It's so unusual to see the city calm down after having a party atmosphere for 2 straight weeks. Like almost everyone in Vancouver, I had gotten used to the non-stop Olympics coverage, especially on television. After the Olympics had ended I kind of didn't know what to do with my new found "free time" after work because I had gotten used to coming home and then watch or following the Olympics. For the first few days after the Olympics I kind of felt an "Olympics withdrawal" symptom.
This was the first time that I really gained an in-depth knowledge of the winter games because so many of the events were shown on primetime. Next time if I ever get a chance to buy tickets I will know which events to buy tickets for, Sochi 2014 anyone?
Anyways this post is about my visit on Feb. 24, 2010 to the Russia House (a.k.a. Sochi2014.ru WORLD Russky Dom), the pavilion that the Russians had set up in Science World. They spared no expense at transforming the entire Science World into their own pavilion.
This is the view of Russia House from the lineup. The line moved quite quickly, we only lined up for 15 minutes.
The entrance to the pavilion.
The official countdown clock to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
In addition to your usual (and useless) contracted security guy, they had two stern looking Russians dressed in all black trenchcoats backing up the local security guy.
They even transformed the Science World giftshop into a "Bosco Sport" shop. They are the official suppliers to the Russian team. In my opinion, their designs were really loud and gaudy...
The location of Sochi relative to the geography of the Russian Federation.
There was a variety of entertainment at the main stage, all sponsored by Russian companies and on the day that I went, it was "Megafon Day" and the entire interior was plastered with green Megafon ads.
Some nice displays of the Sochi landscapes on a lighted mural.
This was the thing that really impressed me the most, a scaled model of the developments for Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Unlike Vancouver, everything in Sochi will have to be built for the Olympics, this includes the entire Olympic venues, a railway linking the events in the city to the mountains and brand new skiing facilities.
Some more information about the Sochi region.
Traditional performances from the Sochi area.
Sponsor's exhibit.
Another shop upstairs for Bosco Sport.
Various hockey memorabilia from Soviet/Russian hockey greats loaned from the hockey hall of fame.
Inside Science World where they usually displayed their permanent exhibition, the Russian Team transformed it into a nightclub which a stage for nightly performances which were only accessible by VIPs only.
Inside this nightclub area, there was a large display by Russian Railways to showcase their new railway connecting Sochi to the skiiing venues.
Volkswagen is a major sponsor of the Russian team and they had replicas of the torches from Vancouver and Beijing. The best part about this one was that you didn't have to lineup to hold it!
My mom with the torches.
Volkswagen car with signatures/autographs from "important people".
They also had a corporate display by some Russian petroleum company. No one was interested in it though.
There was a station where you could paint traditional Russian wooden dolls.
The official logo of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Upon leaving the pavilion I stopped by the Bosco Sport shop. The merchandise was really overpriced!
The Russian team used Audis and Volkswagens compared to the GM cars used by the Vancouver Olympics officials because Volkswagen is the official sponsor of the Russian team. There were so many luxury Audi cars parked outside of Science World!
Afterwards we walked downtown to check out Korea House which was bascially one room inside the Hyatt Hotel. We saw a lot of people making their way to the Russia vs. Canada quarterfinals hockey game which Canada ultimately won.
While at the Korea House, we stumbled upon a press conference held for their medal winners. The three people were probably speed skaters.
Interesting Story: While I was at Russia House, I went to the information counter to inquire about tickets to see the "Hockey Hall of Fame" because there was a sign on the counter that said to get tickets there. After I inquired one of the people at the counter gave me a postcard with some sort of scribble at the back. After I asked what it was another person at the information counter told me that it was Russian hockey superstar Alexander Oveckin's autograph and they he gave it to them the day before! Needless to say they asked for it back and in return gave me a blank postcard. I was this close to getting an autograph from Alexander Oveckin!
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