Driving Gori to Batumi via Kutaisi: Why, Georgia, why? (Day 2)

You know that feeling you have when you wake up in a weird, new place? I find it incredibly disconcerting and confusing. For the first few seconds, my mind is trying to understand why everything is so unfamiliar. But after about a minute, my mind fills in the gaps, and I finally comprehend where I am; miraculously, I (usually) haven’t even had coffee yet!

Speaking of coffee, it was served on the first floor of the hotel, along with breakfast. In the USA, a small, carb-heavy continental breakfast might be served at some of the cheaper hotels. But in Eurasia (as I suppose Georgia should be categorized), it seems that breakfast is always served. Unlike the weak coffee you get in the large push down carafes in the USA, I find coffee elsewhere in the world to be bold and strong, unless it’s Nescafe. But admittedly, I like Nescafe too – maybe I just have a coffee problem, since any coffee will do.

Anyway, the breakfast served at the Royal House Hotel in Gori did have coffee, along with eggs, cheeses, and lots of homemade breads. There was a nice lady who greeted us, and based on her interactions with the hotel owner, I assumed that she was his wife. While she spoke no English, she seemed very welcoming and helpful. We both filled our plates with white cheeses, meats (while I didn’t know what kind of deli meat it was, it seemed to be a mix of bologna and liverwurst), eggs, and breads.

Because we would be driving nearly 300 kilometers, I wanted to get a relatively early start. I didn’t know how the roads would be, and after just one day of driving, roads in Georgia seemed a tad bit challenging to say the least. Our plan was to drive across the entire country, stopping to see the new Parliament House in Kutaisi, and end in Batumi, on the Black Sea coast.

Exterior of the Stalin Museum, in Stalin Square - Gori, Georgia

First on the agenda was a walk into Gori to see this small, but bustling city, and visit the Stalin Museum. Leaving our car at the hotel, we walked a few blocks north and east toward Stalin Square. The park was shaped like a long, narrow isosceles triangle with a large, ornate building at the base – this was the Stalin Museum. While some of the surroundings were a bit run-down, the museum itself was in remarkably good shape. People were milling around the museum grounds, and there was a large group of Russian-speaking tourists outside near the large Stalin statue. After walking into the building, we paid the 10 GEL (around $4 US) entry fee.

A huge staircase with deep red carpet led to a Stalin statue on the landing. A large, crystal chandelier lit the entire staircase, and at the top of the stairs were large paintings celebrating the life of Stalin. The first large room discussed Stalin’s beginnings in Gori, and included memorabilia about his life. Propaganda highlighting the accolades of the Soviet Union plastered the walls.

Main Staircase in the Stalin Museum Entry

Subsequent rooms discussed World War II, including many pictures with US President Franklin Roosevelt and UK Prime Minster Winston Churchill. Paintings, maps, furniture, and even the piano from Stalin’s vacation home filled the rooms of the museum. To those who were somehow unfamiliar, Stalin would have seemed like a humanitarian and war hero, but world history has a much different story to tell. After all, it was the Stalin Museum, so I expected a strange reality of propaganda and fake news – the museum lived up to my expectations in that respect. Keep in mind that Gori might be the only place in the world where Stalin is still revered, so it’s smart to keep your opinions of this brutal dictator to yourself! Regardless, it was a fascinating relic of Soviet history in the middle of Georgia. There was even a slightly creepy gift shop with a variety of trinkets, and to commemorate the visit, I bought a magnet.

Bust of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the Stalin Museum

We then walked toward Gori Castle, the fortress on the top of a hill that can be seen from everywhere in the city. Climbing up countless stairs, we were the only two people in the fortress area, other than one guard. The views from Gori Castle were panoramic, over the city and its blocks of Soviet era apartment blocks, alongside Orthodox churches, and to the river, leading toward the mountains, hazy in the autumn sun.

Driving from downtown Gori, we headed to the highway where we would continue west. After some online research, I found that there was a highway rest area with a Wendy’s and Dunkin Donuts. Now, keep in mind…I LOVE Dunkie. After living in Boston for a number of years, I was addicted to it, and it had been months since my last trip to Dunkin. Seeing those familiar American chain restaurants in iconic fonts and colors (written in English and Georgian) gave me a little taste of home, literally. I had a chicken sandwich and fries at Wendy’s, but I couldn’t wait for some Dunkie iced coffee. Even though there was only one ice coffee flavor, it was sweet and delicious, the perfect drink for the road – and yes, we got a few donuts as well!

It should say, "Georgia runs on Dunkin'" - but it doesn't...

Our next stop was Kutaisi, about 150 kilometers west. Continuing on the E60, we bypassed Agara, where the divided highway ends and becomes a two-lane road.

As we passed through countless small towns, pedestrians, dump trucks, and buses created a lifelike and life-size game of Frogger. Nonetheless, the scenery was fascinating. We started climbing into the mountains, and there were women standing on the sides of the highway waving large loaves of bread that looked like challah and naan mixed together. It was an interesting sales tactic, but not unlike the people dancing on the sides of the road in the USA with the big arrow signs!

