A time ago I started to work on a custom Drupal powered translation management system, unfortunately as I didn't have much spare time and actually there are really great alternatives (paid) out there - I decided to postpone this project. Despite the project wasn't actively developed, it was though running a separate Linode VPS for it (which costs money), I…

20 years ago, Russia experienced one of the most devastating crises in its recent history — on 17 August 1998 the government defaulted.  Today I watched an interesting documentary in Russian - Черный август. Дефолт, documentary tells about events and causes which led to the default. What really caught my attention was the GKO, or  Государственное…

Less than a month ago, we changed apartment in Tbilisi and got one with really cool views towards mount Mtatsminda. I've been playing with a tripod a camera here ever since. See: Tbilisi by night (New apartment version) and Tbilisi by day (New Apartment Version) Despite my forecast, that next version probably will be an HDR photography, it turned out to…

The Trinity Monastery of St. Jonas is a Ukrainian Orthodox monastery in the Kievan neighborhood of Zverinets, a short distance from the medieval Vydubychi Monastery. We discovered this monastery back in 2017 when visited Hryshko National Botanical Garden Trinity Monastery of St. Jonas It was Jonas, a Vydubychi hegumen, who founded this monastery in…

Mtskheta is a small and lovely town located some 20 km from nation' s capital Tbilisi. Some will find a lot of similarities in Mtskheta with the town of Sighanghi, while others will enjoy architectural and religious pearls of Mtskheta. Svetitskhoveli church, Jvari monastery or Samtavro are just a few to name.  In today' s Piece of Life series - Mtskheta as…

Here are the top 3 reasons to visit and stay in Kvareli - health spas, culturally diverse food & beautiful forests. Kvareli is one of the most popular SPA hotel destinations in Georgia, or at least in the region of Kakheti. I've stayed in several hotels in or near the town of Kakheti. With Royal Batoni being my favorite so far. In today's article, I'…

Turns out there are at least two botanical gardens in Kiev. In today's article, I will write and provide photographs from Hryshko National Botanical Garden taken back in Summer 2017. Apparently, we got here by a taxi from our hotel (Hotel Ukraine), and as far as I remember we got back to the city center by trolleybus.  The M. M. Hryshko National Botanical…

The Shio-Mgvime monastery is a medieval monastic complex in Georgia, near the town of Mtskheta. It is located in a narrow limestone canyon on the northern bank of the Kura River, some 30 km from Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. It took me more than seven years since I've been living in Georgia and  60 GEL to get here. Long story short: At the start of November…

There are at least two Gino Wellness hotels in Georgia (probably more), one is located in the Rabati Fortress in the town of Akhaltsikhe and the other one is located really close to Tbilisi, in Mtskheta. In today's article, I will speak about the one in Mtskheta. Offering free WiFi, a sun terrace with a swimming pool, spa and wellness center and garden,…

Welcome to the eighteenth (#18) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks, peer to peer lending (both fiat and cryptocurrencies) in October 2018. In case you are wondering why I'm sharing online my earnings - the answer is pretty simple - I like transparency and these reports help me to observe my progress or bounces. …

Halloween 2018, was celebrated on Wednesday, October 31. This was our first Halloween together with our newborn baby and we made some really cool photos and video's in our new Tbilisi apt. But as each year,it's all about carving the pumpkin and having a lot of fun. How To Carve a Pumpkin and Make Stunning Halloween Photos Halloween pumpkin 2018 I…

Here are the top 3 reasons why visit Mtshekta, an ancient Georgian capital Georgia - old town, history & architecture.  Independent Travel Guide to Mtskheta In 2018, there are no 5-star hotels in Mtsheta (as its really close, think top 5-star hotels in Tbilisi),but there are some 4-star and many decent no-star hotels available in Mtshketa. In today's…

It has been already more than 10 days since we have moved into our new Tbilisi apartment. For today's article in the series Living in Georgia,  I just wanted to share some picture with surrounding views towards mount Mtatsminda, TV Tower and other. For the first part, please visit: Tbilisi by night (New apartment version) View towards mount Mtatsminda…

Istanbul Airport will be the main international airport serving Istanbul. It is based in the Arnavutköy district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. The opening ceremony took place on 29 October 2018, scheduled so as to coincide with the 95th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic. On November 1 2018, five daily flights will start to arrive…

An Inconvenient Border: Where China Meets North Korea is a great documentary by ABC news I would highly recommend to all interested in North Korea / China. Both North Korea and China has been on my radar for the last decade at least.  Bob Woodruff’s daring 880-mile journey along the China-North Korea border examines the delicate relationship between the…