web-page

Hallo everybody.

The Kazbegi-GLEN-girls Kadri, Christina and Elina are proud to present
the main result of their project: the very-very advanced web-page for
Kazbegi and surroundings:

www.kazbegi.info

Please enjoy and tell about it to EVERYBODY who is going to Georgia
and Kazbegi. Feedback is also welcome, we won't bite -- may-be.

Special-special-special thanks to Tõnu for design.
Special-special thanks to Steffen for consulting.
Special thanks to Nadia for correcting the texts.

Kadri-Christina-Elina

Revolution

Now I am back in Germany but my thoughts still wander around in Georgia quite often. Thinking about the great time I had there but also about current events.

These pictures of the peaceful demonstration I took on my last evening in Tbilisi- 4rth of November. Since then many things happened. Saakashwily showed his interpretation of democracy.

Armenia at night

The Skyline of Yerevan from the top of the Cascades. Mount Ararat looks so close and is still unreachable for Armenian people.


Mother Armenia looking towards Turkey, a sword in her hands.


This interesting fugure stands at the top of the Cascades just behind the huge 50th Anniversery of Soviet Armenia monument. It costs around 600000 euro and it is art...








With Agnesa and her husband, who where our angels in Yerevan, we went to Restaurant Caucasus for some delicious Armenian food. One meal was called "eat and shut up". I did just that.


After visiting Yerevan we spend a day with Agnesas family in the north of the country in Vanadzor. Great people.

Armenia at day time

After Kadri and Elina had left I decided to spend the remaining 5 days outside Georgia and left with Dagmar for a short trip to Armenia.


Very nice and very expensive: Market in City Centre.




Yerevan is compared to Tbilisi older, but looks much younger. There are building and construction sites all over the city. According to our Armenian friends there will be elections next year and the present president wants to finish as much as possible for a better record.


Our first sight visited: Garni Temple. The last remaining pagan temple in the whole area of the former Soviet Union.


Geghard Monastery outside Yerevan. One of the most atmospheric churches i have visited, with one of the most scenic and at the same time disgusting toilettes (see picture below for outside).




Thanks to a group of German parliamentarians who travelled with an Armenian singing group for cultural entertainment we where able to listen to some great singing with fantastic acoustic.


Men socializing in the the park of the most sacred church in Armenia: Echmiadzi. When we where there, there was a church service held. Really impressing and different from the ones I have seen so far.

Last days in Georgia

Project is over. So what is left is to say Goodbye. Due to bad weather and lack of electricity we left Kazbegi earlier then we had planned. On the last morning we went up to the church to see the sunrise. But there was no sun, only steady rain. Nether less a very special trip. In Tbilisi we spend the last days doing some fun stuff and trying to get everything ready for leaving.

Second and last visit to Mother Georgia.


Nivas final minutes in our company ended almost painfully- Or: Georgian driving. Kaspars rented Niva for the time of his and Elinas project. Sometimes we also had the pleasure of going on a trip with her. Great freedom on and off the road.


Nice and rather calm candlelight Sit-in in our second home the Latvian Consulate before the departure of Elina and Kadri on 31st of October. Very very sad. After they left I spend my fist night alone in a room for three month.


Next night I spend at Linas and Justs living museum. There was so much to discover!


The famous bath in Tbilisi. Looks like a mosque but is more a temple of cleanliness. We had some great parties here, it became like a ritual to go there before someone was leaving (so to all who are still there: Keep the tradition!)


Last Restaurant visit. Toasts about “What will Christina miss in Germany”: The people present, dancing in Restaurants, eating and ordering Georgian food, Georgian Wine, ...


After leaving Georgia early in the morning I had the day in Riga. Kaspars took me for a walk in the old harbour. It really reminded me of Hamburg... getting closer to home...


Image taken in Riga. I kind of felt like this.

Trip to an Orphanage in South Ossetia

After Kadri and Elina left, I had the great chance to join Justs for a trip with his partner organisation "Levan" to an orphanage in South Ossetia. We where quiet excited, because of the uncertain political situation there. But as we came closer in our yellow bus passing trough some amazing landscape we found out that the town we went to was still under Georgian influence. So no border guards or police control, but the aftermath of the war was visible. We took some presents and doctors for the kids. There was some official talking but otherwise it was just a big PR show. My task was to take pictures and smile.

Levan and his admirers in the bus.

Happy shepherd on the way- great georgien spirit.

levan showing the way.

Some officials from Tbilisi came for some talking. Justs really enveyed this guy for his great beard.

The kids where happily posing for us. Later we where playing some games and had great fun.

Outside the house.

A Dentist was checking the teeth. There was no real treatment. The kids just got some chewing gum afterwards.

One of the highlights of the day was the visit of the museum of the house. Everything on display was made by the children of the Orphanage. Mainly wood work, some traditional weaving and carving. Great things.

Vardzia

The whole cave complex was destroyxed by a big earthquake, so what is visible today is only a small part of the original town. There are hundreds of rooms on 13 floors, some are connected with tunnels.


Elina and Kadri climbing in the caves.

One of the churches with great frescos.

Through the tunnel back down.

The way to our "otel".

There was a great pool at the place where we stayed. The water is coming out of the ground with a temperature of 45 degrees and then cooled off a little. We had wine and we could also see Vardzia out of the window. We enjoyed it so much, that we decided to stay another day.

Sighnaghi- a somehow different georgien town

Sighnaghi in the heart of Kacheti has an interesting story. It became the favorite place of the president and he decided to make it a nice place. That basically means a lot of reconstruction, building and painting, or "Kosmetics" how a local woman put it. It will probably take another three years and this place will have totally changed.

The view from the road: Looks somehow like some village in Spain or Italy.

Endless possibiliets...

Bodbe monastrie not far away from town. There is a place where the holy Nino prayed for water and a spring appeared. Very sacred.



Nice evening with Israeli backpackers and our host family.

Wine time in Kacheti

Wine tasting in a family place. They had the best one we tried so far.


Wine fabrik in Kacheti. Everyone was suprised when we asked for a tour but then the big boss himself showed us around.

Some left over bottle from soviet time.

Truck loads of grapes wait in front of the fabrik.

Family selling theier harvest on the market.