Driving in Georgia is a harrowing experience. Road quality is mediocre, and the mountainous terrain is challenging. Cars and marshrutkas (basically 12ish seat minibuses) zoom around the hairpin curves. The particular road weaved along with the river between green mountains, connecting small villages and roadside stalls selling everything from fruits and wines to human-sized terra cotta planters and wicker fans. The area reminded me a bit of the region where I grew up. Roads weaving through green forests and along small, swift rivers felt much like the Nantahala Gorge in Western North Carolina, near my hometown.

We turned off the main highway toward Kutaisi, and traffic started to get thicker, as it does when you are on the outskirts of a large city. Kutaisi, Georgia’s third largest city and home of the Georgian Parliament, has traditionally been the primary city of Western Georgia, and a rival to Tbilisi. The dirty, bustling city was an architectural masterclass of Soviet-style architecture (read between the lines – it was quite uninspired, utilitarian, and depressed). While I was disappointed by the center of this city, I read that the Georgian Parliament House was a stunning space-like structure. It was built to bring commerce into Georgia’s interior, so I was very excited to experience it for myself.

Georgian Parliament Building - Kutaisi, Georgia

As we neared the Georgian Parliament, the surrounding buildings were not what I expected to see. Rather than other government buildings, there were scattered run-down apartment buildings, and some unfinished neighborhoods that looked as if they were deserted years prior. The building itself was quite run down, even though it was only about five years old. Its white façade looked more like dirty eggshell, and it already looked as if it was falling into a state of disrepair. We drove right up to the Parliament building, and there were only a few cars in the parking lot. A lone guard met us at the door and told us that it was closed. He pointed us to a small building on the periphery that was supposedly an information center. It also looked closed, so after snapping a picture, we decided to continue on the road to the Black Sea.

The next part of the journey was quite bleak. There was a great deal of road construction, and the highway is being rebuilt thanks to EU funds. Even as there seems to be progress on the horizon, the small towns and rundown vehicles that we encountered were lifeless and sad. It seemed that much of this area had been forgotten.

Nearing the Black Sea, we reached a dead end, and we turned south on the E70 highway toward Batumi. This stretch of highway had heavy traffic – countless trucks and marshrutkas. This is a major thoroughfare that leads to Turkey, then into the European Union, so license plates from Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Russia were everywhere. After one final climb over a mountain pass through lush, green vegetation, we headed downhill, as the road began joined the Black Sea coast. The lights of Batumi were shining in the distance through fog and light rain.

Nighttime is when Batumi is at its best. Our initial impression was that it was like Las Vegas, but on some other planet – it almost seemed like a planet dreamed up on Rick and Morty. It didn’t feel like we were on Earth anymore, but we were in some alternate dimension. The eclectic, modern architecture was unlike anything I’ve ever seen: a skyline that looks like geometric abstract art, alongside replicas of buildings around the world (like an upside down White House and the Coliseum).

We made it to our home for the next two nights, the Orient Lux. We reserved an apartment on booking.com, and online, it looked incredible. We were greeted by two women who spoke broken English, and they led us to an apartment that was nothing like what we reserved online. They claimed that there was a bathroom leak in the apartment we reserved, so they offered this as a consolation. The one bedroom unit was on a low floor, a small sofa was in the living area, and the bedroom was dark with brown curtains and bland wood furnishings. It was far from comfortable, and while I agreed that we would stay for the night, I insisted that we be moved to the correct apartment tomorrow. The women would only accept cash, and with no other option, we forked over the Georgian Lari, but we felt a bit nervous, hoping that they weren’t part of some Russian mafia network!

We ventured out and found a Turkish restaurant called the Grand Grill. The restaurant overlooked a lake with fountains, and the service was very good. While the food wasn’t memorable whatsoever, the environment and service made the experience worthwhile, even though the prices were a bit inflated by Georgia standards. Plus, the bottle of Georgian rose took the edge off quite a bit!

As we finished dinner, the rain started falling harder, so we ran the few blocks to our apartment, where we began to wind down after the long day.

Much like the roads we traveled that day, our emotions were up and down. There were moments that we were inspired by the beautiful landscapes, but then depressed by the ruins of a communist past. Our expectations were shattered by a Parliament building that did not live up to the hype and lodging that was subpar (at best). We experienced so much in one day. Sure, it wasn’t all picturesque, but sometimes the most memorable experiences are those that stretch you emotionally.

It actually brings to mind the John Mayer song, Why Georgia. (I’m not a huge John Mayer fan, but my cousin in Switzerland is a huge fan, so shout out to Raphael.) I saw John Mayer in concert about 15 years ago, and the song, “Why Georgia” was one of his breakout hits. While driving in the other Georgia, the lyrics seemed to fit:

“Everybody is just a stranger but

That’s the danger in going my own way…

Am I living it right?

Why, why Georgia, why?”

Not every experience in life can be easy – there are twists and turns, and sometimes a dump truck pulls out right in front of you, so you have to slam on your brakes, slow down, and get gravel kicked up on you. Sometimes, people will try to take advantage of you, and all you can do is give them the Lari, trusting that you’ve done the right thing. Sometimes, you’ll expect to see a modern architectural masterpiece, and all you find is a stained building that looks like a giant alien turd (Why, Georgia, why did you build this monstrosity?). The funny thing is that this day on our trip is what made Georgia so remarkable. It tempered my expectations, and it gave space for me to be completely awed by the remainder of the trip. Life is such a roller coaster, but it wouldn’t be fun at all without the ups AND downs.

So, am I living it right? I think so…why not, Georgia, why not.