Kazbegi

We took a two hour marshrutka ride from Tbilisi to Mount Kazbegi and made the trek up the mountain to a church on top called Tsminda Sameba.  I think you can see the church on the top of the further away mountain...

 Now you can see the church, and that's where we headed.  

 We hiked through a village until it ran out and then followed Ahneka's memories of a previous hike up to this church... they were at times a little uncertain, but as long as we were still going up we figured we couldn't go too wrong.  

 When we ran out of road we just started following cow tracks that ran along the mountain.  

 This dog started following us in the village and we just couldn't get rid of him... He followed us all the way to the top!

We about killed ourselves, but we made it!  I think it was a two to three hour hike, but we were proud of ourselves!

 Cows at the top of the mountain.

 Looking down to where we started.

 There were so many lovely wildflowers!

Tsminda Sameba

 This is the holy water fountain.  

 Heading back down the mountain.  

 We got back down to the village after what seemed like roundabout wandering... at one point I was sure we wandered into a Mary Stewart novel and would soon accidentally stumble onto someone doing something underhanded...

We found a little restaurant and has something to eat (I will say this was probably the worst Georgian food), and Ahneka was feeling altitude sickness.  By the time we found the marshrutka she was feeling very sick, and soon lost her lunch in the parking lot!:(  She felt better after that, and we patiently waited for the marshrutka to fill up.  We were all the way in the back and a couple of men with their liters of beer in hand settled in next to us... elbow to elbow!  We were both feeling tired from our hike, and the sun, and altitude, and the trip down the mountain with crazy Georgian drivers is anything but relaxing.  

There was a stretch of road that was under construction and there was only on usable lane, so the traffic was creeping through the gap between the drop down the side of the mountain and the construction equipment and piles of dirt etc.  Our driver tried to go through a gap at the same moment that the track hoe was pivoting and it crunched right into us, pushing us to the edge of the road!  I was sure we were just hanging off the edge and the window next to Ahneka was broken!  We all managed to climb shakily out that window and onto solid ground.  

 It wasn't quite hanging off, but certainly too close for comfort!

 Our marshrutka with the smashed windows.  We waited on the side of the road for a couple of hours while people argued in Georgian all around us, until finally another marshrutka came along and we were, thankfully, on our way back to Tbilisi.  

Looking down from the road on which we were stranded.  

                                     

Tbilisi II

 We discovered a French style bakery, that was near our hostel that we returned to more than once.  I was perfect for breakfast... coffee and a croissant!

 There were also wonderful dessert pastries as well!  And Gelato! 

 Kartlis Deda is a statue on the top of the hill, overlooking Tbilisi, and is the symbol of the city.  

 We took the cable car ride to the top to see her.  

Overlooking Tbilisi.

 Steep streets and little cars... they never ceased to amaze us with their determination to get to the top... even with the smell of hot rubber and laboring engines!

This restaurant was another fun experience.  It was one of many indoor/outdoor restaurants on this walking street.  

 We had typical Georgian dishes, very well done!

 I also enjoyed this cold soup with dill, cucumbers, yogurt and potatoes... mmmmm.

1. Mtatsminda Park is also at  the top of the hill/mountain overlooking the city, and you can get to it by riding the funicular railway... which we first had to find.  We walked ever up and toward the rails that we could see rising above and we found it!

 There was another ferris wheel, so we rode it!

 This is a night sight in Tbilisi, I think it's a tv tower, but all lit up!

 Back down...

 Churchkhela, sold on the street.  

Tbilisi I

We rode the night train back across Georgia to Tbilisi.  We planned to stay at the hostel again for three more nights and do some site seeing in a and around Tbilisi then head back to Gurjaani.  

The night train was slightly alarming, but no too uncomfortable and we both slept most of the way.  

 Ahneka took me to see some of her favorite places from when she was in the Peace Corps.  This is an English book store, and the inside truly did feel very western!  I can understand why she liked it, for just a little taste of home.

                                     

A Turkish sweets shop.  We bought Turkish delight and huge meringues!

 Icons painted on the side of a building (maybe a church?)

Some impressive architecture.  

This is the Freedom Monument and is actually covered with gold!

Everything was so beautiful in a old world ornate way.  This is just a house we passed on the street.  

 This is the Bazari, or outdoor market, flea market, farmers market... I bought some spices, and were so impressed with the fresh fruits and vegetables!

 The longest, steepest, fastest escalator I have ever been on... took us down to the subway.  Not a great picture.. it was hard to capture.   

 A Georgian Dollar General

Ahneka took me to a flea market in hopes of getting some cool old coins for Daniel, and we hit the jackpot!

 I also found a souvenir for me there!