August 2-9, 2016
Part 2
Tbilisi was great. And writing this I can't stop thinking about the food and wine of Georgia... If you haven't been to Georgia, please go!! You can read about Tbilisi here. So here's a little about the rest of the trip...
The first stop after Tbilisi was David Gareja. No, not the French DJ who collaborates with the top hip-hop and pop artists...but that's David Guetta. David Gareja is not even a person. Well, actually he was a person; a saint actually. But these days, David Gareja refers to a 6th century complex of monasteries located near the Azerbaijan border. In addition to the standing churches and chapels in the complex, a short hike up the mountain will reveal a series of caves with centuries-old frescoes. I expected some form of blockades for preservation, but anyone can walk right up to the caves, touch everything, and take a nap or have a picnic.
That night we stayed in a village called Udabno, at a hostel run by some Poles. Everyone was speaking Polish in the middle of the Georgian countryside. There were cows everywhere, and we went on a jog with 5 dogs. They stayed with us the whole time, as we passed through the village, over some hills, past a lake and back. They growled to keep the riff-raff away from us, and they were polite enough to turn their heads when a couple of us had to stop to relieve ourselves in the bushes. One of the 5 was a bit more shy, staying several meters behind the group, but obviously wanting to be included. He was like the new kid at school who lingers around the popular kids, waiting to be invited to join. They were all really sweet until their animal instincts took over. As we passed another small gang of dogs, a couple of "our" dogs brutally attacked another one, who honestly seemed to be minding his own business. Maybe he was paying for a past quarrel, or maybe he whispered something offensive about the bitches in our group. I don't know, but it was tough to see them bite and choke another dog, while we couldn't do anything. We wanted to break up the fight by trying to talk to some reason into our friends, but the barking was louder than our shouting, and I don't think they speak English anyway. I'm not a dog expert, but trying to physically intervene when big angry dogs are viciously attacking each other (not playing) is probably not a good idea. Upon closer examination, most of the dogs had parts of their ears, tails or skin missing. It's the Wild West out there.
That night in Udabno was memorable, in a good way (except for the part when Maciek's snoring shook the whole building). The hostel also had some pretty good food; the bread with meat inside being my favorite. I don't know what it's called, I just ordered "bread with meat inside". The "bread with beans inside" was also very good. The environment in the hostel bar was very relaxing, sitting on the long wooden benches with a beer and the cool summer night air. It created the perfect mood for some fun games. We played one of my favorite card games, Kings, for hours, which led to all of the other hostel guests and visitors to the bar to join in, and Jay and/or Ash pulling down their pants. I'm not sure if the two events were related or not. During a break, Zosia showed a card trick and the entire bar cheered when she correctly guessed Jay's card. It was magical and I'm still kicking myself for not getting it on video!
All of this fun was a good distraction for me, considering my heavy heart after mom's passing. But once in a while there was wi-fi and I'd check emails, texts and messages from friends sending condolences from all over the world. It brought me back to reality a bit, which was both good and bad. It made me sad, but also made me realize how amazing it is that so many people care and had nice things to say about my mom. I was getting messages from guys who hadn't seen my mom in 20 years; from high school, from SCAA...everyone wanting to share fond memories. I'm so grateful for all those people and the love I felt from afar. Of course, I felt the love from the guys I was in Georgia with too....they really got me through the difficult time.
The next part of the trip was another highlight for me: the wine. I've always been a fan of wines from Georgia (one of the oldest wine regions in the world, by the way), especially Kindzmarauli. I'd be lying if I said I could remember how to say this word...the reality is that it's my favorite when I drink it, but I never remember how to say it well enough to order it. Generally I prefer the semi-sweet Georgian wines, which taste like juice. During the Soviet Union times, Georgian wine was one of the most popular, but due to poor Georgian-Russian relations, Georgian wine was banned from Russia from 2006 to 2013. During my first trip to Russia, I went to a Georgian restaurant but was surprised when they didn't have any Georgian wine on the menu. Luckily that ban is over now and every time I work in Moscow, I spend at least one dinner in a Georgian place by the Sheraton.
We spent a day in Kakheti, visiting a couple vineyards (Tsinandali and Khareba) and trying lots of different wine. It was similar to visiting Napa Valley, though Napa has a lot more drunk tourists. One of the cool things about Georgian wine is that they age and store it in clay pots (called qvevri...also no idea how to pronounce that), and the leftover solids (skin, pulp, etc) are distilled into the Georgian brandy called chacha (which I know how to both pronounce and drink). I especially liked drinking wine out of the little clay cups.
