From the runway in Turkmenistan to the sunset at Kök Töbe: Arriving in Almaty

Since some have already asked for photos, I wanted to make sure the first blog post doesn’t take too long to publish this time: Leon and I have arrived today, after exactly 24 hours of travel, at our first hostel in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was a long and quite tiring journey. For the first time, we witnessed a plane having to land unexpectedly due to a medical emergency. This meant that we got to watch a beautiful sunrise on a runway somewhere in Turkmenistan, completely exhausted. However, my personal highlight was the landing approach into Almaty: We flew directly over the city and were able to admire it in the morning light against the backdrop of the surrounding mountains. It was very impressive.

On the flight, we also met a nice guy with whom we spent our layover in Astana. He is visiting his girlfriend, who is on a sabbatical and is currently traveling alone from Russia through Mongolia to India. Quite brave – and, above all, I think very cool.

After our arrival at noon and a much-needed power nap, we headed out in the afternoon, explored the nearby supermarkets, and relaxed in a cozy café. I think I can already declare this café my go-to spot in Almaty without hesitation. They have double Americanos, cheesecake, and you can sit by a large glass front and look out onto the street – that’s all I need. Tomorrow morning, I’ll definitely be going back.

In the evening, we spontaneously climbed the city hill Kök Töbe and took in the view of Almaty and the surrounding mountains in the light of the setting sun. It was a beautiful setting for the day, I think. After all, it had already begun with Almaty in the morning light.