I decided to spend my second day in Georgia travelling outside of Tbilisi and take a train journey, As well as the food this is another big enjoyment of mine when I travel. When it comes to day trips from Tbilisi there are a number of options, such as Mtskheta the beautiful town just 30 minutes away or Sighnaghi the charming walled town in wine country. I, however went for another option and that was to visit the town of Gori, the birthplace of Joseph Stalin. Gori is one of the few places in the world that slightly glorifies the former Soviet dictator and y are shown an insight into his life. Maybe not on everyone’s must see list, but I was intrigued to visit.
Firstly, we would need to get there and my preferred mode of transport was the train. There is a cheaper method and that is to go by marshrutka from Didube Bus Station for 3 lari (70p) and takes around around 1.5 hours. I had chosen the journey by train that takes just over ab hour and cost 11 lari (2.50). The trains aren’t that frequent with only a couple of morning departures, I boarded the 08:10 and this arrived very comfortably into Gori Station at 09:14. The station is outside of the main centre of Gori, but its only a 20-30 minute walk before you are standing at the museum. I stopped for a quick omelette and coffee en route at Coffee House, opposite City Hall on Stalin Avenue.
With my returning train not until late afternoon I had the whole day to explore Gori, the museum and its other sites. I started off with the Joseph Stalin Museum, that also included his home up until the age of 4 and the 83 ton green pullman amour plated carriage that was used from 1941 onwards including visits to the Yalta & Tehran conferences. The total cost for admission to all 3 was 15 lari (3.50). The main museum itself takes you through his life, from birth, childhood, early stages of his career, the World War, later life and eventually his death. Normally tours are offered in various languages, but I had to make do with the translated signs alongside each of the different photos, articles and exhibits. In all honesty it was very interesting to learn more about him and his life, with the museum being laid out and presented very well inside a beautiful building.
I continued outside to the grounds where enclosed within a pavillion there is a small wooden hut where in 1979 Joseph Stalin was born and spent his first 4 years of childhood. Originally the hut was part of a line of similar style housing, but these were demolished. Behind the main building you then had the green railway carriage used from the early 40s, which once hosted President Roosevelt, so I was told. Although I couldn’t go inside the house or the carriage it was laid out and kept to how it would have been presented during their use. With the fall of the Soviet Union and Georgia’s independence the museum closed in 1989, but has since been restored and become a popular tourist attraction. For me, it was definitely an interesting and worthy visit.
I briefly refuelled for lunch at a bakery stand and bought a hefty portion of Khachapuri (Georgian cheese bread) as well as another cup of coffee before continuing on with my afternoon. I had a few moe hours left in Gori before I needed to walk back to the train station, so I made my way to the next destination and that was Gori Fortress. This is another enjoyment of mine when travelling, hiking to the top of historic fortresses and taking in the views from the top.
It was a short walk of a couple of miles to the fortress and on the way I passed St. Archangels Church & Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, both of which were very beautiful. I continued on at the foot of the path leading to the fortress there was the Memorial of Georgian Warrior Heros, consisting of 8 statues, The path winded around the lower part of hill it sits on and eventually leads up to the steps that take you within the walls. Apart from two dogs sunbathing when I entered I had the place to myself and enjoyed walking around in he calm taking in the views of Gori and the surrounding mountains. A little bit of history on Gori Fortress, it first appeared in the 13th century, but there is evidence to show it was fortified much earlier with it controlling major strategic and economic routes.
Just like that I was out of time and needed to start walking back to the train station for my 16:08 departure back to Tbilisi, with my return journey costing 7 lari (1.62). There is an earlier train during the middle of the day, but it would been to much of a rush trying to fit everything in. If you are interested in history I can highly recommend a visit to Gori and although Stalin Avenue isn’t the prettiest of streets there is plenty to keep you occupied for a day away from the capital, including a World War II museum I didn’t have enough time to see unfortunately.
I arrived back into Tbilisi just before 17:30 and had a couple of hours to kill before I needed to board my night train to Armenia, so I walked out of the train station and made my way to a restaurant called Georgian House, for a final supper in Tbilisi and Georgia. My evening concluded with a feast of Chicken Shkmerulad and potato washed down with a beer. Next for me was the 20:20 Armenia bound sleeper train to Gyumri where the next part of my adventure will begin.
