Udabno, you are wonderful

I could write a long text about the Pub Crawl in Tbilisi that I took part in last night. But I won't. Just so much: it was great and very drunk, I ended up with an Armenian woman and a Frenchman in his 5-star hotel, which had a casino. Roulette has always been my game. And so it was this time too. About 1 hour later at the roulette table, the boss came to us to inform us that we would not get any more drinks. Ups...did we look drunk? Nevermind. Each of us had a win of 60 US dollars in their pocket. What more does a poor stingy traveler need.

I fell completely drunk into bed at 6 in the morning. My alarm should have gone off at 8, so that I would catch the bus to the desert village of Udabno at 11. Well, I didn't hear the alarm. I woke up just before 12...still drunk.

Completely out of sorts, I ran to the reception to find out if there was another way to get to Udabno. The hostel guy looked at me in shock. "Udabno? Dont go there. It is extremely dangerous. Everything full of snakes. People wear boots as protection." If there was one thing I was not in the mood for after all the days in hostels, it was well-intentioned and poorly made tips from the category of mansplaining. I had talked to various travelers about Udabno over the past few days, who recommended the place to me. There was never any mention of snakes.

In any case, the man didn't want to help me. I rushed to the tourist information, which told me that a bus would leave at 4 p.m. Shortly afterwards, I was sitting in the crowded, about 50 degrees hot bus with an Italian couple and an American dropout, who will be teaching English in the tiny village of Udabno for the next two years. My hangover did not find the upcoming 2-hour drive on winding roads funny at all. I already made a plan of which of my pockets I could vomit into best. Thank god the worst didn't happen.

Arriving in Udabno, I was greeted by a chubby Georgian mom who could speak about 10 words in English. With the help of translations from previous travelers in a little booklet, she could tell me one thing though: despite booking, she no longer had a room for me. Yiha. A young Swiss sibling couple noticed the situation and saved me from having to accept mom's offer to sleep on the kitchen couch. There was still a bed available in their room that I could take. Phew, lucky me. Mom was relieved, I was relieved. All's well that ends well.

I spent the rest of the evening with a French family who were magnificently cooked for by mom. Mom wouldn't stop bringing bowls to the table. Feasting and Georgian wine. Afterwards, I Skyped with mom's daughter who lives in Germany, and I was proudly presented to her. Mom couldn't stop smiling. She told me a lot. Unfortunately, in Georgian. Even the 100-year-old hunched grandma talked to me happily...in Georgian. I smiled and nodded. At around 10, it was time to go to bed.

Dingdong, alarm at 8.

After breakfast at the accommodation, I set off with the Swiss siblings in their rented Ford Fiesta up to Davit Gareja, a monastery complex from the 4th century. We drove 10 km up the mountain over rough terrain. And then we were actually in a landscape that reminded me of a desert. An incredible expanse. Steppes, mountains, wow. We walked from the parking lot to the main complex. It was impressive, even though it is currently a construction site. If I had been here alone, I would have been somewhat surprised that this complex is supposed to be THE place that is a highlight for many, but I would have left again. Thank god the Swiss siblings Matthias and Jessica had a plan. Back at the hostel, we talked about how normal sneakers should be enough to climb Davit Gareja. Once there, we all wished we had hiking boots. We climbed up into the mountains. And while I was panting like an old horse, the Swiss siblings hopped out of the mountains. I didn't show any signs of struggle - just keep going, after all, I will have to climb more mountains in the next few days. When we reached the top, we looked out over an indescribable expanse and across to Azerbaijan. There is no other way to describe the view. It was simply wonderful and wonderfully peaceful. 

Then the real climbing began. Behind the next hill was the highlight that you know from Davit Gareja: a cave complex with around 50 caves that people lived in since the 6th century and that were used until the Soviet era. Several times, I saw myself falling down the gorges towards Azerbaijan in my mind's eye. Eaten by vultures until soldiers would find me. It was damn slippery in the dry sand. But the fact that families with young children and people between the ages of 60 and 80 kept coming towards me gave me the feeling that probably not as many people have accidents here as I imagined.

In the caves there are frescoes from the 10th century, which unfortunately have been somewhat damaged by the many attacks by the Mongols, Persians, Soviets, and stupid stupid tourists. The latter deeply annoyed us three. But it probably goes hand in hand that people scribble "Lisa & Torben = Love 2013" on the monuments, but the monuments do not charge admission and you can more or less explore them alone. Whoever has the chance to go there soon should do it. It will not remain so freely accessible forever.

After about 3 hours, we arrived back in Udabno. The Swiss siblings let me out at the next corner and continued to the next town. I, on the other hand, had another mission. After a short nap, I was going horseback riding. After hours of waiting, suddenly everything happened very quickly: 'Ready for the horse?' 'Sure!'

Together with an English family, we set off to the stables, where a Georgian old cowboy was waiting for us. The English girls, who were about 7 and 10 years old, were confident. Of course, they wanted their own horse and not to ride with their mom. They explained to me that they had just returned from a one-year trip around the world with their parents and had already ridden multiple times. Well then, I was probably the only beginner.

The horses were saddled and suddenly I was sitting on my horse, which immediately started moving and just started walking. I had no idea how to steer a horse, stop it, or tell it to go slower. That made me incredibly uncomfortable. What if the horse suddenly started to run? I had no helmet or anything. Luckily, the riding experts from England weren't far away. Although they suddenly weren't quite as brave anymore and sat on their horses crying. After the girls calmed down, they became relaxed again and explained the ins and outs to me. Pulling the reins and shouting 'Arrrrrr' makes the horse stop (Through old Bibi & Tina experiences, I had always unsuccessfully tried 'Brrrrr'), pulling the reins to the right makes the horse go to the right, pulling the reins to the left makes the horse go to the left.

There we were. We actually rode off into the sunset. There are no photos, after all, I had to hold the reins tight, but imagine it just like it would look in a cheesy Georgian horse movie. Steppe, sunset, and 8 horses. 5 saddled and 3 foals running in between. It was up to us and especially the horses where the ride was going.

The Georgian cowboy had a blast teasing me and constantly telling the horse to gallop. I don't want to say it was close that I didn't fall off, but it definitely didn't sound safe. The cowboy and I played the game of him saying gallop, me galloping for 10 meters, and then I yelling 'Arrrrrr' to the horse. Thank god the girls were there and supported me again and again. 'More left! You do it great!' After an hour, the ride was over. It will remain an unforgettable experience. Simply beautiful and the English family confirmed that this had been the most enjoyable ride on their entire world trip, as the horses are obviously being treated well.

After the ride, I had dinner with the parents while the girls were hanging on their iPads watching series. Why not. The girls were simply great. I think this happens in the development of children when you go on a 1-year world trip. They become open, incredibly insightful, incredibly social, not annoying at all, and just fantastic. I told the parents that, who were somewhat moved and saw hardly any other option than offering to take me to my next destination Kazbegi the next day. There awaits a camping trip for me. It is supposed to be cold and rainy. I have neither warm clothes nor anything for rain, yippie! But since the weather report is wrong in 80% of the cases here, I hope that instead, sunshine awaits me (or someone will lend me a rain jacket).