Odessa Ukraine Walk In The Park
This afternoon like many others, I took a long walk in one of Odesa, Ukraine city parks. It is so nice, fresh air and simple pleasures. Children were riding scooters and chasing birds and squirrels. Along the way are a few activities for children, such as rock wall climbing and obstacle courses with ropes and crooked stairs.
Odessa Ukraine offers some of the best nature trails around. One park is about 2 kilometers long and one kilometer wide with a long narrow pond with swans, turtles, and ducks in the center. In one area, you can rent a simple rowboat or an electric paddle boat, no paddling! Too funny. With few commercial places to try to take your money for stuff, it is very relaxing. The trails are cobblestone, brick or paved, and they are nice and wide with lots of elbow room.
Not far away is the longest park in Odesa Ukraine. Known as the "health track," it runs parallel with the beachfront in Odesa Ukraine. I would think it is near eight kilometers long and 1-1.5 kilometer deep starting at the top of a long bluff going down to the north coast of the black sea. Once again, lots of children riding scooters and bikes as well as other small wheel devices along the paved trails. On the main trail runs a couple of six-seat electric golf carts to move people back and forth. This is a haven for those electric cars for children. We had one in Canada, and now we have one here. The one in Canada was a little bit more money, and we see the one here is better. This one offers rubber wheels where the one in Canada was plastic wheels. The one in Canada did not have a rheostat on the pedal but an on-off switch. The one in Canada with the plastic wheels would spin the wheels until the max speed was achieved. The one here is an all-wheel drive, and the one in Canada was only rear-wheel drive.
When walking and going to the beach, you may find one person offering food and or drinks, but they do not bother at all. Near the start of the different beaches, you will find a tent with a couple of freezers selling ice cream, and they sell snacks and beer. In Canada, this would never be permitted as they have a law that a person can not enjoy a beer in a public place. Also, in the grass areas near the beach, many are with a charcoal grill cooking "chesnook." This is chicken or beef, red peppers, and onions on a long shishkabob cooked over the fire, very tasty indeed—people resting and enjoying family time with a drink and food.
The summer weather in Odesa Ukraine is very comfortable. A cool day is 22 Celsius, and a hot day is 28 C. There are times of higher spikes, but it is not common. In the summer it rains little. Many days you see big puffy white clouds that go off in the distance. One difference here than to where we lived in Canada is in the summer is about the same length, but fall and spring here lasts for two to three months. In Canada, spring and or fall could last a week or three at the most. Then it would get 35-40 degrees in the summer and good and cold in the winter.
This year due to the COVID19 lockdown, we missed the major part of the spring. Though this craziness from COVID19, all the plants and flowers bloomed, they do not seem to have suffered at all. Parks are well looked after, trash bins are located throughout, and people are very respectful to using them for the most part and are emptied early in the mornings each day.
Ukraine people hold a high value in themselves, even though many have needs street begging is very rare here. I have never seen this in any of the parks. I have seen it in the farmers market but never in the parks. Also, as in other places, street performers are very rare here. I am not sure why but you just don't see them.
Flowers are abundant in the parks, all sorts of flowers. Also, it seems every park has one, two, or even three very nice water fountains in a central or corner where paths meet. Very nice, clean, and always with benches where one can sit and relax.