Batumi

We left Tbilisi by train on the 9th of June.  The train service is greatly improved now and we were very impressed to see a very modern train waiting for us.  Our car was the first one and was a double-decker.  We didn't know when we booked online just what we were getting as some options for trains and seating didn't seem to function on the Georgian Railway web site.  In fact, their web site is the most frustrating web site we have ever used in our entire lives!  No joke, not kidding.

Now back to the train.  It was wonderful.  The track bed has been improved so the train is nearly silent as it travels across the country toward the Black Sea and  Batumi.  In the mountains, which are beautiful, the train slows to 49 kilometers per hour or about 30 mph as there are many bends and curves and anything faster might not be prudent.  There was even wi-fi available and it worked most of the time we were on the train.  

There is no cafe service on the train so one must load up with the essentials before boarding.  Several women were on the platform selling cold water and snacks and the only thing they didn't do was  board the train to sell their goods.  It isn't that long a trip (five hours) so one can survive without bringing any snacks.

In about 2014 we had traveled to Batumi by train and when we arrived we were quite a ways out from city center.  Now the train goes all the way to the bus station making it more of a transportation center vs just train or bus station.  This station is just on the far side (more northernly) of the port itself.  The "getting into city center" was another experience unlike anything we've had before.  The taxi drivers are the most aggressive we've experienced and work with another person who starts hounding you as soon as your feet hit the platform!  Quite frankly, this was not the most pleasant experience.  You couldn't just walk away from them, they hung right on to you (not literally but figuratively) and at times blocked your forward progress.  Folks were also promoting "home stays" if you didn't have a hotel.  We wonder if this is because the economy in Georgia isn't the strongest and folks are willing to go a little further to get income than they might have at another time.  This isn't the high season either, that comes later in the summer when the temperatures in Tbilisi are blistering and no one wants to be there.

We did grab a taxi (with right-hand drive) and for 10 lari got to our hotel.  (Current exchange rate is about 2.4 lari to the dollar.)  Our hotel is the President Plaza and appears to be built around a casino (which isn't operating right now, or wasn't yesterday).  The lobby isn't like any we've experienced before.  There were just two desks with computers and a few chairs for seating.  Nothing that shouted "Hotel Lobby" at you.  We got our key and went to the room which is on the 1st floor (which in the US is actually the 2nd floor; over here the ground floor is floor zero).  The room is quite large and has windows overlooking a square surrounded by restored buildings and some new ones.  There is a lovely fountain in the center with nice plantings around the corners of the square.  All-in-all, the location is great and we are not complaining.  The photo below is obviously a panoramic view as the street is straight, not curved :-).

 

An interesting side note on the wi-if in the room is that each room has it's own wireless transmitter with the password being our room number.

Since we had not had lunch, we headed out for food after a short rest break and only made it about one block before selecting the BK restaurant.  We sat outside in the shade and ordered what turned out to be a very filling lunch of okroshka (a cold soup with hard boiled eggs, radishes, carrot chunks, yogurt, dill, scallions).  It is one of the most refreshing soups one can have on a hot day.  It was a very large portion and maybe we if we had known how large the portion was going to be we wouldn't have ordered the roasted eggplant with tomatos and cheese.  (Also shown below)

 

 

This eggplant dish was really interesting.  There didn't seem to be any added spices or salt.  It was grilled somehow and then the tomato slices added and the cheese nicely browned on top.  The eggplant was sliced in such as way that the cook was able to spread out three slices (still attached) in a fan.  This alone would have been a meal.

 

This is really a photo of Mary's cappuccino in which David just ended up.  

With our full bellies we decided to take a short nap before we headed out for some walking around.  After what had been a very short night's sleep the previous night in Tbilisi due to street/party noise near the Airbnb, it was 17:00 before we hit the streets again in Batumi.  That's just the way life can be when you are retired and jet-lagged.

We headed for the waterfront and watched some children playing on the beach.  Black Sea beaches are not sandy, but rather consist of stones.  We're not sure why the sea hasn't ground them up into sand as they would be in other parts of the world.

 

The water isn't the cleanest right near the port, but it wasn't stopping folks from swimming.  It was not water either of us would go in.

As we walked along toward the port area we spotted the Ali and Nino sculpture and it was moving.  When we had first seen this in '14 it was just on a concrete platform with no walkway around it and so seeing it yesterday with paving all around it and benches was quite a contrast to our first exposure to it.  

The two figures are constantly moving and because of their construction come together and then pass through one another to then repeat the rotation.  It is quite fascinating and there were quite a few people just watching and taking photos.  The sculpture is named after the characters in the book, Ali and Nino https://georgiaabout.com/2012/08/30/about-art-statue-of-love-in-batumi/ .  

Because of the walk, the heat, and the effect from yesterday's walk in Tbilisi, we decided to find a place to sit down and relax for a bit.  This turned into two beers and dinner while we watched the men who fished off the pier.

 

The fellow above had about six hooks on his line and was catching small fish about 3-4" in length.  We don't know if he was going to use them for bait for catching something larger or not, but after he had caught about 10 he packed up his gear and left.  Behind him in the photo is where the restaurant's grilling took place.

 

Imagine yourself being hot and thirsty...then wrap your hands around the cold mug of beer above and enjoy just as we did.

 

Not all of Batumi is flashy and bright with neon or moving signs.  There are still parts of the city that remind you of what it must have been like a 100 or so years ago.  Lovely small buildings with balconies overlooking the street.

So we will close with a view out the window just as we were headed to bed.