┌ ☽ ┘; Snapping his fingers, Tomoe created a little flame that danced upon his fingertip before quickly snuffing it out with his hand. Over and over he did this as he explored the city’s other districts and sections; it was simply a way to keep him occupied during his journey.
┌ ☽ ┘; As he began to turn around a corner though, he nearly collided into someone and almost singed off more than just a stray hair. Though the flame was barely bigger than that of a lighter and most of its magical features had been stripped away, fire was fire, and had the other gotten any closer it would’ve left quite the sting.
┌ ☽ ┘; ❝Wha--oi, watch where you’re going, human; do you want to get burned?!❞ Tomoe shouted, completely disregarding the fact that: A) neither knew the other was approaching and B) it was kind of his fault for conjuring flames all willy-nilly.
Daichi had always warned him to stop his late night jogs in favor of sleep inside of safety-- but even in worst case scenarios, Sugawara never expected to get whisked away to a different world entirely. The scientists in the white room had been clinical in their debriefing. If he were to thrive, then he would need to accept and adapt.
... Which was always easier said than done.
Sugawara tightly clutches the piece of parchment with his housing arrangement on it. The anxiety is clear on his face-- dry lips and tousled hair-- as he approaches the nearest stranger.
“If I can bother you for a second, do you mind telling me where district Alpha is please? I’m more than a little lost, unfortunately.”
He stared at the red-striped jacket with squinted eyes. It was nothing odd; the stranger’s clothes were relatively normal even. The stripes just plain bothered him.
Looks like there will be no real winter in Tbilisi: the forecasts show +something till the end of February. Of course, if you will go direction Kojori, Tskhneti or Manglisi, you might reach some snow, as I did last weekend... but not in the city, definitely. Though, it can be quite cold in the evening, and if you still want to have this special winter feeling, go for a walk and warm yourself up with mulled wine / glintwein.
There are plenty of wineries all around Old Tbilisi, but as I decided to go for a short glintwein check, it appeared that not all of them prepare the drink. Nevertheless, after two walking sessions, one of which made me quite drunk in the end, I can offer you a Glintwein Route through the old city.
2. Near Liberty Square there is "Warszawa Bar", which I have also mentioned in my Bar-Hopping Route, offers very strong hot wine for 5 lari. Recently it helped me avoid having sore throat, by the way. Dzieki!
3. If you go down Pushkin street, there will be a wine bar "Konka" (it's a retro tram, but caution: there are two of them down there, so go to that one closer to the river). They offer glintwein for 4 lari, and it tastes very mild.
4. Turn right, pass by Gabriadze Theatre, cross this famous Peace bridge and proceed to Rike Park. There are several kiosks with different stuff like pop-corn, candies, beer (such a winter drink!) and also hot wine. Price: 3 lari. Pluses: park and nice view around, minuses: wine sort is too mainstream.
5. Now, walk a bit! After strolling through the park and crossing the bridge again, you go up to Leselidze / Kote Apkhazi str., and don't miss coffee house and gallery "Tilda". You might call it a Ukrainian lobbyism, I don't care, but the glintwein is really good there: only three famous sorts of wine are used, and spices are also of very high quality. Take pancakes, a piece of pie, and enjoy the atmosphere! Price: 7 lari.
6. Another good place to have a cup of hot wine is "Vinoground" on Erekle II street. I'll tell the whole story of the place one day, but now - just go and try it there. The owner is half-Austrian, so glintwein culture is in his blood :)
7. If you go direction Sioni church, you pass by another "Konka". It's generally a good area to stroll with a cup of glintwein-to-go, so if you were walking without it before, just take it. Price: 4 lari.
8. Chardeni str.14, "Jazz Cafe Aroma": maybe one of the best glintweins in my life, both white and red. The price is also the highest: 12 lari/glass.
9. Further on, on Meidani square, there is "Brasserie Tartine". Also not the cheapest place, but very nice, and hot wine tastes very good there: sweet and spicy.
10. The last recommendation will be wine bar "Khareba" on Gorgasali str. 1: if you head to bath district from Meidani, you'll see it on the right. I like their wines, and I do like it hot too :)
Of course, it's a matter of taste, but in case you'll taste glintwein in one of those places, and like it, feel free to say "Darikos gaumarjos" ("a toast for Dariko")!
