncello, a restaurant-pizzeria

Where: 21 Greek street, Odessa, Ukraine

(It's one block from the main street).

 

 

[altiva]

hi people, I noticed that many tourists don't know what to buy for

authentic Ukrainian souvenirs, so I collected my photos into a

folder "Crafts". You can view it here:

http://odessainterpreters.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=39

Feel free to look through and ask me questions.

I will be adding photos of crafts, so check for updates.

Meanwhile, I want to introduce vyshyvanky - a part of Ukrainian

traditional clothing.

Vyshyvanka is an embroidered shirt, blouse. Women, men and children

wore them. So, now they make them for women, men and children. The

price starts from 50 US/euros and up.

You can wear them with your everyday clothing, like jeans, skirts and

even shorts. Many people in Ukraine do. They are machine washable,

and should not run, if of a good quality.

When they make women's vyshyvankas, they are made after a

shirt/blouse. In fact, a traditional vyshyvanka for women was long,

like a long dress, embroidered near the hem. You put it on, and then

you put a skirt on, and the embroidered bit peeked out. These are

more rare and much more pricey.

 

 

[altiva]

A man wears a vyshyvanka on Independence day:

[altiva]

Women, men, children, teens, seniors, wearing vyshyvanky on Independence day.

 

 

Here, you see a woman in a long vyshyvanka, she wears it as a dress. Normally, you should put a skirt over it. Note the embroidery on the hem.

 

[altiva]

These are vyshyvanky, made from a hand-weaved cloth. They are the

yellowish ones on the right. This is how they looked like back then,

when there was no China to send us goods. These cost more and more

rare to find.

The black one is a perversity of nature, because black colour was considered very

unlucky in Ukraine back then. But, tourists are crazy about it, so I think that they make

them for tourists and goths.

 

The cloth for these vyshyvanky was weaved on such a loom: