Advertisement
Published: July 15th 2008
Kazbegi Monastery
The 12km hike through the snow was worth it!From Sumela I head to the Georgian border. I stay at a homestay with a Georgian family in Kutaisi, and wander around the local ruined cathedral in the early evening, before spending the rest of the night eating and drinking Chacha (the local firewater) with my hosts.
I leave early the next morning for Kazbegi, high in the Geogian mountains, not far from the Russian border, and spend a couple of nights at another, family-run, homestay, which is nice and warm. It's snowing outside.
Over breakfast the next morning, and old, rugged and very drunk old man busts in and starts shouting and pointing at people. Everyone is stunned, but it bgecomes clear that he's the owner of the house, and wants us all to drink with him and toast the old 'better' Soviet, Stalinist days. It's all good fun!
After breakfast, we take a 12km hike up into the snowy mountains, to see a churck and monastery. The scenery in spectacular and I enjoy the exercise, traipsing through the snow.
From Kazbegi I head to Tbilisi, Georgia's capital, stopping on the way to visit MANY churches, and the Stalin museum in Gori - his Birthplace -
Another church
A pretty one though including his original house and his special train carriage.
I take a walking tour of Tbilisi the next morning, which once again consists mainly of churches - there's not a lot to do in town - I'm really only here long enough to get my Azeri VISA, so I spend the rest of the day drinking with fellow travellers, and then dancing. The evening culminates with a bouncer forcefully ejecting me from a pool-club...
I stroll through the back-streets the next day, but the town doesn't get anymore interesting. More alcohol was in order.
Fortuantely, for the sake of my liver, and with Azeri VISA in hand, I leave Tbilisi the next day. I leave Georgia the day after that, not sadly, as the weather's been miserable and the people not much happier.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.14s; Tpl: 0.024s; cc: 8; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0548s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
