EN / RU
Wine Festival. Continuation. Prompted by a former student's message, a rainy evening at Yerevan's wine festival - a downpour from Zvartnots thinned the crowds and cleared the air. A 14,000-dram kit (glass, lottery coupon, map, micro-shopper), tents from banks to local farmers, and a teetotaler eyeing the food. More fun with friends - whom we sadly missed.
Yerevan. Rainy. Despite the drizzle, a walk to the center to take a quick peek at the second day of the wine festival.
Secret Japan in the very center of the city. A cool find while the wine-festival vote ended in a tie: 'Ramen Jan', an authentic, tiny (3-4 tables) Japanese spot hidden in central courtyards. Rich traditional ramen, hearty onigiri, an odd fried-dough dessert, Japanese films on screen, English-only staff and Tanuki books on the tables.
Jermuk. Deer. The road back. No Yandex Taxi here, so a private transfer back (28,000 dram) with stops: the town's emblem - the famous deer statue and its stunning viewpoint - and the secretive, guarded 'Margaritka' spillway, gateway to the Soviet-built 48 km Arpa-Sevan tunnel to Lake Sevan. A grateful farewell to Jermuk.
Jermuk. Art gallery. Three minutes from our sanatorium, a wonderful three-floor collection of mostly 20th-century Armenian art - bright socialist realism, mysterious surrealism and stunning landscapes, much of it echoing Martiros Saryan. A guided ticket was about 5,000 dram for three, and a few canvases of Komitas especially caught the eye.
Jermuk. Baghaberd Restaurant. After four days of the sanatorium's dietary cafeteria, the body demanded shashlik - so we skipped dinner and headed to Baghaberd, a picturesque spot by a river tributary, down a staircase into a medieval-castle turret. Pork and lamb shashlik, lemonade, gata - it lived up to every expectation.
Jermuk. Sanatorium. A mineral-spring resort full of Soviet-era sanatoriums. We picked Moscow Resort Jermuk (booked direct - cheaper than Booking): friendly staff, a two-bedroom room, three meals, and the full procedure menu - inhalations, a Charcot shower, peat bags, a salt room, oxygen cocktails - all a short walk from the center and the waterfall.
Jermuk, part 2. The waterfall. An incredible road of cliffs, mountain streams and a turbulent river - bare trees lending a transparent look, eagles overhead - leading past the 'Arch of Wishes' and a touristy spot of honey, herbs and churchkhela to a huge waterfall crashing down the mountain.
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Shaki Waterfall. Devil's Bridge. Viewpoint. A packed day-trip near Tatev: the 30-meter natural 'Devil's Bridge' over a cascade of thermal pools and caves, the crowded but picturesque Shaki waterfall (a magnet for plein-air painters), and a viewpoint where a friendly dog shared our mountain-view snack.
The road. Syunik region. The Wings of Tatev. A Sunday day-trip (45,000 dram) along the stunning, gorge-filled Syunik region to Tatev - already spring here, unlike Jermuk. A breathtaking 10-12 minute ride on the 5,700 m 'Wings of Tatev' cable car to the monastery. The serpentine, Devil's Bridge and waterfall to come.
Armenia. Jermuk, part 1. Moving day to the resort town of Jermuk - a scenic 3-hour drive past storks and eagles over the gorges. Still cool with patches of snow and bare trees; a walk to the mineral-water gallery, and a town that turns cozy in the soft evening light.
Armenia. Ararat. Barev, everyone! After almost three years in Yerevan we're finally heading to Jermuk - and we'll be sharing our discoveries and impressions from those parts.
Monday. Arabkir. Pastry shop. A mouse. Nursing a bug but still running errands - pet store (a mouse for the snake), grocery, and a modest, excellent pastry shop tucked in the Papazyan courtyards: natural-ingredient cakes with real butter, sold by the slice or whole. The Anare confectionery, address attached.
Peace. Labour. May. The Yerevan Zoo. A sunny May-Day outing to a beloved, crowded zoo - feeding an apple to a vulture and carrots to huge ravens, watching a yawning hippo and a tidy elephant, and meeting the keeper at the exoterrarium full of snakes, caimans, lizards and bats. Highly recommended.
Yerevan. Walks. A sunny stroll from Moskovyan to the church of St. Sarkis (Surb Sargis), patron of lovers - unusually Gothic for Armenian architecture - with a stunning Hrazdan view, new street graffiti, and a mural of Grigor Narekatsi writing his sacred 'Book of Lamentations' (the 'Narek').
Museum of science and technology: a transistor processor and a model of the Orgov telescope. From reluctant military-department lessons on building a CPU from transistors to a stand showing exactly that; the radio-and-optical telescope designed by Paris Herouni; and the famous quip Ambartsumian gave Gorbachev about who history remembers.
Yerevan. The Sabre Dance. Our second night at the Yerevan Opera - Khachaturian's landmark ballet 'Gayane', with beautiful sets and the legendary 'Sabre Dance' (added to the 4th act at the last moment) that made him 'Mr. Sabre Dance' abroad. Plus Veller's funny tale of Khachaturian meeting Dali. Spartacus next.
The unexpected: a museum through the eyes of... a teenager! Part 3. Our museum visit split into three: while the guide raced ahead, two teenagers wandered at their own pace - and, to a parent's delight, got genuinely absorbed in the stand of Armenian inventions (eyeglasses with a hearing aid, an accordion, a cymbal alloy, Coca-Cola, paint rollers).
Yerevan. Springtime. A charity fair at Vlad's school - homemade treats and cute crafts made by parents and kids - and spring finally arriving in the city, unusually overcast but full of fresh greenery and lush blossom.