Georgian Baptism

The seven of us (Anne and Ingo, Tom and Anja with Janne, and Frank and I) arrived in Tbilisi right on time at 2:30 am, which is not as horrible as it sounds because it was just 12:30 am German time.  I promised I would never say anything negative about Turkish Airways if all of our luggage made it to Tbilisi and it was there waiting for us, in spite of the fact that we had had less than 15 minutes to connect in Istanbul, because both of our planes from Frankfurt and Hanover were an hour late.  So in order to keep my promise I won't mention the food we were served!

After we got through immigration and customs there were two big cars waiting to pick us up and whisk us to our hotel and we got our first taste of Georgian driving.  It's just as well it was dark and there was almost no traffic.  It gave us time to transition to racing riding through Tbilisi without any seat belts.  We soon arrived at our hotel and could sleep as long as we liked, except that breakfast was only served until 10:00 am, which of course was 8:00 am German time.  No problem.  We all made it in time to be introduced to Georgian breakfast food.  Not a highlight of our trip!

                                                                              
While we were all still at the breakfast table and had met Rob's aunt Pam, who was also staying at the same hotel, Rob showed up with Giorgi, who had just turned two in July.  What a sweet little boy!  He was a little shy at first, but later played and talked like a big boy.  It was great to see Rob again since we hadn't seen him since he moved to Singapore and before he had even met Tika.  He explained the arrangements for the baptism that afternoon, where we later made our way very punctually like good Germans.      

The baptism was held in The Holy Trinity Cathedral "Sameba", which was just consecrated in 2004 and was not very far from our hotel, although it was far too HOT to walk.  We were there right on time, but no one else seemed to be present.  We had a look around the church, but saw no one we knew.  Were we at the right church?  Finally, Pam, who had arrived in Georgia a day earlier, recognized someone she had met the evening before, a Georgian heart surgeon who is living and working in Moscow and is Giorgi's godfather (if that's the term they use).   He and his wife  were also waiting, but since they were Georgians they knew that there is no such thing as a tight schedule.  Things happen when they happen.  No need for any stress!

At some point everyone showed up and we finally got to meet Tika and Levani, along with Tika's family and friends. 
Levani looks a little disheveled - a long day at the office?

Here are Rob and Levani, beautifully color coordinated as you can see.

The priest was very colorful himself but he was sweltering in that long heavy robe.  After all, we were all roasting and we had on much lighter clothing.  He read the service in a very low mumble and paid no attention to what was going on around him.  I think the little girl is about to give him some pointers on public speaking.

Here Rob is preparing Giorgi for his baptism.  He's probably telling him it's just like going into a wading pool in Singapore.  I think Rob might have lost some credit with Giorgi because he didn't like the water at all and flailed around so much that the pictures came out completely blurred.  (That's his godfather standing next to him.) 

But before they went into the water they had to be "painted" by the priest.  I'm not sure what he brushed on them or the significance of it, but you can see how seriously Levani is taking it.

Rob had to be baptised too so for a little while Giorgi got to watch.
Giorgi is holding the LEGO police car with the blue light that really flashes that Frank and I gave him.  This was one of Max and Alex's favorite toys when they were toddlers.

Giorgi wasn't the only one who wasn't very happy to be dipped into the water.  However, I do think most of the adults in the room would have loved to join him.  Did I mention how HOT it was?

Rob didn't have to climb in.  However, I imagine it felt good to have the cold water poured over his head. 

At least afterwards he looked refreshed and happy.

It looks like Marie was expecting to go swimming herself and someone just informed her she couldn't!

The proud wife/mother (in her gorgeous dress) was also busy taking pictures.

The children quieted down and were distracted by the candles.

After the ceremony we all climbed into cars and drove off in the direction of Mzcheta (if I remember correctly), the former capital of Georgia.  Anne and Ingo and Frank and I rode with Natasha, who is the representative for Hugo Boss in Georgia.  She speaks very good German and she gave us a lot of background information.  We managed to get lost, an easy thing to do considering the complete lack of signposts, but after asking a number of people we finally found the place where the feast was being held. 
I'm not sure what to call it because I've never seen anything like it.  There was a restaurant but most people sat at long tables hanging on the cliffs.  There were dozens and dozens of such tables and they all looked occupied.  Getting to our group was like climbing through a warren, up and down and all around.  Our table was at the far end right over the river.

As at all the feasts that we enjoyed while we were in Georgia there was a lot of food on the table to start with, always delicious tomatoes and cucumbers, usually different kinds of fish and khachapuri, a kind of cheese pie sometimes offered in several varieties. Throughout the evening more and more food was brought out.  However, nothing was ever removed from the table so that in the end the food was piled high, enough for the proverbial army.  Plates of fruit signaled the end of the meal, always with big pieces of watermelon and often with several other kinds of fruit as well.
(Tommy took this picture and sent it to me.)

There was plenty to drink too.  A good thing in the HEAT!  There were pitchers of red and white Georgian wine, several different kinds of soda (Have you ever had tarragon soda?), and of course mineral water.  This first evening we hadn't yet learned not to fill ourselves at the beginning because there was a lot more food coming.

The river was just too enticing for some of our group. Unfortunately, none of us had swimsuits along, which wasn't a problem for a few of the bravest. Tommy and Alex were the serious swimmers - the rest just dunked their toes in. 
You would think with all the food and the river right next to us there would be swarms of insects, but except for a few flies there were none at all.  My theory is that it was just too HOT!
After it turned dark and the children began to droop we all piled back into a convoy of cars and drove back to Tbilisi.  What an adventuresome first day in Georgia!