South Caucasus – Yerevan Day 1

In the morning, I did not feel 100 %, my lower intestines seemed to have a party, this didn‘t feel good. I took a pair of magic pills – imodium and lyophilised yeast – to command order. I descended to have breakfast and selected the food in line with the rumble in the jungle (oatmeal, banana). However, the onset of the action of the medication took time. In the meantime, I was suffering in the bathroom. I had booked a walking tour through the centre and was more and more convinced I would not make it…the collywobbles did not stop and I had to make a decision….could I make it? And if no, what was the plan B? In the end I went to the meeting point not far away on the Republic Square in front of the National Museum. I met the guide and explained the challenge. No problem, there will be enough toilets on the way. Reassuring.

There was only one more couple from Rome in the group. The walk in the afternoon (I had considered to ask to move my reservation) would have 50 (!) people. Ok, better to suffer a bit. We started the tour crossing the Republic Square (ex ленин/Lenin Square). We passed some modern buildings until we went to a patio where same old façade of the past had survived modernisation.

Then we visited some other grewn patios with art studios with jewelery or ceramics. This was not the usual tourist tat, but artisenal stuff. The carved stone slabs are impressive, it takes many months to fabricate them. We passed the Vernissage, a large open-air market where in addition to carved wood and art works, traditional carpets, old collections of coins and medallions, books, jewellery, musical instruments, electronics and even pets are found in the market.

Then we had a stop at a bar for lunch, fresh bread with Muhammara and Baba Ganoush, Lahmacun and another dish. Apparently, this type of Meze is also very popular here, apparently, the root of the word ‚Baba Ganoush‘ is Armenian.

We passed the large concert hall with a statue of the famous composer Aram Khachaturian (Sabre Dance). And then we arrived at the Cascade: The Cascade is an architectural and monumental complex that consists of a multi-level staircase structure with terraces, fountains, sculptures, and exhibition halls. End of the tour; not as good as the previous ones, but ok.

On the park in front, many sculptures are located. The building itself houses the Cafesjian Museum of Art, with exhibition halls where permanent and temporary exhibitions are held.

I took the rolling to the various level and to the top. It took a long time to build it and was only finished some years ago. Beautiful, and the exposed sculptures are also quite worth visiting.

I wanted to take the famous metro back to Republic Square so I walked a while, crossing the splendid Lover‘s Park, but neither the metro stations nor the wagons were special apart from the very shaky ride. Probably I was in the wrong place in the wrong car.

I wanted to buy some Armenian brandy and walked to an exquisite wine&spirits shop where I acquired some of the better ‘Cognacs’ of the Ararat brand. After that, I walked to the hotel where I had a break and was writing on the previous post. When I had recovered, I visited the gym in the basement of the hotel. It was quite populated and the equipment quite shitty, but with some improvisation, it did the trick.

I chose a nearby wine bar for dinner and a good glass or two. The waiter was very friendly and recommended to different glasses of local reds of very good quality. The slow-cooked lamb was soft and juicy and as I felt peckish after the workout, I sent a ‘best cheesecake of the world’ after the lamb. And then I studied the menu again. Why not try the brandy Nairi I had purchased today? And it was delicious, really good quality. A very nice end to the day.