The start of my time in Georgia was a lot of fun and I fell in love with the country. From exploring the capital to venturing out into smaller towns and nature, there was so much to see and do; I really enjoyed the time I spent in Georgia.
After getting misinformation that the Azerbaijan border was closed and that I needed to fly to Georgia, I booked a flight and started my time in Tbilisi, the capital. I started my first day in Tbilisi walking around looking for a light breakfast. In an underground walkway I found a small bakery making different Georgian breads so I got two, one with cheese and one with beans. They were both warm and delicious, but the cheese was by far my favorite. While eating breakfast in a park I booked a free walking tour for the day. The tour didn’t start until noon and when the guide showed up one of the first things I learned was that Tbilisi isn’t an early rising city. I saw that for myself later when I saw that there were few people walking around before eleven. The walking tour was really interesting and I was able to learn more about Tbilisi and Georgian culture. Georgia is the birthplace of wine so while walking around the city I came across multiple shops that, in addition to selling wine, also sell wine flavored soft serve ice cream. I tried the wine flavored ice cream and it was really tasty and was a nice cool treat on a hot day. After the tour I sat in a park and read for a while and enjoyed the lovely weather in the shade and then wandered around the city some more in the evening. It was a fun first day. I spent the next two days in the city wandering around to some of the different sites I’d heard about and also enjoying spending time reading in different parks. One thing I really love while traveling and maintaining a slower pace in places is having the time to just hang out in parks and not only enjoy the weather but also people watching and reading. I really enjoy my slow time spent in parks. On my last day in Tbilisi I headed out of the city center to visit a museum however, when I got out there it was closed because it was a Sunday. Since the museum was way outside of the city center, it took a while to walk out there and back, but it was an easy walk so I didn’t mind. Once back in the city center, I decided to take the gondola up to the top of the hill in the city and I explored up there. At the top of the hill they have a large statue that is called the Mother of Georgia, as well as a fortress. One thing I enjoyed about exploring the fortress was that I was able to walk all over it and climb along the wall. The views from the top of the hill and the fortress were amazing. While climbing the wall, the steps were super steep and there was a steep drop down the one side; it wasn’t the safest, but it also wasn’t completely unsafe since I made sure to walk carefully. Unfortunately, it was cloudy so I wasn’t able to see the sunset from the top. After exploring the fortress I headed back into the city center where I wandered around in search of dinner and then back to my hostel to pack.
After spending four fun days in Tbilisi I decided it was time to leave and explore a new area. When I left my hostel I didn’t know where I was actually going to go that day. My plan was to go to Sighnaghi, in the wine region of Georgia, but I didn’t know whether or not I would actually end up there. Before I left my hostel I had asked the owner where to go for the bus. I was told where to go and that once there I should just ask around about the bus. Once there I found no information on bus times and in fact, it wasn’t even a bus station. Despite that, it ended up working out great. When I got to the busy street where he directed me I went up to a few different local buses and asked if it was going to Sighnaghi. After a few minutes a local woman came up to me and asked if I needed help and then she called the driver for me and then sold me a ticket. While waiting for the bus I then booked a place to stay. The ride to Sighnaghi was pretty short; it was only a little over a two hour bus ride. On the way I discovered that in Georgia lanes are clearly only a suggestion and the driving is in fact somewhat chaotic, as I saw our driver drive in the oncoming traffic lane at times and he passed all the time. I’ve gotten used to being in countries with more chaotic driving so I found it fun and amusing. Once in Sighnaghi I walked to my guesthouse and was greeted by the friendliest owner. There were three others who came on the same bus as me and checked in at the same time. After we all put our bags into our rooms we were given a “welcome shot” of local cognac, a glass of homemade wine, and some watermelon. To say it was a very friendly, warm welcome would be an understatement. After hanging out at the guesthouse for a while, since it was a hot day we all went to the local pool. It was a very local pool that was really random, but we had a lot of fun as there weren’t many people there and we were definitely the only foreigners. After spending a few hours at the pool, we started heading back up the mountain and on our way back to the guesthouse we visited an abandoned building outside of town. The abandoned building at one point had been a fabric factory but had been abandoned for a long time. It was really cool exploring it and the higher up we went the better the views were of the surrounding area. That evening we all went out to dinner together and ordered a bunch of different Georgian foods and had an absolutely delicious and filling dinner. After dinner we all went back to the guesthouse and hung out there for the rest of the evening and had more homemade wine and met two other women who had just arrived that day as well. It was a great start to my time in Sighnaghi.
