On Tuesday
morning, when we woke up in our hostel in Georgia, we decided to see, how Yerevan
looks like. Before I have never heard about this city, I had no idea how it
looks like. We took marshrutka, the journey took more than 6 hours – we were
passing mountains going through twisted, winding roads. Nowhere were lamps, so
we had to reach the city before the sunset. All the road wad empty – no cities
around, just mountains. If we accidently passed a small village, it looked
rather creepy than interesting. And of course most of ruins were still nor
rebuilt after the war. We did not know that to expect. We didn’t book the
hotel, we just looked at some Lonely Planet pages describing Yerevan.
We got to the city,
we were astonished, amazed. It does not look like the other cities in Armenia.
It is rich, shiny, glamorous circle, separating or distinguishing capital city
from the rest of the country. We found the hostel, recommended in LP – this
hostel looks more like those perfectly clean, cozy hostels in Germany –
especially the one I stood in Frankfurt. And the price – very, very cheap
including breakfast – all for less than 13$. Again inflation made my day. The
name of hostel: ENVOY. Very good one, and it’s kind of a chain so there is also
Envoy in Tbilisi.
Yerevan is
relatively small but very clean and beautiful. Armenians are extremely
friendly, all Yerevan inhabitants speak Russian and most of them even speak
English. Real, fancy city. So it is like a circle, all full of museums, expensive
stores, and well-dressed people. Yes, that’s true, all girls look amazing –
make up and high hills. I felt a little bit like in Donetsk, where it’s unacceptable
to go out with no makeup.
So what to do in
Armenia? Actually a lot of things. We have been there only for two days, but
all country is full of places, which are interesting. First day we spend in the
city center, in National Museum of Yerevan – I loved it. It is huge, it has
samples from before stone age… All for museum lovers. Actually Yerevan is a
very cultural city – there are numerous museum treating about different topics.
After the museum we climbed up to the Mother Armenia sculpture to see an stunning
night view of the city. Before enter the top we could stop at every “storey” and
see modern sculptures, which to be honest impressed us. Everything is inscribed
in big park, also full of sculptures. From the top of the Mother Armenia hill,
there is a view on Ararat mountain, which is the advertisement of the Yerevan.
Unfortunately it was too dark and foggy to take pictures. Afterwards we took a
walk along the Pushkin Avenue.
During the second
day I decided to get know Orthodox churches better, as I am orthodox. First
Christian Church was actually established in Armenia, in IV century. Close to
Yerevan there is a small city with “church complex” called Echmiatsin. The
church form the IV century is neither orthodox neither catholic – it is just a
very old Christian church. There is a belief that if you ask God to help you,
he will certainly do so. The complex is also surrounded by museums – fine arts,
relic, treasury. Very spiritual place and worth of visit. After Echmiatsin we
wanted to go to the Museum of Genocide, commemorating all Armenians, who died
during the war. Unfortunately weather was too unpredictable, so we had to hide
up in a cozy café nearby the Theater. The same day, or better to say night, we
were leaving Yerevan. We took night train Yerevan-Tbilisi, with my “beloved”
places – couchette carriage, so we could hear everyone snoring, and see all the
faces/feet. Unfortunately smell is also unavoidable… When I saw the face of
Canadian guy, who probably was about to cry – I felt pity for him. Well that’s how
people live, that’s how we live!!
We had to go
back, but I know that I will find a time in my life to visit Armenia and it
will be summer. This country is amazing and has beautiful nature, not yet
damaged by the human being. To compare if Yerevan is better than Tbilisi, for
me it is! And some special tips about Armenians – guys usually drink milk in a
bar than alcohol, but Armenia somehow is famous for its cognac. Most of guys, especially
those grown up men, are always shaves, cause in Armenians perception, if you
don’t shave, means you can’t organize your time properly. Third of all, Armenians
are honest people, they will never miff you, they will never lie to you – but if
the taxi driver ask you to pay a bit more than you should and you’ll actually
pay, he would just be smarter than you. He is honest guy, he didn’t lie to you,
but he is smarter – you pay not the fair price, you are dumb. And last thing –
Armenians would do anything to show off in front of everyone else and their neighbors.
So expensive, branded clothes are crucial. The same as in Ukraine :D
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