tbilisi in a nutshell
by call_me_rhia
A legend about its fundation: one day King Vakhtang I Gorgasali went hunting in the woods with a falcon; then the said falcon caught a pheasant and the two birds fell on the ground and died of... burns. The king had discovered the famous hot springs. Soon he decided to cut down some trees and build a city, calling it "Tpili", an old Georgian word for warm. Aside the hot springs, what I mostly liked was the architecture, especially in the old town and Avlabari: a mix of Georgian traditional architecture with Byzantine and Middle Eastern influences. And don't forget the amazing nightlife: Tbilisi is a very vibrant city.
wine and water
by ellielou
It's hard to overstate the importance of wine to the Georgians. That, or beer, (and sometimes, vodka) seem to be drunk at lunch sometimes, and dinner (almost always).
Despite wine being important, it's hard to BUY a decent glass of bottle of wine in a restaurant. Most people make and bring their own.
In addition, people seem fond of Borjormi water, the sparkling kind. It's salty, and a bit of an aquired taste. The 'mineral' water variation, though, is just fine.
Biking
by rjaparidze
Tbilisi is not really adopted to biking. However if one goes out early in the morning a bike trip up to Turtle lake may really be an enjoying adventure. It does not take a lot of time and efforts to go upslope for about 10–20 minutes
Kus Tba... Turtle Lake
by maykal
Kus Tba (Turtle Lake). This can be reached via the cable car from Vake Park, if there is enough electricity to run it. If not, it is a very long and steep walk, or an expensive taxi journey. What is up there? Well, a dirty-looking lake surrounded by cafes and a makeshift beach. It would be a good place for jogging, and there are is also some scope for circuit training, albeit on rather rusty apparatus. Some mad people were swimming in the brown murky water, but I could not be tempted! Kus Tba is not far from the museum of Folk Architecture (see below) in the region of Vake.
From Tbilisi to Kazbegi
by MalenaN
Are you going from Tbilisi to Kazbegi the best way to do this is probably with a shared taxi. It cost slightly more then the minibus but is faster and more comfortable.
For Kazbegi the shared taxi is leaving from Didube. They leave when the taxi is full (four passengers) or with less people if they are willing to share the price. I paid 10 lari (June 2003) for the drive Tbilisi - Kazbegi. Can't remember how long it took. Maybe four hours.
The family sharing the taxi had a lot of luggage (they were shopping big bags of hazelnuts and other things at the market before we took off). Along the way we also stopped at Ananuri so I could see the church.
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Leonidzis kucha
Abasha region house (mid-19th century)
Main door
The Cathedral
