Georgia day tour to Mtskheta, Jvari, Gori and Uplistsikhe

It is raining and gloomy in Tblisi this morning but luckily the bad weather doesn’t follow us to the cave city of Uplistsikhe. We walk along stone paths through this settlement which is thought to be the oldest in Georgia and imagine how life must have been living in the ancient kingdom of Kartli. Dogs follow us along during parts of our tour. This cave town was abandoned and hidden and was re-discovered many years later.

We are touring today with a larger group consisting of tourists from various different countries – including two other people from USA which I am finding rare when I travel to Eastern Europe. Because we are a larger group I enjoy an amazing spread of Georgian food at lunch time. Group meals such as these are ideal since I always find it challenging to getting a sample of local foods.

Our next stop is Gori and the Stalin museum. I was looking forward to this stop because I have been really interested in history lately but it turns out to be more of a memorial to the guy. Luckily our guide is able to fill in all the details that are left out of the museum.

Joseph Stalin is from Georgia but later went on to be the leader of the Soviet Union after Lenin died. Like I said the museum was mostly missing many of of the horrific details of his life but you do get a slice of information of how his early life was. There is a model of the house he lived in where tunnels where dug below to hold a secret area for political dissidents to meet and distribute communist propaganda.

We stop at Mtskheta and visit both the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and Jvari monastery. Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is an UNESCO site where the original church was built on the site in the 4th century. Its claim to fame is that it has a piece of Jesus’s robe buried with a woman here. There’s a whole lore about it.

Our last stop is Jvari Monastery, a 6th century medieval church, with its breathtaking views of the rivers below. This UNESCO church designated a style of church development, Jvari style. We have missed the opening hours of the church but we are told there is not much to see inside anyway.

After our tour guide drops us off in Tbilisi we look for places nearby for dinner and end up stopping in shops on the way. After getting yelled at for taking pictures at a place I am about to sample wines from I get invited by the lady who runs the shop next door to sample her wines. This family owned store had homemade wines, fruit and grape, and chacha. The angry shop owner adjacent probably really boosts their neighbor’s sales. We sample wines and buy souvenirs plus wines to drink later.

Walking closer to our hotel we find a beautiful street filled with restaurants with outdoor seating. We have a nice meal to finish our day of sightseeing.

We detour to a nearby park during our walk back to our hotel. We hear a 90’s cover band doing a sound check for the evening. We pop in for drink or two, singing along until we can’t stay awake anymore.

Much of our travel this trip is staying in two cities for a good number of days and scheduling day tours to things not easily reached. It seems like a good idea but leads to long exhausting days of travel. Today’s tour of Mtskheta, Jvari, Gori and Uplistsikhe isn’t too bad though, we get back into town at a decent hour. Our next day tour is not so lucky. Tomorrow we have a free day in Tbilisi. I hope the weather holds out.

First Day in Poland

I had three flights to get here in Krakow Poland.

It is a popular travel destination where I live but not necessarily a great gateway to most European countries, especially Eastern European countries. Due to flight scheduling and prices I picked an itinerary that had only about an hour layover on both my stops. I know you are thinking I am dumb and asking for trouble but trust me when I say these were the best of the choices so I took a risk. Flights out of my city are frequently delayed for weather in the afternoons and most recently another plane from the same airline caught on fire, as a result the passengers were forced to evacuate using the inflatable slide. But today my first flight goes out without an ounce of drama; as did my first layover. During my layover I don’t have time to explore but I have enough time to use the restroom and buy a snack with time to spare.

