Riding around Tbilisi - part 1

It is time to finish my travel report from Tbilisi.

I used the last day before entering Armenia to rent a bike and driving around to places I found interesting. The diameter of Tbilisi is about 20 km so that one needs only one hour with slow speed to cross it by bike. It was therefore possible to explore several areas

As soundtrack for this post  I recommend  Saint Motel's great Daydream/Wetdream/Nightmare.

I started of course in da hood. and then climbed up the neighborhood above the Freedom Square.

One of the beautiful houses that are damaged
by earthquakes. (Look above the door.)

An investment ruin. Its special shape is somewhat amazing.
How did they manage to create the concrete blocks on top of the pillars?

This area is interesting because there are places like this one
and also modern apartment buildings.

Around the corner is the valley station of the funicular up
to the Mtatsminda park.

The Mamadaviti street - one of my favorite streets. Cobblestones, very steep and a great view.

The great thing if you have no plan is that you are free to do whatever you like. I noticed several times the concrete-metal tower and that day I just drove there to see what it is.
Before the descent I had to buy some cigarettes. I am a non-smoker but the first and only new year's resolution that every worked was to start smoking. Sounds stupid, but is fun because I only buy one package of cigarettes of every type. In Georgia cigarettes are incredibly cheap and there are many sorts to check out. While writing this blog entry I am smoking a Magna cigarette from my pool of Georgian cigarettes I bought during this trip.

The mentioned tower at the right side.

Cigarettes are very cheap. (1 € = 2.3 Lari)

To get to the tower I had to cross the Kura river at this weir. From there one can see the tower and also an interesting building:

The tower is getting closer

This is the Celebration Palace of Rituals.

Too bad that I did not enter the palace of rituals. The images from the interior are looking great and I like also the architecture.
Before crossing the river I had to have a look at the Ortachala bus station to check the buses to and from Yerevan in case my train will not run.

Flowering trees.

Soviet art at the Ortachala bus station

The station itself is not special.

Now we are close to the tower.

The tower is the home of the Georgian National University (SEU). The neighborhood around it unspectacular. I therefore decided to go straight to the Tbilisi sea and the monument I saw there on my ride to Mtskheta. To go there I had to cross Avlabari and then the large Kukia cemetery. Cemeteries look different in Georgia and also Armenia: The headstones have in most cases a photo engraved image of the persons in the grave and there are compartments for family graves surrounded by a fence. The photos on the headstones are a good idea because I believe they help to remember the person as you liked them. Imagine that your father died of Alzheimer's and the last two years of his life he could not even remember you. This is not how you want to remember him. An engraved image when he was e.g. 70 years old might help you. That is a complicated topic but I had time to think about it. In fact when I die I would like to get such a headstone. 

The area around the SEU.

A different view over the inner town with Bidzina Ivanishvili's house above it.

A grave compartment.

The images are sometimes hard, especially when there are children.

The goal of the ride is getting closer.
 

By chance I found the large spa and bathing resort Gino Paradise,
It is quite expensive in my opinion but it is worth it.

A closeup.