The Renaissance...

Having visited the Old City, we were eager to learn more about life on the other side of the Kura river, which is considered by many to be the cultural hub of Tbilisi.

This area has undergone a bit of a renaissance in recent years, attracting artists and "progressive" types.  Still rugged and full of history, pockets of new development and pedestrian hotspots have quietly integrated.

Naturally, we thought it important to go and check it out.

The Fabrika neighbourhood is grounded by a 400-bed hostel which is where we met our tour.    From there, it was walking distance to all types of churches (German, Catholic and Orthodox), former brothels, soviet era architecture and several museums and pedestrian-only streets.

During the tour we learned a lot about the mentality and culture of Georgians, particularly their relationship with the Russians during Communism.

For example, one of the buildings was covered entirely with mosaic tiles, created by the Russians to temper the concerns and restlessness of the Georgians who were discouraged by the drab architecture going up around the city. To this day, no one knows what the mosaic is actually meant to represent.  Nonetheless, there are mosaics all around the country to make the Georgians feels happier and brighter.

Much of the construction during the Communist-era was focused around compounds and courtyards, giving people an opportunity to connect with their friends and both spend time with and rely on each other.  The staircases would have also kept people in good shape - both from the exertion of climbing all those stairs everyday and the need to stay slim to actually fit into the very narrow curved stairwells!

Georgians are proud of how they managed to build a subway during Communist times, which was based on convincing the Russians that they needed to build deep bombshelters around the city to protect themselves should anything happen. By the time the Russians thought to question why the bombshelters had train tracks running through them, it was too late and Tbilisi had its metro!

Courtship and marriage on the other hand seems less strategic.  To propose, men used to stand outside their lady's window and hold a bowl of burning oil for as long as they possibly could before she gave her answer.  To us, this also gave an indication as to why there may have been so many fires in the city over the years!

Statues of wedding dancers and other poets/artists are all over the city, indicating once again Georgian's passion for the arts and for life.

With quite a different feel than the Old City, the other side of the river is clearly also on the rise.

Not your average puppet show

The puppet performances at the Gabriadze Theatre's puppet shows are some of Georgia's most celebrated artistic achievements.

Under the direction of Rezo Gabriadze, this intimate and unique marionnette theatre has upended the concept of traditional puppet shows offering mature and complex storylines and a mastery of puppeteering.

Having read about this special place, we tried to book tickets a few weeks prior to our trip and still were unable to get seats together.  Nonetheless, we headed over to the quaint theater - designed by Gabriadze himself - to see if someone might be willing to switch with us. Luckily, with some maneuvering, we were able to get it all sorted out.

The play "The Autumn of My Springtime" is the story of Boria, a small bird with a big heart.  Set after the war,  Boria's "grandfather" dies, leaving him the only one left to take care of his grandmother.

Performed in Russian, with English subtitles running above set for the English speakers and headsets for the Georgian speakers, we all followed this journey through Georgian folklore and the trials and tribulations of this little bird as he did his best - sometimes falling to the dark side - to support his beloved grandmother.


Although we clearly didn't understand the nuance of the folklore or Russian humour, the mastery of the puppeteers was something that was easily understandable by all of us.

A pre-theatre drink protected from the rain

Tbilisi's Old City

Because of its location on the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Tbilisi is a city that has endured more than most.

Destroyed and rebuilt 29 times over the years (whether by occupation and war, earthquakes or a surprisingly large number of fires), the layout of the Old Town luckily remains largely intact with narrow alleys and crooked houses overlooking the river.

Its geographic location and history has resulted in Georgia being a blend of East and West, historical and modern.  Throughout the city, you find classical buildings steeped with history right next to modern architecture with an eye to the future.

At the centre of the old city is Freedom Square, formerly known as Lenin Square when Russia occupied the territory.  It is a main artery to reach all other areas of the city.  In 1991, the statue of Lenin that towered above the square was replaced with a monument of St. George slaying the dragon.

One of the offshoots from Freedom Square is Rustaveli Avenue, which is one of the most beautiful and central streets in the city, and also the one where we were lucky enough to be staying.   The street houses many of the government buildings, museums and theatres, including the historic Marriott hotel and the new Biltmore Hotel, which redesigned a 1938 Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute and now offers accommodation with some of the best views of the city.

The Georgian Parliament Buildings

The historic Marriott Hotel

The Georgian National Museum

Perhaps the most notable recent architectural constructs are the Bridge of Peace - a bow shaped pedestrian bridge that crosses the Kura River - and the Exhibition and Concert Hall in Rika Park.

And each is not without controversy.

The Bridge of Peace and the cable car

The Concert and Exhbition Hall (which many claim looks like two dismembered legs)

The entrance to the Bridge of Peace

Both the striking bridge and the unusual concert hall have left many residents angry that their modern designs corrupt the beauty of the classical architecture surrounding them.

Even more, both have become political, with sparring politicians using the constructs to aid in their conflict.  The current ruling party is threatening to bulldoze the bridge in order to get back at the politician responsible for its construction and the dominating concert hall, although constructed, has never been outfitted nor opened to the public as it was built by the previous regime.

Towering above all of this is Mother Georgia, an enormous statue that overlooks and protects the city.  Different than similar statues in many other cities in the region, Mother Georgia carries both a sword AND a glass of wine.  The glass of wine is a nod to Georgia's welcoming culture and heritage - with Georgians claiming that they are the first country to have discovered wine - and the sword is to protect against any visitors who become hostile or try to hurt them.


Georgians are an incredibly welcoming people. who love to toast and celebrate with friends.  In the heart of the old town is the statue of the Toast Master.  He holds a horn for his drink - chosen so he cannot put it down until its empty - and welcomes all who pass by.  They say it is easy to get invited to a local toast and celebration should you wish, but that you must be prepared to stay the full night (which can last until the morning) and that foreigners often suffer from an alcohol tolerance that is a far cry from local abilities.

Scattered throughout the city are a large number of Orthodox churches. Georgia remains one of the most religious countries in the region with over 90% of residents practicing religion.   Many of the Orthodox churches were surprisingly spared when the Russians occupied the country and were instead put to other uses, mostly serving as storage facilities.

The Churches, however, saw a resurgence after the downfall of communism in Georgia, and artworks of Saint George and Saint Nino (complete with her cross made of wine branches) the patron saints of the religion, are now fully painted throughout the churches.  A word of caution to future travellers - Georgian Orthodox are expected to sign the cross on their chest every time they pass a church (which are common around the city) and this applies to taxi drivers...so choose your driving routes carefully!

Supposedly the chains that held Prometheus

Finally, in the heart of the Old Town, we were surprised to stumble upon a waterfall which cascades down into a creek for visitors to sit by, wander around and enjoy.    Even better, they have water fountains scattered throughout the city to keep people hydrated and clean.

The Old City was fare more diverse and extensive than we ever imagined - making it an amazing place to explore and re-visit to learn more.

(Don't) go chasing waterfalls...

On our second day, with map in hand, we headed out to the town of Tsdo to hike to to both a large and small waterfall.

Our first challenge, however, was actually finding the start of the hike. After having reviewed a variety of write-ups and driving directions, we were perplexed to find absolutely no indication, markings or entrance to this "incredibly popular" hike.

Just about to abandon cause, we spotted a taxi swerve off the road and seemingly into the bush.

With few other options, we decided to follow him.

We made it about 50 metres before our small rental car could no longer handle the treacherous road. Parking as far off  to the side as possible, with the car at seemingly a 45 degree angle wedged into a bush, we decided to continue the path on foot to see if there might be something around.

To our delight, we encountered some campers who were bbq'ing an unusual breakfast feast of what looked like a whole animal (this was less delightful).  We then passed an abandoned camping ground, just as was noted in one of the blogs we had read.  We were on our way!

On one of the hiking sites we had researched, this hike had been "downgraded" from a "moderate" hike to an "incredibly easy" hike.  In retrospect,  we can only conclude that this post was written by a macho-man trying to prove his manhood!

The hike was anything but easy, requiring us to actually pull out our hiking gloves in order to grab onto tree branches and rocks as we hauled ourselves across and up steep walkways and hills to get to the gushing waterfalls.  

But the hike was a gorgeous one, with lush vegetation and almost no other trekkers.  As we sat on the rocks and were misted by the powerful waterfalls, we were totally at peace...and the worry that our rental car would actually be able to dislodge itself from the bush in which it was parked was the furthest thing from our minds...

A terrace for all seasons

The best part of Rooms Kazbegi is its outdoor terrace, which we took advantage of at every opportunity.

From our first visit at breakfast (with our makeshift set-up directly in the sunshine) to after-hike drinks to pre-dinner reading to dinner bundled up in our warmest garb, we were undeterred by either cold weather, rain drizzle or anything else that would take us away from that spectacular view.

To the hills...

In the heart of the Caucasus, Stepantsminda is best known for its dramatic mountain ranges and gorges.

Located 10km from the Russian border, Stepantsminda was actually named Kazbegi from 1925 to 2004, when the Russians expanded their empire to control Georgia.  The town Stepantsminda is now named after Georgian orthodox monk, Saint Stephen.

