Hey guys! I’m sorry i haven’t written anything in a while, but there is a little change in my life — after thirteen years living in the USA I’m back in Russia giving it a try :-) Unfortunately I’m not in Sochi, as it’s tough to find an IT job there. I’m in Saint-Petersburg. And I’m a lot closer to Sochi now, plan to visit it more often, and for sure will keep this blog going!

I did go to Sochi a month ago, and you can find some photos from my trip on my Flickr account. Unfortunately, I forgot my notes on what I wanted to blog about in NY. I’ll try to remember, though, at least about the Investment Forum and how it’s organization affected people there.

Couple of hours ago, though, there was a little scare here in Russia when news agencies reported SkyExpress flight from Sochi to Moscow was being seized by unknown person, and that he demands for the plane to turn to Vienna, Austria. However, the flight safely landed in Vnukovo airport in Moscow, and the person who tried to “seize” the plane was arrested. Turns out the person who started the whole thing is a 30+ yrs old man who was released from psychiatric hospital, where he spent last six years, several hours prior to boarding the plane. On the plane he passed a written note with his demands and a bomb threat to the pilot via flight attendant. It’s all over now, though.

Oh, btw, good news for those of you who are in Moscow right now, or plans to be there real soon — SkyExpress has a good deal on Moscow-Sochi flights right now. Check it out on their website »

Anyways, now back to the happy stuff :-) Below are some of the photos from my trip. You can see the rest of them here: photos of Sochi – 12 pages + 8 pages from my friend’s wedding in Sochi which includes many photos outside.

My sis on Krasnaya Polyana

Sochi - where Past meets present: Vladimir Iljich looking over new buildings

Area near airport in Adler's center

Sochi sea port

My friend's wedding

New Sochi – Novorossiysk sea route has been recently lunched for summer season. It will operate daily, except Mondays, between June 15th and August 31st. The hydrofoil (called Kometa, or Comet, in Russian ) trip lasts approximately 3 hours, and the ticket prices are: adult ticket is around $60 (1365 rubbles); kids older than 5yrs old – around $45 (1023 rubles), and kids under five with parents ride for free.

Here’s scheduler for Sochi/Novorossiysk route:

From Novorossiysk to Sochi, daily except Mondays:
Leaving: 9:00 (9:00am)
Arriving: 12:15 (12:15pm)

From Sochi to Novorossiysk, daily except Mondays:
Leaving: 18:00 (6:00pm)
Arriving: 21:15 (9:15pm)

Phone numbers in Novorossiysk port (probably only in Russian):

Ticketing in Novorossiysk Sea Port: (8617)-60-22-84
General Information: (8617)-60-23-24
Information in Novorossiysk Sea Port: (8617)-60-23-47

Btw, there are also daily buses going from Novorossiysk to Sochi, two leaving in the morning (7:50 & 10:50), and one at night (21:50). Information phone number: (8617)-64-42-79.

Russian page of Austrian Airlines lists special price for roundtrip direct flighs to Sochi — 13.655 RUB which is around 370€. This doesn’t include taxes and other fees, so you should check with Austrian on the details. The announced prices are valid through the end of July.

Here’s the link to announcement (in Russian).

A year ago, around the time International Olympic Committee’s visit to Sochi, several direct flights from Austria were launched to Sochi mostly to “impress” the IOC members. Now, when Sochi has become an official 2014 Olympic host city, Austrian Airlines launched regular direct flights from Vienna to Sochi.

The schedule Vienna-Sochi-Vienna: