Armenia: A winter wonderland, of sorts

by Nyree Abrahamian

Published: Friday January 30, 2009

The skating rink at Swan Lake in Yerevan. Nyree Abrahamian

Yerevan - I love Yerevan in the winter. "Are you crazy?" asks David, my local fruit vendor. "The snow, the ice, the cold.... Who needs it?" But there's a special something about this city in the winter, something that doesn't necessarily disappear, but that gets lost in the shuffle of the loud, sticky, sizzling, crowded days of summer.

Now let's be clear: winter here is by no means glamorous. It's a pain for pedestrians, who have to slip and slide their way through the skating rink that is the sidewalk. And of course, as winters generally tend to be, it's cold. Without central heating in most buildings, it's not uncommon to find five people in a room huddled around a single space heater for warmth.

But all the inconveniences of winter aside, the colder it gets outside, the more people tend to gather together for warmth. And that's a good thing. Winter in Armenia is a cozy time. A family time. A time for reflection and a time for adventure.

The main thing I like about winter here is that the cold weather forces me to be more creative. If I were to just sit around inside for three months, I would go absolutely crazy, so I have to find things to do that will keep my mind stimulated and my boredom at bay. I spend a lot more time in museums and galleries in the winter than I do in the summer, and Yerevan truly has a wealth of them to offer. And regardless of the cold outside, the live music scene is still as vibrant as ever.

Another one of my favorite winter pastimes is getting together with friends and cooking. While cooking can be a year-round activity, what makes it fun and challenging in the winter is that the variety of fresh ingredients becomes extremely limited, so we really have to be creative both in our quest for good ingredients and in finding inventive ways to put those ingredients to use.

One of my recent favorites is spinach. While spinach, a seasonal legume, is usually only available in the spring, a few of the vendors at Pak Shuka, the indoor market on Mashtots Avenue, carry greenhouse-grown spinach year-round. I learned this a couple of months ago and it made me very happy. Countless variations of spinach soup, spinach salad, and spinach beoreg later, I still get excited every time I come across a nice bunch of spinach.

Of course there are the traditions that make winter special in Armenia, like two-week-long New Year celebrations, and everybody's favorite - well, some people's favorite - khash (a fatty soup made with cow's feet, meant to be eaten early in the morning, accompanied by tons of garlic and a whole lot of vodka). While I get queasy just thinking about this delicacy, I do appreciate the ceremonial aspect of it. Khash is never eaten alone. It's a communal experience. A combination of the soup, the vodka, and especially the company, make for a truly unique, Armenian winter experience.

Wondering if I am the only nut who enjoys the Armenian winter, I ask around to see what other locals and repats like about the season. Maro, a California native currently living in Yerevan, embraces the Armenian winter, despite its challenges. "To me, Armenia in the winter is the real Armenia," she says. "There are hardly any tourists, which is nice compared to the summer when the country and especially Yerevan are inundated by them. There's snow and skiing and of course the icy side walks which make things more interesting and cause you to actually think when you walk. I love the devilish little kids who attack you with snowballs and the cute little kids who instead spend their time sledding down flights of concrete stairs.... Yerevan is like a small amusement park in the summer and the cafe culture almost consumes the entire city. I think the winter is simply more interesting because of the people you meet and the things you end up doing, because you can't just sit at a cafe and sip coffee in the shade all day long."

And while you may not be able to lounge in the shade all day long, there is no shortage of outdoor activities to keep your blood flowing in the winter. Karapi Lich (Swan Lake), the little manmade lake next to the Opera, converts into a skating rink in the winter, complete with skate rentals and lockers. It's 11-year-old Beatrice's favorite hangout. "If I could go skating every day of my life, I would," she says with a grin.

While Yerevan offers plenty to do in the winter, including WinterFest, a festival complete with concerts, a parade, games, and contests, for some, the essence of the Armenian winter is found in the villages. Winter hits the villages a lot harder than it hits Yerevan. But when your livelihood depends on the land, you tend to develop a much greater respect for and appreciation of nature.

"The villages in the cold of winter go into a state of hibernation," says Areg, a repatriate who has spent the last two winters in Armenia. "I love driving through the countryside and watching the smoke slowly billow out of each home. It reminds me of what it must have been like a hundred years ago when man was more intimate with nature. It's refreshing to see that remnants of our not so distant agrarian past are still visible."

Tsaghkadzor, about an hour north of Yerevan, is becoming an increasingly popular winter ski resort, and for the truly adventurous, the entire country is covered with mountains perfect for hiking, freeride skiing, and snowboarding. (Of course, these high-adrenaline winter sports must be never be attempted without an experienced guide who knows the terrain.)

Stepan, a 20-something local and lover of adventure sports, knows all the hidden secrets of Armenia in the winter. "It's really beautiful to hike Mount Ara on a sunny winter day," he says. "You get an amazing view of Ararat and Aragats. And it's a lot of fun to slide down from the top of the mountain on a plastic bag! Mount Ara and Mount Hatis are also good for freeride skiing. And there is an area near Gyumri that is perfect for cross-country skiing."