Exploring Georgia!

If you are following my blog at least to some extent, you have noticed that every year we do a one-week trip with the boys - usually a combination of ski-touring and traveling in the Balkans. This winter my son Jakob was born and therefore we staged a summer trip to Georgia, where we explored Tusheti Mountains, Kakheti wine region and of course the capital Tbilisi. Besides a very remote 4-day trek, we stopped in Telavi, Sighnaghi and the David Gareja monastery on the border with Azerbaijan. We climaxed the trip in Tbilisi where I finally met Sopho, a schoolmate from Almaty times. We have not seen each other for more than 13 years! Below are a few snapshots from this short but very intensive trip.

As I mentioned, we spent 4 days crossing the spectacular and remote Tusheti Mountains. There are countless ridges and valleys with no civilization:

Well, we did meet a few lonely shepherds with massive flocks of sheep. They also explained there are lots of wolves and bears hanging around:

Snow plantations and glacial streams became our good companions above 3300m. The highest mountain we climbed had something around 3600m:

We passed a lot of ancient villages, some almost a 1000 years old. They usually had a high tower, which was used for protection:

 

David Gareja monastery was founded in the 6th century. It had its ups and downs throughout the history, and after the Soviet Union dissolved, the monks have again settled in the rock. The monastery is right on the Azerbeijan border, therefore you can also feel the presence of the army. The dry landscape is something completely different from the rest of the country:

 

Tbilisi is a beautiful and lively city, especially in the night. Thanks to Sopho, we "found" a picturesque waterfall, which is located practically in the city center:

A very traditional Georgian dish is khinkali - some kind of giant tortellini, filled with meat, cheese or whatever. On our standard menu was also tomato and cucumber salad covered with walnuts and not to forget khachapuri - a mixture between burek and pizza. Kebr was not sure how to pronounce the word; therefore he simply named it "Čipuri":