Sochi, Russia - February 21 - 25, 2017

Sochi, Russia

After only a couple hour flight we arrived in Sochi and were quickly brought to our hotel - The Radisson Blu Resort and Congress Centre near the Olympic stadiums. It is a beautiful hotel - we stayed where the General was staying for the CISM event - what a fantastic opportunity to be able to go to Sochi for Craig's work! He was there to ensure the General was taken care of and act as translator for her when needed (mostly with the driver - Andrei). She's a board member of CISM  http://www.milsport.one
CISM is the International Military Sports Council (not sure what the acronym stands for exactly as it doesn't fit with the explanation). They organize over 20 Military World Championships annually for the armed forces. Their motto is "friendship through sport". This event - the 3rd CISM World Winter Games, involved over 20 countries and nearly 500 athletes. Unfortunately, there were no Canadians participating in these games for us to cheer on.

Our room - very spacious, modern and clean with Black Sea views (from back of hotel) or mountain views if you're in the front.

Our meat platter and grilled veggie "lunch" (at 3 pm) in the hotel - yum

Olympic stadiums about a 10 minute walk from the hotel - SO many fences in this area - you couldn't easily get to the Black Sea due to all the fences and around the stadiums the fences are a bit crazy - when driving you have to go way out of the way to get to certain buildings. There's a F1 race track in among these stadiums - I guess that doesn't help in regards to all the fences needed. We were thinking of you Maggie and Alan as we watched a few amateurs race around the track. This whole area was rather deserted - I think we were there before most of the participants in this event and so it was quite quiet. Once everyone arrived it was a different story.

Walking along the Black Sea the day we arrived

The flags for the CISM event out front of our hotel - the signage produced for this event was impressive! Huge signs and flags were everywhere including on buses and cars with the theme / logo painted on them.

The day after we arrived I arranged to meet my good US friend, Elisa on the ski hill (along with her husband, daughter and family that was visiting them). Craig had to stay back to be sure the General was being looked after. I took a 700 Ruble shuttle bus from the hotel - too easy (about an hour long) - and they met me in the parking lot. I rented my skis, bought my pass and we were off to conquer the Olympic slopes! (well, to be fair, I didn't ski any of the actual Olympic runs - way beyond my skiing abilities). We stuck mostly to the blue runs. There was tons of snow up there and I enjoyed the day to the fullest - AND, didn't fall once! I was so proud of myself since it had been about 5 years since I last skied. The mountain we were on was called Rosa Khutor and it was fantastic! Beautiful lifts, some cute little areas to eat and chill on the slopes and some pretty long runs where I definitely "felt the burn" in my thighs!

 It was a bit of a fight to get on the chair lifts/gondolas, but they were very modern and well designed. Some points were a bit of a choke-hold and if you weren't a bit aggressive you'd never get on. I've learned how to find my place here in Russia, so it wasn't an issue. Hopefully I don't go back to Canada rude and aggressive!

 Gorgeous!

This is some of my companions (minus Elisa) for the day - notice that edge? To me, it was a cliff that if I went over it, I'd likely die. To others, it was a great opportunity to test their skills.

Tim & Elisa riding the gondola

Elisa and Tarin - they're holding on to each other because Tarin was sliding towards that ledge and didn't want to die! While we were standing here getting this shot, a guy dropped from the sky onto one of those red posts. He was doing some off-road snowboarding and went over the edge. He sat there for quite a while, but said he was alright.

 

Although it wasn't as clear up there as I would have liked (for the fantastic views), this shot wasn't too bad to show the beauty of the area.

A cool place to chill out, have a drink or shashlik (shish kebab basically)

Elisa & I riding the chair lift

It was quite mild - I wasn't cold AT all - which is unusual for me. At the base it was probably +3 and at the top, maybe -8. It was also a bit of a blizzard at the top - that was interesting skiing in those conditions!

I liked this heart-shaped little lake part way up the mountain

View down from on the chairlift

In the village where the Rosa Khutor ski hill is

Our VIP passes for the games, which allowed us special access and VIP lounges with food/drink (non-alcoholic). Pictures are off our passports - thus the no-smiles.

lol... butt shot of the Russian speed skating team. We were too far away to get over there in time!

This is Laura Mountain - we went up with the General (they provided cars & drivers for all involved) to see some of the skiing preliminary events, but there wasn't much to see up there except the wonderful views.

Mascots practicing

Mascots, entertainers and announcers practicing up at Laura Mountain

Inside one of the Olympic stadiums for speed-skating practices

 We won! An Olympic podium in the Rosa Khutor ski area where we had lunch with the General

 Craig in a bobsled from the 2014 Olympics

That's how Rosa Khutor (pronounced more like hoot-or) is spelled in Russian

 Entering the Olympic stadium to see some events

 The Olympic flame - not still burning - too bad

The big rock-climbing wall

 She is actually upside-down!

 Another upside-down

 Strong & flexible

 From the VIP lounge - this was a nice blanket provided for us

 China (front 2), Russia (middle 2) and Korea

 It was amazing how fast they could get going!

 Beautiful view of the sun hitting the mountains - this was the view from the front of our hotel

Opening Ceremonies
for the games was a great show with lots of dancers, singers, acrobats, etc.

 Of course, a military marching band also

 Chinese athletes walking in - it felt like the real Olympics to me

 France - I loved their uniforms - reminded me of a James Bond film

 And, of course, the Russian Federation

 Bringing in the official flag of the games - their legs are kicked up so high it looks like they all only have one leg

 The Russian Minister of Defence - General Sergei Shoigu

 Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev

 The English translation of part of Putin's speech read by General Shoigu

 Hanging dancers

 A random motorcycle and four-wheeler show

 two former Olympic Russian athletes carrying the torch into the opening of the games

 These dancers were my favorite - also love the costumes

 The General giving a speech at the VIP after party - all the food/drink you would want at 10 pm at night

 22 of the best Russian Olympians (apparently) - a portrait. We were given a small photo of this huge portrait on the wall

 The entertainment was really good at the party! The male Generals from the Board of Directors were really, really enjoying this show! We all were - I was dancing and clapping too. One military man - not sure from which country - was often dancing up there with the ladies.

 The MC's for the after party.

 The greeters

 

Although Craig was working on this trip, he was really able to enjoy himself (except didn't get skiing) and the General was a real pleasure to be around - very personable and so friendly - it was a fantastic trip. To top it all off, we were upgraded on the flight home to Business Class. Nice comfy seat!