The Ukrainian port city of Odessa is a curious mix of old and new, run-down and invigorating, as Deirdre Melvindiscovered when she DJ'd there
WHITE POLLEN hangs in the air for an age before landing on the cars below. Walking across Odessa's freshly scented streets is an unexpected delight, because the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Ukraine is Soviet concrete and Chernobyl. Instead the city's sandstone avenues are full of ladies tottering across cobbles in outrageous high heels, and the city's trams creak past esteemed universities and parks full of music. You might hear local choral groups taking their weekly turn on the bandstand, or europop blaring around elegant fountains. Everything is as it always has been - or at least it was until the premiere of an audacious touring arts festival.
This summer I joined the Black/North Seas arts adventure. From its Swedish home this interdisciplinary festival had deposited works from the best in the EU and their non-EU neighbours on the streets. They chose the teenage democratic state of the Ukraine for the week-long world premiere, with electrifying results. Never in the history of the new state has public art been sanctioned by the mayor, until now. The last time they had a commotion of this size was when the first cash machine came to Odessa, a few years ago. Locals proudly tell about the queues that formed to get their photographs taken with the ATM.
Naturally, after a long day dealing with angry policemen, city bureaucracy and bemused locals, the festival artists needed somewhere to let off steam. So I joined the tour to DJ and host the festival's social club.
Natives know Odessa as the comedy capital of Ukraine (it hosts, among other things, a comedy festival around each April Fool's Day), but the dour faces that greet you in shops and cafes don't live up to the reputation. At Klara Bara we took bets on who would be the first to get a waitress to smile. We were past dessert on the second visit before the smile came.
Odessa has come over in a capitalist rash, and its beautiful boulevards are home to Gucci and Prada boutiques. Lexus cars sit double-parked under the trees. You could live the life of minor royalty here, should you wish, shopping by day and going for dinner and to the fabulous opera by night.
To derive any pleasure from your trip to Odessa you need to look again.
When Catherine the Great took the land off the Ottoman empire, in 1794, it rapidly became a multiethnic home for commerce, with Greek, Hungarian, French, Jewish, Russian and Moldovan centres. This means you are in a city that can cater to every whim. It doesn't mean that western rules of customer service apply. Being such a busy naval port meant city traders could decide whether they fancied selling their goods or not. It seems to be an attitude whose legacy lives on.
I was DJ'ing in one of the few underground clubs, called Exit. There is no sign on the door to tell you you're at the right place. I asked the owner, Vova, why this was. I was told if you're the right sort of person you'll find the club: it is a screening process. In a city of more than a million people it seemed extreme, but that's the system.
Food in Ukraine plays the same trick. The joy of finding porridge on the menu disappeared when it arrived covered in salt and butter. But the secret with Odessa is to persevere. If you do you'll find that the borscht, or beetroot soup, is a must, the traditional lamb and fish dishes are superb, the Moldovan pastries amazing and the local wines tasty. Every restaurant has baskets of cosy blankets for alfresco diners to wrap around themselves.
Through hosting the social club I was lucky to meet Odessa's most inventive musicians. (All, ironically, had been boycotting the venue, for being too cliched, until the Seas tour arrived.) Self-described local consciousness and "pain in the ass" Sergei Klein, from the glitch outfit UKR.Tele.Kom, took me under his wing. We visited musicians who lived in old-style Soviet family apartments in the crumbling grandeur of the Jewish quarter. These were converted to be shared by three or more families, so even at home you had no privacy from the state. The recording studio of Alexey Svidersky, a percussionist, provided a view of a skyline in transition. Glass is quietly replacing 19th-century architecture. Tourists come for the allure of the old, but commerce wants the new. With luck they can learn to coexist.
Finding parties is easy, but accommodation is problematic, as it can be simultaneously expensive and of poor quality. I stayed in a rented apartment behind Mick O'Neill's, a curious take on an Irish bar. Be warned: communal areas in these old buildings rarely have working lights, and the pavements are also in a state of disrepair.
My apartment was a few blocks from Odessa's official entrance, the 19th-century Potemkin Steps, which cascade down to the blue Black Sea - although the view is sullied by an ugly Soviet hotel.
You'll find that, under its tough exterior, Odessa is a sentimental, romantic city. One local tradition involves Mother-in-Law Bridge, where newlyweds write their love's name on a lock and attach it to the railings. Couples queue to visit the love statue in the main park.
On my return trip I'll be heading underground again, but not to a nightclub. I missed the opportunity to visit Odessa's hidden caves, created when sandstone was mined to build the city. They have been homes to freedom fighters in battles with different enemies over the centuries. Reason enough for a return visit.
