Well I have finally arrived in Sochi and can't begin to tell you how excited I am!
With all the recent talk of terroristic threats from "black widows" and Cicassian Nationalists; the many postings and reports of half-built hotel rooms with "dangerous water" and bizarre toilet arrangements; and the general angst of contemplating being away for so long with so much going on in my life, I have to admit, I had not quite gotten into the Olympic spirit.
Well all of that changed as soon as I boarded Aeroflot 1782 bound from Moscow to Sochi. I immediately ran into Canadian curling friends and US Snow and Skiboard peeps, and saw the flags of so many nations bound for the the same destination as me....that subtropical piece of land between the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains that is hosting the XXII Winter Olympics: Sochi.
The flight to Sochi was relatively uneventful though a man did walk by me that had the odor of .... I don't know what... but whatever it was, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
After recovering from my near odor-induced dry heave, I asked the stewardess why "Miracle" wasn't one of the in-flight movie options. She didn't find the humor in the query that I did.
My seatmate was a Japanese reporter, and we were both pretty awed by the power of the snow-capped mountains and the beauty of the pristine sea as we made our decent over the Caucasuses.....we were both snapping photographs like crazy, looking forward to what we would find on the ground.
Upon arrival in Sochi, things were immediately chaotic. Eight trillion people at the small overwhelmed airport, but I made my way through, got my credential authenticated, collected my luggage, and, after some brief confusion with the very confused Russian transportation staff, found myself in a shuttle bus with one of the curling umpires from Minnesota, and, my good friend Dieter "Didi" Kolb, the World Curling Federation Representative from Germany.
We made our way to our hotel which is inside the Olympic Park. As such, we had to get off the bus with all of our luggage to pass through the "Ring of Steel," the security perimeter the Russians have set up around the Coastal Cluster, home to all of the ice events, the opening and closing ceremonies, and the Olympic Village. But it wasn't that big of a deal, basically just an airport type screening, so fifteen minutes later we found ourselves in the lobby of our hotel.
I think we were all a little anxious with what awaited us in terms of accommodation, but we were quickly relieved to see the Bogatyr Hotel. Its medieval castle architecture (down to faux marble carpeting I might add) may not be to everyone's liking, but, hey, it was not under construction like everything else here at the Olympic Park. And on top of that, we were immediately met by full costumed, traditional Russian singers and dancers and friendly staff offering champagne, caviar, and chilled vodka. My kinda place!
In turns out, apparently the guy who built (or is building) a lot of the Olympic Park stuff is a big curling fan. So us curlers have the best hotel, and the Ice Cube, the curling venue, is the only one with with a restaurant/bar adjacent to it. Haha.
I have already heard several people complain "how did the curlers get all of the good stuff." I love it.
After checking in to my fully functioning hotel room, I met Didi and Greg Stremlaw, the CEO of the Canadian Curling Association, for a walk around the Park. As I mentioned, it very much feels under construction, and I was laughing at guys racing to plant four foot tall evergreen trees...as if that's going to matter???
But what is really cool about the Olympic Park is that all of the venues are together: Hockey is next curling which is next to speed skating which is next to figure skating etc....all arranged around a central oval. The oval itself is where the flame will be lit tonight and contains lots of outdoor seating and mingling space. I imagine it will be a pretty happening scene once everything gets going.
We ended up meeting up with lots of other curling folks and had a wonderful meal in the aforementioned "curling restaurant" which I think will be a frequent spot over the next couple of weeks.
So I have arrived. Day 1 is complete. I don't know if there are any black widows around, but I do know this:
There is a southern curler in town.
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