“Welcome – Please come in” – Georgian Border Security.
Tbilisi, Georgia is one of the koolest cities I’ve been to in ages. A city? If you could call it that – as far as capitals go, Tbilisi is more like county town where your distant grandparents might live.
There was an air about it that I coudnt quite put my finger on, sort of Middle-East come Post-Soviet esque. A really great place just to walk around and get lost.
Everything is falling apart and decaying, streets cracked and broken, trees growing through windows, content old men playing Backgammon in the shade, and that feeling you are always being watched but you dont know where from.
After breaking 2 cameras, and brutal sprockets ripping threw rolls of film, this handful of digi shots is all I’ve got to try and convey it how great it is..
Before I knew it though I was en route to the mountain town of Kazbegi with my new Swedish counterparts.
Kazbegi, gateway to the 5047m Mt Kazbek, doesn’t have an awful lot to do. You stay with little Babuska’s that heckle you when your mini-bus rolls in, there’s a couple of stores selling everything – conveniently called ‘google store’, and locally made wine is a plenty.
Really, this place is all about the hiking. And the air is crisp.
Forgetting our cramp-ons and ice-picks, we opted to go for the local hilltop Monastery, rather than the 5047m giant.
Swapping walking sticks for beers, and compasses for snickers, I think we insulted some of the more gun-ho power hikers along the way. But in better time than most, we reached the Monastery and it was epic.
These little guys are everywhere
Tsminda Sameba Monastery, Kazbegi, Georgia
Quite satisfied with our efforts, it was full speed back down the mountain to our Babushkas homestay for an epic Georgian feast.
Next day it was back to Tbilisi.
Espresso everywhere. Kazbegi, Georgia.
A couple of notable Tbilisi Attractions.
And too many of these.
My stay in Georgia was alot shorter than planed, days rather than weeks, and I definitely only scratched the surface on a couple of places, leaving so much more for next time.
Georgia and the Caucasus might sound like an unlikely destination, but make the effort and you will be surprisingly rewarded.
Beautiful photographs! Stunning!
Lady D
So glad you’re on the road again! I’ve missed your updates!!
Oh my goodness, this post should have been freshly pressed! These pictures are wonderful! I didn’t know that Georgia was such a breathtaking, beautiful, mountainous country! I’d never given it much thought, but your pictures alone have catapulted Georgia onto my 50 countries to go next!
Unbelievable pictures — what spectacular scenery!
🙂
Your photos are stunning! I think that the photos of Tsminda Sameba Monastery are my favourites…well, those and the one of the stream-cooled beer. 😉
Great post and congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
First-time visitor here … and glad I stopped by to see these outstanding photos. Thanks for sharing a part of the world that (odds are) I will never see.
Love those red squirrel creatures! And the church shot… how beautiful.
The bridge seems so at-odds with everything else you photographed. Any idea what’s up with it?
Thank you for sharing these great photos. Connie
Splendid pictures. They make me think of Pushkin’s references to Georgian mountains.
Lovely post
Good Pics!
Nice concise travel report and great photos, thanks. The monastery looks intriguing.
Maybe I should move there next.
Great photos of amazing place. It is v eastern isn’t it? What’s with that bridge, by the way. It’s quite amazing. Thanks very much for posting these images, I really enjoyed them 😉
awesome pictures… It seems you guys had a blast.. 😀
Wow, the picture of the monestary is fabulous!!
Amazing pictures – it looks like an incredible place! Thanks for sharing and congrats on being freshly pressed!
The squirrels there are so cute!!
Beautiful pics !! hope to visit one day thanks to your work.
Beautiful.
This was nice to read. I love the oldness and the feel of Georgia. Quaint yet magical.
This is the city I live in and I absolutely love it, although it is not a place where I am from.
I stopped on by because I follow a blog written by a Caucasian Shepherd Dog who lives in Tbilisi and blogs about her city. Fascinating place.
Muy buenas fotos, felicitaciones al autor o fotografo.
This is good nice pictures from Georgia. Hope to visit there someday.
OMG that monastery is out of this world.
Thanks for sharing! Great photos and commentary!
Awesome pics! Looks like such an amazing time. I especially loved the monastery! Congrats on FP! 🙂
I will definitely visit Tbilisi one day. Thanks for sharing the pics
Come and visit BRAZIL. You will love it too.
I always forget about the caucuses as a region to go travel to. But yes going to the places that aren’t the main tourist destinations are so rewarding, even more so when you get to know people and they invite you the traveler into their homes and lives.
Thanks for taking a housebound person to somewhere so unusual with your fantasitic photography 🙂
Son muy buenas fotos, Felicitaciones.
Whoa, I love the greeneries near the living areas.
How did you decide to travel there? We receive lots of travel advertising in the mail and have never seen a trip to Georgia offered.
Ronnie
Really a beautiful place. It’s always nice to go to barely untouched areas like these in the world. A break from the usual noisy busy life of city life and the modern age. Sometimes when I visit areas like these it reminds me how simple and great life would be if the whole world was like this.
