Travel Day

Today was a travel day. I went back to Tbilisi and when I got here I went to a market and bought some Churchkella, hazel nuts dipped in grape juice that forms a hard surface around the nuts. I hope to make this when I get back to Vermont. then to the Vernicular which took us up to an amusement park. I rode a roller coaster and then went back and ate dinner.  We then saw some American blues music, song by a Georgian man, before retiring for the evening.

Zadzaria Monastery, Abustamani Barbecue, and the Observatory

Milton Bear looking at a telescope at the Jupiter and three of its moons.

After teaching, we visited Zadzaria Monastery and then the resort town of Abastumani. This place was awesome. It reminded me of being at Yellowstone or the Grand Teton's National Parks. The mountains were high, the air fresh, and it just had a very nice feeling to it. We hiked around a bit and then went into a bath house. That had hot natural spring water fed into from the ground. We explored the Romanov's abandon bath house. The Romanov's were Russian's last monarch It would make the perfect setting for a scary movie.

Zadzaria Monastery

Bones of dead monks.

Abustamani

A waterfall at Abustamani

Abandon Romanov Bath House

Wild horses. It was fun to see them run.

We then ate barbecue, which was fun. We fortunate enough that they just let us eat inside the cafeteria that featured a statue of Stalin. This was a very nice meal between the four of us, Lela, Amiran, Wendy, and myself. We toasted to friendship, to families, to the children, and to good relations between our countries. 

BBQ. Making pig and Kachapuri - For the first time in over 20 years I at meat. I ate it so that I could have the full experience. I also know that pigs are raised in humane conditions at someone's house. The pig was marinated in homemade wine.

Our most excellent guide Amiran.

Stalin overseeing our meal. 

We ended the day visiting the Abustamani Observatory. We met R. Natsvlishvili. He is an astronomer that has founded planets, stars, and 107 flare stars. This was a very cool place. We got to look at the moon and Jupiter and three of its moons. I was thrilled to talk astronomy with him through our interpreter.

The telescope looking out at the moon.

Menu

This is just a menu at a cafe. It has the names in English and Georgian.

Supra and Food

I had the most amazing time at a traditional Supra in a Georgian house with our US/Georgian connection Tiko Vardidze. She has been coordinating our time in Tbilisi. She also lives in Akhaltsikhe where I am staying. She took us to her village and showed us her farm house.

First, we went to her house where she stays with her mother and father-in-law. In Georgian culture, women are expected to live with their husbands parents. This was the first meal that was prepared for us.

Tiko and her awesome son. He can count to 10 in Georgian and English.

This is part one of our meal. At 6:00 were made to eat delicious foods. I especially love the mushrooms.  I also like  the lobio, Georgian beans. Keep in mind, all this food was just the first part of our meal.  I also had some Turkish coffee which was the first coffee I ever had.

Then we went to Tiko's house on the outskirts of town. She told us that all houses have two stories. The first one is for cattle: cows, sheeps, and/or pigs. The second floor is for living. Her family also grew potatoes and grapes. They sold the potatoes for whole sale at markets. The grapes they turned into wine. They keep half the potatoes for seed and the other half they sell. They only keep the smaller potatoes for food.

Grape vines. They cut the vines in the spring. I should remember this for the grapes I grow in my yard.

Wine casks in the basement of the house

The wine maker

Potatoes for food.

Potatoes for seed.

Pouring of wine.

The vehicle for digging up the potatoes.

The tools for digging up the potatoes.

At the Supra, there is tons of food. Your plate is never empty and they keep on feeding you. This is like a Thanksgiving times 10. I have never eaten so much food. All of the food is organic and they grow most of it themselves. They told me they do not use chemicals because they feed it to their children. During the Supra, the Tamada (the Georgian Toast Master)  first makes a toast to God. Then he toasts his family, then he toasts the loved ones who have passed onto the afterlife, the toasts the guests, the families, etc. He ends the evening with a toast to God. It is impolite to drink the wine except when toasted.  These toasts happen sporadically throughout the meal, and after each toast you are expected to eat some more food.

Despite this traditional feel they were watching the TV and checking their cell phones. I even got to see this American classic dubbed in Georgian:

Do you recognize it?

This is the family I got to share this wonderful time with:

The family

The daughter playing video games.

The best homemade child swing ever.

Georgian culture is very hospitable and I am blessed to have been given the opportunity to spend some time here. I am hoping to forge everlasting connections between Georgia and Milton.

