Armenia: Scenes from the Road

Scenes to or from Armenia:

Mt. Ararat from Armenia

Armenia between Yerevan and Tbilisi

These views reminded me of White Sands, New Mexico. 

Armenia between Yerevan and Tbilisi

Last stop for Armenian bread!

Our marshrutka rest stop in Armenia

Mount Ararat from Armenia

Armenia road near Lake Sevan

Armenia road near Lake Sevan

Armenia: Yerevan and Thereabouts

Yerevan, Armenia

Kathy and I spent a day walking about Yerevan. It was chilly, but sunny for the most part.

Cascade detail, Yerevan, Armenia

 In comparing Yerevan with Tbilisi:

• Tbilisi is prettier than Yerevan. 
• Where Tbilisi can feel a little closed-in, Yerevan feels open and airy. 
• Tbilisi is hilly. Yerevan is flat. 
• Yerevan: Good customer service. Tbilisi: Very uneven. 
• Tbilisi pavements: Treacherous. Yerevan pavements: Generally in good condition. 
• Tbilisi dogs: Can be a problem, but mostly stay out of your way. Yerevan dogs: Packs seem more prevalent, and I saw some canine-to-human confrontations. 
• Both cities have lots of statues. Tbilisi's tend toward the classical; Yerevan's sculptural art is more diverse.
• Lovely parks and pedestrian walkways in Tbilisi. Yerevan's parks are a little scrubby. 
• Vehicle traffic pays more respect to pedestrians in Yerevan than Tbilisi. 
• More international variety in Yerevan's cafe scene than Tbilisi's. 

 Kathy and I had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We liked the cool floor. 

We stopped in the Chocolateria near the Cascade:

Yerevan, Armenia. Chocolate.

Yerevan, Armenia. Chocolate. In the raw.

We worked our way up the Cascade, stopping every once in awhile to take in the changing perspectives as we climbed higher.

Yerevan, Armenia. The Cascade.

Yerevan, Armenia. The Cascade.

Yerevan, Armenia. The Cascade.

This was our room at the Center Hostel:

Center Hostel, Yerevan, Armenia

Center Hostel is in a good location, close to Republic Square. I'm not crazy about its being on the 4th floor, but Suzanne, the hostess, provides a heart to the hostel that makes guests feel they are at home. There's an eat-in kitchen, a cozy living room, free wifi, sunny rooms, and two good bathrooms with hot showers.

I liked what I saw of Envoy Hostel also, with its commodious community room that is on a separate floor from the sleeping rooms, the modern kitchen, friendly and professional staff, and good location. If I were to ding the Envoy at all, it'd be that the sleeping rooms are a little rabbit-warrenish. For example, in one area, there are three small, linked rooms that require inter-room traffic to get in and out. On the other hand, I loved that each bunk had its own tiny set of shelves. Each bunk room also had generous-sized lockers.

Envoy Hostel community room, Yerevan, Armenia

The Envoy Hostel has nailed customer service beautifully. It offers a daily, 2.5 hour walking tour of Yerevan - and anyone can come, regardless of where you're spending the night. Gevorg, one of the Envoy's staff members, was on our marshrutka from Tbilisi to Yerevan. He facilitated our way through customs and helped us get a taxi to the Center Hostel, letting us know what to pay and ensuring the taxi driver knew our destination.

The Envoy Hostel is opening a branch in Tbilisi. I imagine it will set a new standard for hostels in Georgia in regard to customer service and comfort. I also like that it will have a walking tour of Tbilisi, plus offer one-day tours within Georgia as it does in Armenia.    

Armenia: The Tour

Garni Temple, Armenia

Spoiler alert: Armenian churches are pretty much like Georgian churches. Which is to say that if you've seen one Georgian church, you've seen all Georgian (and Armenian) churches.


Kathy and I took the Envoy Hostel's Essential Tour, which has a focus on churches and monasteries. (Any tour in the Caucasus is going to include churches, monasteries, or perhaps in the case of Azerbaijan, mosques.)

In our little marshrutka-tour group were two Russians, a gregarious Irishman and his pre-school daughter, four women who work in Dubai but who are from the U.S., Canada, Malaysia, and Hong Kong; three Americans who are TLG teachers in Georgia, an American who works for the BBC in the Caucasus, the tour guide, the driver, and a tour guide trainee.

