Tag: Kazbegi

The Best Posts of 2024 – A Year of Hidden Gems

2024 was an interesting year where I only traveled to eight different countries, four of which I had never been in before. I also hit the fiftieth country I have visited this year, and after all of the travel I have done, it is getting harder to find those places where I have never been before. Still, the new countries I went to, Georgia, Armenia, Slovakia, and Romania, are not the ones that many people put on their lists for travel. I found that they were some of the best traveling experiences I have had in a long time due the fact that the places were not overrun with tourists, and I was able to find some spectacular hidden gems out there. The interests of some of these sparked my readers’ interests as well, especially the country of Georgia, because this was the best year I have seen for this little blog that I write, and I appreciate that all of you come to visit to see what I am up to in this world.

Enough talking, here is the list of the most popular posts I wrote this year:

10. The Next Big Thing – Tbilisi, Georgia

This is the first appearance of the country of Georgia on this list, and it is not the last. My exploration of this country on the Baltic Sea captured the imagination of my audience throughout the year even though I was only there for a couple of weeks early in the Summer. It is not a place that is on the usual destination route for many Americans, but after being there, I think that this might change. The capital, Tbilisi is a great undiscovered city that I can see becoming the next big city that people will flock to. I loved the blend of the European feel with the old relics lingering around from the Soviet era. There is a reason that this country will appear on this list a couple more times.

9. Wadi Rum – A Photographer’s Paradise

Wadi Rum has gained in popularity over the years, but because of all of the unrest that is happening in the Middle East right now, it is not getting the tourists that it used to have. This means that the place is quieter, and it makes it feel like you are the only one there as you get explore the amazing landscapes. It was the second time I have made it to my favorite place in Jordan, and I am also amazed at the pictures I am able to get while there. It will only be a matter of time before people once again make there way out there to see its beauty.

8. Sighnaghi, Georgia

This is the second time that Georgia will appear on this list, and it will not be the last. Sighnaghi is not as big of a town as Tbilisi is, but it is one of the must-sees if visiting this country. This is the wine country of Georgia, and they are known as the place where wine originated. They still produce it the same way they did over 8,000 years ago in huge clay pots that are buried under the ground, and there are numerous wineries in this region that allow you to go and try out the unique blend that can only be found here. It was one of the more memorable parts of this trip and I can see why the post connected with the crowd.

7. A Day Trip to Armenia

Officially this is a different country than Georgia, but it was a day trip that I took while staying in Tbilisi. It was part of a day tour that took us through the majestic mountains of this country to explore its many monasteries. It was a great way to spend the day, and the landscapes out there were breath-taking. I also had fun getting to know the variety of people on the tour. They had come from all corners of the world with different beliefs, and ideologies, yet we were all willing to share in the beauty of the day.

6. Columbia Gorge Hotel – Hood River, Oregon

I was able to spend my wedding anniversary in Hood River in Oregon. It is a touristy town in the Columbia Gorge area that attracts many people who enjoy windsurfing. The town also boasts one of the oldest hotels in the state, the Columbia Gorge Hotel. We spent the night here, and enjoyed the accommodations. It was fun to take a little trip back in time while enjoying the landscape of the Gorge.

5. Gergeti Trinity Church – Kazbegi, Georgia

Yes, we are back in Georgia. This time we traveled to the border for the mountain town of Kazbegi. I remember taking this picture and saying, “I can see Russia from here”, and yes, we were that close. This post does not surprise me about its popularity. It talks about how to find the hiking trail that will take people up to the small church that sits on the peak of one of the mountains. This was one of my favorite days of the year taking this hike and staying in this small mountain town. I am glad that it was one of the bigger posts from the year as well.

4. The Foodie Tour – Bratislava, Slovakia

This was another one of my favorite days of the year, and also one that we had stumbled upon. Because of the recent turmoil in the Middle East, it had been difficult to find a quick flight to any place in Europe. Ryan Air had just about left the region, and the prices of air fare had grown a lot. We were able to find a cheap flight to Vienna, and we flew there to take a short bus ride to the town of Bratislava. We spent a long weekend in this small European town, and spent one of those days stopping at the various restaurants in town and having a drink and a small bite to eat. It was a great way to spend a day, and I would love to do it again in other small towns I get to visit.

