Day 14 and 15

We walked amongst the celebrants (Tbilisi day) and bought pastry for breakfast, with difficulty because Georgians don’t seem to have sweet pastries with their morning coffee. They have khachapuri – round, pizza-like flat bread topped with cheese or meat. Next we went to the sulfur baths (Gulo’s). He has 5 units and we got the nicest and most spacious unit, which consisted of a lounge with sofas and armchairs, a large room with one hot and one cold pool, two showers and two stone beds for massage, a WC, and a nice sauna. The baths and the sauna were wonderful. Then we walked some more and ended up at the Georgian National Museum. We were hoping to see the 1.8 million years skulls discovered in the Caucasus, in Dmanisis, about 80 km from Tbilisi. Unfortunately, they only had replicas there and some videos about them because the originals are kept in the Dmanisi museum. We also saw an interesting exhibition entitled “Soviet Occupation of Georgia”.Then to dinner (Culinarium) and back to the hotel for our trip to Yerevan. Day 15 We arrived at Yerevan airport 12:30 am after a most harrowing drive. We contracted through the internet for a comfort car to take us from Tbilisi to Yerevan. We specified pick up at hotel at 7 pm. We returned to the hotel after dinner at 6:55. The hotel reception told us the driver had been there since 2:30. We embarked in the nice comfortable van. The driver was fast on the 2 lane Georgian roads even though it was right hand drive. When he pulled out to pass half the car was exposed when he saw it was not safe. He stopped at a roadside market and bought a ton of stuff (produce). He explained it was twice as much in Armenia. We passed many roadside stands with produce along the road – set up specifically to sell to Armenians. The border crossing leaving Georgia was time consuming because there was busload full of people waiting to be processed. Armenian mountain roads were scary -- totally dark, no median line, bumpy and full of potholes and very, very curvy. When we got to the good divided highway his speed was 45 mph (cars were passing us doing 70 and 80) and he put on the brakes and slowed to 20 mph for no reason. Both of us were frightened because we thought he was falling asleep so from time to time Bo would ask him a question in Russian just to make sure he’s awake. We were so relieved when we finally made it to the airport! Two flights were good. On the Doha – LAX flight the seats converted to a bed and they gave us pajamas. A 15 hour flight is long but we both slept. We went through immigration and customs in 5 minutes and were home about an hour after we landed.

Day 13

Our hotel is in the Abanotubani district famous for the sulfur baths so we went and looked at one of the baths (Gulo’s). He showed us 4 different bath options – all have a hot pool, cold pool and rest area, but they vary in size and some have saunas and some don’t. Prices vary from 100 lari to 30 lari per hour. We wanted to try a bath, but decided to book it later. Then, we took the city tour. It was a little shorter than normally because due to the city celebration, streets in the old town are closed. It didn’t bother us because we’ve walked the entire old town several times. We were glad the tour went to places we had not seen before. It was a slow double decker bus and was very nice and informative. The city has beautiful architecture, both old and modern. In the afternoon, we took a tour to the old capital, Mskheta. It was the worst tour. We stopped at 3 churches, and hardly had time to walk through the town of Mskheta. I (this is Al’s complaint) have been in more churches this trip than when I toured Rome. The best part of the tour was the view from the Jvari monastery, high up on a hilltop, onto the towns of Mskheta and the confluence of two rivers – Aragvi and Mtkvari. When we returned we went to the Gulo’s, but the baths were all booked. We scheduled a visit for tomorrow morning.