After a night in Signagi (with another dog who liked to run), we spent a good part of the next day driving to Kazbegi, our destination for some hiking. Kazbegi is on the northern part of the country, so we had a long drive from Signagi, which is on the eastern part. Noemi and Maciek were doing a great job of sharing the driving duties. Each of them had their own styles...one of whom caused the passengers to develop sweaty hands. I won't say which one. Maciek definitely enjoyed the bumpy roads, and passing cows and slow trucks. Noemi preferred less adventure. They both helped us arrive safe and sound, and generally we didn't get lost. What else could you ask for?!
They even pulled over when I (or I should say "someone in the car") had an emergency situation...some food didn't sit well, and as we were driving through the mountains, "someone" needed a toilet. But where can you find a toilet along the highway in the mountains? So we pulled over, and "someone", let's call him "Tom", ran out. He (or she...it coulda been a girl!) didn't want to be seen by the other passengers in the car or the cars passing by, so he climbed down the pretty steep edge of the road, out of sight. The hill was very steep, so he had to be careful not to go too far, otherwise the hike back up would be difficult. He found a place in the gravel to dig a hole and take care of business...but unfortunately, just like in a slap-stick comedy, the roll of toilet paper succumbed to the law of gravity...and went tumbling down the hill. The toilet paper ROLLED DOWN THE HILL!!! It rolled down in slow motion at first...teasing me, I mean teasing "Tom" as if to say "I'm still almost within reach...come get me"...before falling dramatically at least 300 feet to the bottom. Even though I couldn't actually hear it, I could sense the crashing and echoing sounds in my head. I mean Tom could. Tom was tempted to chase it for a bit, because, as mentioned earlier, he was surrounded by gravel and rocks, meaning no plush leaves or spare rolls of TP laying around. But chasing it would risk falling down the hill himself, with pants around his ankles. Luckily, he managed to find a few small (and I mean SMALL) leaves and a old milk carton buried in the rocks. That would have to do.
Kazbegi (and Kazbek mountain) was very nice for hiking. The first hike was up to a monastery on top of the mountain. The view from the top was gorgeous. It wasn't that long, but it was a very steep climb. There weren't that many tourists around generally, and most of them seemed to be Russian or Polish. Luckily none of them noticed Tom when he had to take another break amongst the trees and cows to relieve himself. He literally squatted among a group of cows, because he couldn't find any place without cows or people...he figured the cows would be less offended.
The next day we did a longer hike, which was more flat, but still as impressive. It passed through a small "village" with just a couple small homes, including what seemed like a nunnery. We met more giant friendly dogs, took some pics and enjoyed a small picnic. Since our friends Andy and Alan were running the length of the Wisla river at that time to promote a clean river bank, we decided to pick up trash along our hike as well. We did pretty well!
On the way back to Kutaisi, we stopped in Uplistsikhe for a short visit. It's literally a town built into the rocks, dating back to 600 BC. It was fascinating to see, but there was not a lot of information posted about what we were looking at. It would be more engaging if there was a description of everything...or maybe we were supposed to hire a guide. Generally I noticed that about Georgia...there are awesome things to see, but it's not developed enough to provide sufficient information so you know what you're looking at. You can also see that they aren't prepared for boatloads of people since the restaurants often don't have everything on the menu (and sometimes not even half of the things on the menu). The waiters don't seem to think it's a problem if they don't have that particular dish...from their perspective the customer should be happy that they have anything at all, and that you should simply eat what they give you. My first reaction to this is somewhat negative, since we are conditioned to expect to receive exactly what we want at a restaurant. However, imagine going to a Georgian family's home for dinner. You don't "order" food - you simply eat what they prepare, and it's probably going to be awesome. So why are we so upset if a restaurant doesn't have our first (or second or third) choice? Anyway, I'd say that Georgia is not yet for the casual tourist. But I absolutely recommend it.
Our flight back was from Kutaisi, so we headed there for one last evening. It was an amazing week and Noemi was especially helpful remembering all the places and people from her previous trip a few years back. I was impressed that she still remembered everything. It's been less than a year since this trip for me (yes, I know this post is super late), but I wouldn't remember all the stuff we did without writing it down.