3. Peles Castle versus Bran Castle – Transylvania, Romania

I was able to travel to other place other than Georgia this year, and another place I enjoyed was Transylvania in Romania. I did go to two of the bigger tourist sights, Bran Castle and Peles Castle, while I was there, and I did a quick comparison of these bigger attractions. Both of them were fun to go to, but they both had their own vibe and reason for going there. Many people found this post helpful as they made plans to make it out there on their own.

2. The Chronicles of Georgia

One of the strangest places I went to over the past year was also in Georgia. The Chronicles of Georgia is on the outskirts of the city of Tbilisi, and overlook the people as they move about their daily lives. It is actually a relatively newer structure that hints back to the days of Soviet occupation as it tells the history of the Georgian people. It was never finished, but there is enough going on in the carvings on the stone that it easy to spend half a day here looking at all it has to offer.

1. Arkham Horror, The Card Game – A Review

This is the post that surprised me the most this year. I have been writing board game reviews on the side ever since I got back into the hobby during the pandemic. Some of them have done well, but I never expected anything big to come out of it. I got this game because I knew I was going to have some time where I would be by myself and could play it alone. I really enjoyed the game, and posted the review. Apparently it is a game that many people are interested in because this was the post that is constantly being clicked on. It easily became the biggest post of the year, and has inspired me to write more board game reviews in the future.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The following post also had a lot of traffic, but they were written in previous years.

A Quick Tuk Tuk Ride – Chennai, India

The Basilica Cistern – Istanbul, Turkey

The Dead Sea, Jordan – The Salt Flats

The Best Short Stories

Blue Wine – Cyprus

Wingspan versus Everdell

Denver International Airport – It is still weird

The Bat Cave – Railay, Thailand

Happy Campers vs. Go Campers – Iceland by Camper Van

Why Georgia?

The first thing that Americans think of when you tell them that you are going to visit Georgia is Atlanta. I don’t blame them for thinking this way. Before I spent a lot of my time traveling around the world, it would be the first place that I would think about as well. But there is an older Georgia out there with a greater history, and is worth traveling more than the one that people automatically think of.

This part of the world has been inhabited since before prehistoric times. It has some of the oldest recorded culture of anywhere in the world, and the thing they are most famous for is their wine. They have been producing this drink for over 8,000 years, and they have not changed the process of how they do this either. Instead of letting the wine sit in oak barrels for a couple of years, Georgians make their wine in big clay vessels that they bury into the ground to let the grapes they have crushed to ferment there. It creates a completely unique wine that you cannot find anywhere else in the world.

But is not just the wine that should bring you to this small country on the Black Sea. They have also not shied away from the craft beer revolution that the world is experiencing right now. There are many tasty beers that can be found all over the country that compliment the amazing food that you can find there as well. There is no other food in the world that I have found that is like Georgian food. They have unique salads inspired from the Greek islands, rich meat dishes with amazing sauces that would rival anything created in France, a bread and cheese dish that is cooked with an egg that might be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever had, and khinkali, a type of meat dumpling that has a very specific way of eating it. If you don’t come out here for the wine or beer, the food is another great draw to this charming country.

There are also all of the puppies. Georgia is a dog-loving country. They take very good care of their dogs, and it does not matter where you roam in the country, you will find them hanging out, and enjoying the country as much as the tourists and citizens. The government does a great job of taking care of the dogs as well. They bring them in and tag them and then return them to their neighborhood so they can live a happy and content life with the people they share the neighborhood with.

It is hard to travel around the country, and not notice the Soviet influence when this place used to belong to the Soviet Union. There are some buildings that were designed for practical purposes and not for an aesthetic design. They are interesting to see, but are also easily avoidable as they reside in the more modern parts of the bigger cities. These cities still have enough of the old character and charm that you can avoid the modern parts altogether if you wish.

But it is the statues, and the strange monuments along the way that really highlight the Soviet occupation and how much of an influence that is on Georgia. There are leftover monuments to that era all over the place, and it is interesting to see how they were used to bring Georgia into harmony with the Soviet world view. Though these are still around the current feeling towards Russia and its move to take back those lands that it lost during the fall of their communistic ideals is completely different.

There is no love for Russia among the common people in Georgia. They are not happy with the way Putin has tried to annex Ukraine with the on-going war. They do not appreciate the way how Russia has planted people sympathetic to its goals into the Georgian government. They hate the way that Russia has control of over twenty percent of the country. They fear that they will be next after Putin has completed his campaign over Ukraine. It is interesting to see the anti-Russian graffiti all over Tbilisi, or the signs walking into establishments clearly explaining their viewpoints and your expected compliance to those viewpoints.

