Tweet: Spirograph

Dizzy yet?

Try climbing it!

Hostel Hunting: Rest of Russia

Sochi

Super Stefan Spies subjects know what happened in Sochi with the broom-wielding Russky behind the unwelcome mat. Stefan Spies slackers can get up to date here.

Krasnodar

Off the train I had only a vague idea of how to get to my hostel for in the excitement of winning Olympic hockey gold I'd forgotten to sort it out properly. Anyhow my half bus instructions seemed to bring me near where I wanted to be but I couldn't find the actual address. I asked a passerby who indicated the entire massive building complex with thirty storefronts beside us then carried on. On the corner were vagrants and throwing caution to the wind I asked the group. One lady pointed down a sketchy back alley and I followed her finger. If the alley was sketchy the back courtyard wasn't even an outline. Still not sure where to go I figured a sign above the well graffiti tagged darkened entrance to a hallway might say 'hostel'. 

I took it then dared myself to go up the unlit stairwell covered in paint. Two floors up the same letters adorned a door and I tried it. Inside was a large open floor covered in dust and scattered furniture. Two people who may have been painting or autopsying bodies pointed me around back. Proceeding with caution I saw a room that seemed promising and I went right in. The guy in this "Art" gallery didn't speak English but lead me one more hallway and turned me over to the hostel.

Guardian: Sergey, Krasnodar

Ardent Stefan Spies may recall the chance encounter in a Russian treasure trove that began this guardianship. On a whim Sergey reached out to me in English and I was more than happy to pass some time with an open-minded young Russian in Moscow. Upon arrival in his home town a couple weeks later post Olympics he graciously showed me the inside track of his city, Krasnodar, from which I never would have extracted nearly as much. For example he told me of the road/fool quote and brought me by an amazing abandoned water park, as well as a large collection of soviet armoured vehicles to scramble over. It's priceless and immensely more rewarding to have a local to suggest a honey ginger tea or explain a bronze statue of a handsome canine couple dressed for a night out.

Sergey, a sincere thank you.