Tbilisi

Nestled in the Vake district of Tbilisi, Georgia, lies a historic recreational area known as Vake Park. Since its opening to the public in 1946, the park has undergone numerous transformations, becoming a popular destination for both ex-pats and locals. Visitors can enjoy various free and paid kids playgrounds, carousels, ice cream shops, upper-end restaurants, and cafes located near the park.  Vake Park is home to significant landmarks, such as a monument of Victory built during Soviet times…

I have spent countless hours at Intelligentsia Coffee Bar near Turtle lake in Tbilisi - this place has been my offsite office in hot Summer days (see: Turtle lake - my working place for today) or starting point before taking a hike (see: Hiking in Tbilisi - Turtle lake (Kus Tba) - Vake Park)  As the name of this place stats - it's a coffee bar, but you can order delicious meal here as well, starting Panini ending French fries. Intelligentsia Coffee Bar near Turtle lake Stylish interior…

Tbilisi has many cool tourist attraction sites, but there is one, which is rarely mentioned in official guides or Tbilisi reviews - meet the hidden pearl of nations capital - Tbilisi Zoo. On the other hand worldwide coverage Tbilisi Zoo got after Tbilisi floods on 14 June 2015, leaving many animals dead or on the loose. See: Zoo animals on the loose and deaths feared after Georgia floods Tbilisi Zoo is located in the Vere valley just next to the Heroes square. There is a symbolic 2 GEL…

I have spent about five years as an expat living in Georgia, most of the time I have lived in Tbilisi (about six months I spent in Batumi). In today's Piece of Life post series I just wanted to share some piece of Tbilisi. Allow me to call this vibrant city - The Pearl of Caucasus (Thus Yerevan rocks, and most probably Baku too - I still haven't visited Azerbaijan, thus once I fished on the border with Azerbaijan, see Fishing on Jandari lake). It has always been a pleasure for me to photo…

There is a very convenient way of getting around in Tbilisi by taxi using mobile application Taxify. I probably first heard of this company at the end of 2014 by visiting Georgian Startup challenge organized by GITA.  For my travels around Tbilisi I mostly use taxi either by calling to the central or just by catching taxi on the street (I prefer second over first still). Taxis are cheap in Tbilisi, but you never know about cars technical condition, the cabin cleanliness and so on. There have…

Yup, another hipster style article about actual prices for consumer goods at local Tbilisi market (Bazroba). It has been a while since I decided to measure how lari/dolar exchange rates influence actual prices, if you, just like me are an expat living in Georgia - you most probably have faced the consequences of weak lari against US dollar. Thus - I don't believe that foreign currency should affect local economy. National currency of Georgia is lari and lari we are spending in markets, metro…

A major and very much needed reconstruction works recently (February 2016) have begun on one of the major Tbilisi streets - David Agmanashebeli avenue. Funded by Tbilisi Development Fund (which is pretty much financed from city budget + private investor capital) promises a completely renovated street by the Autumn 2016. It was mid February and we decided to explore how construction  works were held on this street. Another reason I find these construction works very exciting - a few years ago…

The Lurji Monastery also known as "Blue Monastery", is a 12th-century Georgian Orthodox church built in the name of Saint Andrew in the Vere neighborhood of Tbilisi, Georgia. The popular historical name lurji ("blue") is derived from its roof, adorned with glazed blue tile. I first discovered this church by accident after went photographing another church (Russian Orthodox Church of St. John the Theologian in Tbilisi) and just on site I noticed there is a smaller Georgian church just across…

Ok, I just learnt this place is renamed after Georgian poet Giorgi Leonidze, although I most often call this park -  Alexander Garden.  Parks of April 9 and Giorgi Leonidze (former Alexander Park) were cultivated in 1859 by the project of the architect O. Simenson. In 1865 the garden got its final form. It covered about 36.000 m2 areas. The garden was named in honour of the Emperor Alexander I. In the 30-eth of the XX century, after uniting the market and Dzneladze (present Tabukashvili)…

Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Church is located in the neighborhood of Marjanishivli in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. Commonly referred to just as "Russian Church". Along with the church of St. Vladimir in the neighborhood of Vera it is one of two churches in Tbilisi, where the service is performed entirely in Church Slavonic language. Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox Church in Tbilisi Originally built in 1864 by the donations of the faithful, additional the Holy Synod has allocated …