Two Year Blog Anniversary

10 October, 2015 | Blogging | 6 seen

It was just yet another Autumn evening, when back in the October 10, 2013 I registered my domain name www.ReinisFischer.com, but in fact I started my blog some 7 days earlier on October 3rd, 2013. I had my blog been setup and it already was filled with a few articles, before it was actually launched. Yes, such strange behavior probably can be explained that geeks do geek things, though I don't see a geek in me.

I started this blog thing with a goal - To blog 365 consecutive days and when I launched I was looking to reach about 6,000 monthly users by the end of my first blogging year. The fact is, after 365 days of consecutive blogging I reached just 3,364 monthly users (September 2014), what was about just above of half of my goal.

6,000 users, buddy? It's nothing! I hear you, you are right, 6,000 are not much, but it was worth of it to reach and crack that milestone in November 2014 (9,096 users).

As you can see - I did have my goals defined even before I launched, and that's what I can recommend to any one looking to dig in into this amazing thing called blogging - set your goals and work out hard to reach them.

Saint George Church and Monastery (Borjomi/Georgia)

10 October, 2015 | Churches and Monasteries | 23 seen

I was not familiar with the name of this place, until during a recent hiking trip in Georgia and latter at home using Google Maps I learned this place is known as Saint George Church.

The name I used to knew it - was something like this - there is that lovely women monastery up there in Borjomi. And I'm still preferring this name of describing this place instead of Saint George Church. 

The Sadgeri St. George Church is the XV century monument. It is located in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, in the village of Sadgeri in Borjomi municipality, on the high bank of the river.

Tourist sign indication direction to this monastery complex

I still haven't learned Georgian script, but I believe it says - it's 50 meters and there will be Saint George church

Monks house

The Mother Monastery currently operates in the temple area. The church territory is surrounded by a curtain wall.

St. George's Church

The church is a hall type and it has no apse. It is covered with a cylindrical vault of uneven outline. The temple is built of grey …

Bakuriani Hotels - Enjoy Your Winter Holidays in Georgian Ski Resort

9 October, 2015 | Hotel reviews | 23 seen

There are a few simple reasons I enjoy Bakuriani as my winter holiday destination in Georgia (I have spent two Christmas here) - the scenery mountainous views, holiday feeling and during Western Christmas time (December 24-26) there are not too many folks (Georgian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7). 

Read more about how I have celebrated Christmas in Bakuriani, or learn the way I believe that Bakuriani is among Top 16 places to visit in Georgia

There are a few hotels I really like in Bakuriani, and among my favorite, I can call the Hotel Trialeti Palace. 

So if you feel confident enough about Bakuriani as your next winter holiday destination, take a look at these lovely hotels and apartments in this fabulous Georgian ski resort. 

Alternatively, see: 

• 6 Best Value Hotels in Borjomi, Georgia
• Ultimate List With Top 10 Gudauri Hotels (Georgian Ski Resort)

A quick note: All hotels listed in this article contains affiliate links to Booking.com, and if you will click on them and make an actual booking I will earn an affiliate income from that at no cost to…

September 2015 Traffic and Income Report (36,670 Users/ $254.01)

8 October, 2015 | Blogging | 44 seen

Welcome to the 21th traffic and income report of this blog. In this post I will cover some details about income and expenses I have made in month of September as well I will share some insights about traffic numbers.

In case you are wondering why should someone publish online his/her earnings - the answer is pretty simple - I like transparency and these reports help me to observe my progress or bounces. Hopefully my reports can give some inspiration to you as well. Read:  How to start a blog and make it successful

A quick note: Some of the links below are affiliate links.By clicking on them I might end up earning some income from that.

Income

• Google AdSense - $45.89
• Amazon Associates* - $886.94
• Sovrn - $5.18
• Booking - $13.40
• Bluehost - $0

*Amazon Associates includes Amazon CPM

Total Income: $951.41

Expenses

• Linode - $22.50
• Facebook Ads - $7.90
• New Laptop - $377.00
• New Tripod - $…

One Day Trip To Armenia (Lori Province)

8 October, 2015 | Travel guides | 12 seen

Just shortly after our return to Georgia, in the first weekend we just couldn't sit back home and do nothing, we were eager for some travels. So we found this lovely offer on Facebook - short one day trip to Armenia for 40 GEL (it's about $17.00) and here we were heading to Armenia. Since this was not our first trip to neighboring republic we already felt pretty confident about all the border crossings, money exchanges e.t.c.

I must admit I had no clue where we are actually heading to, and that's actually the way I prefer to travel, not much planning, just basic information. I call it a true travel spirit. As it later turned out our tour guide was prepared better, and we were on our way to the barbecue festival in Armenia.

Below you will find both maps with all the places (they are just 3) and descriptions for each of the places. If you are up for a short trip travels to Armenia, I can highly recommend you this route and discover the beauty of Armenia.

So here you go - a short trip to Armenia from Georgia.

