Asureti / Elisabethtal
Asureti is an interesting village situated on the road Koda - Tetriskaro, some 45 km from Tbilisi in Georgia. Discovered by accident, while doing (trying to do) a trip to Ninotsminda (in the region of Samtskhe-Javakheti) in January 2019.I had heard before about former German settlements here in Georgia from German expats in Tbilisi, and in fact a couple of weeks ago we visited one such settlement area (Katharinenfeld) in Bolnisi (see Day trip to Bolnisi and nearby vicinity)German style dwelling house in Asureti, GeorgiaYou can find many such style buildings in the region of Hesse in Germany, actually some time ago I had a chance to…
Cinevilla Studio backlot
Cinevilla is a backlot in the Tukums Municipality in Slampe parish, Latvia, and was created for the outdoor shootings of the feature film Defenders of Riga.It is the only backlot in Latvia, and consists of replicas of historical buildings and constructions of Riga, the capital of Latvia. The backlot has a small canal to resemble the Daugava river quays of the Riga old town. The Stone Bridge is also there as well as the historical Lübeck and Pontoon bridges.I first visited lovely Cinevilla townlet at the end of June 2018 and was more than surprised of how realistic things are done here.One of the many…
My First Option Trade: FTR Aug16'19 2 Put @0.45
Now, this is exciting - in the late evening of March 28th, 2019 (GMT) I made my first options trade (s).To get to this point it took me a couple of months and a lot of reading, talking and watching YouTube videos. A huge learning curve and a lot of incomprehensible. Anyway - I just made it, my first options trade - probably really dumb, probably I will lose after all, but I feel very excited that at least I get it through.Now, as you already can see from the title, here is what I did:FTR Aug16'19 2 Put @0.45What does it mean?It means that I wrote (sell) a put option to buy FTR stock (X100) at $2 with expiry on August 16th, 2019. For that, I got paid $0.45 per share. Or $45.…
Jūrmala airport
Jūrmala Airport (ICAO: EVJA) is an airport located 5 km (3 mi) in the Engure parish, Latvia, southeast of Tukums. The airport is located in the territory of the former army airfield.All of the airport's technical infrastructure, runway and buildings are what was left of the former Soviet military Tukums air base, which was a spartan military airfield with a single long ramp and revetted area. The base was completely abandoned, but in 2010 the conversion of the base to a civil airport with passenger terminals started.Main Terminal building at Jūrmala airportAs of Summer 2018, the airport is completely abandoned and kind of…
Lenovo IdeaPad 330-15IKB (Geforce MX150) Laptop Review
Here, at our Tbilisi office, we just love Lenovo laptop computers. In today's gadget reviews series - business laptop computer from Lenovo - IdeaPad 330-15IKB with GeForce MX150 graphics card. About a year ago, I bought the earlier version of IdeaPad 320 series, see Lenovo Ideapad 320-15ISK (Intel Core i3) Laptop Review, as it was working good, there were no doubts to go with a little bit newer model a year later.Alternatively, see HP ProBook 450 G5 (2RS04EA) Laptop ReviewA laptop isn’t just a piece of electronics—it’s also an investment. That’s why Lenovo designed the Ideapad 330 with a special protective finish to guard against wear and tear, as well as…
Building GPU (Ethereum) Mining Rig from Scratch - Part 2 Assembling
I originally built this mining rig back in December 2017 (during the golden days of crypto), I've unplugged this rig from electricity since September 2018, but I might turn it on again in 2019.Today's article is the second and final part from the series I started back in 2017, see Building a 12 GPU Ethereum Mining Rig From Scratch - Part 1: Ordering DetailsThe total cost for this rig (4 GPU's with hashing power of about 60 MH/s) was about $1,300. I never break even. To do so ethereum should reach around $5,000 per coin (still hold minned ethereum) To Break Even My GPU Mining Rig, Ethereum Should Reach $5,153With this rig, I've mined ethereum, expance and ethereum …
Ninotsminda Cathedral
Ninotsminda Cathedral is located in the Ninotsminda village near Sagarejo, in the Kakheti region, Georgia.Ninotsminda Cathedral is highly significant to the development of Georgian architecture as constructed in AD 575 it predates Jvari Monastery in Mtskheta, and served as a model for the development of the later tetraconch (four-apse) form.I visited this cathedral first in January 2019 and was more than surprised on how much I enjoyed this placeNinotsminda cathedral near Sagarejo in GeorgiaThe site is ruins today, with only the eastern apse and a portion of the western wall remaining. The ruined apse is decorated with 16th-century…
Cafe / Bistro Dukāts
Cafe/bar/ bakery Dukāts is located in Dubulti, Jūrmala close to the Dubulti church. During 2018 we lived for a while next to the Dukāts and visited this place quite often to have a bistro style dinner or buying some delicious cake from the bakery. Compared to the other restaurants in Jūrmala, Dukāts has one of the lowest prices. Having dinner for two people for EUR 10 here is realistic. A meal at bistro DukātsTypical Latvian cuisine served at bistro Dukāts. Once in Dubulti make sure to visit Dukāts!
