All,
Arrived here in the afternoon. Mikhail took us to a very nice Greek restaurant for lunch. DELICIOUS!
Jet lag (plus yesterday’s bike ride from hell) finally caught up to us, so both Gordie and I caught quick naps before heading out for a wonderful and memorable dinner with the owner, Slava, and his son, German, of this beautiful resort by the Black Sea.
Their family has been in Odesa for over 100 years. 4th generation. Both are extremely proud of their city’s unique and colorful history. They have owned and operated ports and been involved in government.
Because of Russia’s invasion, Ukraine has gone from having about 14 seaports, to just 3 now, all between Odesa and Chornomorsk (VERY close to one another) so we discussed the need to modernize the ports (especially for container ships) since there will be lots of good flowing into (and hopefully out of as well) Ukraine once the war end and reconstruction begins.
And Odesa, on the Black Sea, will become an even more major lifeline for Ukraine. BIG responsibility.
But, as mentioned earlier, Odesa/Ukraine is most definitely up to the task. PROUD history as Slava and German reminded us over a wonderful dinner.
Tomorrow, Andriy from our Kyiv office will join us, and we will visit the beautiful stadium here, which is owned by our good friends from Allrise Capital.
Onward!