Arriving in the first international location is another matter. I had Amsterdam as a layover because I thought from past experience it was an easy airport to get around. I was wrong. And I have only an hour to get to my flight. First they do that thing that many European airports do and board the planes in the middle of a concrete lot, requiring buses to take passengers to and from the terminals. That is such a time waste – in fact the time to deplane and ride the bus was at least 20 minutes, if not more. Once in the terminal it isn’t immediately clear where to go from here. I got from google (the app never updated the gate) that I had to switch gates but I wasn’t aware of how long the immigration line could get (I eventually found a gate board after a few minutes). In immigration Sometimes the short connection line is offered but it is not today as I am told. Waiting in line it doesn’t seem like I am going to make it through in time since the immigration booths are understaffed. As the line slowly moves I learn I am not alone. Many in line are worried about missing our connections but they will still not push us to the front of the line. Probably tired of a group of us whining about missing our flights they move us to a short connection line. I have about 20 minutes or so when I get in this line before my flight leaves the gate so I am not too hopeful it even matters at this point. I get through with about ten minutes to spare and I sprint across the airport many, many gates over. I slow down in short spurts to catch my breath. I finally get to my terminal and my flight has been delayed by 15 minutes, not for us like I was hoping but because wheelchair passengers on the previous flight needed additional time to exit. Hey – I’ll take it. I’m stressed, sweaty and out of breath but I am making my flight and so does my bag. It appears my good travel karma is back (I thought it was lost when I traveled to Portugal last year and all my flights were a disaster).

I arrive in Krakow, Poland and the airport seems simple. I take a minute or two to arrange things before I go look for the train to the city. I download the transportation app (another app!) and buy my ticket. This is where I have one minor mishap. I didn’t fully pay attention to the google. The directions say take the train to a station and then it’s a 12 minute walk to my hotel. I get off at the main train station because somehow I got it in my head that was the correct stop. I am at a busy train station and I walk towards what I think is the exit to town through a mall. I look down at my phone for walking directions since I am close to the exit and it says I have over an hour to walk! Turns out I have gotten off too soon. I walk back to try to get back on the train which I took here but I am having a heck of a time finding the track its on since I only familiarized myself with the route to the hotel, not any of the other train station logistics yet. My original train has a while before it is coming back but I find another one scheduled to go to Zakopane that leaves right now and stops where I need. I hop on thinking I can just buy a ticket on the train. I never figure out how to purchase the ticket but it’s only one stop for me and no one asks me for proof so I guess I’m good. I finally do my 12 minute walk to the hotel where my room is ready so I am happy to unload.

Parallel parking is at whole different level here

Although I am sleep deprived, jet lagged and dirty I don’t take much time to freshen up since I see it is going to storm later and I won’t have much time to sightsee anyway, so I power through. (Note: The storm later is laughable with light rain and some thunder. I come from Florida so it is hard to impress me with a storm.)

My first plan is the visit the tower and altar at St Mary’s church in the Rynek Square but the tower is closed for the day so I decide to postpone both and sign up for a free walking tour that starts in 30 minutes. I am already exhausted so why not do another 2.5 hours of walking. I think it will be a good introduction to the city and I’ve been on the fence about paying to visit the Wawel castle anyway so hopefully this will convince me.

We actually start in front of the St. Mary’s Basilica. Our guide tells us stories of the construction of the towers and the famous hourly bugle that happens from one of the towers. The stories end up being completely made up. I am finding that Poland has lots of fun legends it tells but most of them are complete nonsense. We get to hear the bugle player a couple times and that is cool. The real story is it was used to open and close the gates of the city back in when it was a fortress.

Lil church around the corner from St Mary

We learn about some other dark times in Poland’s history (besides WWII) when Poland ceased to exist at all at one point in history. Our guide shows us a historic college that has connections to Copernicus and the former pope John Paul II.

Muzeum Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego Collegium Maius

We hike up the hill to Wawel castle to enjoy the views and learn the history. As suspected it has been completed rebuilt from one of its past iterations because it has been destroyed many times. I have castle fatigue so I think I can skip a non original museum but I might return for the cathedral that has many famous poles buried there.

We finish the tour at Wawel and I walk down to see the famous dragon.

I finish off the evening with an Italian dinner (Don’t judge me I’ll be eating polish food non-stop soon) and a walk through cloth hall (MNK Sukiennice). At first glance the cloth hall seems like a tourist trap but after visiting again the next day I think I may be able to pick up an interesting souvenir or two.