The next day the six of us staying at the guesthouse went together on a winery and church day trip which we booked through our guesthouse; it was just the husband from the guesthouse, Valeri, driving us around. It was an amazing day filled with lots of wine, Chacha, good company and laughter. We started the day at St. George’s Monastery of St. Nino. The church and surrounding grounds were beautiful. It was a shortstop before we moved on to the first winery of the day which was a winery in a large cave. Before we even entered the cave we could feel the cold air so we all bundled up in blankets and headed into the cave to start our tour. During the tour we were told about the cave and how they use it for producing and storing wine. We were also taught about the traditional wine making practices. To make Georgian wine the grapes are pressed and then the juice and skins are added into Qvevris, large clay vessels buried in the ground. The Qvevris are then sealed and the wine ferments in the Qvevris for five to six months. As I mentioned earlier, Georgia is the birthplace of wine, not Italy, and Georgian wine making traditions date back over 8,000 years. After learning more about how traditional Georgian wine is made and the different tools used, we then had a tasting where we tried three different wines. They were all delicious and it was a fun first tour and tasting. Next we headed to a second winery where we went on another tour and we saw more Qvevris and also old soviet era wine tanks and their bottling factory and labs. It was a really interesting tour after which we had another tasting where we tried four different wines. Again, they were all delicious and we had a lot of fun. The day and tours were definitely made way better because of the great group of people I was with. Our fourth stop of the day was to another church; this one was at the top of a smaller mountain and we had to climb our way to the top. The road up the mountain was super steep and tiring; four people in our group were super fast while one woman and I took our time going up. After making it about 2/3 or more of the way up the steep mountain and feeling exhausted, a car passed us going down the mountain; the driver made a hand motion indicating that he would come back. Jill, who I was walking up the mountain with, didn't fully believe me when I said that he was coming back up and would take us. We decided to keep heading up and not long after, the driver was back, stopped and let us in and took us up the rest of the way. We were super glad for the ride. From what we later saw, he was the caretaker of the church and grounds. We were glad he came back for us because the last bit of the way up the mountain got even steeper. The views from the top of the mountain were absolutely breathtaking and the church and surrounding buildings were cool to explore. In one of the buildings we saw Qvevri holes that monks or others used to make wine at the church. After exploring and enjoying the view we made our slow way down the steep mountain and then headed to a nearby lake. When we got to the lake our driver, Valeri, the husband of the woman who runs the guesthouse, gave us all a shot of homemade Chacha. Chacha is a very strong Georgian hard liquor made from the byproduct of the grapes during winemaking. The homemade Chacha we had was ONLY 45% alcohol; to Georgians that is weak. Apparently in Georgia they normally drink Chacha at 60-65% alcohol but you can buy it up to 85% alcohol. It was very strong and warmed all of our insides. After the shot we headed to the lake and three people from the group took a short swim.
Our final stop of the day was to a small local family run winery. This one was my favorite because of how local and small it was. We were shown the family's wine cave and then were brought up to a room where we were treated to some appetizers and two pitchers of their homemade wine, a red and a white, and a liter of Chacha. Everything from the food to the drinks were delicious. Georgian white wine is more of an amber color since they leave the skins in the Qvevris longer and it tastes different from other white wines, as well it is normal in traditional Georgian wines to have some sediment left in the bottle or wine due to a different filtration and wine making process. The wines are very good. We ended up staying at the last winery for a long time and had a lot of fun and good laughs. With the insistence of Valeri, our driver, who kept pouring us Chacha shots and one of the women in the group also refilling our glasses, somehow the six of us finished about a liter of Chacha, as well as two plus liters of the local wines. To say we had a lot of fun and laughs would be an understatement, it was a great ending to the day tour. On our way back to the guesthouse we stopped at a viewpoint outside of town and took in the amazing view. The rest of the evening we hung out at the guesthouse with new travelers who had arrived that day and later in the evening had more Georgian wine. It was a great day, made better by the people I was with, and I had a blast on the tour.