Day 12

Day tour of wine region. We left the hotel around 9:30 am with the intent of finding a tour to the Kakheti wine region. (Georgian wines are renown throughout all the eastern Europe and Russia, and during the Soviet times were always considered the best. The Kakheti region produces 65% of all Georgian wines.) We were approached by a guy on the main street of the old town (Abhazi) who offered tours. Bo negotiated with him for 5 minutes in Russian explaining where she wanted to go. He agreed and pointed to the nice van. A different driver got in and we were off. Three minutes later we discovered he did not speak Russian or English – so we had no way of communicating with him. He drove very aggressively passing all cars on the two lane road even though it was right hand drive van. There are many right hand drive cars here. They are cheaper to buy. An article I read said Japan is dumping them in Georgia but was not clear if new or used cars. During the drive we saw different landscapes – rolling hills, flatland and high mountains. After 2 hours we arrived in the town of Kvareli, which is a big center of wine making and has a bunch of wineries along the Kvareli wine route. The driver took us to the Kindzmarauli winery, which has been in existence for hundreds of year; during Soviet times it was government property and now is a cooperative. Massive production. They make 40 different wines both in Georgian style and European style. We first sampled 4 different wines and then a young guide gave us a tour of their production. Georgian traditional method called qvevri is very interesting. After squeezing the juice from the grapes, they don’t separate it from the stems and skins, but put it all together in huge (about 6 feet in diameter) clay containers, which are buried in the ground. There the wine ferments in constant temperature of 14C for several months (times differ depending on type of grape/wine). Then the containers are emptied by hand with very large ladles. After the tour, we had lunch in the winery “café” – with a traditional brick oven and strange contraptions. There we also sampled their “chacha”, which is a very strong vodka (100 proof) made from leftover grapes. Then briefly stopped in another large winery called Khareba, but didn’t want to wait for another tour. On the return we were supposed to stop in a town called Signagi. We drove up a winding mountain road with no other cars in sight. When we got to the top there was a picturesque bustling town. We walked around and in the local tourist information office Bo asked about another small “boutique” winery called Pheasant Tears she read about in an article. It turned out to be close by so we stopped in the beautifully renovated traditional Georgian house, got a brief explanation about their production and bought a bottle of a nice white wine made the qvevri way.

Day 11

At 9 am, we embarked on a tour to northern Georgia and the Caucasus region. There were 6 tourists – us, a married couple of chemical engineers from Teheran, and an Indian couple from Delhi now living in Dubai + guide and driver. The weather was definitely not good – rainy and misty – but we hoped it would get better along the way. The drive to Kazbek, a mountain town on the border between Georgia and Russia, is the legendary Georgian military highway, which was built by the Russian empire between 1817 and 1863. It is still the main road connecting Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and even Iran with Russia. Once we got into the mountains, the fog outside got very thick and the inside windshield also became fogged. It was impossible to see the road ahead. We were yelling “open a window” as apparently the driver did not know how to direct heat to the windshield. The road was steep and windy and the driver must have been a racecar driver previously. On this two lane road, with almost no visibility, lots of heavy trucks traveling in both directions and many cars driving without lights on, he pulled out to pass everyone. AND the car was right hand drive and they drive on the right. When we got to the highest point, the Jvari Pass and the fog was so thick that we couldn’t see anything around us, both Bo and I thought the end was near. Bo tried to convince everyone that we should turn back, but the other passengers thought we’d be just fine and the driver laughed and said “nye perezhivay”, which roughly means “not a big deal”. When we finally got out of the fog about 30 km before Kazbegi, we saw a long line of trucks (big trucks) along the side of the road. We were told they are waiting to cross into Russia which only allows trucks to cross after 8 pm. On the way back I counted the trucks, there were 113. We reached a village and saw the famous Gergeti Sameba Trinity church way up the hill. Driving up that one lane dirt road which has water running down it for at least 100 years was a rollercoaster ride. Our driver called it a Georgian massage. The van would tilt 30 degrees to the right then 30 degrees to the left. Everybody got thrown around, but we survived. When we got up to the church, it was freezing cold and drizzling so it was really hard to enjoy the spectacular views of Mt. Kazbegi in the background. Taking pictures was also hard from the top. After the same joyride down to the village of Kazbegi (now called Stepandsminda), we stopped at a local restaurant for a very tasty Georgian lunch, and then back the same mountainous road to Tbilisi. We really enjoyed talking to our co-travelers who were interesting and fun people. We should also mention that on the way, we also stopped at a very pretty Zhinvali water reservoir, which provides water to the city of Tbilisi and at the Ananuri fortress.

