What better place to ponder all these questions than Tbilisi – capital city of Georgia and home of the giant sanitary napkin bridge. Another in a series of old meets new up and comers that requires far more than two days to fully appreciate. We arrived to find that the access bridge to our hotel was closed for a parade of some sorts. At first we thought it was a political rally but since there was no tear gas or baton beatings in the periphery we ruled that out pretty quickly. Eventually we realized it was some sort of cultural heritage day as many of the people were dressed in historical costumes – kind of like a Georgian Society of Creative Anachronism festival but without the drunken tournament games or the “Vikings” who always end up in fist fights with the Druids.
Tbilisi is one of those places that does a very good job at making it seem like everything is fine. It is cosmopolitan and funky and has that odd mixture of Bolshevik ideals buttressed against the new world order. Underneath is a seedy underworld of organized crime that one gets glimpses of in the Old City center. Upscale “bars” line the alleyways and beautiful young things with deers in the headlights gazes stroll up and down for tender. Enjoying a coffee in an art café one can almost be forgiven for neglecting the fact that in 2008, Russia was still laying claims here, which resulted in multiple air bombing attacks. Up on the hills you can see the results of a real estate boom – large gaudy mansions and crazy large scale building projects that seem to revolve solely around who can come up with the least esthetically pleasing architecture coupled with no logical usefulness whatsoever. (Oops! Did I just release my inner Prince Charles?)
Ahh but Tbilisi is still wonderful to walk through and I would not be doing her justice if I did not promote her PUPPET THEATER!! If I ever need a reason to get back it will be because I was not able to take in any of the performances at the Gabriadze Theatre. The “Battle of Stalingrad” and “The Autumn of My Springtime” are on my bucket list of marionette theatre must-sees. I had to sate my puppet passion with lunch at the adjoining café that was created “not so people could eat, but so that one single coffee bean could be fried all day long, filling the theatre with its aroma.” (Rezo Gabriadze is my kind of people!)
After Tbilisi it was off to Gori where I was able to complete my “Communist Party” reality tour with a visit to the Stalin Museum. Man, that is one freaky museum. Unlike the Mao museum, you definitely get the sense that the only reason this place even exists is due to the morbid curiosity of western tourists. You have to hand it to the tour guide who for an hour walked us through a homage to psychopathy with a perfectly scripted monologue about a guy who used his gift as an “intellectual poet”(not to mention dude was seriously HOT when he was younger) to seduce a bunch of other guys to help him rob a bank for Lenin and kill 40 people in the process. Off to Siberia where he has lots of time to ruminate on how he could murder millions and become the archetype for all Cult of Personality anti-heroes. Or, as Stalin likes to think of himself - “Gardener of Human Happiness.” Highlight for me was the bit on collective farming that was so beneficial to woman because now they could drive tractors. Thank you Stalin. My John Deere dreams can now come true.
After Tbilisi it was off to Gori where I was able to complete my “Communist Party” reality tour with a visit to the Stalin Museum. Man, that is one freaky museum. Unlike the Mao museum, you definitely get the sense that the only reason this place even exists is due to the morbid curiosity of western tourists. You have to hand it to the tour guide who for an hour walked us through a homage to psychopathy with a perfectly scripted monologue about a guy who used his gift as an “intellectual poet”(not to mention dude was seriously HOT when he was younger) to seduce a bunch of other guys to help him rob a bank for Lenin and kill 40 people in the process. Off to Siberia where he has lots of time to ruminate on how he could murder millions and become the archetype for all Cult of Personality anti-heroes. Or, as Stalin likes to think of himself - “Gardener of Human Happiness.” Highlight for me was the bit on collective farming that was so beneficial to woman because now they could drive tractors. Thank you Stalin. My John Deere dreams can now come true.
(I've got issues with the formatting right now so excuse the glaring text. But I am too tired right now to bother with it. !)
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| The obligatory cat rub stop in Tbilisi |
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| A stroll on the maxi pad bridge |
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| The "Always" Bridge at night |
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| Me in 20 years... |
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| Cat love Old City style |
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| Another Lonely Planet Latte Bliss moment |
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| Tbilisi Dance Biscuits |
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| Puppet Theatre reunion with my homies from Dragoman |
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| Flea Market finds in Tbilisi |
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| Even Gangsters fall in Love |
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| Horsing Around at Camp |
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| Ken climbing the walls... |
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| Future Dance Biscuits |
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| Random camp lizard |
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| Mother Georgia - notice the child bearing hips :-) |
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| It is law in Tbilisi that one must give up one's lap for a minimum of one hour to a feline resident |
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| The "Other Banksy" tries to promote growth in the Georgian economy |
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| Another random ancient monastery where we camped |
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| Stalin's Death Mask |
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| About to board the "Bolshevik Express" |
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| Admit it - you would have tapped this in college... |
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| Tiles from the Marionettes |
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| Being young and fun |
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