La Gringa y Su Esposo: Kazbegi - Craggy mountain majesty

Apr 22-25

We had a brief stop in Tbilisi on the way to Kazbegi, walking through the rain to the metro to make it from one bus station to the next. Tim always gets a kick out of wearing rain gear, so at least he got some enjoyment out of the drizzle. The bus station was another mad house. We ended up in a shared taxi with a pizza and bean pastry in hand for lunch. The drive took us up through some beautiful mountains, past some Georgian ski resorts and through a few dark tunnels. We were happy to let someone else do the driving, he seemed to know generally where all the big potholes were.

Kazbegi is a small town near the Russian border with only a few thousand people living in a valley between the towering Caucasus Mountains..not that we could see them because it was misty and 35F. We were at the very beginning of tourist season and there weren't many people about. Kazbegi is home to the Gergeti Trinity Church, perched way up in the mountains with a jaw dropping backdrop. It's the most iconic Georgian silhouette, and I was anxious to see it up close. We planned to hike it early in the morning when the forecast was best (still mostly cloudy, but our options looked pretty bleak for the next few days). We suited up as it was 25F and started toward the trailhead, but a taxi made us an appealing offer so we hopped in and rode up the hill. Lazy! It was super cloudy and the view sucked, but at least we were able to scope out the trail from the top.

The only photo I captured of brunch.

Having cheated our hike into a 30 minute taxi ride, we decided we were in for a dime, in for a dollar, so headed to the high-end Rooms Hotel resort in town and splurged on a delicious fancy breakfast buffet. Omelettes, pastries, coffee, sausages and cheese, it was definitely worth $18 each. We ate enough for two meals (that's why it's called brunch, right?) and watched the clouds as they slowly cleared up in defiance of the forecast. Thoroughly stuffed and caffeinated, and with the sun streaming out, we decided to hike back up to the cathedral. Two miles and 1300 feet later we were back on top with a much better view of the surrounding mountains. It was a warm hike in the sun but chilly and windy on top; we were happy again to have all our cold weather gear.

The next day was even clearer when we woke up, so we hiked up to the cathedral one last time, catching a few glimpses of Mt. Kazbek in the distance. Know how some people are ocean people and some are mountain people? We are definitely mountain goats. I could have stayed up there and just soaked in the majesty of those craggy mountains forever. The next morning we caught another shared taxi back to Tbilisi. Until next time, gorgeous scenery.