In hindsight the route we chose to get to Yerevan is unnecessary complicated and time-consuming.
But we were looking for the cheapest option and therefore left very early in the morning for Amsterdam. Trains were on time and everything went soothly.
From Amsterdam we flew to Kyjiw, Ukraine, and from there to Tbilisi, Georgia. Unfortunately, Justus’ backpack didn’t make it to Tbilisi. Enquiries at Lost & Found revealed it’s still in Kyjiw. They (we, too!) hope it will arrive here tomorrow.
We’re staying in the Why Not hostel, the same one I stayed in last year. Not much has changed. Ben is still working here, which is great.
Where the heck is the guy going again, you might ask.
I’m on a short 2-week trip to Nagorno Karabakh, a de facto independent region in the Lesser Caucasus of Azerbaijan, which was shaken by a bloody war in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, with Armenian and Nagorno Karabakh troops on one side, and Azerbaijan on the other side.
Nagorno Karabakh, also known as Mountainous Karabakh, declared independence when the Soviet Union fell, at the same time as Armenia and Azerbaijan. But since it used to be part of the Azerbaijan Oblast its independence declaration wasn’t recognized by Azerbaijan. A war ensued and most of the Azeri population was driven out.
There is a cease-fire in place since 1994 and the region is safe for independent travel. A few volunteers have created a hiking trail that crosses the region from North to South, and together with Justus it is our plan to hike a few days there.