After leaving Yerevan, we drove east to visit two famous sights in Armenia: Garni and Geghard. Garni is actually a temple, Geghard of course a monastery again. The road took us higher into the mountains and when we had left the foggy city behind, suddenly we saw it: the famous Armenian mountain which actually lies …
Like in Tbilisi, we wanted to go on a Free Walking Tour to explore the town. This time we were the only ones on a grey weekday. For sure Yerevan would make a different impression on a sunny summer day, but we enjoyed our walk nonetheless. The centre of town is the Republic Square, with …
As the weather was grey and misty, with no view at all, we were looking for other entertainment, for example a stop at a huge bakery/restaurant. But we also came past the Armenian alphabet, a cross to commemorate the long history of Christianity in this country, and finally an astronomic research station. Oh yes, and …
We went to explore the town of Gyumri, in our memories as the town where the earthquake hit the most in 1988. 80% of the buildings were destroyed, but of course it was more than 30 years ago and the town was rebuilt and life was that of a small town again. Afterwards we found …
Another beautiful day started with exploring the monastery ruins of Kobayr, before we drove along the river Dzoraget to Stepanavan. The first part of the road was another off-road adventure, we had not asked for, but the road was just like that. We came past another monastery ruin before we reached Stepanavan and the castle …
The sun was shining and we were exploring famous Armenian monasteries, starting with Haghpat and Sanahin, both UNESCO World Heritage. Later we visited Odzun, before we endend the day above the ruins of Horomajr. Each of them was fascinating in its own way. The Haghpat Monastery, built in 977, had us standing there in awe. …
It was a grey day, when we crossed the border to Armenia, but it was easy to get all the formalities done, including getting an insurance for the car and a SIM card for internet connection at one of the shops just behind the border. Concerning Covid a vaccination was sufficient, otherwise a PCR test …
We had decided that we want to go east this autumn, starting from Vienna at the 2nd of September 2021. There are some fascinating countries to explore around the Black Sea and in the Caucasus. A new region with different languages and cultures for us. Our first plan was, to cross through Hungary and Romania …
Planning the Caucasus expedition (updated 22.09.2021) Read More »