La sagrada familia

The visit to La sagrada familia was a long time coming. I had tried to visit the famous Gaudí cathedral around ten years prior but due to the church unexpectedly closing for a private event and then subsequently getting food poisoning the rest of my Barcelona visit, it never happened. Luckily this never finished cathedral is now ten years more completed then it would have been for my original visit.

I make a reservation to be sure I am able to get in during my visit. The group gathers outside for a while before the church opens. Finally we are let in and we get to see this amazing church virtually empty. I didn’t really plan it this way on purpose but it is quite nice to not be surrounded by crowds. I spent lots of time inside admiring all the different features and eventually the crowd does grow in time.

I can’t wait to return when it’s complete.

Vienna, Austria

I take the train to Vienna from Graz, I didn’t upgrade myself this time but its ok because I get a four seat to myself almost the whole way.

When I arrive to Vienna central station it doesn’t take me too long to figure out which train I need to transfer to. I end up buying a multi day pass even though it’s expensive to simply things. My train drops me off at Prater, a transportation hub right next to a large park that contains an amusement park. I realize later that there is a subway train I could have taken from there to make my walk even shorter or I could have taken a short cut through the amusement park. Instead I follow google with its long walk around the parameter of the park to almost on the other side of the park where my hotel resides. Yes, I am sweaty. And I feel like I am not close to anything except this theme park. Did I make a mistake booking this hotel?

My room is ready when I arrive. I check in and clean up. I have a Mozart concert and dinner scheduled tonight at Schloss Schonbrunn. The package includes a tour of some of the rooms inside. Very impressive. Of course no pictures allowed again. I learn so much about the Hapsburgs during the audio tours of the rooms like Maria Theresa, Elizabeth (or Sissi the beautiful wife of Emperor Fran’s Joseph) and finally the famous Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France – how did I not know she was a Habsburg? Anyway I enjoy the big room with Rococo frescos, the white gold trim in the grand room.

After the tour we take a long walk to a restaurant down the street for our dinner that is part of the package. Come to find out it is a fixed menu with the choices being beef or vegetarian. I was really looking forward to trying some authentic schnitzel tonight but I guess it will have to wait. The food is lackluster and the service is unbearably slow. I stared at my wine and water on the bar for 15 minutes before I finally got up to tell a waiter (not mine) that those drinks were mine. If I did the package again I would skip the dinner and get fast food somewhere.

After dinner we walk back to the orangerie or large room outside the palace where the concert will be held. I chose upgraded seats that included a Prosecco. I sip my Prosecco while I wait for them to let us in. I can’t film inside but it is a great performance. The singers and musicians are delightful and seem to really enjoy their job. I am glad I bought the tickets this evening.

After the show it is late and google is telling me I have to take a train a very far walk away. I decide to ignore it and go to the train I arrived from. The train is running so not sure why google would give me bad directions. (Note: It seems to be the first of many bad directions for my last week or so of travel). Luckily I get back safely and timely using my instincts.

In the morning I have a wine tour scheduled. They don’t pick up at my hotel so I commute down to another part of town and walk through a park on the way that has seen better days.

We are taken out to a wine region called the Wagram region. Our first stop is at the Holzer Winery that is run by a husband and his wife. We meet the wife who introduces us to some wines and tells us her husband’s family winery history while we sip wines on a lovely table by a vineyard. It is a nice day at the winery. As these tours go we are all very friendly after a couple glasses. This region is known for its Gruner Veltliner which a very popular wine for a long while in Austria but has only begun to get the spotlight in the USA in the last maybe ten years. I discovered my love for Gruner in an Austrian restaurant in Brooklyn that had it on tap as did other Brooklyn bars during my life in NYC.

We then have an Austrian dinner where I try some pork schnitzel and lots of other items. I forget to take pictures of the meal but I do take a picture of the delicious rum cake they serve as a dessert. Another winery brings us wines to try while we eat instead of us visiting another tasting at a winery. I purchase one of the bottles of red since I still have three nights left in town to enjoy it.