First stop: Lake Sevan and the Sevanavank Monastery. It was bitterly, brutally cold as we walked up the thousands of cold, gray, icy steps. Our cheeks burned from the freezing wind.

Sevanavank Monastery, Lake Sevan, Armenia

Under normal circumstances, I'd have waited patiently for my fellow tourists to be outside of the photo frame to capture the postcard beauty of the monastery, the lake, and the snowy surroundings, but one can only do so much for one's art. It was so cold ... what was that English idiom I meant to teach my police class? ... as cold as a witch's tit in a brass bra.

The two women in the pretty, white coats were in Armenia from Dubai (which, right now in this very moment, is enjoying the most perfect balmy weather), but they came to Armenia to see the snow and, I guess, to experience the novelty of shivering.

Lake Sevan, Armenia

Sevanavank Monastery, Lake Sevan, Armenia

Armenians (and Georgians) like to joke that the one thing Armenia has plenty of is stone.

2nd stop: Another church. Made of stone.

3rd stop: Noratus Cemetery in a large village (~ 9000 people). I'd have loved to have spent more time here, but the cold and snow made wandering around not so enticing. The cemetery is famous for the stories the tombstones tell about the lives or deaths of those buried here. The cemetery dates back to the 9th century.

 

Khachkars (stone crosses) at Noratus Cemetery, Armenia

Death story at Noratus Cemetery, Armenia

Khachkars (stone crosses) at Noratus Cemetery, Armenia

4th stop: Bathroom stop and lunch.

Garni Temple, Armenia

5th stop: Garni Temple. A sweet gem. Built on the edge of a scenic river gorge.

View of river gorge from Garni Temple, Armenia

A visual palate cleanser from the typical Caucasian spiritual architecture, Garni Temple is allegedly the only pagan temple allowed to remain standing from prior holy wars against ungodly structures.

Garni Temple, Armenia

Garni Temple, Armenia

Garni Temple, Armenia

From Garni Temple, we marshrutka'd to the last tour stop, Geghard Monastery, which has an Indiana Jones vibe in the interiors.

Geghard Monastery, Armenia

Geghard Monastery, Armenia

Geghard Monastery, Armenia

Two priests prayed:

Can you smell the frankincense?

Geghard Monastery, Armenia

Armenia: The Four Things You Must Try

Dinner at Afrikyanneri Pankok restaurant in Yerevan

Before I went to Armenia, I was told by Georgians there were four things I must try:

1. Tolma
2. Cognac
3. Sujuk or basturma - types of sausage, with the latter being quite peppery
4. Go to Lake Sevan

None of these Georgians had actually been in Armenia, mind you, but they had their recommendations nonetheless.

On our first day in Armenia, Kathy and I were able to tick three things off the list:

Yerevan is filled with basement restaurants and clubs. By chance, we selected the Afrikyanneri Pandok restaurant, which has been in business since 1829 or so.  At least according to a sign.

Dinner at Afrikyanneri Pankok restaurant in Yerevan

The interior was castle-ish and intimate. An oxymoron, I know.

There were musicians.

Dinner at Afrikyanneri Pankok restaurant in Yerevan

A variety of bread was served. I thought it was just so-so, though it looked delicious.

The tolma tasted good, though I find the Georgian version, whether wrapped in grape or cabbage leaves, to be just as fine.

Kathy deemed the hummus the best she'd ever had. 

Dinner at Afrikyanneri Pankok restaurant in Yerevan

The salad Kathy ordered had a delicious yogurt-and-cheese dressing that I thought was the best part of the entire meal. But we both loved the fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and parlsey. Winter in Georgia makes one long for such garden-brightness. Locavority be damned sometimes.

Kathy and I finished our dinner with two different kinds of cognac: Ararat and Ani. Not being a connoisseur, my humble opinion is that they tasted like a very smooth tcha-tcha, with a pleasing amber color. For my money, I'd just go with a good tcha-tcha. 

After dinner, we walked back to Center Hostel, noting that Yerevan's pavement was not as treacherous as that in Georgia.

