Taking The Soviet Elektrichka Train to Borjomi from Tbilisi: Part Two

With the train finally moving, it took us through the northern parts of Tbilisi. These are the areas that are more Soviet built, and it shows. Old apartment buildings tower over, all of which are rustic, starting to show their age without much care over the years. Buildings surround speak of an industrial height in the past, to which it was never really captured to such a level again. Old buildings of former factories come into view, large structures and silos are found all over. Some of which are empty, smashed windows and some covered in graffiti, others just left to rot and haven't been touched in years. Some spaces contain scrap metal, rusted over and forgotten. It's a little rare here, but sometimes in such areas you can still see the signs of a former Soviet Union through its symbolism. Georgia hates its past and likes to pretend it never happened, to which much of these communist symbols have been stripped from buildings throughout the city. Though here, where less people go, you're more likely to see them in such areas. As the train moves more north, it's interesting to see how the city has been shaped. The older areas in the south, the industrial chaos of the north. 

There were many instances, as always, where I wished I could've just gotten off and walked around. I made a mental note of generally where we were to which later on I found the locations on Google Maps so I could come one day and do a bit of on-foot exploration and photography. But we pressed on and out of the city. Almost like going through a valley, the scenery tightened up around the train for a short while, to which it suddenly opened up and revealed more vast landscapes. The mountains tall and on either side still, but with significantly more space between them. No development was really unfolding here. We had reached the first of the neglected towns and villages. A few tall apartment buildings that looked as if they'd been temporarily placed there by some city-building God stood closer to the mountains, while the old but beautiful train station buildings sat empty by the rail. These buildings were incredibly beautiful, such unique architecture that looked more European, something much more akin to that of Saint Petersburg. A common theme during the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.

Nature had mostly reclaimed these spaces. Their windows either gone, smashed, or dusted up. Plants and various types of bush would grow from their roofs, inside, or around them. Swallowed up over the years as somehow nobody in the area had found a use for the buildings. In the past, these areas would've seen significantly more attention. Not to forget the funding to maintain them. These would've held the ticket desks, the places for people to rest and sit in the cold of autumn and winter as they waited for trains. Workers relying on the trains to get to and from the nearby factories that led to more development of apartment buildings in their areas. The rich resources of the environment nearby adding to the industrial might of the region. No longer an interest, few and far between are active developments. And these beautiful old buildings remain left untouched. I often say that it's like stumbling across a lost civilisation here, one to which those already within the area just either haven't noticed nor seem to care about. It's an odd atmosphere. 

The people around me were hauling all kinds of equipment and items from work. I mentioned in the first part that most of the people were aged, clearly working in Tbilisi in various trade jobs, trying to make what little they could to get by. Lives already setup and established in the outer parts but losing their work as those industries surrounding them collapsed. I tried to think of what it would've been like back then as the train pressed on. The life around the rail. The people that would've made a living in such areas. That simplicity of life that just isn't around anymore. As the train would stop in these areas, people would exit. Stray dogs would run up to the train to which they'd be feed bits of bread and various items. People would walk off the train and over the other rail and off into the darkness. A quick jolt here and there would suddenly signify the train's proceeding movement. Glimpses at villages, worn faces and arched backs as people sat by the rail letting the evening pass by. Smoke rising up from unknown locations, the gradient of the sunset starting to form. 

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