Black/North Seas moves to Istanbul next March. See www.seas.se for more and to hear Deirdre Melvin's podcasts
Where to stay, where to eat and where to go in Odessa - plus how to avoid misunderstandings
Where to stay
As Odessa's hotels are so expensive and of variable quality, consider renting an apartment.
Ukraine Accommodation (12 Deribasovskaya Street, 00-38-48-7411718 www.ukraine-accommodation.com) is a reservations agency with numerous options.
Odesskiy Dvorik (19 Uspenskaya Street, 00-38-48- 7777271, www.od-dvorik.od.ua) offers serviced apartments in a hotel-style setting for 380-2,500 hryvnya (€55-350) a night.
Where to eat
Kompot. 20 Deribasovskaya Street, 00-38-48-7287775, www.kompot.sites.atelier.ua/eng/. Serves great coffee and jams in a charming old-world atmosphere.
Klara Bara. Gorsad City Garden, Deribasovskaya Street, 00-38-48-2200331. Serves a great mixture of local and European cuisine. Be warned that service is slow and it's on the pricey side. You'll forgive this because of the location and food.
Where to go out
Exit Club and Club Schaf (24 Bunina Street, 00-38-48- 7281440, and 9 Deribasovskaya Street) are basement bars that play the best in western and Ukrainian beats. You'll find locals with English happy to mix with tourists. If you visit Exit introduce yourself to DJ Whiskey Moma, an English teacher from Brighton who intended to visit for a summer but has now been living in Odessa for years.
Mick O'Neill's. 13 Deribasovskaya Street, 00-38-48-4822684. With its kitchen open 24 hours, and free Wi-Fi, you'll find yourself here at some point over your holiday. Expect a mixture of rowdy revellers and business suits.
Arkadia. In summer take a taxi to this seaside beach, 10 minutes from the city centre, where you'll find a host of themed bars and nightclubs.
Where else to go
Passage arcade. 33 Deribasovskaya Street. Mixture of shops in an elegant city-centre passage. Some shops accept credit cards. Worth visiting for the architecture alone.
Privoz Market. 14 Privoznaya Street. Locals say this is the biggest market in Europe, and I have no reason to disagree. Haggling is encouraged, but Irish visitors will be hampered by the fact that few stallholders speak English. Money is a universal language, however. (Only cash is accepted here.) It would be a crime to leave without tasting the cheese. Women in colourful scarves bring it from their farms; they will be happy to let you try some. Small producers also sell wine here. Allow yourself a day to enjoy the market.
Take a tour. The people at Navigator travel agency (7 Mayakovskogo Lane, 00-38-48-2343887, 00-38-48- 7289707, www.navigator-ua.com) have an infectious pride in their city. E-mail for a reply in English.
How to get by
Booking trains, buses and ferries can be frustrating, as counter staff can be horrid. You'll need to allow a generous amount of time to negotiate getting your ticket, especially if you are trying to buy a crossing on one of the weekly ferries to Bulgaria.
Locals are happy to provide directions, but they will probably write street names for you in English - which will not match the Cyrillic street names on your map. So ask them to write straight on to the map, to make life easier. Streets are in a grid system, which makes the city easy to navigate on foot.
Odessa has a small airport that it easy to negotiate. When I left, however, a security guard pressurised me for money. Try playing dumb and speaking loudly in Irish. It worked for me.
One last warning
The Irish complexion allows you to roam Odessa in ease, as most locals mistake you for a visiting Russian. But men in particular can get a lot of attention from pimps and prostitutes. A friend of mine in an upmarket hotel told me of a prostitute menu in his room. Women can assume that men are here to buy a bride. A firm no should be enough to shake their interest.
Go listen
Alexander Kohanovski. www.myspace.com/pankifared. This pianist straddles contemporary classical world and underground alternative music.
Alexey Svidersky. www.myspace.com/asvidersky. Percussionist at the heart of six influential Ukrainian bands.
Boogaz. www.last.fm/music/boogazz. Max Vega's riotous Balkan and Black Sea party grooves.
Shabanoff Syndicate. www.shabanoff-syndicate.com.ua. Igor Shabanoff plays meticulous original nu-jazz compositions.
Ukr.tele.kom. www.last.fm/music/ukr.tele.kom. Notorious in Odessa, this band have a sound that can loosely be described as experimental glitch.
Go there
Czech Airlines (www.csa.cz) flies to Odessa via Prague from London Gatwick. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) serves Gatwick from Dublin, Cork and Shannon. Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com) serves it from Dublin.