We stopped at a corner market.

Corner market in Yerevan

I bought a sujuk, which the proprietor sliced for me.

Sujuk from Armenia

I also bought a smallish bag of tiny spiced crackers and two of what Kathy and I thought were dried fruit - maybe peaches or oranges.

Herb in corner market, Yerevan

We climbed the four floors to our hostel and chatted awhile with the warm hostess, Suzanne. Kathy speaks some German and so does Suzanne, so they were able to communicate fairly effectively, Kathy keeping me apprised of the conversation. I shared some of the Gori wine I'd brought with me (which Mariami had given to me on that glorious, rainy day where we picnicked in a Fiat), and we cut into the dried fruit.

Which turned out to be a peach packed with sugar and chopped walnuts. To me, it was like eating a tablespoon of sugar (not a tasty experience), but Kathy, who loves sweets, liked it.  I'm still not sure how all of this sugar/walnuts got into the peach, but I think it involved boiling the peach for a long time, and then .... I dunno.


Presently our tasty day was complete.  We got into our respective bunk beds, under the most soothing-swaddling of duvets and the simple pleasure of not having to wear socks to bed! What freedom!

Armenia: Flexibility in the Caucasus

Back in January, Jennifer, Sandy, and I settled on this past weekend to go to Armenia. This is because Jennifer had returned from her winter vacation to a whopping high electric bill in Dmanisi and had to stick close to home for awhile to save money.

.... ohhhh, wait. That was the trip to Kutaisi that we scheduled for the last weekend of February because of the above situation. But then Jennifer fell on the ice and messed up her knee so she had to cancel, and Sandy and I went without her.

So, anyway, back to Armenia.

When I learned that International Women's Day was a really big deal in these here parts - a day off from school! - I called Sandy and Jennifer with the idea of going to Armenia.

(By the way, IWD around here seems to be a day that women receive flowers and gifts from the men in their lives. Women without men in their lives feel a little sad on this day. There's something so not about womanly empowerment in this concept.)

"Yes!" said Jennifer.

"Yes!" said Sandy.

We weighed the pros and cons of getting to Yerevan, Armenia, via train, marshrutka, or shared taxi. We looked at the hostel choices. We moved our schedules around to free up Friday so we could have a full, four-day weekend. Oh, it was going to be grand!

Jennifer called a few days before the trip. Her knee had not healed; she was in a lot of pain; she had to cancel. Sandy and I were disappointed that Jennifer couldn't come, but we were still on. We booked the hostel for three nights. We reserved our places on an all-day tour to Lake Sevan and other Armenian highlights.

Sandy felt a little bummed because she had caught a cold, but she was confident it'd clear up by the time we left on Thursday morning. [Yes, this is more foreshadowing.]

On Wednesday evening, another colleague, Kathy, called and asked if it was too late to join us. No, that'd be great! We are flexible here in the Caucasus!

I reserved an additional spot on the Saturday tour. I contacted the hostel and asked for a room change to accommodate three people instead of two.

Thursday morning! Finally here! Up early and ..... beep beep beep! my phone text signaled.

Poor Sandy. She'd taken a major turn for the worse and had to cancel.

Flexibility was feeling a bit tiresome at this point, but I sent an email to un-reserve the third spot on that Saturday tour. I emailed the hostel to please make the switch back to a private, two-bed room instead of the larger space. 

Sandy and I had earlier settled on taking the marshrutka down to Yerevan, and Kathy and I stuck with that plan. We met at the Ortachala Bus Station, intending to take the 9:00 marshrutka to Yerevan (for 30 lari or $18), but we got there just as that marshrutka pulled out (before 9:00 a.m.). It was full. So we got into the 10:00 marshrutka and waited around for it to either get filled or the clock to reach 10:00 a.m., whichever came first.

We were lucky in several respects. 

• We had several empty seats at 10:00 a.m., so things felt roomy rather than cramped. 
• There was another TLGer and a Peace Corps volunteer on board, doubling the potential for interesting conversation.
• A manager of the Envoy Hostel in Yerevan was also on board, returning from a visit to the soon-to-open Envoy Hostel in Tbilisi. He spoke excellent English. 

Let the adventure begin!