Kutaisi
It all started by looking for place where it’s still warm in September, then we found these really cheap plane tickets. So we ended up flying to Kutaisi, Georgia, a former capital city.
Theme parks
It appeared that every respected city in Georgia must have its own theme park. Or at least its own ferris wheel.
Gelati monaster
When you look into the guide, you’ll read about monasters all around the Georgia. This one is a few-minute drive from Kutaisi. It is known for well preserved, characteristic paintings. Speaking of “well-preserved”, many historic buildings wasn’t that lucky.
Bagrati cathedral
The country suffered a lot of wars during the history. Georigan people try to reconstruct everything now. Although there is still a lot of work to do. On the other hand, Bagrati Cathedral was reconstructed against the UNESCO wish.
Leisure time
I wasn’t sure whether it’s due to high unemployment rate, but it was quite common for people there just to gathered together and spending the whole day by doing nothing or almost nothing. Here they came down to the shop to watch TV.
Cave of Prometeus
This cave is a bit different. It’s illuminated with colorful lights, and they play classical music here.
Stray dogs
All around the Georgia there are really a lot of stray dogs. You don’t have to be afraid of these in cities, usually they just want to play. However shepherd dogs aren’t that friendly.
Tbilisi
So far this is one of the most varied city. It’s difficult to say, here and there you can see modern buildings and everything looks like a typical big city in a developed country. On the other hand, you can easily see things you wouldn’t expect in such city.
Back to animals for a moment…
When we were walking through Tbilisi, we found many cats on a single street. It turned out that a homeless woman leads a “hotel” for cats living on streets. It was interesting that the woman spoke English better than people in shops and restaurants. Also, she actually does something useful instead of just begging for money, as many other people here do.
Tbilisi center
It’s a common practice here to illuminate things that are looking good and hide all these ruins in the darkness :)
Roofs in the Tbilisi center
Kazbegi
It’s well known mountains region. Also, there’s the Tsminda Sameba church, I think it’s one of most photographed building in Georgia. We rent a horses here and ride them up to the church. But… we were ripped off! If you ever want to do the same, ensure that you discussed every detail and catch!
Mtskheta
It’s one of the oldest towns in Georgia and one of the most significant to its history. Personally, I remembered many grapes and pomegranate fruits growing here :)
Ujarma fortress
The fortress was destroyed and now there are only ruins. It’s strange that a few monks still lives here.
Telavi and its wine region
It’s a quite small town, but it’s different than anything we’ve seen here before. It’s not that destroyed (except for a few abandoned buildings), lot of young people lives here. Also, there are many cafes and restaurants for such small town.
Road to Tusheti
In Telavi it’s quite easy to find somebody who knows somebody who goes up to the Omalo, a village in mountains. This trip is really amazing and worth going! The only road leads through the Abano pass at around 2850 meters.
Omalo
Remote location makes it difficult to live, especially during the winter. Each 4x4 car that comes up here brings food and supplies for people here. On the other hand, almost everyone here has solar panels and so - electricity and hot water.
I’m on a horse
Dartlo
Now if access to Omalo is difficult, imagine another village, few kilometers further. One thing that made me thinking - there are a lot of new buildings. I wonder if Georgians plan to expand the tourism here. By the way, see what they use to construct that houses, it looks really great!
Wat?
Shenako
Once you’re in the Omalo, you should hike to Shenako. It’s another village nearby. The route is easy and the village is yet different. I remember there were many signs like “shop”, “massages” here, but… somehow I didn’t trusted them. Just have a look.
Kiwi
I never thought about it before, but for the first time I’ve seen how kiwi fruits grows :)
Lagodekhi National Park
From what I remember it’s the only park in Georgia with hiking trails. I remember that when we were here water level was very high. We had to cross the river couple of times to get to the end, but finally we made it.
Sighnaghi
Market in Sighnaghi
Gas stations
Well yeah, gas stations here were really unique! You never knew what is going to happen next time.
Driving through Achalciche
We chose a route through Achalciche. The road is not exactly in a perfect condition, but if you’re into touring and adventure then reserve a few more hours and prepare for a bumpy road!
Communism leftovers
Well, I was really surprised when I spotted this. The sign looks like it has at least a couple of decades.
Linville cafe, Tbilisi
This place was quite unique… and strange. When we came here from the street we noticed that something is wrong with the floor… it was uneven and we could feel it by walking through the cafe. I found it funny that they had to cut tables’ legs to level them. But, keeping uneven floor as a tourist attraction, this place is really worth to check out. Plus, they serve a good coffee.
Block in the middle of nowhere
We were driving for a bit of time and suddenly, out of nowhere this block appeared. It was just a single block, in the middle of nowhere.
Batumi
A port, fashionable resort, it seemed that the city tries to be a bit of everything. It’s also seems to be a bit kitschy. But, this country is still developing so let’s see how it’ll change.
A bit more fancy
For those who hate Georgian traditional bread or candies - as long as you don’t go to Tusheti, you can easily find a place that servers other food (I had enough of Georgian kitchen on the 3rd day of our trip). But if you enjoy tasting wine, you definitely should try something local! So far, Kindzmarauli is one of our favourite Georgian wine.
Marketplace in kutaisi