Cool pics!
Very nice. I have a Georgian friend/colleague who is trying to convince me to take up a role in Tblisi. This post has encouraged me further- looks awesome. That monastery- wow! Gorgeous shot- and location. Jealous.
wow – these pictures are incredible. love seeing new places through others’ eyes
I love the image of the Tsminda Sameba Monastery. Beautiful.
Great post. The Caucasus countries have just moved higher up on my list as a result of this post.
top blog wp of the day conguratulation
Love the stone fences. Looks like a great place to visit. Thanks for sharing.
wow great, when I sow title “Tbilisi, Georgia” in freshly pressed, immediately clicked the post.
Cause I’m Georgian and I’m interested how foreigners see us and our country 🙂
cool pics.. I like your post.
oh yes, one thing. that bridge isn’t called “BarataShvili bridge”. that’s ”bridge of peace”. : )
Absolutely gorgeous photographs. I would love to be there too!
What an amazing photo blogpost, one of my close friends just got back from there and her photos were also amazing, what a beautiful country, I hope to get there someday
Your beautiful photos bring me back old memories ..
Thank you
I love the photo of the monastery on the hill – it looks so ominous with the mountains behind it. Also, what exactly is a khachapuri? It looks surprising pizza-esque…
Simply amazing…
nice pics…
wow great pics. couldn’t imagine to see my country freshly pressed 🙂 I guess you had enjoyable experience.
I’ve always wanted to go to Georgia since befriending a beautiful Gerogian girl at work. She is just the nicest warmest hospitable human I have met in London.. Georgia looks so… Watery?! For now I’ll have to settle for my local Georgian restaurant which does live music on the weekends 🙂
great pics, and fantastic blog. Glad to see you’ve visited Kosovo and Albania too – two of my favorites.
Nice collection of photos.
amazing georgia
Great photos…and a lovely blog. Travel photos are my favorite. I love being transported by a single image. Great work!
Beautiful photography!
Join mu Photos about Georgia in Face Book
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Welcome To GEORGIA
GIORGI LOBJANIDZE
Congrats – you made me want to visit Georgia. Beautiful photos.
Georgian-born Armenian film director Sergei Parajanov shot some of his most beautiful work in Georgia. The panoramic view from Metekhi Church is featured heavily. But it’s the documentary Power Trip that makes me hope you weren’t caught in the dark during your stay. 😉
Looks like a beautiful place.
Haha I saw this link and was thinking, “I didn’t know that Georgia had castles….” Beautiful photos!
Oho. Could you imagine how many castles may have one of the ancient country of the world? – plenty of them,wonderful historical monuments which worth to see.
Good to see ‘lesser known’ corners of the world. It is interesting to note that the images need few captions and that lives and landscapes enthrall every time.
Ray
Great shots! There’s something magical and unspoiled about this place.
me gusta este sitio.. se ve fresco e interezante
Really cool post, I shared it with my brother who was there a while back. We also have a friend who is originally from there. I should really get my behind over there one of these days. This post was of special interest to me because I have been drafting my own post about my recent trip to a different east european city, soon to come.
Tanks for the five star photos!
nice place 🙂
there is so much to see on this world….
Wow great pics! My ex-nurse is from Georgia, I look forward to seeing her country sometime, these pics make that more so! I shall send her this link, see what she thinks. 🙂 Well done on being Freshly Pressed too!
Love your photos, particularly the mountain shots!! Really stunning! Thank you for sharing!
Muy buenas fotografías! Me dan ganas de visitar Georgia, pero estando tan lejos de allá (Chile) se me hace bastante dificil.
Very nice photos and a very interesting country.
great photos! sounds like a neat place.
Very beautiful pictures, and very beautiful Country to be discovered!!!
A very interesting looking city, with the very modern mixed in with the very classic.
After all, did you drink home made wine and the Georgian vodka – chacha?))
haha, soo much chacha!
so you fully experienced Georgia! 🙂
Are you going to visit Georgia again?
liked this post so much, beautiful pics ))
p.s. I’m from Georgia ❤
Nice photos… but these places are nothing compared to those you have not seen in Georgia… visit Racha and Svaneti regions in Georgia, they are really stunning.
Agree. Plus, Upper Imereti (Katskhi,Mgvimevi),Southern Georgia(Vardzia) and a lot of other places. I am planning to write blog, so called ‘travel guide’ about Georgia for people who would like to visit us.
Son muy buenas fotos, hay cosas curiosas, mis felicitaciones para ti. Espero que me aceptes como un admirador de tu blog.
Felicitaciones.
Buenos Gracias Manuel.
is that snake on the plate.?
I live pretty close to this place. I’m from Armenia, a country neighboring Georgia. I’ve been there once, in 2005.
I love khachapuri. Georgia is a very picturesque country and I actually know some words in Georgian! Haha. Great photos & post.