We set our alarm to wake up very early as we had to make some phone calls to the airlines to sort out some questions with our flights home early Monday AM. We had planned to take the Enlightened Armenia tour with Envoy today, which would take in Khor Virap (a temple with a magnificent view of Mt Ararat looming behind) and several other temples. However, upon awakening we were both suffering from monastery fatigue and Efren was having some stomach issues, so we emailed Envoy to let them know we needed to cancel. The tour also wouldn't have gotten us back until 8pm, and our ride to the airport to catch our flight out of Yerevan was at 2am – so although we’d have plenty of time to make it, we were concerned that we’d be completely exhausted and chose to take some time to rest. Envoy was very understanding and confirmed our planned pick up from the Marriott to the airport for early the next AM.

Unlike our previous days in Yerevan, the day dawned clear as a bell. We still hadn’t gotten a good view of Mt. Ararat, so Craig headed down to St. Sarkis Cathedral where on the walking tour a few days ago was told were good views on a clear day. 20 minutes later, Craig was there and got some good photos. On the way back to the hotel, Craig noticed the familiar routine of police rerouting traffic and closing roads. Another Independence Day parade rehearsal was on tap. We hoped they would be wrapped up before 2am so we could get out of the Marriott and make it to the airport!

Back at the hotel Efren was waking up. We grabbed a quick snack in the lounge before heading back to St. Sarkis for Efren to get the view of Mt. Ararat. By now the sun was higher and the view was even better. With views of Ararat on our minds, we opted to leisurely stroll back up to the Cascade to see what the views looked like from there. As expected the views were great, and we enjoyed seeing many Armenians on their exercise routine early on this Sunday morning. We noticed there was another branch of our favorite Green Bean just at the base of the Cascade, so we stopped there for breakfast and opted for the yogurt and granola options to help with our flip-floppy stomachs. After breakfast we walked back toward the hotel. The roads outside Republic Square were closed off not only to cars, but also pedestrians, so there was no way for us to get back to the hotel until the rehearsal was over. They hadn’t even started yet (just tanks and troops lining up on adjacent streets, so we knew this could take awhile). We went back to the barber shop that we passed the other day so Efren could get a haircut. For less than $2 he got one of the best haircuts ever – including head massage and shampoo!

By now we were able to head back to the hotel. We rested up a bit, packed, started dealing with that end-of-the-trip depression. Later on we grabbed a very lackluster dinner at the nearby Yerevan Tavern (ok soup and bread, overly salty tolmus and very fatty BBQ) and then walked to Anteb to visit their satellite sweet shop and had some of the best baklava and tea ever! Back at the hotel, the parade rehearsal was in full force and appeared an almost exact duplicate of what we saw on Friday. We snapped a few pictures and wished we could be there on Sept 21, the actual day of independence, to see how everything shakes out.

Knowing we have a grueling series of flight ahead of us, we went back to the hotel and forced ourselves to sleep for a few hours. We got up around 10pm to finalize packing. We spent a final hour or so sitting at the outdoor section of the Executive Lounge to reflect a bit further on our trip. We really liked Armenia and learning about its history and experiencing all the country has to offer. Although we weren’t here for long, we got a decent overview of some of the main aspects of the country.

We checked out about 1:30am and by 1:45am our driver arrived. Luckily all the parade rehearsal activities were long completed, so the square was open for traffic. We got to Zvarnots Airport in about 15 minutes. The very modern airport was a surprise along with the excellent works of art exhibited in the check-in area. We checked in and as had happened in Frankfurt, Craig was told his bag was too big for carry-on. Craig needs to buy a smaller bag! We easily got through the very efficient and fast security and immigration and spent about an hour in the lounge before boarding our flight to Vienna. Boarding was a bit of a zoo (so much for efficiency), but we were soon on our way to Vienna.

About 3 hours later we arrived in Vienna. The surprisingly large airport was easy to navigate and we found the lounge. Craig slept for a solid 3 hours and soon it was time to board our very short flight to Frankfurt. At Frankfurt we had a tight connection to our United flight back to SFO. Luckily all was on time and there were no additional security checkpoints in Frankfurt so we had plenty of time. We were lucky to get upgraded on this long leg, so we had the opportunity to catch up on sleep (and to write this blog!)

Final reflections – this was truly one of our most amazing trips. Few places we have been combine the history, scenery, culture and food/wine that these destinations did. We had the opportunity on this trip to meet more local people and also more fellow travelers, which definitely enhanced our experience. We are already thinking of our next trip – we’d love to see the Western part of Ukraine around Lviv and the Carpathians, and we absolutely want to return to Georgia – this time with a focus on the wild northwest portion of the country – Svaneti – which everyone we met raved about for scenery, culture and trekking. Until next time, Dopobachenya!