Georgia trip: Tbilisi - Sighnaghi - Borjomi - Sestaponi - Samtsvera Waterfall - Batumi

Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia. The cobblestone old city has a long, complicated history and was at times under Persian and Russian rule. The diverse architecture includes Eastern Orthodox churches, magnificent Art Nouveau buildings, and modernist Soviet structures. Towering over the city is the rebuilt 4th century Narikala Fortress and the famous statue of Kartlis Deda, the "Mother of Georgia. Destinations: -Old Town -Tatsminda -Rustaveli -Marjanishivil

Sighnaghi is called "the Georgian city of love". Since in Georgia it is possible to get married at any registry office, the place is often chosen by couples for their civil wedding because of its scenery. The city hall is equipped accordingly and has a 24-hour service seven days a week especially for this purpose. In the village there is the Sighnaghi Museum as part of the Georgian National Museum. Archaeological findings, information on the history of the city and works by Niko Pirosmani and Lado Gudiashvili are displayed there. A large statue depicts the philosopher Solomon Dodashvili. There are four Georgian Orthodox churches in the town. About two kilometers from Sighnaghi is Bodbe Monastery, built over the burial place of Saint Nino. Near the place there is also the spring of Saint Nino. The water of the spring is used for baptism ceremonies and is said to have healing properties. Pilgrims can wash with the water of the spring in a bathhouse. The town is located in the middle of a wine-growing area and so wine also plays an important role in the town and there are corresponding offers and wine tastings.

In Borjomi springs a medicinal water of the same name. The springs were used as early as the first millennium AD. At the foot of the Catherine spring archaeologists discovered a stone bath. In 1829 Russian soldiers carried the news of the healing waters' effects to Moscow. In 1906 Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich Romanov founded the first water bottling factory in Borjomi and introduced the brand with the name of the spa in Russia. It still exists today, but is now owned by the Dutch-Georgian company Georgian Glass and Mineral Water (GG&MW). The company exports it mainly to Russia, but also to Western Europe, the USA and Israel. Exports account for over ten percent of Georgia's export volume.

Velvet Svera Waterfall - a waterfall in the gorge of the Dzusa River, east of the village of Zovreti, southwest of the village of Kveda Sazano, in the municipality of Zestaponi, Imereti, at an altitude of 170 meters above sea level. The waterfall is visited by many people in the summer. Here you can swim in the river Dzusa and enjoy the nature.

Batumi (Georgian ბათუმი) is a port city on the Black Sea. As the capital of the Adjara region in southwestern Georgia, it has 172,100 inhabitants (as of 2021), making it the second largest city in the country. Batumi is the seat of a bishopric of the Georgian Orthodox Church as well as a scientific center with colleges, university, naval faculty and agricultural institute.

In Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, our journey finally ends! I am sure that we had a wonderful time together and will remember the moments for a long time. Hopefully we will see each other again!