Author Archives: Björn

Batumi Botanical Garden

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According to the itinerary, we should have visited Batumi Botanical Garden just after our arrival to Batumi. However due to the torrential rain two days back, we were now making it up and had the visit thrown in today, before continuing to Kutaisi.

The bus did drop us at the top entrance of the park and we made our way through the nine themed sections (including Caucasian, East Asia, New Zealand, South America, Himalayas, Australia and the Mediterranean) – until we eventually got to the exit at the bottom, where the bus was already waiting for us.

Batumi Sunset

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As the weather had cleared up, we decided, to go and enjoy the views and the sunset over a pre-dinner cocktail from the Nephele Sky Bar on the 20th floor of the Batumi Hilton.

Borjomi

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Today was a driving day, covering the trip from Akhaltsikhe to Batumi, a distance of about 325km and a good five hours of pure driving. This was also the day with the worst weather during the whole trip, with rain throughout the whole day.

About an hour out of Akhaltsikhe we had our first and only sightseeing stop for the day. Though sightseeing might be the wrong word here, as the real attraction of Borjomi are the springs of mineral water. The waters – well – does not look too special … it is rather the quiet unique taste, that makes it famous throughout the former Soviet Union, as well as in Eastern Europe. 

We of course had a chance a sample the water right from a water fountain in Borjomi’s Central Park. I found the water much too salty … I typically drink water, that is low in sodium, so Borjomi with its about 1.5 grams of salt per liter (yes, that is grams, not milligrams) was just too much. By now it was raining heavily and we made it back to the bus and continued the journey towards Batumi.

Gyumri

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Once we got back to Gyumri (Գյումրի) we had a quick guided tour of the main attractions around the city center – Yot Verk Church, Vartanants Square, the Church of the Holy Saviour and the Memorial to the Victims of the 1988 Earthquake.

Marmashen

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After our arrival to Gyumri and a coffee, we were boarding a marshrutka (with a fairly impatient driver) for the trip to the Marmashen Monastery (Մարմարաշեն).

We kicked if of with a guided tour around the monastery (dating back to the tenth century) and its churches, before making the walk down to the Akhurian River – for a final sip of Ararat brandy.

Wait a minute Mr. Milkman

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We had a drive of about 100km ahead of us this morning, to make it to Gyumri, our next destination – and the final one in Armenia.

En-route – to break up the drive – we had a stop in Fioletovo (Ֆիոլետովո), a village that has a sizable Molokan population.

Molokans are basically a Christian sect, with a tradition of dairy consumption during times of fasting. The name derives from the Russian word for milk: молоко́ (moloko). People here of of Russian descent and a minority group in Armenia.

The village certainly had a certain Russian feeling to it, which only got stronger, when we ended up a table in one of the guesthouses for some tea and a second breakfast. Tea was served – Russia-style – right from the samovar and blinis were on offer as well (next to a sort of potato doughnut, bread, homemade jam, cheese and sweets).

Dilijan – Impressions

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We got back to Dilijan (Դիլիջան) in the afternoon, had a quick stop at the Tufenkian Old Dilijan Complex before continuing to our hotel.

I used the opportunity and had a walk around this small town, to get some more impressions – including a closer look at the (disappointing) monument, to celebrate teh Soviet 50th anniversary.