Georgia - about mountains, food & wine

Georgia made it to my travel list only recently; I heard more and more friends and people talking about it, especially for Germans it seemed to have become a trending destination. When deciding where to go this autumn/late summer, I had Albania and Georgia as the two final options. Eventually, a dear half-Georgian friend of mine made the difference, so I ended up spending 10 days in beautiful Georgia.

As my life had been quite hectic and somewhat dynamic, I did not (want to) spend a lot of time on preparing this trip. I had booked my flights to Tbilisi, briefly flicked through some travel guides resp. websites and left the rest to chance; turned out to be the best idea..

My friends mum gave me a bit of a head start and organized a flat for the first two nights and an airport transfer to the city. As I got my air tickets super cheap, I had to go via Istanbul and arrived in Tbilisi in the middle of the night. Turns out nights are busiest when it comes to flying in or out of Georgia anyways, fees and taxes are way cheaper. 

When I arrived at the flat it was 4.30 AM and I was welcomed with some local treats (Khachapouri) and wine. 

The first day started quite slow, I joined a bunch of Germans on a sunny day trip to the ancient capital Mzcheta and surrounding cathedrals / monasteries. So I got a glimpse of Georgian culture, history and religion, the latter being treated very seriously and widely practised in my impression. As it was a Saturday, we were lucky to witness a bunch of wedding ceremonies also. Some more first impressions were heaps of stray dogs in Tbilisi, a good share of hybrid/electrical cars - interestingly despite traffic on the right hand side, there are a lot of cars with their driving wheels on the right hand side, depending where they are imported from - and heavy traffic with locals tending to drive like maniacs; crossing a road can be a dangerous game, always be alert!

After a lot of yummy Georgian food (Chinkali, more Khachapouri, some beans and eggplant dishes) and of course wine (do I need to stretch that Georgia is a wine country and super proud to be one of the oldest producers of wine in the world?), I decided to visit a local bar in the late evening. I ended up drinking till late with a bunch of US marines, who are stationed in Georgia to support and train local forces, and got an introduction to the local spirit chacha.

As my sleeping rhythm has been a bit messed up after those two nights, I spent the Sunday relaxed and easy exploring Tbilisi by myself on foot. There is a bunch of good museums here, also giving an insight into the rich history especially after the collapse of the Sowjet Union. But I was more into scenic view points, which Tbilisi is not short of as there are mountains in/around the city which are easily accessible. My preferred way to start exploring a city is to look at it from a vintage point - in Tbilisi Mtatsminda Park and the Narikala fortress at sunset. I dig the change of perspective and being able to experience the hectic city life from a bit of a distance. The day ended with a visit to the famous sulphur baths and another filling Georgian dinner.

The next day was reserved for a trip to the North, to the famous Kazbegi mountain (5.047m) on the boarder to Russia. It was a clear day and we could see the peak in the far distance, but luckily no clouds covering it. On the way we visited the Tbilisi water reservoir, the freedom memorial and the cathedral at Ananuri. The way back to Tbilisi, I was a bit stressed because I had a night train to Svaneti (North Western Georgia) booked, that the tour operator promised I could easily make. I ended up speeding at 110 km/h through Tbilisi by taxi, just made the train and instantaneously fell asleep on my bunk bed in a cabin with three other guys. Train is a reliable and very affordable way to travel in Georgia - I paid 25 Lari (=7.5€) for an eight hour trip through the entire country.

After arrival in Zugdidi, I needed to go on a local bus - called Marshrutka - for another 3.5 hours to reach Mestia in the middle of the Greater Caucasus. Needless to say I was done after that. Even though the weather had been rainy and cloudy anyways, that didn‘t stop the driver to race through narrow mountain roads with potholes all over. And at the same time smoking a cigarette, talking on the phone, eating massive Georgian breads and shouting at other drivers..

Mestia is a starting point for hiking trips in the Greater Caucasus, and there is plenty of hikes you can choose, from 1 day to several days. One of the most famous hikes is around the ancient city of Ushguli, which lies on the foot of the Shkhara glacier. Such a stunning scenery to hike at, I truly felt free and at peace there.

I spent another two amazing days hiking around Mestia (Zuruldi range and Mestia cross), until my legs and knees had enough of the steep slopes and significant elevation gains. The scenery is breathtaking though, apparently also a good area to go skiing in winter time; here are some more impressions.

Coming back to a city after those days was tough, I got so used to the peace and quiet of the mountains and mountain towns. Although Mestia is quite a bit under construction and developing since tourism really picked up.

For the last days, I decided to stay in Tbilisi, explore a bit more, indulge in the local cuisine and wine, also go for another treatment in a sulphur bath to relax my sore legs. This second time I booked a body scrub as well, and when I came out of the bath the city life seemed to be a lot slower.. But obviously in a country famous for drinking alcohol and especially wine, an evening usually doesn‘t end after a wine tasting but in some bars/ local hangout places. Tbilisi is a very vibrant city, with lots of young people going out and there is loud music playing everywhere on Friday and Saturday nights. I ended the night with a walk up to the Narikala fortress, a whole lot of a different experience in the dark, but soo worth the view over Tbilisi by night.

In conclusion, Georgia is an amazing and diverse country absolutely worth visiting. I can only recommend going, travel is very affordable (hotel bed from 15 Eur/night, meals from 3-7 Eur, cathedrals and tourist attractions with little to no admission) and the country has so much to offer and history to tell. I would love to go back and see the wine regions of Khaketi and the black sea coast as well as some national parks.