Many people make the trek to Stepantsminda to take advantage of fantastic winter skiing and gorgeous summer hiking.

And we were no different.

After an unexpected sleep-in and lazy morning, we laced up our hiking boots and headed into the hills in search of the Gergeti Trinity Church, noted as the most visited landmark in Georgia.

Packing for rain and cold (as forecasted) and opting to skip the drive and simply hike from the hotel, we were already warm by the time we even started the climb!  An important note to self - stop putting so much trust into weather apps...

The climb to the church was a steep but beautiful one, surrounded by lush rolling hills and flowers...and lots of animals.  And we certainly started to feel our age as young teens ran effortlessly up the hill, sometimes wearing street clothes and sandals!  The only thing that made us feel even a little better was was watching the hordes or tourists arrive by taxi, choosing to skip the hiking part all together.

The Gergeti Trinity Church was built in the 14th century but little else seems to be known about it.   Built alone atop a mountain peak, with gorgeous surrounding views, this Church has nonetheless become symbolic to the country and the people of Georgia.

Upon making it to the Church, we realized the consequences of our lazy morning, encountering a surprisingly large number of tourists who had bussed in from Tbilisi that day and arrived right at the same time we did.  How quickly we forgot that major landmarks should always be visited at either the beginning or end of the day!

Nonetheless, the Church was lovely - with beautiful orthodox murals throughout illuminated by all the candles people had lit in honour of those that they loved.

We decided to follow the other path for  our hike down, which turned out to be much steeper and more direct.

It was clear that most hikers had no idea of the intensity of the climb as they - like clockwork - gasped when they turned an important corner to notice the straight-up haul to get to the church.

As we descended further down the mountain, we worried for all those people starting the hike who were clearly unprepared for the intensity ahead.  But we have no doubt that the older lady who was walking in Ferragamo ballet flats and her Sunday-best handbag would make it to the top - we sensed she had been doing it for years.

After a satisfying half day hike in the sunshine, nothing felt better than arriving back at the hotel to enjoy a celebratory beverage on its enormous patio while soaking in the sites of the trail we had just climbed.

Stepantsminda, Georgia: Worth the drive...

To celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary and Beth's imminent 40th birthday, we organized a trip to the country of Georgia for a week of exploring and relaxing.

Admittedly, the first part of the trip did not check the "relaxing" box.

Eager to complete our three hour drive from Tbilisi airport to Stepantsminda before the sun went down, we lost valuable time when our preferred Sim Card vendor's computer broke, thereby forcing a manual sign-up process and "exact change" cash-only payments.  Beth's frantic negotiations with several airport kiosks to exchange our larger bills got us closer but still unsuccessful at the exact change needed and we finally resorted to asking the next gentleman in line - who happened to be following our same travel route! - if he could just bring the remaining change with him to Stepantsminda.   Silver linings, we suppose, this man and his family were about our age, also from Canada and currently living in Dubai, and just the loveliest people who we hope we will see again in the UAE!

Georgia driving is not for the faint of heart.  The drivers race through the streets - which are not laned or signed - and are incredibly aggressive.  The streets don't seem to naturally flow into each other, with Geoff at one point making a u-turn in the middle of busy George W. Bush highway, followed by a ridiculously sharp right turn,  to connect to an unpaved road that led us into the downtown core.

This, in addition to the myriad cows who simply lay chilling out in the middle of main arteries, as well as some extremely inclined and windy roads, made for an intense ride.  Even the final road up to the Rooms Hotel proved tricky with a road that was unpaved, muddy from the rain, and incredibly steep.  Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we finally arrived!

Lucky for us, the relaxation started right upon check-in.  Rooms Kazbegi - our hotel - is a beautifully restored Brutalist building and former Soviet resort that now feels part Swiss mountain lodge/part Restoration Hardware showroom with some of the most vivid Soviet poster art scattered throughout.

The rooms are understated with natural woods and fabrics and high-end finishings, designed to provide all necessary comforts while keeping the focus on the beautiful mountainous surroundings outside.

The main lodge is open-concept with couches and comfortable chairs that encourage people to sit down next to a stranger for a drink or chat with those relaxing next to them.  We certainly got to know a good number of children who either dropped by wanting to dance or taste our food!

The cozy main rooms inspire relaxation and most just end up ordering dinner there, being too comfortable to bother moving to the more formal dining area nearby.

As we relaxed in our leather sofa, we wasted no time embracing Georgia's local wine and cuisine and truly felt like the vacation had begun in earnest.