russia: adler and sochi

Going on a beach holiday in Russia wasn't high on my list of things to do in this country. That being said, Sochi was on two city lists that interest me: it is an Olympic city, as well as being one of the host cities for the World Cup in 2018. One of my very first goals in traveling Russia was to visit all of the World Cup host cities.

The airport called Sochi is actually located in Adler. As I discovered during this trip, nearly everything was actually located in Adler, or outside of Sochi. The flight from Moscow was a little under four hours, and getting to my accomodation only took 30 minutes thanks to a convenient local bus.

I'm somewhat embarassed to admit that I did not drop off my bag and immediately walk back out to start exploring a bit. Instead I stayed in my bed for a few hours, only leaving again during sunset. The humidity was a lot higher in Adler than in Moscow, as were the temperatures, and I felt it all immediately. I grew up in the Midwest, with plenty of heat and humidity, but I haven't lived in it in a while, and it always hits me hard when I'm traveling.

The next morning I took my sweet time getting moving, but I can say I was slightly productive during the morning hours. 

I spent time looking up the history of the area, as well as what I could see or do other than laying out on a beach. (Laying on the beach was the focus of this trip, but not the only thing to do.)

There has been population in this part of the world for a long time, going back to even before the Roman Empire. Wikipedia is full of names of kingdoms that ruled this place that no longer exist, but a general list would include the Romans, the Abkhazians, the Ottomans, the Georgians, and more.

Russia took charge around 1830, and stayed in charge for the most part. Since the region is almost 1700 kilometers from Moscow, it doesn't completely feel like Russia. Adler and Sochi are resort towns, I didn't feel a lot of traditional Russian culture while I was there. Part of this is because Russians make up 70% of the residents, and Armenians make up much of the rest. The Armenians come from enclaves in Turkey and Georgia. The other small minorities are Georgians and Ukrainians. The architecture is nearly all boring Soviet, there is very little of interest in that regard. 

While I was in the area, I took each day pretty easy. For the most part, I went to the beach for at least a few hours each day, while also seeing something else in Adler, or Sochi itself.

I found Lenin in Adler, he was quite small and painted silver. Definitely not like the other Lenins I've seen around the country, and as he was just off a street, with no platz in front, the statue didn't feel as important as in other places I've seen. Figuring out how to take a picture with the man wasn't easy, as I didn't want to get run over by a car, nor did I want my phone run over by a car. 

I found Lenin in Sochi too, but in Sochi he was unique. In Sochi, Lenin is not a statue. He is part of a big mosaic with red tiles. It's really eye catching, and feels more like art instead of politics. I don't know if that makes any sense.

It was in Sochi that I was able to take a boat tour of the coastal waters. It felt really good to be out on the water, with the wind in my face, looking back at the coast. I think there was some information from the boat captain, but since it was in Russian I didn't pay any attention, nor did I care. I was just in it to see the coast from out on the water.

When I took the boat tour I was surprised at the cost, because it was only 500 rubles for 90 minutes or so, which is a great price. I was originally expecting a much higher price. I assume you could probably rent a boat for the full day for a completely reasonable price.

In one of the smaller neighbourhoods of Sochi I found a bust of Yuri Gagarin. Though the man is a Soviet hero (for good reason,) I was surprised to find him. I don't know of any connection between Gagarin and the Black Sea area. (Nor have I done any research.)

One morning I took a bus from Adler, heading north to a spot in between Adler and Sochi. Stalin had a dacha built for himself there, visitors can tour the place every day. Getting from the bus stop to the dacha involved an hour long hike up roads that wind up a mountain, mostly in the sun. That part wasn't so much fun, but I was excited to see something of Stalin's, as there isn't much left in Russia.

As usual, the only tour option was in Russian, so I didn't understand most of the information. That being said, it wasn't hard to figure out what each room was, and the dates or style of architecture didn't mean much to me. 

Stalin wasn't a tall man, he was quite a bit shorter than most world leaders. His dacha was built with his height in mind, complete with shorter steps on the staircases.

His pool had mosaic decorations all around, his balconies were wide and spacious, his billard room had plenty of space, and more. It was quite fun to see how each room was arranged, and I have to admit I liked the place. That's probably because most of it was decorated with wood, not gold or other flashy stuff. It's a big building, but in the way the rich do, I bet Stalin referred to it as his 'cottage.'

One day in Sochi I visited the sports museum. The lady wanted to charge me the foreigner entry fee, even after I showed her that I live and work in Russia. She definitely had an attitude, but let me pay the local fee after I started to leave. I live in Russia, therefore I pay into the tax system that subsidizes museums in the country. That means I should be paying the local fee, not the foreigner fee; I hate being looked at as a human ATM. Just because I'm a foreigner doesn't mean I have a lot of money. Sigh.

Random note: the train stations of Adler and Sochi are very very different. 

The station in Adler is much bigger, and much newer. Think glass and wide open atrium like atmosphere. The station in Sochi is much closer to a traditional grand station with columns in front. You have a fantastic view if you're at the Adler train station for sunset.

My beach time was all at the beaches of Adler. All the beaches I saw were made of small stones, and none were very big. They were all quite busy, none of them were peaceful. I have no idea why someone would make this area a traditional beach vacation for their family. Of course, it's not as if Russia has a lot of options for a beach vacation.

The entire time I was in Adler and Sochi the weather was sunny and hot. The day I left it was rainy and cloudy, which seemed perfect. Would I come back to Sochi? I didn't see the mountain areas where the Olympic games took place, and I'm sure there are other hiking options in the area. There are also a couple small towns I'd like to come back to see.