The question now: What's the next trip that Doremi will organize for us???
Part 2
Tbilisi was great. And writing this I can't stop thinking about the food and wine of Georgia... If you haven't been to Georgia, please go!! You can read about Tbilisi here. So here's a little about the rest of the trip...
The first stop after Tbilisi was David Gareja. No, not the French DJ who collaborates with the top hip-hop and pop artists...but that's David Guetta. David Gareja is not even a person. Well, actually he was a person; a saint actually. But these days, David Gareja refers to a 6th century complex of monasteries located near the Azerbaijan border. In addition to the standing churches and chapels in the complex, a short hike up the mountain will reveal a series of caves with centuries-old frescoes. I expected some form of blockades for preservation, but anyone can walk right up to the caves, touch everything, and take a nap or have a picnic.
David Gareja monastery
They might be jumping to Azerbaijan
Frescoed caves everywhere
That night we stayed in a village called Udabno, at a hostel run by some Poles. Everyone was speaking Polish in the middle of the Georgian countryside. There were cows everywhere, and we went on a jog with 5 dogs. They stayed with us the whole time, as we passed through the village, over some hills, past a lake and back. They growled to keep the riff-raff away from us, and they were polite enough to turn their heads when a couple of us had to stop to relieve ourselves in the bushes. One of the 5 was a bit more shy, staying several meters behind the group, but obviously wanting to be included. He was like the new kid at school who lingers around the popular kids, waiting to be invited to join. They were all really sweet until their animal instincts took over. As we passed another small gang of dogs, a couple of "our" dogs brutally attacked another one, who honestly seemed to be minding his own business. Maybe he was paying for a past quarrel, or maybe he whispered something offensive about the bitches in our group. I don't know, but it was tough to see them bite and choke another dog, while we couldn't do anything. We wanted to break up the fight by trying to talk to some reason into our friends, but the barking was louder than our shouting, and I don't think they speak English anyway. I'm not a dog expert, but trying to physically intervene when big angry dogs are viciously attacking each other (not playing) is probably not a good idea. Upon closer examination, most of the dogs had parts of their ears, tails or skin missing. It's the Wild West out there.
Our running buddies
The hostel
That night in Udabno was memorable, in a good way (except for the part when Maciek's snoring shook the whole building). The hostel also had some pretty good food; the bread with meat inside being my favorite. I don't know what it's called, I just ordered "bread with meat inside". The "bread with beans inside" was also very good. The environment in the hostel bar was very relaxing, sitting on the long wooden benches with a beer and the cool summer night air. It created the perfect mood for some fun games. We played one of my favorite card games, Kings, for hours, which led to all of the other hostel guests and visitors to the bar to join in, and Jay and/or Ash pulling down their pants. I'm not sure if the two events were related or not. During a break, Zosia showed a card trick and the entire bar cheered when she correctly guessed Jay's card. It was magical and I'm still kicking myself for not getting it on video!
Bread with meat inside...soft and juicy!
The next part of the trip was another highlight for me: the wine. I've always been a fan of wines from Georgia (one of the oldest wine regions in the world, by the way), especially Kindzmarauli. I'd be lying if I said I could remember how to say this word...the reality is that it's my favorite when I drink it, but I never remember how to say it well enough to order it. Generally I prefer the semi-sweet Georgian wines, which taste like juice. During the Soviet Union times, Georgian wine was one of the most popular, but due to poor Georgian-Russian relations, Georgian wine was banned from Russia from 2006 to 2013. During my first trip to Russia, I went to a Georgian restaurant but was surprised when they didn't have any Georgian wine on the menu. Luckily that ban is over now and every time I work in Moscow, I spend at least one dinner in a Georgian place by the Sheraton.
We spent a day in Kakheti, visiting a couple vineyards (Tsinandali and Khareba) and trying lots of different wine. It was similar to visiting Napa Valley, though Napa has a lot more drunk tourists. One of the cool things about Georgian wine is that they age and store it in clay pots (called qvevri...also no idea how to pronounce that), and the leftover solids (skin, pulp, etc) are distilled into the Georgian brandy called chacha (which I know how to both pronounce and drink). I especially liked drinking wine out of the little clay cups.
