We have a very early start (6:30am leaving our house) from Tbilisi this morning, as we head south to Borjomi and Vardzia. We’re driving a long way out and back to see just three places but the journey is an important part of the trip as we get to see the beautiful countryside of Georgia.
As we leave Tbilisi we see one of the famous Soviet era buildings which is now the National Bank of Georgia. It’s listed as one of the world’s ugliest / most beautiful brutalist buildings depending who you ask.
A few hours later, our first official stop is Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park. The entrance to the park is at the end of the very cute Borjomi town (I’d probably call it a village). It has an eye catching building which was built in 1892 as the summer house for Mirza Riza Khan, the Persian Consul General to the Russian Empire.
Inside the park we take an electric open air trolley to climb to the top (we wouldn’t have time to walk it) and visit Saint Father Seraphim church and the surrounding wooded area, dedicated to him. It’s a beautiful forest area and you know I lovely a picture of a holy person out in nature!
On the way back down we stop at the Plateau to see the view into the valley. Very nice if not a little underwhelming. I reckon the way to see Borjomi is to spend a couple of days so you can hike this beautiful landscape. Unfortunately we don’t have that luxury so we are just getting a taster of the place.
Back down at the park entrance, we go inside to taste the famous mineral water. Now when I heard that Borjomi had famous mineral water I was very excited to try it but that was before the guide explained it has sulphur in it… also it’s warm (almost hot!) coming out of the tap… hmmm no thank you!! I did taste it but I certainly wasn’t filling a bottle. Himself had a good sup of course!!!
After another couple of hours in the bus, we arrive at Vardzia. Now this is definitely the highlight of the day. It’s a 12th century cave city in a cliff! It was built by King Giorgi III and his daughter Queen Tamar during Georgia’s golden age.
It’s not natural caves. They carved an entire city into the side of Mt. Erusheti, above the Mtkvari river, very close to the Turkish border.
There are multiple levels to explore and the views out from the caves is spectacular.
It’s 3pm as we sit down for lunch looking across at Vardzia. We have a very nice pork and potato dish with a side of the layered Khachapuri and enjoy chatting to a couple of lads from Northern Ireland.
Back on board, it’s a short drive to our third and final stop, the fortress complex of Rabati in the town of Akhaltsikhe. This place is huge and it’s hard to capture in one photo.
There are multiple buildings and multiple layers to walk through within the castle walls. The original castle is from the 9th century with various other parts added over time by the Ottomans and the Russians.
There is no time to go inside the buildings to view the interior so we climb part of the walls and go inside the towers for various views.
It’s a very long drive back and what was scheduled as a 14 hour day trip (7am to 9pm) turns into a 15.5 hour trip, getting us home at 10:30pm. There’s not much to do but have a cup of tea and get to bed early!
Next morning we are off to the bathhouse. I love a hamam and have been looking forward to a scrub! There are lots of them to choose from and we go with No.5, which is the famous public bathhouse, and has a soviet feel to it.
We actually opt for a private room otherwise we have to split up as men and women are separated (due to the nudity one assumes)! We have a huge “living room” and then the spa area has a large hot pool, a cold plunge, sauna and toilet. Oh and of course the plinth where we will have our scrub.
After some soaking time, there’s a loud knock on the door and a “mama” comes in and tells me to take my swimsuit off and get on the plinth. I do exactly as I’m told and get scrubbed to within an inch of my life!!! I love the part where she suds me up and then massages me and then of course she throws a few buckets of water over me – fantastic!!! When she’s all done, she tells me to put my swimsuit back on, spend one minute in the sauna, then the cold plunge and then the hot pool. A few minutes after she’s gone a man arrives to scrub Shane, and I’m fairly sure he’s not gonna like it!!
We are brand new as we leave the baths, hydrating with water and glowing (well I think so!!).
As it’s our last day in Tbilisi. We have a wander around the old town and revisit some of the sites. The church on the hill with King Gorgasali, the founder of Tbilisi is nicely lit by the sun.
We walk along the river and admire Georgian balconies and houses built into the cliff edge.
We see the Peace Bridge in its entirety, full of people.
Then we reckon it’s time for lunch. I’m keen to have a final Adjaruli Khachapuri and Shane finds a veal stew he hasn’t tried yet. It’s a delicious final lunch and a relaxing meal in the old town.
Next we visit Chateau Mukhrani for a glass of wine as this is one of the more famous wineries. A tasty, refreshing glass of local white wine for 9 GEL – that’s just €3! I’m going to miss this.
A quick note on the metro over here… I mentioned in the last blog post that it goes really deep… well, we timed it and the escalator journey lasted 2 minutes and 7 seconds!
I’ve noticed lots of Dunkin Donuts around and apparently there are more per capita here in Tbilisi than there are in Boston! The most famous is in a Soviet Building near our house so we have to take a look!
Walking by Freedom Square (formerly Lenin square) for the last time on our walk home.
We really have enjoyed Tbilisi.
Later in the day we relax and have some final kinkhalis as a light dinner (we’re still fullish from lunch!). This time we get to try the smaller fried kinkhali which are very nice.
Next morning we are heading to Armenia. I get one last look at Mother of Georgia (or Mama G as we like to call her) and say goodbye to Tbilisi.