Day 10

Last night after checking in (hotel Mercure) we walked the city -- from our location in the old town to Freedom Square and then along the most prestigious street Rustaveli Ave and then back a totally different route through the flower market and along the river. We ate dinner in a local inexpensive Georgian restaurant recommended by the hotel and a number of bloggers. In the morning we walked across the river and high up to the Armenian quarter called Avlabari. We visited an Armenian church and got an earful from an Armenian priest. There is no love lost between the Armenian Orthodox church and the Georgian Orthodox church. He told us that at the beginning of the 20th century, there were 300, 000 Armenians living in Tbilisi and 38 Armenian churches. Now, there are only a few thousand and 4 churches left. He also told us that Georgian cathedral (which we then visited) was built on the location of an old Armenian church and cemetery where many famous and prominent Armenians were buried. Both the church and the cemetery were destroyed. He told us of an ancient Armenian church in ruins (which we later visited) that the Armenian diocese wants to restore but the Georgian powers wont let them. We visited the cathedral which was huge and impressive, and actually, there are several smaller churches on the enormous cathedral grounds. The neighborhood had only one restaurant that we could find so we went there for lunch --- excellent food and ambiance overlooking the river. We then took the aerial tramway across the river to the top of a hill and visited a fortress. Our hotel is located in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tbilisi called Abanotubani, the place where the old sulfur baths are located. They are still operating and they make for a very unusual sight – with many stone domes and chimney sticking out of the ground. On the way down from the fortress, we walked through a beautifully restored old Jewish quarter, and through the baths are, which was restored in 2011-12. After resting we walked the old town, booked our tour to Kazbegi for tomorrow and bought some good Georgian wine and pastry. The number of wine shops is astonishing – one after another, and each with hundreds of different Georgian wines. Obviously, Georgian wine industry is flourishing. They also always ask if you want wine made traditional Georgian way (fermented in clay containers in the ground) or the European way. We passed numerous fruit vendors along the street selling many varieties of fruits including feijoa.

Day 9

We left the hotel before road closure. On the way to the Sanahin monastery, we drove through Alaverdi, which used to be a bustling town of 26,000 during Soviet times – with a thriving copper industry. Now, the town is less than 13,000 with only one plant still operating, and it looks like it’s not even operating at full capacity. The twin monasteries of Sanahin and Haghpat, both built in the 11th-12th century, are jewels of old Armenian architecture, beautifully preserved. It was surprising to see so few tourists there. We were the only ones at Sanahin, and a babushka who was sweeping leaves in front of the church had to open it for us. Inside the book depository built in 1063 were two illustrated manuscripts of ancient Armenian bibles. It was surprising that they left them there since they probably require special conditions in order to be preserved. Then we drove to Haghpat, Sanahin’s sister monastery. We could not believe the road that we had to take to get there – it was extremely steep, narrow and in bad condition. There’s no way a bus could make it there. Then at the end of this road was one of the most exquisite monasteries in Armenia. Outside, by a couple of souvenir stall was a little cute puppy. When we went up the stairs to main church, there were about 20 women holding hands in a big circle and singing in Latvian. The acoustics and the harmonies were amazing. For the next song Bo joined them in the circle and so did the puppy who somehow made its way into the church. The priest was not happy about the puppy in the church and put the blame on the tourists. Crossing into Georgia. The contrast is extreme -- nice roads, no abandoned buildings, no garbage, no rusted out cars. Our first impression of Tbilisi is great. We just arrived and we are sitting on the 6th floor terrace enjoying the view and the beer.

Day 8

The strangest day. After a nice breakfast we set out towards the city of Vanadzor in the province of Lori, which is the greenest and most populated of all Armenian provinces. We drove through Vanadzor, an OK city, the third largest in Armenia with a population of about 75,000. Then we started driving north, and the roads were getting progressively worse. First stop over second class roads was to a house where the famous Armenian poet Tumanian was born and spent his youth. The house museum was closed (Monday), but after using the village telephone (yelling from house to house), someone came with the key and opened it for us. From there we were supposed to go to an archeological site, an abandoned 12th century monastery called Kobayr. Unfortunately, the main road leading to the village of Kober near the site was closed so our driver decided to use an alternative road, which turned out to be horrendous – unpaved, terribly bumpy, steep and winding. Surprisingly, it was used by many other cars and trucks. This drive took over an hour. Then we arrived at an unmarked site by railroad tracks and had to hike up 15 minutes up a steep and very treacherous path to the ruins. The monastery was an amazing site -- with 12th century Georgian frescos and ruins of 3 churches. We were the only people there, other than a few men working on restoration that would take 20 years. From there we set out to find our hotel located near a small village of Dzoraget. We drove through a small town of Alaverdi where we saw big industrial complexes empty, rusted and totally abandoned. Supposedly this area was a huge center of copper production during the Soviet times that produced most of the copper for the Soviet Union, but after the Russians left in 1991, the whole industry in Armenia collapsed. In Alaverdi, the driver stopped to ask directions. We did a U turn and drove 30 minutes on a lonely road till we came to a place that said “Road Closed”. There was a plethora of heavy equipment (steam shovel, dump trucks, skip loaders, etc) on the road. Our driver called the hotel and they told him this was the only road to the hotel. Their GPS showed we were 1 mile from the hotel. The construction crew told him they would open the road shortly. After 20 minutes 2 dump trucks full of debris left, the steam shovel moved aside, and the skip loader pushed rocks from the road and we proceeded to the hotel. The hotel (Tufenkian) is a 4 or 5 star hotel situated in a beautiful river gorge, but right next to it is a handful of run down post Soviet houses and apartments with chickens running around, bee hives, etc. The hotel staff told us the road (only way to hotel) is closed between 9 am and 6 pm. We asked our driver to pick us up an 8:30

