Georgia country (not a state).
Georgia is a country with beautiful nature, surrounded by the mountains (Caucasus in the north), with their own alphabet, communist history, probably the longest tradition in wine making and delicious cuisine. Almost everyone speak fluent Russian besides Georgian (English is not popular) and they are also amazing hosts.
If you are vegan or vegetarian, you are in heaven! Quality of the food here in general is very high.
Georgia is rich in walnuts, different kind of greens, persimmons, grapes of course and most of them are organic. Many people have their own gardens where they grow all the veggies & fruits they need, or have them from neighbours. These type of food really have a flavour!
If you decide to stay in the guest houses instead of hotels, there’s a huge possibility that you will meet a nice host and try Georgian healthy, delicious homemade food & wine.
Most of the roads are normal, good quality but the style of driving is quite stressful… It looks like Georgian drivers are very impatient 😉 If you go into the mountains, you will need a 4×4 car.
Georgia is a country with the communist history and it left its mark in the architecture. There are ghost cities and abandoned fabrics after the fall of Soviet Union. One of them is the Soviet sanatorium city called Tskaltubo. There are also cities like Chiatura where you can feel like in the old communist times and see Stalin’s & Lenin’s image on the buildings. You can also take a scary ride in a sketchy, rusty old cable car, which I do NOT recommend 🙂 In Gori you can see the old statue of Stalin who was born in that city. It is lying on the ground now, taken down after the fall of his regime.
In the North part of Georgia there are two disputed autonomic regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It is advised not to visit them as in 2008 was a war and it is still not safe to go there (at least for now and in the nearest future). It kind of reminds me of Crimea territory and political situation or Moldova and Transnistria.
Because of this military conflict and intervention of the late president of Poland Kaczyński, most Georgians really like Polish tourist. I’ve heard from the retired soldier his experience and it was moving, helped me to understand this part of the history. At first I was a bit sceptic as I was thinking that the president didn’t consult this decision with me 😉 also I’m not a fan of most of the Polish politicians. But I’m relieved that this war is over and people can move on.
In Georgia you will notice cows and pigs on the side roads which was surprising to see at first. Sometimes you need to stop because of the cow’s traffic on the roads 🙂 At least they are happy animals, can walk and eat whatever they want, not like most animals squeezed in tiny boxes without the sunlight and fresh air, without possibility to move.
You can read that there are many stray dogs and they are not treated well, but I witnessed only the opposite, people feeding them and taking care.
Another thing I notices during my trip, was that it’s a very clean country, no rubbish on the side roads, in the villages or cities. All the guest houses and hotels were super clean. There are many very old private houses but are well-kept (beside the Soviet blocks of flats). I traveled half of the world and it was a nice thing to notice.
It’s not a big country but has a lot to offer, like wonderful mountains and the Black Sea cost. Mount Kazbegi (5033 m) is one of the highest and most famous mountains of the Caucasus located on the border of Georgia and Russian Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. It is the third-highest peak in Georgia and the seventh-highest summit in the Caucasus Mountains. There are many cave towns, the most famous in Vardzia and Uplistsikhe. The latter one was built in the late Bronze Era – around XIII century BC!
Malvina Dunder 
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