Georgia

Total lunar eclipse was fully visible in Tbilisi, Georgia on September 28, 2015 between 05:07 and 06:55 (Tbilisi time). I must admit that I really enjoy photography, but I had never ever done anything like this (photographing lunar eclipse) before. This night was one of the strangest and mysterious nights I have experienced this year (at least) - what was meant to be just a photography turned ou to be a man's rescue from cold waters of Mtkvari river. (Spoiler: This story has happy endings).…

Gardenia Shevardnadze is a lovely garden of ornamental plants, located close to the Tbilisi Sea, where you can buy seedlings for your yard, balcony, terrace, home, or office. Or just enjoy a tranquil afternoon. I first discovered Gardenia Shevardnadze back in 2014 while Cycling to Tbilisi sea and back We have been returning to this place ever since. Sometimes with a tripod, sometimes not. Sometimes for macro photography, sometimes just to enjoy a good cup of coffee at the onsite cafeteria. If…

Kutaisi airport or David the Builder Kutaisi International airport is a major hub for entering (or leaving) Georgia for cheap. It's mainly served by low-cost airlines Wizzair and connects Kutaisi with Vilnius (Lithuania), Warsaw, Katowice (Poland), Budapest (Hungary) and some other airlines offering flight to - Kiev, Minsk, Moscow and I believe to Istanbul as well.  Kutaisi airport, sometimes referred also as Kopitnari airport is actually not located in Kutaisi but in distance of some 20 km…

Before arriving to Kutaisi I didn't search for any hotels online to book, just because of... it's Georgia. And in Georgia you can find a hotel once you are on site, and the best of all - I really like bargains, so...after we arrived at Kutaisi (we had a plane in next morning to Vilnius) and just left our Tbilisi - Kutaisi marshrutka opposite to McDonald's I was lucky enough I met a familiar taxi driver Nugzar. In short I explained that I would love to get to the Kutaisi Old Town, and if he…

Tbilisi Central Railway Station is a major transport hub in Georgia, serving many domestic and two international routes: Yerevan (Armenia) and Baku (Azerbaijan) Originally built in 1872, Tbilisi Railway station has undergone various architectural transformations, and currently serves as a combined railway station and shopping mall. The current station building looks like some grand Chinese pagoda made in concrete. Tbilisi Central Railway station Major rail lines from Tbilisi central…

Recently Johann contacted me with his idea to create a photography travel club in Georgia. Since I have been into a photography for the first day I got my first personal digital camera (it's some 6 years probably) - and for the last 4 years I have been living in amazing, very rich of spectacular views, country of Georgia which I have traveled around a lot (See my Georgia travels map) - I was just eager to promote his idea, to make a fun and entertaining community, fuelled with beautiful …

The other day we took again our bikes and made a pretty lovely night ride in Tbilisi. From Old Tbilisi to Didube and back. For some reason my GPS tracker (MapMyRide) didn't worked properly, it missed at least first 2 km from this route. Another thing to mention -  I have a pretty bad camera for night vision shots back at the time I didn't know how to shoot night photography the right way, please don't judge too hard my shots of nightly Tbilisi. Speaking from cycling's view of point - this…

Rike park is a landscaped territory located close to the Tbilisi Old Town. You can enter Rike park either crossing the pedestrian bridge of Peace or from the opposite side using stairways from the Avlabari district. There is an aerial tram in the territory of the park which will bring you up to the fortress of Narikala.  The Bridge of Peace The Bridge of Peace is a pedestrian bridge used to enter Rike park from Tbilisi old town, in the opposite side at the park you can climb down or up…

For many hearing a name of Natakhtari first associations might be related to those tasty Georgian lemonades branded under 'Natakhtari' name. Well, turns out Natakhtari actually is village located in Georgia's region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti, pretty close to nations capital Tbilisi. This village is advanced enough to have pretty sold restaurants located here, and today I will wrote about one of them - Chashnagiri Restaurant. This restaurant was recommended by a friend of mine, and recently by doing…

Château Mukhrani is a winery located in Mukhrani village, Mtskheta-Mtianeti region (somewhere between Mtskheta town and Natakhtari village), Georgia . Idea to head here first arise to friend of mine (another expat)  living here in Georgia.  Friend of me pre-booked a guided wine tasting tour at this place. On a rainy Saturday morning, after a short visit of Jvari monastery we straight headed to Château Mukhrani. During this tour I learned a few interesting things and facts about Georgian wine…