Welcome to quirky Russian Riviera on Black Sea
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For visitors to the Winter Olympics, Sochi may feel like a landscape from a dream Ñ both familiar and strange. Palm trees evoke a tropical seaside resort, but the Black Sea itself is seriously cold; turn away from the palms and the jagged, snow-covered peaks of the Caucasus Mountains rise nearby. Lively and garish modern buildings mix with Stalin Gothic piles, like trophy wives on the arms of elderly men. Billboards are written in an alphabet where some letters sound exactly like you think, others mean something else and the rest are alien.
WhatÕs quite odd is the cityÕs cheerful and relaxed aura in a country stereotyped as dour. Even a local statue of Vladimir Lenin catches the casual vibe. HeÕs not haranguing the masses, just standing under some trees with one hand in his pocket as if heÕs killing time waiting for a date.
Q and A about the Russian Riviera
Am I in Sochi?
Rather like New York City, Sochi is a sprawling municipality of four boroughs. Confusingly, one of the four is called Sochi. All Olympic events take place in the Adler borough, though the snow sports venues are often referred to as being in specific settlements such as Krasnaya Polyana and Esto-Sadok.
Sochi borough is more or less the Manhattan of the city, home to the best restaurants, coolest clubs and the main cultural institutions. Urban Adler also has attractive restaurants.
But while its attractions are relatively cosmopolitan, and its coastline is 145 kilometers, Sochi is not a big city population-wise, with only about 350,000 inhabitants.
Will they understand me (and vice versa)?
Volunteers at Olympics test events spoke excellent English and sometimes struck up conversations just to improve their skills. But outside the Olympic venues and large hotels, communication in languages other than Russian is difficult. The GamesÕ organizing committee recommends using a mobile translation app.
The Cyrillic alphabet isnÕt as hard as it may look, and itÕs worth spending a couple of hours to master it. Russian has many loanwords from English, French and German, so sounding out words can make the place pop into better focus. For example, knowing that ÒteatpÓ is pronounced Òteater,Ó itÕs a reasonable and correct guess that it means Òtheater.Ó Bars advertising ÒxaycÓ are offering ÒhouseÓ music.
HowÕs the weather?
Rain, snow, sun, fog, warmish, cold Ñ a few days at the Olympics likely will include them all. On the coast, where the ice sports and opening and closing ceremonies take place, daytime temperatures should be around 10 degrees Celsius and freezing is unlikely. In the mountains, it doesnÕt get severely cold; at lower elevations for ski-jumping and sliding sports, rain and thaw temperatures are a concern.
WhatÕs for dinner?
Russian cooking is hard on the waistline but good for the taste buds. Even low-calorie soups such as beet-based borscht boost their count when a typical dollop of sour cream is added. Pelmeni, dumplings filled with minced meat or vegetables, meet almost everyoneÕs taste. Entrees often come alone, so potatoes and other vegetables must be ordered separately. Russia has a wine industry of sorts, but refined palates may find it disappointing. Vodka, both RussiaÕs treasure and its curse, is often ordered by the gram, with 100 grams the standard to get the night started.
Sochi is a good place to sample the food of nearby Georgia, including the renowned cheese-filled hot bread called khachapuri and tsatsivi, chicken in walnut sauce, and the plum-based soup kharcho.
What is there besides sports?
Downtown Sochi and Adler have long, appealing seaside promenades, complete with tacky souvenir stands, lively bars and restaurants. Sochi has a nice passenger harbor, whose spired terminal is one of the cityÕs standout buildings, and an art museum.
The most idiosyncratic attraction is SochiÕs extensive mountainside botanical garden, the Dendrarium.
Sochi has long been a choice destination for RussiaÕs political elite. Joseph StalinÕs summer residence in Zeleni Mys even features a wax mannequin of himself at his desk.
A dip in the Black Sea is memorable. There are concerns about pollution around Dagomys north of downtown Sochi. The Gornaya Karusel ski area expects to have some slopes open to the public.
A classic Russian way to while away an afternoon is a trip to the banya, like a sauna but somewhat steamier. A proper trip involves several hours of repeatedly heating up and cooling down, along with snacking and drinks.
Tourist agencies offer other excursions. These include day trips to the separatist Georgian region of Abkhazia, but visitors need a double-entry Russian visa to get back into Sochi. Travel to the rest of Georgia is forbidden to those entering Abkhazia from the Russian side.
What about the rest of Russia?
A trip to Sochi can be a jumping-off point for other parts of Russia, notably Moscow and St Petersburg. The train isnÕt a good option; the fast Sochi-Moscow train takes 24 hours. St Petersburg is a half-day beyond. February is the harshest winter month in both cities.
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