Travel Blog

Stories From time to time, I write short stories and notes from my travels. This page will gradually grow as I add new entries. My next travel plans include Granada (as part of the conference) in July. I also plan to visit are Morocco, where I will participate at the International Conference of Physics Students in Rabat in August. After that, just after the Total Solar Eclipse, I will travel to Porto, Portugal for a short trip.

If everything goes according to the plan, I will have my 97th flight this year. Hopefully, some plans will come un along the way and I will manage to get to the number 100 even this year!

May 2026 - Armenia As a "celebration" of my friend's and my 11.000 days on Earth, we decided to travel to beautiful Armenia. We met there with two more friends, and since one of them is currently living there and has a car, we could not only see the capital city - Yerevan, but drove further from the city to more southern and eastern parts of the country. I have to tell you, I was expecting a post-Soviet country with poor households and bad infrastructure. However, what I saw was absolutely stunning. I left Armenia with the impression of a modern, friendly, and in many ways rich country.

On our first day in Yerevan, we did some basic sightseeing. The city center is absolutely gorgeous. I was literally blown away by the restaurant and bar culture - all was stylish, new, modern, and affordable as well (even though don't expect ultra-cheap post-Soviet prices). The second day we traveled to the south and east parts of the country. We visited several old Christian monasteries and crossed some of the Caucasus mountains pass (approx. 2.300 metres above sea level). We drove around Lake Sevan, which is surprisingly large and sits at an altitude of 1.900 meters above sea level.

Part of the modern-day road we took follows the legendary Silk Road. That presence of historical significance was actually the most captivating feeling in Armenia. When crossing the mountains, we saw the medieval bridges and a caravanserai, where ancient travellers spent the night. Those roads where yous by Marco Polo. Monasteries and old churches are a reminder, that Armenia is one of the oldest Christian countries. Everywhere you go, you can see some ancient or medieval landmarks, complemented by the stunning Caucasus nature.

Sadly, human history is strongly connected to the present times through violence. Modern warfare is well visible along the road with many bunkers, artillery strongholds, and also the Russian army base.

On the third day, we saw more of the medieval monasteries, the Roman temple and baths, and the basalt gorge in Garni (known as the "Symphony of Stones"). It was raining when we visited Garni, which gave the place a very specific, almost Vietnamese-like feeling. For our last day, we explored the streets of Yerevan once more. The city was already preparing for the annual military parade, giving it a very specific vibe.

For me, the trip was even more exciting, as I flew with Turkish Airlines for the first time (via Istanbul). It was a really nice experience. Especially on the way back, I could explore the new Istanbul airport, as I had an eleven-hour-long transfer there. I hoped I would have some time to go to the Istanbul city center. However, as I arrived to Istanbul at 4:23 local time (after a beautiful go-around due to the traffic at the airport), I only managed to find a nice and quiet cozy place and slept there. The flight back to Barcelona was with an old Airbus A330-300, which was literally the last spoil of my journey. After arriving back to Spain, a harsh reality hit me with smelly and broken toilets, illogical queues and rude Spanish/Catalan people. All of which was (fortunately) missing in Armenia.