Trainhopping in Georgia

Georgia, a country in the Causasus region next to the Black Sea.  A country with an eventful history, where various influences of that past still linger. That, combined with beautiful nature and a good train system made Georgia the ideal destination for a trip in May. The plan was to travel from a mine in Dedoplistsqaro via rail to the Black Sea. For me it was a new system, both the infrastructure and the train fleet still consist entirely of Soviet Union equipment. For Shiey, this was all very familiar because Lithuania, like Georgia, was once part of the Soviet Union. He had also been to Georgia before, but had never been on a freight train there. He was also excited about it. I got there a few days before him because the flights were more convenient for me at those dates. In the first days I had to get used to the country, people were surly and I didn't feel very welcome, they looked grimy, didn't say 'hello, please, thank you' at the checkout in the supermarket, but soon I realized that people were like that in general, and it wasn't because I was a tourist. It is a well-known fact that people who have lived under Soviet rule are often suspicious and not as open as in the Western world. Fortunately, when I traveled to the smaller villages, I did encounter hospitable and nice people. I also noticed that people were generally minding their own business, we were asked very little what we were doing, and why we are not going to more touristy places. Normally in small non-touristy villages that is almost the topic of every conversation.

After a few days of travel and some getting used to the country, we arrived at the start location. There, a train would take us from a limestone quarry to the capital Tblisi, a ride on a neglected track through the Georgian countryside.

I thought it was a fantastic trip and I’m also very happy with the video. I hope you like it, part two I still have to start editing so it will take some time to finish. It will only appear here on Patreon.

Thanks for the support!