This picture from the road to Svaneti shows, how challenging is the road construction in the high mountains. The reason for this road damage seems to be a landslide.

From the improved road conditions benefit the beekeepers too, because they could now easier drive their beehives to the mountains.

The Gelati monastery was founded in year 1106 by the king David the Builder and consists of many buildings. The prominent one is the Cathedral of the Virgin.

While the tower of the cathedral is kept quite unsophisticated ...

... is the inside beautiful decorated with frescoes, painted between 12th and 18th centuries.

In the Gelati-Academy building philosophy, theology, sciences and painting were studied and important chronicles and translations written.

The Colchis Fountain in Kutaisi is adorned with large-scale copies of the famous gold jewellery from Vani.

Kutaisi's indoor produce market is one of the largest, liveliest and most colorful in Georgia.

The entry to the central market in Kutaisi is decorated by a quite new relief made from terra cotta. The works on the relief were finished in year 1987.

Big graffiti on the wall in Kutaisi. Kutaisi is the biggest city in West Georgia and the location of the Georgian parliament.

By this huge quantity of books this flea market could be regarded as an antiquarian bookstore.

Kutaisi is built around the Rioni river, with the city center, first developed in the 17th century, on its left bank.

Chacha is a kind of Georgian brandy made of grape residue left after making wine.

The landmark Bagrati-Cathedral overlooks the city of Kutaisi to the north, on the right bank of Rioni river.

In 1692 a Turkish explosion brought down drum, dome and ceiling to leave the Bagrati-Cathedral in a ruined state. It was fully renovated between 2009 and 2012, with a mix of old and new stones and a few steel sections.

Unfortunately the old frescoes were not restored during the renovation of the Bagrati-Cathedral.

Despite of the population of only 43,000 Zugdidi is the main city of the Megrelia province and a stepping stone for getting to Svaneti.

Modern architecture in Zugdidi. Although Georgia is a small and poor country, one encounters a surprising big count of interesting modern architecture in the country.

The castle-like palace of Dadiani family, which ruled Megrelia over 300 years.

A church beside the Dadiani palast.

This is not a junkyard, but a normal parking lot in Zugdidi.

On the way from Zugdidi to Svaneti we took a look at the Enguri Dam. With a height of 271.5 meters it is currently the world's second-highest concrete arch dam.

To get a picture of the holiday coast of Georgia we traveled to Anaklia, a small town and seaside resort in western Georgia.

The bright beach of Anaklia was far from being overcrowded.

The pedestrian bridge over the Enguri river is 540 m long.

Gorgia tried to promote Anaklia to a tourist hotspot at the Black Sea. For this purpose some futuristic buildings were erected here.

The trial of hyping Anaklia failed. This town stay far behind the shining Batumi, Georgia's summer holiday capital.

The road between Zugdidi and Kutaisi is very jam-packed. A new highway with many tunnels and bridges was just under construction.

Huge pottery market along the street between Zugdidi and Kutaisi.

This is not the picture from being back at home in Germany. Apparently, this car was imported from Germany. Strange that it was not resprayed. Maybe this would be too expensive for the new Georgian owner.