We head back in town and I am dangerously low on clean clothes so I force myself to do laundry. Hopefully this is the last time I need to do laundry before I go home.

The next morning I wake up early for the highly anticipated Naschmarket. I enjoy the flea market portion of the market but the food vendors are aggressive, especially in the nuts/sweets spices section. Had one almost run after me to try his nuts “only one man”. It seemed to be many vendors selling the same things. There are some unique sellers and restaurants thrown in there but not enough to add it to my recommendation list especially when I’ve been to some pretty cool markets in the past.

Surrounding the market…

I do some sightseeing. I eye one church with some stone sculptures but I decide almost 10 euros is too steep a price to visit, maybe later.

Ribe: Nightwatchmen and Witches and Vikings, Oh My!

Today I am in the small historic town of Ribe, Denmark. I suppose I added this city to my itinerary because it is known as the oldest town in Denmark. On the water it was inhabited as early as 8th century. It was important in trade and said to have produced some early coins here. An early king of Denmark settled here and afterwards the community grew. Apparently Vikings and Christians lived here in peace for a while. I learn later that at some point the stench got so bad in the town in the Middle Ages from refuse and cow manure. I swear I still smell the cow manure throughout the town to this day.

I start my visit with a check-in to my historic hotel Dagmar Hotel. Said to be the oldest hotel in Ribe it is located in the courtyard with the large cathedral. I was warned in advance that I need to make dinner reservations at the hotel restaurant ahead of time and I did not for whatever reason. I ask if they have availability for tomorrow and they do for a special outdoor BBQ event.

I drop my bags and start visiting some museums. All the museums seem to close early here so my only chance to see all the ones I want is to start right away. I start at Hex! Museum of Witch Hunt. I had this museum bookmarked but I wasn’t sure what to expect. I am pleasantly surprised at the thorough and interactive exhibit about witches and witch trials in Ribe and throughout Denmark. There are exhibits that talk about witches in recent pop culture and a very heartbreaking exhibit on how perceived witches are treated in other countries today. One witch falsely accused names a group of other witches that are part of nobility; as a result the persecution of witches greatly reduces. The audio guide is a must especially if you are an English only speaker. I spend over two hours here barely leaving time for the attached museum.

The museum nearby is the childhood home of Jacob A. Riis, a name I have heard before in NYC but had no idea who he was. Apparently the namesake of the beach in Queens New York I would visit is a famous former citizen of this town. He became famous for his writings and photographs of the working class and poor of NYC. I learned so much about his work from this museum.

I have an early dinner then meet up with the town night watchman, a tour. The night watchman is a historical figure in the town of Ribe. The watchmen were tasked with securing the town in the evenings. The tour is given in both Danish and English (if necessary) and sometimes singing is involved. Just to warn you that at least one of the stories does not really translate to English. The watchman gives us a city tour and takes about the architecture and history of the city. The tour is free and lasts about 45 minutes.

The next morning I walk over to the wooden bridges and admire the ducks with the royal blue coloring. Most are sleeping though.

Afterwards I head over to the Viking Museum which is more like a history museum of the area. Vikings are discussed a bit but only as a group that inhabited the area during early times. Most importantly is the location was beneficial for trade for many surrounding countries.

The rest of the day I explore town and get a snack. I have a large dinner planned this early evening so I don’t to eat too much today.

Groups of high school students use horse drawn carriages to carry them around from party to party. Loud music is blasting randomly from different courtyards.

Dinner at the BBQ event is better than I expected with all the grilled meats juicier than normal. The do it yourself salad bar is a nice touch, especially when it is very challenging to get a sufficient amount of vegetables daily. There is live music while I eat.

I travel to Copenhagen tomorrow so I attempt to go to bed at a decent hour but music gets louder outside my hotel and my ear plugs are rendered useless. I wish I am just out celebrating as well. Hopefully I am able to nap on the train to Copenhagen.