In the year 2010 we made with an old Renault Espace a 20,000 km long road trip –Around the Black Sea. In six months we crossed elven countries:Poland, Ukraine, Romania,Bulgaria, Moldova, Russia,Georgia, Azerbaijan. The Caspian Sea was our most eastern point of the trip. On the way back we drove through: Armenia, Nagorny Karabakh, Turkey and finally Serbia, where our car gave up.
We met the Gipsy King in Moldova, became good friends with a poor family in the autonomous republic Transnistria, fell in love with Crimean landscape, hated corrupted Russian police, had a good rest in Chechen villages in Georgia, melt in 42 Celsius degrees in Azerbaijan, got wet in Nagorno-Karabakh, were asking questions about Turkey in Armenia and about Armenia in Turkey. And all this with a small, not even one year old daughter Hanna.
Was an amazing time. 9 countries, 6 months and 3 people (including our 1 sweet baby). We met the Gypsy King in Moldova, became good friends with a poor family in autonomous republic Transnistria, fell in love with Crimean landscape, hated corrupted Russian police, had a good rest in Chechenyan villages in Georgia, melt in Read More
And that’s how our trip ends up: one week too fast, in the air, without the luggage. Song at the airport: “Why do all good things come to an end?”…
Our very last day of the trip and she started to walk! In this busy time of repacking all our luggage in some small car workshop in Belgrade we didn’t give much attention to Hanna. She was playing with toys, boxes, everything she could find around. Soon we were supposed to drive to hotel with Read More
Our car survived with us almost 20 000 kilometers during this trip. In Belgrade it had enough: I’m not driving anywhere anymore, I will stay here! – it said and burned the motor.
Goodbye Black Sea but hello friends! Back to EU and again easier to meet them. Mariya in Burgas, then Marina and Reuben in Sofia, and Heike – at the airport, joining us for last week of the trip.
It was much easier to drive directly from Turkey to Sofia but we decided to still visit our Black Sea. To say goodbye, to get this last impression. (Attention! I’m getting sentimental)
We reached Istanbul and crossed The Bosporus Bridge. We saw the sign “Welcome to Europe”. So this is the beginning of Europe? And in which point of our trip did we leave Europe..?
Ramazan Bayramı is a three-day Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. We were lucky enough to spend those days with a truly lovely Turkish family.
After driving, driving, driving through empty eastern Turkey, we finally arrived to Ankara. We decided to take it easy: walking, eating and shopping. Completely different from last months.
How many of you knows what this Nakhchivan is? Where is it exactly, how big, how beautiful? From this post you will get to know why even we didn’t visit this autonomous republic.
Somewhere just before Georgian-Turkish border we realized that we won’t be able to discover much of this huge country. Too much time we spend in Caucasus, we have to be back home very soon, and additionally, because of pregnancy, I’m getting more and more tired.
Worst what can happen to you during trip is not having the language. We spend sweet afternoon in refugees’ camp close to Tbilisi but we… don’t speak Ossetic…
And again we are crossing the border to Georgia and again it’s the same: feeling home, welcomed and safe.
There is so many must-be-seen places in Armenia. And even if crowded and it’s too hot to breath in August, touching those walls from 3rd century we will remember.
In the capital of Armenia we spend holidays during our holidays. Hostel of one friend and hotel of another friend gave us days of real relax.
Way back from Nagorny Karabakh to Yerevan was even more windy than way there. Windy and empty. That’s where we met Vladimir.
There is such a place in Nagorny Karabakh which doesn’t care if you are Armenian or Azeri. The giant 2000-years old Platan Tree, you could hold a party inside the core.
Shusha (in Azeri), Shushi (in Armenian) by the second half of the 19th century had become the the second largest town in the Caucasus after Tbilisi. Hard to believe in it. Right now it’s an empty, melancholic place.
We met Azeri people, Armenian people and people of Nagorny Karabakh who would give so much for this ground. And it is a beautiful land, for sure, but so empty and so sad…
The road from Yerevan takes time, it’s not so short and curvy (I really feel that I’m pregnant on such a roads). But absolutely beautiful. Sometimes windy and cold, but we are all the time on around 2000 meters.