Fiction, Essays, and Other Things

  Yerevan is a city that to this day gets so little exposure that even the most rehearsed travelers are in for a surprise. Even those who have not visited, say, Sydney or Tokyo can easily get even a rudimentary feel for what to see. Going into the Pink City, however, keeps one in suspense until arrival. Armenia, a tiny country, has had little time to announce itself to jetsetters, having been crushed by more powerful empires up until relatively recently in its history which can be traced as far back as the establishment of Christianity. Its ancient ruins and mountainous countryside is enough of a selling point to the curious wayfarer but, I suspect, its capital city would be a marketing challenge to any specific point of interest. This is not a slight, as Yerevan is a most beautiful city, but its atmosphere, style and culture are hard to define. I arrived at night and took a ride from the airport to the Holiday Inn via the country’s most popular rideshare Yandex Go. I saw littl...

  It started the moment I left Vienna Airport and it didn’t leave me until I returned to the airport. It was all over the city that inspired Johann Strauss and Beethoven, both indoors and out. It was an indefinable aroma, part floral, part confectionary in essence and all transporting to a time of gilded elegance. This was too strong to ignore and so I had to Google for the answer, which was that in Vienna history lives. Centuries of royal balls, masquerade parties and events at the courts of dukes and their families have left their mark on the city. The perfumes, powders and scents of palace kitchens which clouded these gatherings have become a fixture in the very walls of the old city, making their presence known in the warmer months, transporting visitors to an age gone by. Vienna is in all immediate appearance a city as elegant today as it was when the waltzes of Strauss were introduced. She is so unfailing true to her reputation, so little does she stray from her collectiv...