Despite this sentiment expressed often within the country, it does not end up being the focus of the people who live there all the time. Most of the Georgian I was lucky enough to meet and interact with were friendly, proud of their nation, and willing to tell me more about it. For the most part, the younger generation was fluent in English, and communication was never a serious problem with them. It was a little different story with the older generation who grew up under the rule of the Soviet Union, but this has to be expected. Even with this language barrier, we were still able to communicate well enough to understand one another.

Georgia is definitely ready to be a worldwide tourist destination. The people are friendly. The infrastructure is in place. The food and wine are amazing. Their is a deep and rich history that is fun to explore. Most of the tourists that I encountered either came from Eastern Europe, or India, so there are a lot of people that do not seem to know about this little jewel on the Black Sea. It was a fun place to explore and I want to come back and explore more of it.

It is a quirky place that is unique in its place on the tourist circuit, but at the same time, it is an easy choice. From certain places in the world, it is not an easy trip to get to, but it is worth the voyage to make it there. The beauty and charm of this small country is one of the best travel experiences I have ever had, and part of the reason for that might be because I have made it out here before the rest of the world finds out about it. But with more people going out there, and more posts like this, it will only be a short matter of time before it is discovered. I would recommend making the voyage out there before that changes because it could be your little treasured experience as well.

Until next time, keep on going out and seeking those adventures.

Gergeti Trinity Church – Kazbegi, Georgia

The scenery might distract you, and it is easy to do because everywhere you look in the small mountain town of Kazbegi, Georgia is stunning. It sits next to the Terek River in the Caucasus Mountains about seven kilometers from the border of Russia, and it is easily one of the biggest draws for tourists in this country. Many of them will splurge a little extra money to spend a night or two at the Rooms Hotel, a converged day spa that has a great view over the valley. From there, if you look closely to the left of the tallest peak, on a smaller mountain in front of it, there sits on top of the peak a monastery, the Gergeti Trinity Church.

During the summer months, this monastery is one of the biggest attractions in the region. It is filled with visitors all the time, and offers many amazing views just like the hotel across the valley. There are two ways to get there. The way that most people take is the road on the side of the mountain that takes people to a parking lot just a short walk to the monastery. It is the easier choice, but the road is not always maintained and after a good rainstorm, it can be covered in run off. It is also on a series of switchbacks that take you up the mountain, and some Georgian drivers take the corners rather fast, but if you take your time, and slowly navigate through the debris, it is not that hard to get to.

The other way is to hike up the hill. The trailhead for the path is on the opposite side of the mountain from the parking lot, on the side facing the town. The road up to the trailhead is also difficult. It is really rugged and covered with many potholes, but the traffic on it is a lot less, and people generally take it slower. When heading to the mountain, you will cross a bridge over a river, and you would take your first left after it that will wind its way through a small part of town, and deposit you at a small cafe. Signs indicate that parking here is 5 Lori, but there was no one there, and no place to put the payment, so we got away without playing. The parking lot is also kind of small, so I would recommend getting there early to find a place. The path follows a stream on the left-hand side and goes by the ruins of an old tower on the right-hand side. It has many offshoots, but all of them tend to lead to the same place, Gergeti Trinity Church.

The path offers more amazing views then just driving up, and it is the one that I would recommend taking. It is not a hike for everybody though. There are many difficult and rocky parts to the path, so good hiking shoes are required, and I would also bring hiking poles to help you through some of the more treacherous moments. It does not require ropes, and most skilled hikers should not have a difficult time with it, but just know that it is not always a stroll. There are two basic paths on it, and I would aim for the upper path as the lower path just follows the stream. It looks easy to begin with, but once you get to the end, the path veers sharply up. It took me only an hour to complete the trek, and this was after a day of heavy rain, so there was a little more runoff than usual.

Either way, this is a must see if you are in Kazbegi. There will be tourists up there no matter when you head up, but if you take the trail earlier in the morning, you can have it to yourself and feel like the Caucasus Mountains are all your own. There is also the added pleasure of seeing horses grazing in the pasture, and having some of the most amazing views that the world has to offer. The monastery is really cool as well, holding some great iconic paintings that have recently been done and some that are frescos from centuries past that are worth seeing.

The best part is that you get the rest of the day to enjoy the views. Each day in Kazbegi offers something new with nature as the clouds come and go in this isolated valley. It creates some very dramatic moments that are worth sitting on a deck and watch unfold.

Until next time, get out there and continue to explore the world.