7th October: Tbilisi, Georgia
On my way back last night I spotted a vegan coffee shop on our street, so that is where we began today! Oat milk latte, Moroccan tea, and cinnamon bun enjoyed, all whilst booking our first train for China.
Wandering across the river to Rike Park, the contrast was quite something with the weekend. We were able to walk freely, sit down, and not be drowned in barbecue smoke and music. As great as Tbilisoba was, it’s also nice to see the more chilled side of Tbilisi. The cable car up to the Mother of Georgia, one of three aerial tramways in the city, leaves from here. Everywhere else in Georgia, these have been incredibly expensive, but this one is only 2.5 Lari each way. I put aside my fear of falling and we wandered inside. Soon, we were back over the river, above the rooftops, and gliding up towards the fortress. I even managed to take a photo out of an open window, which is surely a first for somebody who would ordinarily be shaking and staring straight ahead until the ride was over.
The views from the top on another crystal clear blue skied day were worth the trip up. The cathedral we visited yesterday looked great from this angle. The river turned into a canyon south of the city. The Mother of Georgia stood overlooking the city with a much less monumental air than in most former Soviet capitals. There was no grand approach and even getting a decent angle to view her at all was tricky. The style was also more rounded and feminine, with less influence of angular Socialist Realism. We lingered, enjoying the view, but there was little else to do at the top. Unfortunately, the Narikala fortress was fenced off, I think for much needed repairs and restoration work. Back down in the cable car we went!
Wandering up the east bank of the muddy Kura River – the same stream we saw in its upper reaches near Akhaltsikhe – the traffic was again slightly overwhelming. Eventually, we found a way to cross the incessant steam of cars and walked through pedestrianised streets towards the re-utilised former industrial site of Fabrika. Like large swatches of the capital, this is a building being re-used for a new purpose. In this case, co-working spaces and cafes, around an airy courtyard. It’s great to see this happen seemingly organically, without the corporate ‘place making’ which blights London. In this regard, there are strong similarities with Tallinn and pre-war Kyiv.
Again, I headed off for a solo wander. Kaja popped on the metro to try to find an extra pair of trousers before Qatar and China. I took a similar route to yesterday across the river and found myself a delicious dinner. There was a vegan place which had been recommended to us by someone in Baku, right at the start of the trip, and I was nearby. They were doing a ‘beyond khinkali’ special menu, which suited me down to the ground. I had a mixture of vegan meat and cheesy potato (yum, cheesy potato!) dumplings. Somehow, and this is on me rather than a lack of options, this is the first savoury thing I’ve eaten which hasn’t been a falafel wrap in the first 2.5 days in Tbilisi!
By now, the light was golden, and I headed back via a slightly higher route along the edge of Mtatsminda. I think it’s hard to beat looking out over a gorgeous cityscape during golden hour, so that’s exactly what I did. The road layout didn’t make it easy, mind, and more than once I had a very steep downhill and subsequent uphill to keep going in the direction I wanted to, without being funnelled back on the main road. Eventually, I was back in the maze of Sololaki, taking in the sights and sounds, before finding the inner courtyard we’re staying in. These courtyards a major feature of Tbilisi, with beautiful wooden balustrades and windows, around an irregular central space. Vines and greenery abound, and I love the fact that there are always neighbours having a chat.
