Georgien

Ein komplett anderes Reiseziel - Batumi in Georgien

October 29th - November 1st, 2018

Little did I know what to expect when my work trip to Batumi in Georgia was scheduled, never had I thought how impressive these four days would be.

Our trip began on an early Monday morning at Frankfurt airport, from where we headed with Turkish Airlines to Istanbul and further to Batumi.

The first impression felt a bit like Vancouver, the sea on one side, a beautiful mountain panorama on the other. Soon it became obvious, that Batumi is a controverse city which is about to change. There are modern buildings with individual and extravagant architecture next to run down apartement houses. The gap between rich and poor seems to be insurmountable, but you can literally what the transformation of the city.

On the day of our arrival I went on a stroll after Dinner at the hotels Skybar with it's beautiful view.

Beforehand I was really wondering if it would be save enough to go out into town on my own, but I felt secure quickly due to the presence of security personnel every few meters.

Interessting was the amount of open restaurants and bars relative to the amount of people who are actually in town. It was definitely low season, because these etablisments were all empty.

After the first meeting on Tuesday, we were invited to a winery out of town at the foot of the mountains. A beautiful property with a long history and authentic premises. The Georgian food was definitely a first for me and I loved it. We were introduced to the traditon of toast during a Georgian feast, a so called "Supra".

During the evening the following toast were proposed:

1. To the God and the Peace
2. To Georgia
3. To those who have passed away
4. To the Children and Life
5. To someone celebrating a special occasion
6. To Parents
7. To Women
8. To Friends
9. To Love
10. To the Host Family

These toast were held by the "Tamada", traditionally a chosen person to lead through the feast.

The Georgian wine was surprisingly good and as I learned afterwards, it has a very long history, as Georgia is one of the oldest countries with wine culture as such.

On Wednesday we experienced again the unbelievable hospitality of our hosts. An employee took us out for Dinner to another Georgian restaurant with traditional food and good entertainment by this lovely lady.

As the absolute highlight for me, we were invited to the Botanical Garden of Batumi the next day, before we headed to the airport. But words can't describe the beauty of this place, have a look yourself and enjoy the pictures of this gem below.

(Kathy)