Caucasus Georgia: Trains

Kukushka, Borjomi, Caucasus Georgia

It was in Caucasus Georgia that I first slept on a train. If you think it might be cool to lie on a bed, being gently shaken, while looking at a full moon through the window as you pass by a dark landscape, you'd be right.

I present for you some scenes from Georgian trains.


Traveling from Zugdidi to Tbilisi:

Correction for above - hey, that's not a scene from a train, it's a scene from a marshrutka. But what the hey, it shows off Georgian countryside and has a pretty song in the background. My companions and I did take a train from Tbilisi to Zugdidi (and then a marshrutka to the legendary Svaneti), and it was even an overnight train, but where the visual evidence of that might be? Somewhere in the archives. I'll hunt for it another day.


From Borjomi to Bakuriani on the kukushka:

Another leg of the Borjomi to Bakuriani trip, including whistle and bridge crossing:

My friend, Sandy, and I took the overnight train between Batumi and Tbilisi one weekend:

Train from Batumi to Tbilisi, Caucasus Georgia

Istanbul: Another Georgian Goodbye

Istanbul: International dance competition. Georgians.

On my last night in Istanbul, I walked over to the park next to Sultanahmet Square for a last inhalation of culture. No, that's a lie. There's a McDonald's nearby and I knew I wouldn't be going to McD's when I returned to Missouri. So that was my final dinner in Istanbul. That sounds backwards, but it's the reality.

And you know what's interesting? McDonald's is one of the few restaurants in Istanbul that employs women to serve the public directly, alongside men. Kudos to McDonald's. Red River Restaurant was another one.

Istanbul: International dance competition. Turks.

But that's not what this post is about. It's about the serendipitous international dance competition that was about to start when I walked by the park stage. I found a seat on a rock next to the bleachers, and damned if I didn't see Georgian-garbed kids sitting in the stands. Two troupes, one from Batumi and one from Tbilisi, were to perform along with Turkish, Romanian, Ukrainian, and I forget what other representatives.











I saw some modern elements that I hadn't seen before in Georgia, in which the girls got to do some really cool stuff like the boys.

The Georgians blew the audience away, although the Ukrainian dancers were a heartbeat away in their gymnastic abilities.

Istanbul: International dance competition. Ukrainians.

A slide show:




It was fitting to end my time in Istanbul with a Georgian send-off. 

The Black Sea, Part 5: The Train to Tbilisi

Batumi-Tbilisi train car.

It was a full moon.

Sandy and I had splurged on a two-bed train cabin. We'd bought late-night dinner fixin's.

We each put our pillows at the end of our beds by the door, stretched out, and we could see the big ol' full moon roll with us on the train. It was nice.

I loved the sound and the feel of the train. I put my pajamas on, made my "bed," popped some music into my ears and was good. Sandy didn't fare quite as well in the sleeping comfort department, but did enjoy the view of the moon.

 Batumi-Tbilisi train cabin

As far as the rest of our train experience goes, there were some issues:

• Jeez, no air in the cabin - it was really stuffy at intervals and too warm. We opened the door occasionally to get in some air. 
• The toilet was not in very good shape. Also, there were no instructions on how to use the faucet - you had to push up on a nozzle at the tip of the faucet for water to come out. Doh. 
• The debarking side of the Tbilisi train station was in post-World War II reconstruction-era-before-the-reconstruction-began kind of shape. And we passengers had to climb down into and then up out of a dark, dank, rather treacherous tunnel. 

Overall, it was not a 40-lari per person experience.

But that assessment doesn't take one bit away from the pleasure of traveling with that full moon while reclining full length to the rocking of the train.

The Black Sea, Part 4: Batumi

Batumi, Georgia. Lada and ludi.

I wasn't all that excited about going to Batumi. It was more of an "I should go there since I'm in Georgia" kind of thing. I had the impression it was the kind of touristy place big on nightclubs and Las Vegas-y kitsch. Not generally my preference.

But since we were going to Ureki, and then decided to hit Kobuleti, Sandy and I thought, why not? Sandy had already been and it wasn't her favorite place, but she was kind enough to accompany me.

Well, damn. I was pleasantly surprised at Batumi.

Batumi, Georgia - a plaza

Yeah, yeah, there was an arid beachside boardwalk, some so-so fountains, an odd, not-very-attractive tower sort of thing with a ball on top, and polished plazas a little too much like what one finds at upscale, American shopping gallerias. The statue with Medea holding up the golden fleece as if it were a jacket left behind by one of the kids.

