Yesterday I wrote about a little bit of exploration through the old streets of Tbilisi's "Old Tbilisi' district. It's one that is quite empty but also incredibly peaceful and beautiful to walk around. Tbilisi is a chaotic city for the most part, the roads are a loud nightmare and you need a car to really go anywhere. But Old Tbilisi's narrow and hilly streets keep it mostly quiet. An area that isn't the most fun to walk around during the day when the sun is pushing down near or above 30 Celsius. These streets are mostly where much of the tourism in Tbilisi happens though, where you'll find out of breath people of all nationalities and ages as they walk up and down the Mtatsminda mountainside to either access the park at the top, or reach the nearby Mother Georgia statue of the Soviet era. Yesterday I spent some time with Mother Georgia, shooting that area. Old Tbilisi is quite big, after all. And some of these photographs do show it. Mount Mtatsminda is probably the area of Old Tbilisi I most enjoy, and some of that is due to the fact that it's where I stayed when I first arrived in Tbilisi almost a year ago. Right beneath the Pantheon that sits halfway up. The street being a popular destination due to the views.
I didn't start here with today's adventure though. I walked across the bridge and to Rike Park. The sun was strong, and oddly the fountains in these parks and throughout the city are still not operating. A few sparklers splattered around some moisture for the plants and trees, at least. Despite the time of day there weren't that many people around, I was quite surprised at this given the city is already picking up in terms of the tourism. So many different accents being heard throughout the little walks I've been having. And the park is quite close to the main attractions of the city. I walked around and saw as the pines were throwing out dust every so often, scattered across the park in a mist-like manner. I sat at a bench in some shade and watched my surroundings for a while, cleaning my camera sensor and lens a little in the process. A peaceful time there, though my curiosities got the best of me: I noticed there's a clear Soviet era nuclear bunker in the park. Above it on the main road over the bridge sits another suspicious entrance. I lingered around the area for a while debating whether I could find a safe enough entrance.
I figured it was best to stay focused on what I actually wanted to do in the area: capture the city from above with the drone. It wasn't easy finding a good spot. There's a huge balloon that carries tourists way up into the air for the views of the city from above, and while I've seen people fly drones directly above that balloon, I had the natural fear that anything at all could go wrong and I'd be making a mistake so large that it couldn't be undone. Cameras, security guards, or the balloon. It made finding the perfect spot to take off and land from a great difficulty. Especially since Rike Park is right by the river, with a bit of wind appearing in the area. I realised I could find a good spot near the bunker's first entrance, just above it. I'd fly over the road and get a nice distanced view of the park from there without being close to the balloon. It was a difficulty getting there, I had to walk quite a bit instead of a simple road crossing. But once there I still had those fears. Quickly throwing the drone up and flying in the opposite direction. The sun was strong! But I think I got a few fun shots of the park.
Though I forgot the time of year. These trees in the park are still pretty dead. Only the pines and bits of bush have any green on them. The rest are mere twigs. Not the best views of the park that could be given, that's for sure. But fortunately due to it not being that busy, and with the fountains off in the park still, it was too hot for it to be overly crowded and I was able to fly around a little longer once I got a bit more relaxed. Rike Park has a cable car station that takes people up to Mother Georgia, on the other side is a newly developed but not quite finished interesting building that is aimed at being a musical hall and concert building. Though I have no idea if or when that'll ever get finished. It doesn't look like any development is active, and that has been the case for almost a year now. That's often the case in Tbilisi: a building looks grand, all interesting in its appeal, but upon further inspection you notice it's empty. A mere shell. This applies to both new and old buildings in the city.
Upon getting a few shots I decided to head over to the bottom of Mount Mtatsminda. The sunlight was already disappearing and I knew I didn't have much time to get there if I wanted to capture that area too. I was a little late as much of Old Tbilisi was already coated in shade from the mountain, but I set up in a small park right near to where I stayed upon arriving. I felt quite a bit of nostalgia for it, and I think that's why I wanted to capture it a little more. I flew up and around the area, relatively low at first to get that density of the buildings captured. But then for a bit more fun with the remaining light really threw the drone up high. I still don't think I'm done capturing this area though, I really want to keep returning to it and photographing it in various ways. It does feel more like a labyrinth when you're there to creatively appreciate the area rather than just roam through to another destination. It is by far the side of Tbilisi that I enjoy the most, even if Vake is where most of the true life is.