Non-romantic rides in the dark. I have been to Odessa four times now. Odessa is famous in the former USSR as a premier vacation spot, as a place honeymooning couples frequent, as a romantic seaside resort.
But trying to find a taxi at 5:00 am in the morning to get to the airport is not part of the advertising.
When you finally procure one, then you get the thrill of speeding through the dark city, dodging cars, potholes and dogs at the speed of terrifying. Thank God there were so few other people on the road to dodge at this ungodly hour. We ran every red light, exceeded every speed limit, and broke every known traffic law. As always, I feel very very near to God in these situations. Certain death always does that to me.
Then the driver tags on an additional 10% fee of extortion for the pleasure of his company. All in all just another non-romantic drive in the dark.