Batumi ,Georgia - Medea and Golden Fleece

But I loved the pretty side streets. The architecture reminded me quite a lot of New Orleans' French Quarter, actually, with wide and deep second-story verandas, mixed in with a Playa del Carmen pastel palette.

Batumi, Georgia.

Batumi, Georgia.

Batumi, Georgia.

The botanical garden was a large sanctuary of natural shade, greenery, and vivid flowers.

Batumi, Georgia.

When we finished purchasing Batumi-Tbilisi tickets at the train station, we boarded a marshrutka standing by. Didn't know where it was going other than to somewhere in Batumi.

In fact, we had the good luck to pass through the back-end of Batumi, where we saw an intimidating array of oil or gas storage silos, the large local bazaar, and a school no different from what we had in Rustavi and Gori. And lo, we saw lots of bustle around the Cathedral of the Mother of God, a large church that would look at home in, say, Transylvania at night with trembling thunder and lightning strikes that illuminated the dark statue of Mary.  Beautiful, but in an eerie way.

Cathedral of the Mother of God. Batumi, Georgia.

Cathedral of the Mother of God. Batumi, Georgia.

It was the orthodox Palm Sunday, the Bazoba Sunday, as it's called here. Many vendors selling the leafed twigs from a certain shrub. Vendors selling natural dyes for the Orthodox Easter eggs. One dye source is the traditional one from the sap of a specific shrub. Another source is, I think, beet and other things that are soaked into sawdust. For both, one boils the eggs in the water with these twigs or sawdust.

Egg dyeing. Batumi, Georgia. Outside the Cathedral of the Mother of God.

The traditional orthodox Easter egg is a burgundy red. Looks like a color from the richest ancient tapestry.

Batumi, Georgia. Orthodox Palm Sunday (Bazoba), Cathedral of the Mother of God.

We looked inside the church.

 And looked outside.

 

We walked toward the beach and entered the botanical garden. Nice. We sat on a bench for quite a long while and people-watched and enjoyed the coolness of the shade, and when that got too chilly, moved over to a sunny spot and enjoyed the warmth of the sun. A bride and groom came through with their entourage and had photos taken.

Batumi, Georgia.

Getting kinda hungry now, so we made our way toward a Ukrainian restaurant Sandy had visited when she was here before. She ordered a stew sort of dish and was dismayed to see it covered in beloved Georgian mayonnaise. I ordered the fish recommended to me by a Georgian, only to learn it wasn't available at an affordable price, so I went with the red mullet and a boiled potato.

Batumi, Georgia.

Huh. Nely has served me this before and hers was just as good if not better.

We nipped next over to a little coffee shop called the Press Cafe. Signage referring to the WC as the "yellow press" warranted only a weak smile.

Batumi, Georgia. Press Cafe.

We commenced to more Batumi wandering.




I was in search of something, but damned if I can remember what it was. Something to do with a knife .... anyway, we trotted back over to the proles' neck of the woods, a ways from the tourist section. Sandy took a rest with our bags on a store stoop while I went to visit each little shop. I found a Goodwill store (read: Georgian Walmart) and invested some time of my life I'll never get back again, all for naught. The Goodwills here have a lot of stuff, but never seem to have what I'm looking for.

But I did see these sights:

Mercury Hotel, Batumi, Georgia.

Fish eyes, Batumi, Georgia.

Tobacco, Batumi, Georgia.

We'd had a good day. 

At about 10:00 p.m., we went to the train station for our overnight trip back to Tbilisi.

This was going to be fun.

The Black Sea, Part 3: Road to Batumi

Batumi, Georgia

Sandy and I climbed aboard the marshrutka in Kobuleti for the final leg of our little Black Sea resort tour.

I took this video en route. Mind the cows.

As is our tradition, we overshot the train station (where we wanted to buy our overnight return tickets before exploring the city), so had to backtrack. Unfortunately, there are no storage lockers for baggage at the train station, so we had to lug our packs all around town.

We chose to buy first class tickets, meaning we went for a two-person sleeper at 40 lari each (~ $24) instead of a four-person sleeper at 23 lari each (~ $14). Ouch, that hurt.

Ok, so that settled, off we went to poke around Batumi! It was a little after noon and we had til 10:00 p.m. to check it out.

Georgian Jokes: Tbilisi and Batumi

Tbilisi is the heart of Georgia.

Batumi is its bladder.