1. Tehran - Start of 2 weeks in Iran

Looking back, I was quite nervous about how my arrival in Iran would go. Will the Visa on Arrival work? Will Amin (my friend from my time in Rostock football) really be at the airport when I arrive? And does Amin really have 2 weeks to travel with me through Iran?

I had my visa in hand after half an hour and found my checked backpack in another baggage hall after another half an hour.

Then, after over 2 years, I heard Amin's voice calling my name through the arrival hall again. That was a pretty awesome moment - relief spread.

Then we went home to sleep first. It was 4:30 a.m.

In the following 2 days, we explored Tehran during the day while meeting Amin's friends in the evening and visiting his family, where Amin still lives during the week.

The days were so packed with experiences and impressions from Tehran and Amin's life that we (even later) mostly fell into bed completely exhausted well after midnight. Among the nicer things were certainly the direct contrast between city and mountain landscapes, the hospitality of Amin's family, the hustle and bustle and the smells at the bazaar and the food. I had promised Amin in Germany that if I ever come to Iran, I will try the traditional dishes, including meat. So for once there were quite delicious lamb skewers with saffron rice.

The acquaintances with Amin's friends, with whom I hardly had any conversation due to the language barrier, were rather mixed. Fortunately, Amin didn't pursue the plans for a party with all his friends in my honor.

Throughout the whole trip, Amin always had a keen sense of what would suit me better and almost imperceptibly guided us in the right direction, striving to be the perfect host. I later experienced how important this is in Iran.

The traffic in Tehran and the carefree attitude with which many Iranians got stuck in traffic were among the rather negative experiences. So it often happened that we had to spend an hour each for arrival and departure just to clarify or see something briefly.