How do you get to Armenia in the best way? Do you hop on board a flight and travel there comfortably in 4 hours like an average Joe? Of course not, you let your girlfriend convince you to go the long way. And on the way you see, and experience som great memories.

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It’s kind of hard to write this summary, not cause of any sentimental reasons, more due to physical and mental fatigue, trying to remember these past five days. We left Sweden on a Tuesday and arrived at our new home for the next three months this morning.I think both Emma and I are in a slight shock, we made it.

We actually made it and not only that, in retrospect it’s been a surprisingly smooth journey. It’s almost worth pinching myself just to make sure this isn’t a dream, that’s how smooth it’s been, at least when looking back at my worries.

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All in all 120 hours of traveling has passed and the biggest offset to our plans was in Stockholm. When we weren’t allowed to have our backpacks as carry on luggage. Otherwise the only near misses we’ve experienced has been due to our own fault.

I have to say I’m relieved to not have to think about any more boarder crossings or security checks, and even more so by the fact that I no longer have to carry any luggage for another month. The last test came this morning, when I had the joyful experience of going up five flights of stairs with 30kg luggage plus 12ish kilo in my backpack.

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Emma together with assorted luggage

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The train ride from Batumi to Yerevan was the low point for me. Tired, eager to arrive combined with a crazy hot train combined with border crossings at 12 a.m. And 2 a.m. Really took the last of my good spirit.

The 30 hour train ride from Ankara to Kars was the high point. Really comfortable and cozy. I would recommend this route to anyone wanting to experience at country by train. The bus ride had the best views but wasn’t as comfortable I would say.

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Hyperlapse from the Dogu Express

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If I were to give any pointers to anyone traveling the way we did it would be the following

1. Travel with somebody who’s company you really enjoy, you don’t have any privacy or your own space for some time
2. Water, water and even more water. Oh and snacks! Recommend local pistachios
3. Google translate – it might be cheating as far as backpacking goes but I don’t care. In some situations it saved us some hassle, in other situations it was a nice insurance to have in your back pocket, literally.
4. Book tickets in advance, at least the train rides, as they can get booked quickly.
5. Take lots of pictures and write about it. I’m so glad we started this blog, it’ll be a nice read in the future looking back at everything and reliving it.