Day 7

We left our nice B&B (Tsaghkunq Guesthouse – we found out that the owner/chef studied with the most famous chef in Armenia so no wonder the food was so great) in the village near Sevan and drove to Dilijan. Dilijan is sometimes called the Switzerland of Armenia, but Switzerland it is not. The town itself is quite unremarkable and the location in the mountains is nice, but not nearly as spectacular as other places we’ve visited. Before going to town, we visited two monasteries – Haghartsin and Goshavank – both from the 12th century. All Armenian monasteries have incredible locations – on tops of mountains with amazing views – so to get to them, you have to drive up and up on narrow winding roads. Both places were pretty crowded with school kids and families and tour groups. Then we drove to a recreational area with a lake over the worst mountain road imaginable. Armenians consider this a very beautiful lake, but it is quite ordinary, and certainly not worth the horrible drive. Then to our B&B (Casanova Hotel), which turned out to be way out of town on a terrible road, and definitely the worst place we stayed in so far. The only good thing is that is has nice views from the terrace and balcony. After dropping our luggage we walked to old Dilijan. It was 2 miles but when we were almost there a taxi stopped and drove us the final 200 meters, and refused to accept money. It was a quaint place with nice tourist shops, a restaurant, a museum, but nothing else. Our friendly cabbie took us back with a stop at a supermarket for water and wine.

Day 6

We left Goris and started our very picturesque drive. Lots of mountains and valleys and all brown. High voltage electrical towers everywhere so there must be adequate electricity everywhere. Most roads are good but have intervals where they are terrible. We stopped for gas and it was gas and not gasoline. 90% of the cars in Armenia run on gas.. We stopped at an archeological site containing many large stones. It’s called the Armenian Stonehenge or Zorats Carer or Carahunge. They date back to 10000 BCE, and scientists are not sure if this was a necropolis or a site of an astronomical observatory. From there we followed the ancient silk road through many mountain passes the biggest was Selim pass and stopped at a place where the caravans stopped. The caravanseray was built in 1300s. The next stop was Lake Sevan. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude lakes in Eurasia. It is 480 sq miles at the altitude of 1900 meters. During Soviet occupation they stole water for hydroelectric power and reduced the level by 60 ft but it is now recovering slowly. We stopped at a restaurant that was recommended to us by the owner of the restaurant in Yerevan to have trout from Lake Sevan. The restaurant was right on the lake and completely full. We had to wait a long time for our fish, but it was worth it, the food was great. Bo tried to make reservations at Radisson Lake Sevan but could not. The second choice was a B&B Guest House in some village about 15 km from the Sevan town, down a road which barely qualifies as a road, in the middle of nowhere. It does look nicer than anything around for miles. But when we got inside they said they did not have our room. We told them “But we have a reservation”. They offered us wine and after 2 glasses and a chat with the owner, they had our room. The room turned out to be very nice. After a walk we went for dinner. It was the best meal we have had so far. It was fantastic. The guest house owner is the chef. He treated us to wine, brandy and brought out his wife and kids. There was also a guy playing the piano all evening – and quite well.

