Russia’s New Year holiday runs from December 31st to January 8th.
After ringing in the New Year in Novosibirsk, I woke up early the next morning and headed to the airport.
Elbrus (Mineral Waters Region)
Snowy mountains, rivers, forests — it really felt like Red Dead Redemption out there.
Armenia
The Garni Temple — the only Greco-Roman-style colonnade structure in the former Soviet Union. (Rebuilt after an earthquake, however.)
We visited quite a few monasteries.
Apparently a very large lake.
Tried pomegranate wine.
The capital Yerevan, and the socialist-era Cascade stairway.
The Genocide Memorial Museum.
Didn’t get to see the landmark Mount Ararat due to winter smog, and the famous ARARAT brandy distillery was closed for the holiday. A couple of small regrets.
Abkhazia
A partially recognized state that China Telecom can’t roam into. We hired a driver-cum-guide and covered most of the worthwhile sights in a single day.
It’s a small place, but the scenery and climate are lovely — lush vegetation, mountains, and rivers.
You can see the Black Sea.
The park had an enormous variety of plants I’d never seen before — there was even a bamboo grove.
It had snowed the day before. Lake Ritsa.
A viewpoint.
Apparently called “Man’s Tears.”
A small river ran alongside the restaurant where we had lunch.
A church.
Walked along the seaside until dark.
Sochi
At night, tried shisha for the first time at a bar on the Sochi waterfront.
Slept and then headed home. Got lucky with a window seat in the first row, and took a few photos of the Black Sea.
