I was only going to have about 12 hours in Yerevan before I had my hellish 3am flight this morning to Odessa via a six hour layover in Prague (which it rained the whole time by the way). I was mixed on what I was going to do in Yerevan on my hellish Minibus ride through the gorgeous Armenian countryside. After a lunch stop I got to talking with some Armenians who spoke OK English who were heading back to Yerevan for their 31st wedding anniversary dinner party. Needless to say, they invited me along for the festivities.
I felt a little awkward but it was one of those questions that was posed in a way where I couldn’t really say no and besides, I knew it’d be fun. So basically I spent most of my time in Yerevan attending an authentic Armenian bash with a spread of Armenian food that would make my old Armenian college roomate Raffi jealous. They just kept bring out more and more food. I had no idea what most of the 10 people at dinner were saying because they were speaking both Armenian and Russian but they kept talking to me and smiling and laughing and filling my vodka glass up with some awesome Russian vodka, so I just kept doing the same thing as well.
Afterwards, I was so full from all the food, I didn’t even realize that we all went through about 5 bottles of the vodka. These people were out of their minds drunk but really funny and still very nice. The best thing about this was that I got to go to their apartment and meet their friends. They all were so nice and basically included a total stranger in their anniversary dinner party after briefly meeting me on a crowded miserable minibus…strange but true. Additionally, the authentic Armenian food was tremendous, home cooked is always best and I never would’ve tried all of that stuff without being there, so thanks to Nica and everybody at dinner, I hope they check out the post because I told them I would write about it. I couldn’t have hoped for a better time in Armenia and I will always remember their kindness and generosity.
Yerevan itself, in my brief tour of it was really very nice as well. It has a booming cafe culture, meaning there are hundreds of cafes in the center of town all lit up at night in neon and act as bars and meeting points for the locals and tons of tourists, I never expected so many tourists in Yerevan. Also, the main square where the government buildings are is beautiful and immaculate and if you didn’t know you were in Yerevan, you might think you were in Moscow or Prague it was so big and beautiful, especially lit up at night.
Back to the beach now…
Not your roomate but a lot of Armenians are named Raffi. I’m glad you enjoyed your time in Armenia. They are wonderful people, I havent lived in years but I love to visit and hear nice things about my country.
I’ve visited this country with my armenian friend, and that was unforgettable….People’s kindness, Yerevan’s pink-stone flats, and amazing culture, kitchen and so on…. I recommend you to visit!!
Great article. I visited Armenia last year and loved it. The hospitality, kindness and hearts of the Armenian people and culture was very impactful for me. My tour group and I experienced an Armenian wedding ceremony in Hagphat (near the Georgian border) and were provided food, vodka, Ararat Brandy and a night of fun-filled entertainment and dancing. The vibe in Armenia was memorable and my favourite country in the Caucasus (after Georgia). Very much relatable to some of the experiences you had during your visit. Hope to go back one day.