Restaurant Natakhtaris Veli
Restaurant Natakhtris Veli is located in the Natakhtari village, accessible when driving from Tbilisi via Mtskheta to Gudauri. This place serves typical Georgian cuisine. Cozy atmosphere, fast service, friendly staff. Actually a pretty touristic place, but despite that, no rip off here. Restaurant Natakhtaris VeliLocated next to the Mtksheta- Gudauri highway. You can park your car in front of the restaurant.Meal at Restaurant Natakhtaris Veli
Chailuri Fortress
Chailuri fortress is located between Manavi and Kakabeti villages in the region of Kakheti (or about one hour drive from Tbilisi towards Sighnaghi) on a hill right next to the Kakheti highway.Fortress is a small pentagonal citadel with towers. The history of this fortress is shrouded in mystery.The fortress is well visible from the highway side, but visitors rarely take stop here, so did I made my first stop here on January 12, 2019, when returning from Sighnaghi, I should add that I took a wrong entrance road and actually didn't reach the fortress, but at least I made a couple of photos and was able to track the name and sort of history for this place. Which is…
Restaurant Laivas
Dine in amazing ambiance on the banks of Lielupe river, in Jūrmala, Latvia. We visited Restaurant Laivas for a brunch menu (if I remember correct EUR 18 per person) back in June 2018. Now I have another great addition to Jūrmala restaurants listInterior at Laivas Restaurant in JūrmalaThe brunch menu at LaivasSweets at Laivas restaurant
Spring in Tbilisi (near Turtle lake)
Spring has finally reached Tbilisi. In today's Piece of Life, a few shots from our baby walk near Turtle Lake on March 6th, 2019Sprouts and blue snowdrops. Can't wait for April. Blue snowdrops near Turtle lake in TbilisiEarly sproutsPiece of Life
February 2019 Dividend Income Report - $83.25
Welcome to the twenty-second (#22) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks, peer to peer lending (both fiat and cryptocurrencies) in February 2019. February was quite a windy here in Tbilisi, we did a couple of road trips around the country this month (All about Georgia) and I spent some time photographing (there are now zillions of baby photos and videos)Here is a windy and cold evening in Tbilisi done in HDRHDR photo from TbilisiIt has been a while since I have made HDR photography, so in the middle of the month I decided to catch the golden hour here in Tbilisi from the balcony of our apartment (…
Charlie Pizza, Mazeikiai
Charlie Pizza is a Lithuanian fast food chain located all across the country, serving pizza, salads, pasta and other freshly prepared dishes.It was in May 2018, when we visited the one located in the Mazaikai town. Starter plate at Charlie Pizza in Mazeikiai, LithuaniaLithuanian Cepelinai served at Charlie PizzaCepelinai or didžkukuliai (singular: cepelinas) is a popular dish in Lithuania. They are a type of dumpling made from grated and riced potatoes and usually stuffed with ground meat, although sometimes dry cottage cheese (curd) or mushrooms are used instead. So named because their shape resembles that of a …
Fluffy Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
On January 13th, 2019 little baby Fischer girl turned 6-month old, to celebrate it, we enjoyed a lovely Old New Year's Fireworks in Tbilisi and momma baked tasty fluffy lemon/raspberry cupcakes.
