I found myself in one of many former Soviet Union republics and quickly noticed all the characteristics. Elderly people can speak Russian, there are many socialist buildings and the public transport was an incredibly deep and loud metro. Chaotic traffic followed me across the border and I was forced to cycle on the one opened road that connected cities in Georgia in early spring. Various similarities with Turkey stayed, however. For example, police vehicles had their police lights turned on constantly, people waved at the bus to pick them up and every Friday there was a local market in the town. My most memorable moment in Georgia was a close encounter with a pack of aggressive dogs. It happened on my third day while I was cycling slowly uphill. Two barking dogs approached me from a village nearby – an event that had already occurred several times on the trip. Usually, they were harmless and if they were extremely persistent I shouted at them or eventually splashed them with some water from my water bottles. On this occasion, another one approached running and he jumped at the rear part of my bicycle and bit into my pannier. I could hear the fabric tearing and quickly responded with shouts and water splashes. They ran off, but the dog left a hole in my pannier and even worse, one of the plastic parts that hold a pannier on the rack broke. Every time I had to put that pannier on my bicycle I cursed that dog because I couldn’t find a lasting solution. Moreover driving culture in Georgia hit a completely new low and I didn’t like the country at all. My subjective opinion of the country slightly changed after I was impressed by the amazing capital of Tbilisi, where I spent a couple of calm days. Georgia is a small country and my stay there was logically short.
One day of cycling and I came to Armenia, a country that made a great impression on me and is definitely one of my favorite countries I’ve cycled in. Immediately after entering the country, I was greeted by anti-government protestors who blocked the road. Luckily my bicycle could easily squeeze between the simple obstacles and I enjoyed some stressless traffic-free kilometers. Cycling peace was interrupted shortly after by an Armenian family having a picnic in their garden. They invited me over and insisted that I drank shots with them and had some food. I stared at their golden teeth and drank strong alcohol that reminded me of Slovenian brandy. The ruling government resigned and cars started to speed by me waving Armenian flags out of the window. Slightly tipsy I camped next to an abandoned factory listening to loud frog croaks nearby. On the second day, I reached some mountain passes with phenomenal views over the snow-covered peaks. However, I also had my first puncture, so I spent most of the day fixing my tires. Kind mechanics eventually helped me completely fix it and I could move on.
Another wild camping and I was in the capital of Yerevan, overlooking the amazing mountain Ararat, the symbol of Armenia, ironically located in Turkey. I fell in love with Yerevan because it has many green spots, a European vibe with outdoor bars and restaurants and great infrastructure. Yerevan is also called the city of the sun because it was built in the shape of the sun and has almost 300 sunny days per year. Of course it rained while I was staying there. Armenia is a land of apricots resembled by an orange color in their flag, and the capital of Yerevan is famous for the Armenian brandy, called Ararat. The stay was quite educational for me as I also learned that Armenia is one of the oldest Catholic countries in the world with its own church leader and its typical architecture of religious buildings. The famous oldest church in the country connected by the longest aerial tramway was my next destination. Even though the scenery was incredible and there aren’t many other sightseeing attractions in the country, I had to make extra kilometers on horrible roads in order to get there. I made another promise to myself and I sacrificed many touristic sites in the future because they were simply too far away to reach me. Nevertheless, it was a great experience looking back, cycling through small villages with no tarmac roads. After a great week in this country, I continued towards infamous Iran, towards something very unknown.
