retiredmartin

May 2025. Kutaisi. Georgia.

It might be (possibly) the Oldest City in the World, but Kutaisi’s Old Town lacks the medieval sparkle implied by the painting in our disastrous restaurant,

and in general Georgia will, surprisingly, appeal more to fans of Manchester than York or Ghent.

But it doesn’t lack character,

or art,

and the 11th century Bagrat Cathedral is a gem.

More importantly, the beer (that big one is a litre) and pastry combo at Cafe Barca was reward for a hike in the heat,

and the coffee and cakes in town were as good as anywhere on our European jaunts.

A town of sculptures,

a fountain in the middle of a busy traffic island,

and some glorious free or dirt cheap museums.

The freebies (the staff wouldn’t accept donations but wanted their photo taken with us) covered cameras of the type you can take into Sam Smiths pubs to capture the interior,

and sport. The section on the Mexico World Cup deserves its own post.

As Duncan noted, Georgia feels relaxed and safe and happy, notably at the White Bridge where young brides and grooms converge.

Families pay their 20p to take the cable car to a Soviet amusement park where the star attraction is a Ferris wheel rated “unsafe” by every blogger who’s visited.

ChatGPT quoted me a 98% survival rate, which’ll do for me. But I needed that pint of Weihenstephan in the “Beer Museum” when we finally got back down.