Lake Sevan, day 1: Wishup Shore

I was avoiding Sevan lake for the past couple of years. The major part of the area had become over the years a barbecue joint with little space left in nature to enjoy swimming and rest on the shore. An overflow of poorly designed restaurants with a bad taste of music had taken over most of the touristic parts.
Being born near the mediterranean and now living in a land-locked country for the past 13 years surrounded mainly by mountains, i often feel the urge to be near the sea. So a trip to lake Sevan remains the only alternative for the moment.

Last year, my 10 year-old son attended a summer Waldorf camp at the Wishup shore, near Shorja (lake Sevan) and when i visited him, I immediately fell in love with the place.  It was nothing like the lake Sevan I knew. It was far away from all touristic areas, isolated, with a magnificent shore and view of the lake. A family from the Waldorf School was running the place. There was a nice small cafe/bar on the shore, with excellent music and cute wooden sitting areas. The Camp had the options of sleeping in tents or cabins. During the 10-day summer Waldorf camp, many activities were offered and kids had a blast experiencing canoeing, building their own raft, sleeping in a tent, making fire, learning knots, etc.

We decided to come back and stay with the whole family for 2 nights. We rented one of the cabins near the shore.
The first day was excellent! we spent the afternoon swimming in the lake, walking around, playing with sand. The older kids enjoyed canoeing. We ended the day with a nice supper of fresh fish from the lake served at the bar on the shore and relaxing under an amazing sky full of stars.
This place is unique and amazing both for kids and adults. The best way of experiencing lake Sevan!

Lake Sevan, day 1: Wishup Shore

I was avoiding Sevan lake for the past couple of years. The major part of the area had become over the years a barbecue joint with little space left in nature to enjoy swimming and rest on the shore. An overflow of poorly designed restaurants with a bad taste of music had taken over most of the touristic parts.
Being born near the mediterranean and now living in a land-locked country for the past 13 years surrounded mainly by mountains, i often feel the urge to be near the sea. So a trip to lake Sevan remains the only alternative for the moment.

Yerevan parks tested by my kids(continued)

Lover’s Park: Very nice but not very suitable for very young active kids. Lots of restrictions (no playing on the green, no throwing pebbles in the water…). Unless you have a child who likes sitting on a nice bench and reading a book or taking a nice walk, it is not a place where children can play freely. I think it is mostly designed for adults or quiet and calm kids. My daughters enjoyed the art corner very much though. There is toilet facilities and the park is really clean and you can find good sandwiches for your little ones.
Disadvantages: not very big or no large areas to play active games (with ball).


Santa Fe’s playground(near cascade, facing Tumanyan statue): For the past couple of years, this place was a lifesaver for us. It has the most secure (relatively to others) play equipment for kids older than 3. Very interesting slides, climbers and swings. They also have real sand covering the play area, so children can go barefoot and enjoy playing with it. Last year they also added a craft corner (ceramics) in the afternoons. They also have a green area where kids can run freely and play ball. Near the playground you have the café and adults can sit and enjoy a drink or food while watching the kids. Toilet costs 100Drams per use.
Disadvantage: Gets too crowded especially in the evenings and not very fun for the younger ones. Service sucks at the café, so you have to be very patient.

Luna parks: I personally don’t like them at all, too noisy, artificial and very bad quality. We go there very rarely, on occasions to do something different. My kids enjoy some of the rides. The one on the corner of Khandjian and Tigran medz has rides for all ages. Toilets are very dirty and service unfriendly.

Freedom Park (monument): still very soviet era rides, weather is nice and is spacious. My kids have usually lots of fun there and you could spend almost half a day or more, nice shady areas. Usually packed in the weekends. It is nice to go there with a group. Toilet dirty but don’t have lots of choice.

Summer

If you are in Armenia during the summer, you have to be very creative to find good, fun and safe entertainment for your kids. The challenge was bigger a couple of years ago when even the basic necessities (baby food, milk, diapers...) were hard to find and activity centers for kids was almost non-existent.
Today you still find some good choices:

Public park: In Yerevan, there is a couple of nice spots, but if you are looking for nice well equipped and safe playground, that would be real hard. Most of the parks have nice green areas, colorful benches but rarely a playground for kids. Some of the parks have old soviet iron playground not very safe for small kids. The other disadvantage is that most of the public parks don't have bathrooms and that could cause a problem for newly potty trained kids and older ones.
In general, kids in Yerevan need more playground public safe spaces, something that no one is investing in right now.

the parks tested by my kids (4, 7, 9 yrs old):

The italian park (near the Sundukyan theater): very nice, shady, lots of trees and green spaces and cool water fountain in the middle. Kids play with sand near the fountain and you can sit near them on a nice bench reading a book and enjoying the breeze.
disadvantage: no toilet (unless you go to the nearest cafe or ask the theater), no playground-slides, swings, you need to bring your own toys.

The park near Poplovok: This is a very small park near the famous cafe Poplovok, and surrounded with many other cafes and is usually very crowded after 6pm. Here you have some playground equipments (not very safe) you have to be near if your child is too small. Slide, Climber and a swing. The interesting thing is that the park has a craft area where children from 3and up can buy their little ceramic statues and paint them. This is not expensive and usually children enjoy it a lot.
disadvantage: the slide is a little broken, you need to be careful. No toilet, unless you go to Poplovok.

The park on Khandjian (near swiss chalet): We went once to this park and did not like it. from far it looks so nice and colorful but once you approach it you see how badly maintained it is. The slide has a big hole in the middle, someone can cut itself if not careful. The swings are not attached very well and the park was very dirty with bottles on the floor and also too noisy (near a big street).

(to be continued)