And this is Rabati Castle on the way back. Absolutely beautiful.

Munich

Munich was absolutely awesome. When I walked out of the Subway and looked up at the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. I was just in awe. It reminded me of the first time I went to Fenway Park and saw the Green Monster and a professional baseball field for the first time. Despite being 4 degrees Celcius, or about 40 degree Fahrenheit, there were tons of people walking around and eating outside.

Unfortunately we only had to eat and walk around a little bit. At the restaurant, there we lots of enthusiastic European football (soccer) fans. Rooting the Bayern Munich Soccer Club. I ate a pretzel, along with Milton Bear, and Cream of Mushroom soup. My friends dishes included wiener schnitzel, bratwurst, and sauerkraut.

One of the nice things about Munich is that it was one of the few German cities not bombed and destroyed during World War II so there any many old buildings and churches still completely intact.


Below are some pictures:

Right outside of the Munich Airport

Our hotel we stayed at in Munich during our 10 hour layover.

Subway

Marienplatz and the Rathaus-Glockenspiel

Milton Bear in front of the Glockenspiel #miltonbear

Love this sculpture.

These are mechanical figures that move on top of the Glockenspiel at 5:00 everyday. It reenacts two story from 16th century Germany.

It seemed like every other building in Munich had a clock. This a clock that had the signs of the Zodiac.

SHOPPING

Look familiar?

Lobster in Munich!

Recognize this store?

The Market

Itinerary

Before traveling it is important to give the people who you love and care about an itinerary of the place you're going.  Below is the list of hotels and my flights.

To be honest, I cannot believe the quality of the hotels I am staying at. They look absolutely amazing and thanks to the exchange rate to Georgian lari and the weak Greek economy I can afford to stay at places that I would not be able to afford in the United States. It is worth checking out the links to these hotels.

Exchange Rate:
Currently the exchange rate is from the dollar to the Georgian lari is $1 to 2.46 GEL. The exchange rate from the dollar to the Euro is $1 = .91 Euro. Which is the better value?

The one thing that is not obvious in the schedule below is that I will have the chance to visit Munich, Germany for a few hours before we depart to Munich. During this time, I will be visiting the Marienplatz and specifically the Rathaus-Glockenspiel.

Once we get to Georgia, the itinerary is pretty much set for us.

Here are the links to some of the places from itinerary:  Old Tbilisi, US Embassy in Georgia, Hotel Cruise to meet with people from U.S. embassy, and Shemoikhede Genacvale GMC Group.

When I go to co-teach in Akhaltsikhe, I will be visiting the local school and participating in panel discussions with teachers from around the area including some who teach at Armenian school. Here is my itinerary for Akhaltsikhe. When I am not in school, I will be visiting  Rabati Castle, Sapara Monastary, and Vardzia

If you're in New York City you can visit the Old Tbilisi Garden, a restaurant with Georgian cuisine.

Hotels

March 13 - 16

Rooms Hotel Tbilisi

http://roomshotels.com/tbilisi

March 16 - 23 Alkahltiskhe

Hotel Lomsia

http://www.lomsia.ge/index.php/en/

March 23 - 25

Rooms Hotel Tbilisi

http://roomshotels.com/tbilisi

March 25 - 27

Hotel New Guduari

http://www.newgudauri.ge

March 27 - 28

Coral Boutique

http://www.booking.com/hotel/ge/boutique-coral.html

March 28 - 30

Athens

http://www.attaloshotel.com

Flights

Friday, March 11, Burlington to DC departs at 2:46 arrives at 4:23

United Airlines, UA 6134 

Friday, March 11 DC to Munich departs at 9:55 pm arrives in Germany at 12:15 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 12

Lufthansa, LH0415

Saturday, March 12 Munich to Tbilisi, Georgia departs at 10:10 p.m. arrives at 5:05 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 13

Lufthansa, LH 2557

Monday, March 28 Tbilisi, GE to Athens Greece departs 5:15 a.m. arrives at 7:15 a.m. local time

Aegean Airlines, A3 0983

Wednesday, March 30 Athens, Greece to Munich, Germany departs at 1:10 p.m. arrives at 2:45 p.m.

Lufthansa, LH 1751

Wednesday, March 30 Munich, Germany to Newark departs at 3:50 p.m. arrives at 6:50 p.m.

Lufthansa, LH 0412

Wednesday, March 30 Newark to Burlington departs at 9:28 p.m. arrives at 10:46 p.m.

United Airlines, UA 3474