On my second full day in Sighnaghi, the others from the tour and I had a chill day at the guesthouse. I went out for a later Georgian lunch and then wandered around town for a little while. Once back at the guesthouse, I visited with others and the family of the guesthouse. Late that afternoon we had been told the town was hosting a Georgian wrestling tournament so we all decided to go. I had no idea what to expect with Georgian wrestling and I was bored by it. That being said, I enjoyed that not long into the wrestling tournament they had a break from wrestling and there was a show with traditional Georgian dancing. The show of traditional Georgian dancing was really cool to watch and made going to the wrestling tournament worth it. After the dancing ended we headed into town and the three people I was with wanted to visit a winery in town so we went there for dinner. The food was delicious and the wine was so good. After dinner we headed to a viewpoint of the town at sunset and were treated to a really beautiful view. I really liked not only the town but also the guesthouse I stayed at as well as the host family, so I decided to extend my stay another day; I also extended because I didn’t know where I was going to go next. My third day in Sighnaghi was another relaxing day, because everyone, except for one person who arrived the same day I did, had left so the guesthouse was pretty quiet. That late morning Jill, who was still there, and I walked out of town to a viewpoint of the town and lower valley. It was a really beautiful view and a nice walk. After taking in the view we headed back into town and had a delicious lunch. After lunch we headed back to the guesthouse, I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon talking with the host family of my guesthouse and working on life admin and planning. Then that evening for dinner Jill and I went out together to our favorite restaurant in town and the rest of the evening was pretty chill. Since I really liked not only the town of Sighnaghi but also my guesthouse and since I wasn’t as productive as I had planned to be the day before, I decided to stay a fourth day. I spent the extra day hanging out with the two daughters of my guesthouse and working on admin life planning. The host family of my guesthouse were truly the nicest people and at multiple times I was told that I was family now. On my fourth day in Sighnaghi, as I was talking with the two daughters, I had been told what time lunch was at and to be sure to be back in time if I went out to explore. I was able to be productive and then was welcomed into lunch with their family which was so nice of them. Then that afternoon while talking with the daughters again, new guests arrived and while Valeri, the husband, was introducing himself and his family to them I was introduced with his daughters as his “American daughter”. The family was truly the nicest and were part of the reason I kept extending my stay in Sighnaghi because not only did I love the town but also where I was staying.
After four full days in Sighnaghi, I finally left and headed to a nearby town called Lagodekhi. I had never heard of the town and was recommended to visit it by the family of my guesthouse in Sighnaghi so I decided to go. I stayed at another guesthouse there, since that was the only accommodation option. Originally, I was planning on going on the hike in the mountains outside of town, but since the garden of the guesthouse I was staying at was so nice I decided to instead enjoy the weather and garden and spent the afternoon reading in the garden. While in the garden the old guy whose house I was staying at insisted on giving me a tour of his large, beautiful garden. He spoke no English but we made it work and at one point he insisted I pick some of the fruit off the tree and try it. I’m not quite sure what it was, but it was delicious. He then gave me a foldable chair so I could go and sit in the quiet back area of the garden, but before I could go back there he got a step stool and picked a bunch of fruit for me. It was a really nice experience and a lovely afternoon spent reading outside. That night my time at the guesthouse became not as nice because while getting ready for bed I saw a cockroach on the wall right next to my bed. I then proceeded to see and had to try to kill five or six more cockroaches throughout the night, all on the walls next to or above my bed. It was horrible. The next day I went on a hike through the mountains outside of town. It was super beautiful and there weren’t many others around. At one point on the hike, I found a nice area by a rushing river to sit and enjoy nature and spent some time reading. It was a super beautiful area made even better because I had it all to myself. The rest of the hike was really nice and beautiful. After the hike I headed back to my accommodation and hung out there and talked with the wife of the old guy; she had apparently been out of town for a few days. While she also spoke no English we still had a lot of fun and were able to play travel charades, using our hands to talk, as well as using Google Translate. Then that evening for dinner I had a delicious feast of Georgian food made by my hosts at my guesthouse.
