Gudauri - Day 34 - Tuesday 30th September 2025 - Balkan-Georgia Trip - Day 34/34 - City 23/23 - country 11/11 - Bonus Visit
- eusts6
- Nov 25, 2025
- 3 min read
As you can see, I went from counting 20 cities to 21, 22, and now 23. Gudauri isn't exactly a city, but like other places, it is a bonus visit!
Shortly after breakfast, our driver met us in the lobby of the hotel. He was very happy to discover that I spoke his language, and he could understand Stanislav speaking in Bosnian easily because of Russian. Shortly after leaving the clogged streets of Tbilisi, the roads got windier and steeper.
The scenery got more and more spectacular, and I asked the driver to stop while I took pictures of a lake and some surrounding mountains, which were close to a market on the side of the road.
Our second stop was in Ananuri, a monastery that was crawling with tourists. Despite that, it was a very beautiful spot and well worth the visit.
We drove on, but feeling hungry, we stopped at a weird roadside restaurant with the windows blacked out. When we entered, everyone stopped talking and looked around. Some older ladies were visible in the kitchen where the door was open, and they stopped stirring. Everyone at the table and in the kitchen stared us up and down, and I nervously asked in Georgian, "Is this a restaurant?" She looked surprised and sent us to our table. Everyone resumed eating and talking.
We both had lobio bean soup, and I had lovely red wine while Stanislav had beer. The bread was excellent.
There was still a strange feeling about the place, as if somehow we were intruding. Stanislav remarked that they could be from the Russian republics.
We continued up the mountains, the car zigzagging more and the engine humming as the angle of ascent got steeper and steeper. The mountains got higher and higher, and the place took on an Alpine feeling, with cows in fields and alpine-style houses everywhere. The weather was getting worse, and clouds were obscuring the highest peaks at 5,000 meters.
We arrived at our destination in Gudauri. I tried repeatedly to call my friends Willem and Dorien, who were close by, as I had used the location that Willem sent. I kind of gave up and started taking photographs when a car stopped and a familiar voice called; it was Willem and Dorien and their handyman in a car.
We bundled into the car, and Dorien walked with the dogs. We visited their new place, which was still under construction. We chit-chatted for a bit and took photos before relocating our driver in the rain.
We drove in the drizzle to the so-called Friendship Monument. We were now a 20-minute drive from the Russian border. I can tell you, no monument can fix the tension between these two neighbors.
Despite the rain, the views were nice considering the peaks were up to 5,000 meters high. Some of the tourists were very entitled and really pissed us off! Being 2,400 meters high, I was finding it difficult to breathe with my asthma.
We drove back towards Tbilisi, leaving the rain and rude tourists behind, and we stopped on the side of the road to drink some homemade chacha!
In a word #Asthma
Comments