The next morning did not start so well for us. We were completely overtired and woke up way too late and not really at all. Our noses were closed because of the air conditioning and Andreas had a severe sore throat. We strengthened ourselves with a small breakfast and while trying to operate the small coffee machine, Melanie’s destructiveness came out – the ladies present smirked and probably thought we were a little underexposed.

After a long and heated discussion about the next overnight stay – we decided to stay one more night in Qazvin – we picked up our vehicle from the junkyard. It had fortunately not been “recycled” overnight and we paid the elderly night watchman 200,000 rial for 2 nights.

Around 09:45 we started our way in the direction of Alamut Castle. The next 100km led us almost exclusively over narrow serpentines higher and higher into the mountains. Melanie’s state of mind heated up more and more because of the serpentines and our tank content. Fortunately, after a while we found an open gas station with a small store where she could drink a coffee and calm down a bit.

13 o’clock we reached the foot of the mountain, on the top of which the destroyed castle is enthroned. After 30 minutes of walking with some breaks (it was very warm and steep) we reached the top and thus the main part of the castle. Unfortunately, much of the fortress was destroyed by an earthquake in 2004 and there were smaller and larger construction sites and scaffolding everywhere. So we lingered only a short time in the ruins before we dared to descend again.

Another 50km of serpentines led us to Lake Ovan. On the way there we were still looking for the so-called Andej Rocks, a rock formation near the village of the same name. Until today we are not really sure if we really found the rocks. While we were struggling through the undergrowth at the GPS coordinates we had set, we definitely found a small cave, which could be reached via a ladder that did not inspire much confidence. Unfortunately, it was only a cave of about 2x2m, which was probably used for small parties – we found only garbage and remains of campfires.

Finally arrived at the lake we found quite a few jeering and celebrating Iranians. Bathing in the lake was prohibited and we had, because of the smell that was here in our noses, also no real desire to test the water temperature. To make matters worse, a storm suddenly broke loose, which quickly forced us to “curse”. Various garbage flew around our ears, the trees bent threateningly from left to right and the sky darkened more and more, while we were on our way back to Qazvin.

Back in Qazvin, we briefly visited the bazaar and refueled a little energy in a nice little café. We tried various drinks and while paying, an extended conversation with our waiter (who thankfully, for a change, could speak English) about the problems in Iran and the opinion and dire situation of the people of Iran.n a small side street we found a small snack bar. Family owned for several generations (recognizable by the many personal pictures in the room), owners and the few other patrons were happy to see us. An older man, who was probably getting his dinner, grinned at Andreas for a long time and tapped him nicely on the shoulder several times. With hands and feet we ordered our first kebab or kabab – meat on skewers grilled over an open fire. On some skewers we could tell what we were eating. With 2 skewers, which we had selected by finger pointing, we were quite sure what we had ordered, with the two remaining, we still do not know what we ate (either heart and fat, or lung and brain) – no matter, because everything tasted really wonderful.

On the way back to the accommodation we visited briefly the tomb of the 4 prophets, although already closed. At the hotel, we planned some of the next nights and booked them as well. Fortunately, we could fall back on the VPN of our employer, otherwise the booking would have been impossible. Around 00:30 we went to bed.