My stay in Lagodekhi was short and sweet and the next morning I was driven to the bus station. When I showed up to the bus station I had absolutely zero idea of where I was going to go. All I knew was that whatever my plans were, I was going to have to go through Tbilisi so I headed there, hoping to make up my plans on the way. While I absolutely love having so much freedom and being spontaneous with my plans, it came back to bite me this time. I had so many options of where to go that I couldn’t begin to decide what I wanted to do or where to go. I was hoping to have an idea by the time I got back to Tbilisi but even then I hadn’t decided where to go, so I decided to stay in Tbilisi for the night. Since I didn’t make my plans until I arrived in Tbilisi, I just headed back to the hostel I had stayed at when I had been there last. I showed up there and luckily they had space. Instead of staying only one night I ended up staying two nights in Tbilisi and was able to visit Stalin’s Underground Printing Press Museum, the museum I had wanted to visit when in Tbilisi the first time but that had been closed when I was there. Visiting this museum was one of if not the most unique museum experiences I have ever had. When I showed up I was immediately given a tour of the museum. The guy giving me the tour spoke broken English, but I was still able to understand what he was saying. He made my experiences there very unique.
Joseph Stalin was originally from Gori, Georgia, a town just outside of Tbilisi. The building, turned museum, that I was visiting had been used by Stalin and even before him was used as a hidden printing press to make propaganda for communism. It was well hidden because originally to get to the printing press they had to climb down a well and then up a ladder to get to the machine. Nowadays there is a staircase going down to the printing press and that’s where my tour started and where it immediately became interesting. Before leaving the room my tour guide insisted on not only me getting photos and videos of everything I saw, but he also motioned for me to give him my phone so that he could take photos of me there. While communicating this he was very proud to tell me that not only was he an ex KGB colonel but that he had apparently also been a spy and took photos. I was not expecting that. After that interesting encounter, we went above ground and to a small building with two rooms, both decked out with communist and Stalin memorabilia and artifacts. In one of the rooms I was told that the room and bed was where Stalin used to sleep when using the printing press. My guide then removed the rope barrier for the bed and insisted I sit on the bed so he could get a photo of me there, using my phone. In both rooms he made sure I got photos and videos of everything and took photos of me in each room. We then went into the other building which had documents and photos from the time it was used and during the rise of communism. It was all an amusingly weird experience because not only did my guide remind me multiple times how he had been KGB but also from the way he talked about Stalin and Lennon, he gave Stalin superfan vibes. I have truly never met someone who liked Stalin so much. He also made it clear that he thinks communism is the best and capitalism isn’t good; at one point he said capitalism was bad and had lots of problems and socialism was good and had no problems. In the room with different papers and photos, he kept raving about Stalin and communism and at one point he was showing a photo of a Stalin event in Moscow and was so proud to tell me that he had been there as KGB. In the final room it was an office space and apparently a desk in the room was the desk Stalin used to work at. I went in knowing absolutely nothing about what I was getting myself into and to say it was a unique, interesting experience would be a massive understatement. After the tour I had to pay the equivalent of about $3 USD for the tour and entrance and from the vibes I was getting from my guide, I’m pretty sure my money went to whatever communist party he is attempting to keep alive in Georgia. By the time I left, I couldn’t help but laugh at how random and weird of an experience I had just had. I then spent the rest of the afternoon making my travel plans for the next day.
The first bit of my time in Georgia was so much fun and I fell in love with the country, wine, and food. I was able to meet a bunch of amazing people and have so many different unique and interesting experiences. Before going to Georgia I didn’t know much about the country other than that it was the birthplace of wine as well as some of its wine history. While there I learned even more about wine history and about the country itself. My first two weeks in Georgia surpassed any and all expectations I may have had of the country.
“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know
where they’re going.”
- Paul Theroux
I love that quote. It's absolutely perfect for you!