“Why not go to Sochi in Spring?”

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April 18-23, 2009


I will try to remember why I decided to go to Sochi in spring. I am sure that I first saw an advertisement of trips to Abkhazia, which were quite cheap. So I made a mental note for myself about that region, and somewhere in February or March decided to go, not to Abkhazia, but to Sochi (Adler, the Black Sea). My first trip to Abkhazia (2 days on my own and a whole day on excursion) will be described later. At that time I was living in St. Petersburg and for the first time bought train tickets using my first Visa Classic; it was such joy. In March, however, I and my friend left St. Petersburg for the hometown.


I was looking forward to the trip to Adler. I thought it would be excellent to spend a few days on the sea under warm sun. Having looked back through my photos of that trip, I realize how great and overwhelming it was - actually I didn’t have any spare time, I was walking during all day from early morning until evening. It’ll be quite a task to remember everything.


I booked a hotel in advance. Prices are much lower during the off season. Sochi offers a large number of hotels and guest houses for any taste and budget. I spent all five days in the Déjà Vu Guest House and liked everything in it.


Day 1


Day 1 was not as full of events as the other four days because I’ve only descended from the train and was taken to the hotel by the owner’s car (it is called transfer, if I’m not mistaken). I felt warm from the very first moment, though it was cloudy. My first intent was to walk in the vicinity. First of all, I went to look at the sea. It’s very close to the hotel, a hundred meters perhaps. The sky was overcast and the sea was heaving.


I walked to the train station and then back. It was so pleasant to walk with the air warm and the plants green. My next intent was to go up a bit to see the city’s panorama. It is not very high but splendid. First you go on Medovaya Street, if I’m not mistaken (actually I first went on the wrong street, you know, I can get lost sometimes), and then there’s a path leading to the forest. You see high green hills and three tall buildings of the Adlerkurort Complex. Hills are mostly occupied with big detached houses for living, some of them are hotels. I didn’t go to far away, because I also wanted to see the sunset at the sea.


It’s no use describing the sunset at the sea in words. You just sit on the shore and relax, enjoying the beating of waves and the majestic colours of the water, the sky, and the sun.


Day 2


As you see, the stories are pretty short. I had no idea at that time that I’d be writing the blog, so now I turn to the past experience. My mornings and evenings were all the same - I got up, had a bite, then went to the seashore for a while, and watched sunset in the evening.


That day I decided to walk in the Adler centre and then go to see the mountains to Krasnaya Poliana. I walked with the map and managed to see some nice buildings (hotels and a church). Then I came to a mountain river called Mzymta. That’s when some trouble began. I went on a wrong street… Then I again walked on the wrong street. It took me a whole hour to get back to the centre of Adler, and precious time had been already lost. I was standing near a bus stop for a while, and then asked several people, “How can I get to Krasnaya Poliana”. My behaviour was quite strange on that day. Anyway, I got into the bus; then it turned out that I saw no mountains when the bus reached Krasnaya Poliana. I was puzzled. One has to know that Krasnaya Poliana is not the final destination to get to the mountains, but Alpika-Service is. I got off the bus in an unknown place, from where I saw several snowy peaks… How stupid I was! I walked not in the way of Alpika-Service, but AWAY from it. Then another bus came, and I finally reached Alpika-Service (it’s the company possessing the mountain lift). It was already past 4 o’clock, and the mountain lift was working only at the first and the second stages, so I didn’t manage to get to the view point at 2200 meters or something. But I did have a drive on the mountain lift and enjoyed a bit of the panorama. The conclusion is that it’s always best to find some information in advance about the place you’re going to visit.


As usual, in the evening I went to look at the sunset by the sea. It’s one of the greatest joys for me.


Day 3


On this day I had a walk in Sochi and visited the Riviera Park and in the evening walked in Kudepsta (one of the city’s areas). I will not try and remember the route, but merely upload some of the best photos from that rather an extensive walk. You see, it’s warm but not so warm as to spend the whole day swimming in the sea or sunbathing, but it’s perfect for sightseeing. I saw the Winter Theater, walked along the embankment, saw the Marine passenger terminal, a church, and several museum buildings; there are also many funny statues made of copper or bronze representing various characters from the Russian folk tales and some others. Actually now I realize how much I managed to see in Sochi in such a short period of time.


Now here’s a thing. I had little money, so I phoned my family and asked to send me some money. So, I was to get the bank transfer that day, and the walk was to be finished soon.


I proceeded along the magnificent plane tree alley to the Riviera Park. I’ve been to the Riviera Park in 2004 when, as a student, I was sent for some achievements with a group of students to rest on the sea. Generally, that big part of the city was a bit familiar to me and I didn’t get lost; can one get lost with a map? One surely can, sometimes…


The Riviera Park is one of the city’s major attractions both for children and grown ups. I got to the big wheel there; I always get to the big wheel if there’s any. See the photo of a small fairy girl? That’s perhaps my favourite photo ever. I just smile when looking at it. The big wheel offers a good panorama over the city.


From the Riviera Park I went to Adler to get my bank transfer. So, I got the money for further amusements.


I was free at 5 o’clock, and there was plenty of time for walking, so I decided to take a short walk in Kudepsta. It has no tourist attractions, but I just wanted to see it.


Day 4


That day I walked as much as I could. First of all, I walked in another city area, Khosta; there are no tourist attractions, but I was just interested to see it. Then I got lost and didn’t know where to go. It was after I went to the sea shore. There were no bus stops or major streets in the vicinity. I found a path and it led me to the bus stop, from which I got to the Kurortny Avenue and visited the arboretum. The arboretum is definitely worth visiting, it has many species of plants and trees from all over the world in the Upper part, and some animals in the Lower part. Here, again, I will let photos speak for themselves.


After the arboretum I had an exhausting walk in the centre of the city, until my legs really hurt. I tried not to go to the same places I saw the day before. You’ll not see most of those photos since they don’t present so much interest.


By the way, when walking in some park near the sea, I saw a woman selling trips and excursions to various attractions in the city and in its roundabouts. I bought an excursion to the 33 Waterfalls (see Day 5). I returned home after walking along the Sochi River embankment and took a bus near the Riviera Park.


Day 5


The excursion to 33 Waterfalls was to take the whole day. We took off late, though, because there were some minor troubles with transportation (it was off season, so companies tried to join their tourists into one group).


The road outside the city was rather picturesque. The first stop was the Aqualoo Water Park, where two of us were to spend the day, and the next stop - tasting honey, various sorts of it. One can taste a little and buy it if he/she likes. Finally, we reached the stop where out bus was to be exchanged for a GAZ (we drove in it along the bed of the mountain river, and that WAS something, one could really fall out of the car in some places; it’s been pure pleasure). There was also a stop at a café where we ordered food for us (shashlyks and fish etc) to eat after the return from 33 Waterfalls. Before leaving for the waterfalls, we tasted various sorts of wine and I felt a bit giddy. They say wine is good for your health. That depends, of course.


The 33 Waterfalls were in a mess. There was a storm and many trees fell into the water and the stairs on the right side were destroyed. The waterfalls are mostly small and not wide. There is no Niagara Fall for you. Some people grumbled, they seemed to dislike the waterfalls. My own impressions were absolutely positive, and I returned home in a lively state of mind.


Sochi is a major Russian health resort, and its roundabouts are full with various natural wonders and attractions. I guess everyone will find something for their own taste there. There is the sea and the Caucasian Mountains; there are parks, mountain rivers, medical institutions and what not. There is a ski resort in Krasnaya Poliana (the 2014 Olympic Games will take place there); you can visit it in winter.

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Photos

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a museum or something