Tbilisi and back home - Caucasian summer 2024 - 20
04/05.08.2024 - Tbilisi and back home
I have two options for today: A visit to David Gareja or to stay in Tbilisi. Normally, it would have been an obvious choice - I would have opted for the trip. But this time it's not so easy. The upper level of David Gareja with the cave paintings is already in Azerbaijan. And as I've read in recent internet posts and confirmed by a Djoser guide who was there a few days ago, the border patrol is taking the job very seriously at the moment and sending back anyone who tries to get to the top. The lower part with the church should be accessible, but is that worth another 4 to 5 hour drive in a van?
After all the hours spent in busses so far, I decide to stay in Tbilisi and visit the places I haven't seen when we were here two weeks ago.
As I don't have too many destinations on my agenda, I start the day easy. After breakfast I managed to get printed copies of my boarding passes at the reception, that I will not need in the end as I'll get new ones when I drop off my luggage at check-in. But as they say: having is better than needing.
I leave the hotel at 10am and make my way to the metro. I want to go to the neighborhood around Aghmashenebeli Avenue first.
This area is very different to the ones I've been so far. Aghmashenebeli Avenue is a wide straight street lined with representative buildings. Unlike the Sololaki neighborhood I was in two weeks ago, most of the buildings here have been recently renovated, although some could use a refresh. The backyards are also in better condition. Not as good as the front, but quite decent.
At a major intersection, I turn around and walk back the parallel Tsinamdzgvrishvili Street. Totally different picture. The buildings here are still waiting for someone to take the initiative and renovate them. The structure of the buildings is not as bad as in Sololaki, but there is a lot to do. From a photographic point of view though this is obviously rewarding.
Back on Aghmashenebeli Avenue, I have to walk a bit back to get to the metro station. Immediately the picture changes again. I even find a nice park here.
Next stop is the administrative building of the Bank of Georgia. This is the former building of the Ministry of Highway Construction [↗], but it has been modernized a couple of years ago and now belongs to the bank. The building looks as if a kid has played with Lego bricks.
Reaching the building needs a bit of effort. I drive to the metro station Medical University, but from there I have to walk some 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the route I looked up takes me to the upper floors of the building. I take a few photos from here, but then I try to find a way down. It's not that easy, as nothing is marked. Eventually, I find a hidden staircase and get down to the lower level. I have to walk back a bit, but I find the perspective I was looking for.
The rest is quickly told. I take the subway back to Liberty Square and go to the adjected shopping mall. I don't find anything that says "buy me", drink a Frappuccino at Illy (the food court has all international brands except Starbucks), and then try to change the rest of my local money to US Dollar. Surprisingly the exchange booth in the mall doesn't have USD. So, I do it at one of the booths at "my" metro station.
Next morning, the alarm rings at 2:15am and we leave the hotel half an hour later. Our flight to Munich should leave Tbilisi at 5:10am, so there's not a lot of a buffer.
The queue at the Lufthansa check-in is pretty long, as they also check-in a flight to Vienna. There is no separate baggage drop-off for those who checked-in online. As I mentioned at the beginning of this travel report, I still have my frequent flyer status and can therefore check in at the very short business queue. However, my status doesn't help with the security check and passport control. The airport is very busy for this time of day.
Boarding starts late, so everyone of our group easily makes it on time. Unfortunately, this means that departure is also delayed. This time I have a seat at the emergency exit with a bit more legroom - very convenient.
The flight is nothing special. We even save some time and land in Munich just 10 minutes late. The flight to Frankfurt is more than 30 minutes late too. For me it's not an issue as I will drive home by car, but some others need to get their trains.
We make up half of the delay, but in the end it was all for nothing thanks to the ground staff. I get my luggage almost an hour and a half after leaving the plane - and that's for a flight from Munich to Frankfurt, where they have to handle maybe 20 to 25 suitcases. Those traveling home by train are constantly checking alternative routes.
After having my luggage, I call the parking service and they send the shuttle exclusively for me what takes another 20 minutes. After that, everything runs smoothly, no major traffic jam in my direction and I'm back home in the afternoon.