Lemon / raspberry cupcakes
Ingredients & Instructions
(Source: LEMON RASPBERRY CUPCAKES)
LEMON CUPCAKES
6 tbsp (84g), unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cups (155g) sugar
6 tbsp (86g) sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
3 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups (163g) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
4 tbsp (60ml) milk
2 tbsp (30ml) water
2 tbsp lemon juice
RASPBERRY FROSTING
4 oz (113g) raspberries
1/2 cup (112g) salted…
Tbilisi sea
The Tbilisi sea or Tbilisi reservoir is an artificial lake in the vicinity of Tbilisi that serves as a reservoir. The lake has a length of 8.75 km and a width of 2.85 km. It was opened in 1953 and has become a popular recreation spot.There have been plans to develop the Tbilisi sea into a recreational park with various sports facilities. One of the most active developers in the Tbilisi sea area are Chinese investors from the Hualing group, see Hualing Tbilisi Sea PlazaI first discovered Tbilisi sea back in the Summer of 2014, when we decided to get here by bikes, see: Cycling to Tbilisi sea and backTbilisi reservoirThere are many…
Pokaiņi Forest
The Pokaini Forest, located 80 km south-west of Riga, Latvia near the small town of Dobele is a place where myths, superstition and mysterious events co-exist.The Pokaini Forest is a picturesque location and an ancient holy site famous for the wondrous legends told about it. Take a walk along the path and find out more about this energetic place.I first visited Pokaini forest back in 2008 or 2009. A lot has changed (developed) since then. During my latest trip here in May 2018, I did find many things have greatly improved like there is a kind of a tourism information center built, more trails are made and actually, the territory seems much larger than it was some 10 years ago. Not sure…
Rustavi Auto Market (Buying a Car in Georgia)
Rustavi auto market is one of the most popular and useful places for buying a used car in Georgia (imported mostly from the US, but probably also from Asia and Europe). It was at the end of 2018, we decided to buy a car here in Georgia. After research on the most popular Georgian auto website myauto.ge we decided to stick with a Volkswagen Touareg car (yes, damn expensive in exploitation, but safe)To get to the Rustavi I decided to call my old pal - Ramaz, sincere taxi driver. Ramaz helped to inspect cars, translate conversations and at the end even to screw car plates on our new car. Rustavi is really close to Tbilisi, the drive didn't take more than 30-40 minutes…
Panorama Riga Observation Deck (Latvian Academy of Sciences)
The 107-meter tall building is considered the first high-rise in Latvia. It has been a prominent fixture of the Riga cityscape since the 1950s.There are a total of 766 rooms on the 23 floors, occupied by scientists, researchers, historians, and various companies. It was in May 2018, when I first visited the observation deck located in Latvian Academy of Sciences building) and I was really impressed. So impressed that I would call this place actually the Empire State Building of Riga. Instead of paying USD 65 and waiting a couple of hours in the line (like in the NYC) here we paid EUR 5 entry ticket and without any line were taken up to the observation deck. Awesome. The Empire…
Dzveli Duqani
Dzveli Duqani is a typical Georgian cuisine restaurant located next to Didi Dighomi II Micro District on Davit Aghmanashabeli avenue's 12th km (you can get here when driving from Tbilisi mall back to the city)Discovered by accident in January 2019, after returning from Mtskheta. Next, to the restaurant, there is a small parking space under the bridge. Prices at Dzveli Duqani is considerably lower than those in the city center, but what's most important, food served here is really delicious. Homemade style French fries at Dzveli duqani in TbilisiWow, just amazing, the best portion of French fries you can see above, cost just GEL 5 here (as of…