16 Jun 2015

Yerevan II - The city

So here’s the deal: I’m in Sri Lanka. My last article was in Armenia. That’s way behind, and I find it harder and harder to pretend I’m bothered by my own tardiness. Yes, I’m very forgiving that way. I’ve also gotten a bit tired of the overall style of this site: Went here, went there, did this, did that. Since I’m largely writing this for my own benefit (sorry) and to aid my memory, this doesn’t really do much for me: I already have that sort of information in my pictures (and Google’s GPS data…). At the same time I actually do enjoy writing about this journey in general. So maybe it’s time to try out a different writing style, a different method? Move away from itineraries to moments and impressions? From here on it’s going to be heavy-handed prose and pretty pictures all the way…maybe!

First Impressions

I’m bad with first impressions. By that I mean: I tend to get a bad first impression places and people. One of the main reasons is that I’m a certifiable retard in terms of scheduling my travels. As a result, I often arrive in new places at night, which I deal with badly. There is something about setting foot into a new city after dark that feels like stepping out into the dark jungle. By that point I’m usually tired (and grumpy), which isn’t really the mindset for exploration or adventure.

By some one-in-a-million stroke of luck, my arrival in Yerevan happened in the early morning hours. On a sunny day, no less! Somehow, that made all the difference and I was quite excited to have a look at the city. So was my companion:

After disembarking at Yerevan central, we stepped out into the sun and grabbed a taxi to my hostel. The driver took us through the city centre, which was entirely quiet due to the early morning hours. Quiet, and totally not what I had expected Yerevan to be like. Somehow, my image of Armenia had been that of an impoverished, agrarian nation. To put it bluntly, I had expected Yerevan to be a poorer, downtrodden version of Tbilisi. I was wrong. The city we saw was grand.

One reason for the elegant cityscape we found ourselves in was that the Soviets “re-designed” the city in the 1960s. The result was a modern, open and airy plan for the city. On top of that, everywhere we looked, the city was well-cared for: No trash, no litter, no graffiti. The city gave of a surprisingly westernized vibe: Even off the main drag we saw various boutique stores, nice coffee shops and restaurants.

Later that day I found myself exploring the Cascades, a huge complex of art installations in the north of the city centre.

Amongst other statues, the Cascades are also home to one of my favorite sculptures, a huge black lion fashioned from tire parts:

The way the sculpture captures all the traits of a predator gives you an almost physical sensation of menace

Having climbed all the stairs to the top of the Cascades, I was rewarded by this fantastic view of the city

Barely visible through the haze you can see Mt. Arahat

In the end I probably sat up top for almost an hour, slowly roasting away in the hot afternoon sun. Whenever I thought I was done, I noticed something new in the panorama before me. I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful a city Yerevan really is. It’s almost ridiculous how surprised I was by that.

Until next time,
Arne