Last time I was in Georgia, I didn’t travel directly from Batumi to Tbilisi so was never on the then very modern trains they had introduced on the route. This time I did. Since my departure is mid-morning, I do consider staying in the hotel above the railway station, but it has terrible reviews and would cost more than another night at the very pleasant Hotel Imereti so I add another night then. It is only one stop on the subway. Going over my posts about my previous trip here, I’m very surprised to see I did actually stay in the station hotel - it can’t have made much of an impression!
The Tbilisi Railway station is pretty well concealed in a shopping mall - go in the wrong entrance and it’s impossible to find the booking office or platforms. It’s also not a particularly nice looking building. I am early so go up to the café on the top floor - I remember the staff as being quite old and not at all friendly. The only change is that the staff are quite young.
I don’t get a seat on the upper deck - I think I might be quite lucky to have a seat at all - there are an awful lot of standing passengers on the train: five hours is quite a long time to stand. It makes a nice change to see some variation in the terrain and some green.
Eventually we get to the shoreline of the Black Sea and make our way down to Batumi. It is Georgia’s second largest city, has quite a busy port and is a very popular tourist resort - particularly for Russians. I actually really like it - the old centre is relatively small and flat with great character buildings, and they’ve really taken advantage of the shoreline (I keep wanting to call it a coast, but don’t know if that’s right), by having an esplanade and park that goes for miles. It is, however, a bit grey when I arrive.
A #3 bus takes me into the city, just around the corner from what turns out to be a fabulous hostel, simply called 47 Hostel, because it is so social. First order of business is to find coffee - there’s a place right next door, but its a chain and pretty average. I set off for a place I see on the map, but get distracted by the wonderful cakes at Central Café, then make my way out to the shoreline. The first picture is the street I am staying in.
The first building below, believe it or not, is an ice cream shop. Then the Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University - I was allowed in to walk around last time.
For dinner, I go to a place Lika, the owner of the hostel, recommends for typical Georgian food - of course, I have kharcho and a dish which actually looks quite similar - chackokhbili, a very tomato-forward chicken stew. It seems appropriate to have a Georgian wine, a Saperavi. Batumi is the capital of the Adjara region - Lika tells me that when she was growing up here, the restaurants would be selling Adjari food, and the foods from wider Georgia just didn’t appear. I’m sad I didn’t get to discover what Adjari food might be. I get back to the hostel to find several people hanging out in the kitchen, so join in - am there for hours: it is the first proper conversation I’ve had for quite a while.
In the morning, I walk up to the northern side of Batumi - it is very much geared up for tourists, with market stalls and cruise boats. They don’t seem to go very far, so I don’t bother. The beaches here don’t look too comfortable!
The streets around this end of town are interesting to wander around - lots of places to eat on some, plus the occasional small bar, but most restaurants are dry.
I attend an amazing musical performance for World Tourism Day, but I’ll share that in my next post.
Cheers!
Love these photos...some quite attractive buildings...Caspian Sea now Black Sea...well done, Baz