Sochi Russia

As I was typing away in the bridge lounge and had just signed off, a crew member came in and was getting ready for their Christian service. I talked to Elmer and went back to the room, Gene went back to meet Elmer and we both went back to join in their Sunday service. It was so nice! Elmer played the guitar and we had songbooks and Pastor Buzby preached. There were approx. 8 crew members and an officer and us. It was such a nice way to share the Gospel and made me realize how small the world really is. We all have the same concerns but their concerns involved the added dimension of being away from home for 8-10 months at a time.

April 19, 2010 – Monday – SOCHI, Russia – Site of the 2014 Winter Olympics
Russian Resort on the Black Sea coast – docked at Morskiy Vokzal (Sea Terminal), Port of Sochi

We were up early seeing the fog and dampness on the deck, but it cleared to an absolutely beautiful day! We were very impressed with this “sub-tropical seaside resort that will be hosting the Winter Olympics”, as our guide mentioned. She never thought their city with their climate would win the Winter Olympic bid.

You can only leave the ship with an organized tour or if you have an individual visa ($125 and need to be pre-purchased). We had a wonderful tour with Elena on a new bus. Her English was superb and her knowledge of history served to enhance the stories day’s sites.

We docked at the Maritime Passenger Terminal built in 1955, notable for its distinctive 260-foot high steeple tower and four statues symbolizing the cardinal points. An expansion calls for a new passenger terminal plus a 2 km long quay projecting out into the sea to accommodate two big cruise liners.

We went to the church Michael the Archangel, built in 1876, entering the richly decorated gold-leafed interior, we saw the nave filled with scaffolding as they attempted to clean the walls and pictures. Ornate. Gold. Impressive. Designed by Kaminsky and built to commemorate the end of the Caucasian War. There are no benches and in the center of the church – only the elderly and pregnant are allowed to rest on the few benches on the side walls. The service is in “old Slavonic” and needs to be translated to Russian for the congregation.
In the center of the compound, there were four fountains where you could fill your jugs with holy water. One other building was the Baptistry but we could not enter.

On we drove a short distance to the Park Hotel (a modern 4-star hotel) and walked along the seafront passing an old cannon and several monuments to Lenin, beautiful gardens and many benches, strolling under a rose arbor which must be beautiful in full bloom in May, and ending up in front of the Winter Theatre at Theatre Square. There are two theatres – one formal indoor theatre built in Greek style with sculptures of 3 Greek muses decorating the building and an outdoor theatre for the summer months (operating since 1937). On the pillars of the formal theatre, they put up a very large sheet to project movies for their Film Festival and it was here they celebrated when they were awarded the 2014 Olympics bid.

Between Matsestinskaya Valley and the Agura Canyon, we went to the massive green castle – Josef Stalin’s dacha (one of his summer homes), Zelanaya Roscha (The Green Grove), a sanatorium which is now a health-resort hotel. We toured his rooms where his wax figure sits at his desk beside his very narrow single bed. The ink set on his desk is a gift from China. He had a private movie theatre in his office (loved Charlie Chaplin) and an extra large sized billiard table in the office next to his. His cue stick was stuffed with lead as he was a small man and needed the extra weight to play. But his colleagues knew not to give in to him to let him win; he was afraid to fly and only traveled by train.

Pictures of the family surround him – married two times and all relatives had tragic endings to their lives (typhoid, executive in a concentration camp, suicide, alcoholic). He died in 1953. Svetlana Allilueva, his daughter born in 1926, now lives in Wisconsin in a nursing home, having defected from Russia to India and then to the USA and is not in contact with her children. She wrote a book “Twenty letters to a friend” with unusual, unique, warm and a bit sad memories of her Father.

The interior of the hotel has oak walls, doors, ceiling and flooring and the hotel is laid out in a courtyard with a green painted exterior. The hydrosulfide waters and fresh air here were supposed to be good for his ailments as he suffered from asthma

We continued about a ½ hour out of town climbing high to Akhun Mount (highest point in the central part of Sochi) via a path of switchback and steep roads. We were fortunate to have fairly clear skies so we could see the Caucasian mountains and the Black Sea. In the distance they pointed toward the general direction for the 2014 Olympic village in Krasnaya Polyana, at 1968 feet above sea level. We climbed 187 steps to the top for a fantastic view, which at times covered us in fog and then just as suddenly cleared for a great view of the valleys below.

Elena was the type of guide who asked us what we wanted to know about Russia. For their current travel they must obtain a visa for each country and be individually interviewed, fingerprinted and retina scanned. Some visas are only good for the length of the trip (10 days!!) and some are good for a year (USA and Canada) and cost approx. $100 a year. But you have to travel to Moscow for the interviews –airfare and hotel and meals at your own expense of course.

Russia has closed all casinos and is setting up four gambling “zones” in regions of the country. The magnolia tree is the symbol of the city. Population is approx. 400,000.

2014 Olympic Winter Games: Perhaps never before has an Olympic site started with so little. Basic infrastructure and an entirely new alpine ski center must be built from scratch. The Russian government is investing $12 billion in the city, with hopes that the Olympics will put Sochi on the map as a year-round tourist destination in the future. Desperately needed roads are under construction, as is a new airport terminal. An expensive, 30-mile railroad is planned from the beach to the new ski resort in the mountains. Two ports have to be constructed to bring in all the necessary building materials. With all of the construction for the games, I think that there may be delays in transportation to attractions outside of the town. Construction of 17 Olympic projects is already underway, another 100 projects are in the engineering phase and around 60 more Olympics- related projects are applying for expert evaluation. Approx. 1000 families will be relocated and over 2500 hectares of land will be bought out from private owners.

Customs and Superstition: Never give even number of flowers. Respond to good wishes by spitting three times over left shoulder and knocking on wood to keep good fortune.

“A well developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life.” - William A. Ward