Day 5

In the morning we took another walk through Jermuk and admired the gorgeous fall colors. We also found out the the abandoned building next to our hotel used to be a cultural center in Soviet times. We walked around it and found a way to get in. It still had signs of former splendor even though it was completely dilapidated. The same thing happened to a lot of sanatoriums from that era. They sit empty and abandoned, places that must have been quite luxurious and lovely. Some of them are in fantastic locations with amazing views. We were told that during Soviet time, Jermuk was twice the size it is now. Before leaving, we went to see a waterfall at the bottom of the gorge. It’s called mermaid’s hair and it looks like it. Then we drove to Tatav. The picturesque road winds through mountains and canyons. We are beginning to think that there are no straight roads in Armenia. The aerial tramway is stated to be the longest in the world 6 km. It was built in 2010, and before the only way to get to the monastery was via a very steep and very winding and dangerous road. Tatev monastery is the most visited site in Armenia and it is very impressive. Built between the 6th and 8th century, it was one of the largest and richest monasteries in the country. In the middle ages it also housed a university with about 500 students and owned many villages. Like all religious sites, it was closed and damaged during soviet times, but now it’s being renovated. We were lucky because it wasn’t crowded when we got there and there was also a baptism in the main church, which was quite interesting. From Tatev we drove to Goris, our place for the night. It’s a very picturesque town surrounded by mountains and streams. It has an amazing history dating back to the stone age. Its old town still has cave dwellings that were used until the 19th century. This place could be a jewel, but unfortunately it’s quite run down, with a lot of soviet abandoned and dilapidated buildings, and even the historical sites are not well taken care of. With its natural beauty and fantastic location on two main routes --- to Iran and to Nagorno Karabakh, and close to Tatev, it really has a potential to be a main tourist center. The owner of our hotel (Mirhav) definitely recognizes it, but it looks like he’s in a small minority.

Day 4

We left Yerevan at 9 am and drove south. The first stop was the Khor Virap monastery, which is only 30 km from Yerevan, but it took us over an hour to get there because of various detours and road constructions. Khor Virap is located 8 km from the Turkish border and has the best views of Mt. Ararat. According to the legend (or the Bible???) Noah landed on Mt. Ararat after the deluge. Khor Virap’s original monastery was built in the 6th century, but it was rebuilt many times after that. It’s where Gregory the Illuminator (the person who is responsible for making Armenia the first Christian nation in the world) was kept in a dungeon for 12 years for his beliefs. Of course, we had to climb down (and up) a VERY steep ladder to see it. From there we drove another 2 hours to the region called Vayots Dzor, a beautiful, very mountainous area to see another spectacular monastery – Noravank. It’s newer (13th) century, but spectacularly located among red rocks on a high mountain top. On the way there, we stooped at a winery in the village of Areni. In this village archaeologists recently discovered evidence of wine making dating back 3000 years. The local grape is called Areni and it’s supposed to be one of the oldest in the world. The winery, however, is all new and modern. They are very proud that they meet all the stringent EU standards, which allows the to export their wines to the EU. We tasted 3 of their wines – 2 reds and one white – all excellent. We also bought some to enjoy later. Then we drove for another 1.5-2 hours through curvy mountainous roads to a spa/resort town of Jermuk. We should also mention that along the way we passed at least 40 military trucks full of soldiers... Anyway, our first impression of Jermuk wasn’t great – some soviet-looking dilapidated buildings, one main bumpy road and not much of a town. But after closer inspection, when we walked through the natural paths into the spa area, we changed our mind. There are some beautiful spa buildings here – sanatoriums – with all kinds of health facilities and lots of happy clients, most seem to be Russian. The setting of town is also lovely – surrounded by mountains, which are now in full fall splendor, with mountain streams and little lake in the middle. The city is famous for its mineral water, which is said to be similar to that in Karlovy Vary. Since we hated the Karlovy Vary water, we didn’t even try to taste Jermuk’s. After walking through Jermuk, we were hungry so we started to search for a restaurant. Finding one wasn’t easy since most people here stay in sanatoriums which offer full board. Finally after multiple enquiries in Russian, some people pointed us to one end of town where there were 2 restaurants, and a group of elderly ladies pointed us in the opposite direction where, they said was a café with the best home-made food in town. We opted for the restaurant, but after a disappointed small meal, we decided to try the home cooking for dinner. The lady cooked us two kebabs, grilled eggplant with tomatoes, home fries and a salad of parsley, basil, dill and onions. It was all fresh and delicious. We also tried her home-made wine, which alas was not as good as the Areni winery’s.