Tbilisi, Georgia

I love Georgia, I have been adamant about this ever since I first visited the country a year ago. I have told many people I’ve met whilst travelling, that in my opinion, it is the best place to travel to. I entirely stand by this statement following my visit to Tbilisi last month which this blog will focus on, I’ll save my stories from Kutaisi last year for another day.

This year Tbilisi produced the afternoon where I have perhaps felt the happiest this year. I’ll accept the reasons for this are fairly unique to me, but nevertheless, I think this city has something to offer to everybody. One day, Nastya and I didn’t really know what to do, so we just wandered from our Airbnb situated on the opposite bank of the river to the old town. First, we wandered to Fabrika, an old Soviet-era factory, covered in old Soviet artwork as well as interesting graffiti. Fabrika houses an open-work space as well as numerous restaurants, bars, and shops. We spent a particularly long time in the vinyl store at Fabrika, which was a really nice little shop with some great options for decent prices.

Fabrika

After Fabrika we continued to wander around this area of the city, probably our favourite. Many of the streets are lined by traditional Georgian buildings, however, to my delight, there is a smattering of Soviet masterpieces and contemporary wall art. The facade situated at 61 Davit Agmashenebeli Street is one of my favourites I have seen so far throughout the former Soviet Union.

Soviet Facades (Left is 61 Davit Agmashenebeli Street)

Just a few hundred metres further up that road, on the corner by McDonald’s and Marjanishvilli Metro Station, is a shop packed full of Soviet memorabilia. I’ve said before how I’m mildly addicted to all things Soviet, but this shop was almost a dream come true. From Stalin portraits to the Communist Manifesto in Georgian, to Soviet Paul McCartney vinyls, to thousands of Soviet manual books. I left the shop, as Nastya can attest, feeling on top of the world, I honestly don’t know why this shop made me feel this way but it really did, weird I know. I left with a Crimean 1966 manual on how to mend your car entitled За рулём автомобиля (Behind the Wheel of Automobiles), which is signed on the first page by its original owner – Ялта 1967 (Yalta 1967). The book contains various all you’d want to know about mending 1960s Soviet Cars, as well as addresses of mechanics in 1960s Simferopol, Yalta and Kerch.

I also purchased a second book, Учебное пособие по начальной военной подготовке (Textbook for basic military training). The book published on behalf of the Soviet Ministry of Defence in Moscow in 1975 includes a mixture of ideological teachings and history as well as practical military lessons.

Soviet Shop

These two purchases made me far too excitable, but the Soviet aspects of Tbilisi’s history continued to show themselves to me throughout the day. Next, we went to the market situated on the Saarbrucken Bridge. The flea market continues various sellers selling pretty much everything one could think of related to the Soviet Union. A unique aspect found in Georgia is generally the presence of Stalin, in almost all other parts of the Former Soviet Union, for understandable reasons, it is rare to find objects related to the Georgian-born Soviet leader. This market had an entire stall pretty much devoted to him, simply a table covered in Stalin’s. Of course, this was an opportunity I couldn’t really turn down, walking away with my own little statues of Lenin and Stalin. Nevertheless in the process of this purchase, the seller did say a slightly surreal statement to me of «Вы не хотите третий – Гитлер?» (“Do you want a third – Hitler?”). You’ll be glad to hear I did not take him up on his offer, despite being offered 3 for 2.

Market by the Bridge

Despite how much I enjoyed this particular day, Tbilisi and Georgia are much more than Soviet memorabilia, most people will barely notice it. Tbilisi is simply beautiful, it’s a city which lies in a valley surrounded by mountains with the Mtkvari River cutting through the city centre, providing cliff faces topped by traditional churches. Atop of one hill stands the old fortress as well as the Mother of Georgia Statue. The fortress in my opinion is the best place to watch the sunset from. Despite more threats from Nastya of my imminent death due to walking up the hill, I was not thrown from the tower, and the sunset did not disappoint.

For those genuinely worried about the hill, the walk is not too arduous in my opinion, it is perhaps a 10-15 minute walk from the river up the hill to the lower area of the fortress. If you are looking for more extreme exercise then go for the hike up Mt Mtatsminda. I was told by my friend that this would take perhaps 30-40mins. Maybe if I ran this would be true, the walk up to Tbilisi’s highest point at 770m took us around an hour and 10 minutes. That being said the view from the top across the city is outstanding. There is a theme park on the summit, including a Ferris wheel which takes you even higher up above the city. For those who do not want to walk, there is a funicular which can be taken from close to the city centre to the summit.

Mt Mtatsminda

The Funicular station is situated fairly close to Freedom Square. The Square is the main square of Tbilisi, located at the eastern end of Rustaveli Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the city. In the opposite direction from the square is the old town of Tbilisi. The narrow streets are lined with traditional buildings, restaurants, religious institutions of the Georgian Orthodox Church, and at the far end, thermal baths. I visited the public thermal baths last year when I visited the city, I describe it as “an experience. From the strong demands of “Doosh, Banya, Chai”, to being in a compact sauna with around 15 other naked Georgian men, intrigued about why on earth I was firstly in the public baths, not the tourist-orientated ones, and secondly why was in Tbilisi in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic. I also remember receiving a “massage”, I’m sure many people appreciate them, however, the pain was unexplainable, the squeezing of my calves after having walked up to the fortress 3 times that day was excruciating, and the less said about the scrubbing of my sunburnt shoulders with a rough scrubber the better.

Mtkvari River

Thermal Baths

Old Town

Nastya on the Bridge of Peace

The rest of the old town will leave you much more relaxed with an almost overwhelming array of bars and restaurants. However, I couldn’t write this blog without recommending the OtsY Restaurant, close to and in view of the famous Clock Tower in the old town. Nastya and I both adored this restaurant, the food was outstanding, especially the mashed potatoes, but it was the staff and particularly our waitress who made this such a great experience. She recommended to us what to eat, what wine to drink (the best wine we had in the Caucasus) and was just incredibly friendly. To me, it was almost the perfect restaurant.

Clock Tower by OtsY

Mtkvari River

Tbilisi Street

Fortress from the Botanical Gardens

Central Tbilisi

Tbilisi is a great city, and one I will continue to recommend to all travellers around the world. Georgia is a country with so much to offer, from the food to its history, to its landscape. It is truly one of my favourite countries in the world all things considered.

Accommodation
This time I stayed in an Airbnb on Davit Agmashenebeli Street. The Airbnb for the price had everything you would need plus a balcony. Just be aware the street is rather loud into the night due to many restaurants being on the street.

Airbnb Link

Last Year I stayed in Envoy Hostel in the Old Town. An excellent hostel with a great terrace and easy to socialise. Would recommend it to anyone.

Hostelworld Link