Wine with this view tastes good
After a night in Signagi (with another dog who liked to run), we spent a good part of the next day driving to Kazbegi, our destination for some hiking. Kazbegi is on the northern part of the country, so we had a long drive from Signagi, which is on the eastern part. Noemi and Maciek were doing a great job of sharing the driving duties. Each of them had their own styles...one of whom caused the passengers to develop sweaty hands. I won't say which one. Maciek definitely enjoyed the bumpy roads, and passing cows and slow trucks. Noemi preferred less adventure. They both helped us arrive safe and sound, and generally we didn't get lost. What else could you ask for?!
Cows and trucks dominate the roads
They even pulled over when I (or I should say "someone in the car") had an emergency situation...some food didn't sit well, and as we were driving through the mountains, "someone" needed a toilet. But where can you find a toilet along the highway in the mountains? So we pulled over, and "someone", let's call him "Tom", ran out. He (or she...it coulda been a girl!) didn't want to be seen by the other passengers in the car or the cars passing by, so he climbed down the pretty steep edge of the road, out of sight. The hill was very steep, so he had to be careful not to go too far, otherwise the hike back up would be difficult. He found a place in the gravel to dig a hole and take care of business...but unfortunately, just like in a slap-stick comedy, the roll of toilet paper succumbed to the law of gravity...and went tumbling down the hill. The toilet paper ROLLED DOWN THE HILL!!! It rolled down in slow motion at first...teasing me, I mean teasing "Tom" as if to say "I'm still almost within reach...come get me"...before falling dramatically at least 300 feet to the bottom. Even though I couldn't actually hear it, I could sense the crashing and echoing sounds in my head. I mean Tom could. Tom was tempted to chase it for a bit, because, as mentioned earlier, he was surrounded by gravel and rocks, meaning no plush leaves or spare rolls of TP laying around. But chasing it would risk falling down the hill himself, with pants around his ankles. Luckily, he managed to find a few small (and I mean SMALL) leaves and a old milk carton buried in the rocks. That would have to do.
On the way to Kazbehi: Zhinvali reservoir
Kazbegi (and Kazbek mountain) was very nice for hiking. The first hike was up to a monastery on top of the mountain. The view from the top was gorgeous. It wasn't that long, but it was a very steep climb. There weren't that many tourists around generally, and most of them seemed to be Russian or Polish. Luckily none of them noticed Tom when he had to take another break amongst the trees and cows to relieve himself. He literally squatted among a group of cows, because he couldn't find any place without cows or people...he figured the cows would be less offended.
Hike up the mountain
Say CHEESE!!
We're SOOO FUNNY!!!!
The next day we did a longer hike, which was more flat, but still as impressive. It passed through a small "village" with just a couple small homes, including what seemed like a nunnery. We met more giant friendly dogs, took some pics and enjoyed a small picnic. Since our friends Andy and Alan were running the length of the Wisla river at that time to promote a clean river bank, we decided to pick up trash along our hike as well. We did pretty well!
Ash needs a WITC shirt
A little picnic in the "village"
Our trash collection...not bad!
On the way back to Kutaisi, we stopped in Uplistsikhe for a short visit. It's literally a town built into the rocks, dating back to 600 BC. It was fascinating to see, but there was not a lot of information posted about what we were looking at. It would be more engaging if there was a description of everything...or maybe we were supposed to hire a guide. Generally I noticed that about Georgia...there are awesome things to see, but it's not developed enough to provide sufficient information so you know what you're looking at. You can also see that they aren't prepared for boatloads of people since the restaurants often don't have everything on the menu (and sometimes not even half of the things on the menu). The waiters don't seem to think it's a problem if they don't have that particular dish...from their perspective the customer should be happy that they have anything at all, and that you should simply eat what they give you. My first reaction to this is somewhat negative, since we are conditioned to expect to receive exactly what we want at a restaurant. However, imagine going to a Georgian family's home for dinner. You don't "order" food - you simply eat what they prepare, and it's probably going to be awesome. So why are we so upset if a restaurant doesn't have our first (or second or third) choice? Anyway, I'd say that Georgia is not yet for the casual tourist. But I absolutely recommend it.
Uplistsikhe
Our flight back was from Kutaisi, so we headed there for one last evening. It was an amazing week and Noemi was especially helpful remembering all the places and people from her previous trip a few years back. I was impressed that she still remembered everything. It's been less than a year since this trip for me (yes, I know this post is super late), but I wouldn't remember all the stuff we did without writing it down.
The question now: What's the next trip that Doremi will organize for us???