Lori  is a …

Skrunda Manor and Hotel

7 October, 2015 | Tourism objects | 13 seen

Skrunda Manor is an attractive final destination in the culturally historical region of Kurzeme (Courland) in Latvia. What's use to been a manor house now is turned into a boutique hotel in Western Latvia. I know for sure they have restaurant on site and after midnight you can get a take away coffee at reception (well, don't forget about tips to the receptionist).

I visited this place at the start of June 2015, since I was a little bit in rush, I didn't photographed lovely interior they have on site, and I feel some regrets about it now.

Playground at Skrunda manor

Skrunda manor

Skrunda Manor built in classicism style with design similarities with Mežotne Palace was reconstructed in 2012 according to Eleja Castle design created by the world-famous architect Giaccomo Quarenghi. Today the building serves as home for a hotel, restaurant and conference rooms.

According to the studies of the Latvian writer and historian Arturs Heniņš, Skrunda Manor can be considered as miniature copy of Mežotne Palace and, most credibly, the design of Mežotne Palace of Johann Georg Adam Berlitz was used for its construction. Johann Georg Adam…

Brethren Cemetery ensemble in Nīkrāce (Latvia)

6 October, 2015 | Military Heritage | 16 seen

It was hard for me to decide should I put this place as a tourist attraction or as a military heritage, I opted for the second one. You see, things related to WW2, especially like Brethren Cemeteries is hard to call tourist attractions, right?

So, here is another one interesting place in Latvia, region of Courland you should visit some day - a memorial dedicated to fatalities of WW2. Some locals call this place just as a Mother (Latvian: Māmuļa) because of the sculpture in the middle of this ensemble.

Brethren Cemetery ensemble in Nikrace

Author of this sculpture: Līvija Rezevska

​

Brethren Cemetery ensemble in Nikrace

According to sources, around 3000 war fatalities happened here during 1944-1945 for the Soviet side. 

Brethren cemetery ensemble in Nīkrāce

This site is funded by Embassy of Russian Federation in Latvia

Brethren cemetery ensemble in Nīkrāce

As you see - you guys just like me and you... it's always hard to look on such memorials for me.

Brethren cemetery ensemble in Nīkrāce

Brethren cemetery ensemble in Nīkrāce…

Simple Homemade Hamburger Recipe With Photos

5 October, 2015 | Food blogger | 42 seen

What happens when bloggers, who are trying out some new photo equipment and who loves to cook comes together? Right, they do a food blog. This time blogger here is just one (I do have a lovely assistant) and strong jury although.

So, lets make a really simple hamburger today.

For ingredients you will need to have those lovely buns (you can try to buy them at your local shop), for patties I'm going to use ground meat (minced meat) out of pork, but you could use beef, as I believe a real hamburger is made out of beef.. wait, what am I talking right now? Pork is just fine.

1 egg, 2 onions, and your favorite seasoning for patties.

For toppings you can use, tomatoes, pickles, salads.. just the usual stuff.. yes cheese goes in very well also.

Here is my photo recipe for that simple homemade hamburger:

Lets start with patty

Filling for patty

I took pork ground meat, added one egg, grated onion and some seasoning

Fry buns

Now, once you are done with patty making, take those buns you got from the shop and put them on pan, prehat them a little bit. This will…

Budget-Friendly Laptops: The Top 5 Asus Models for Value and Performance​​​​​​​

5 October, 2015 | Laptop Reviews | 162 seen

Asus is a well-known brand in the laptop industry, and for good reason. Their laptops offer high-quality features and specifications at affordable prices, making them a popular choice for budget-conscious buyers.

In this article, we will look at the top budget-friendly Asus laptops on the market.

Disclaimer: Please note that this article contains affiliate links to Amazon. This means that we may earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

The ASUS VivoBook 15 is a great budget laptop for everyday use. It features a 15.6-inch FHD display, an Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. It also comes with a backlit keyboard and a fingerprint scanner for added security. With a price point of around $400, this laptop is a steal.

The ASUS Chromebook C523 is an excellent budget laptop for those who need a device primarily for web browsing and basic productivity tasks. It comes with a 15.6-inch HD display, an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 64GB eMMC storage. With a weight of just 3.1 pounds…

Lēnas Holy Trinity Roman Catholic church (Latvia)

4 October, 2015 | Churches and Monasteries | 19 seen

Lēnu church (Latvian: Lēnu baznīca) is located in Latvia, historical region of Courland in Skrunda municipality. I first discovered this place either in 2013, or 2014, and in fact I was surprised to learn than in Western Latvia (Courland) there are actually Catholic churches (turns out - there are, and a lot)

Lenu church

At time (On June 6, 2015)  I visited this church a festival called Night of Churches happened, which basically means that this festival promotes awareness of Latvian churches.

Lēnu Catholic church

The statue of the Holy Virgin Mary at Lēnu church garden

At Lēnu church

The church with two towers was built in 1756 on the bank of the river Venta. It is worth seeing the confessionals which are of great artistic value, as well as the organ which was built at the end of the 18th century. The cellar holds the coffins of the last two Piltene bishops. 

Learning Adobe Lightroom Basics

3 October, 2015 | Digital Photography School | 5 seen

Adobe Lightroom is something completely new and unknown for me, I have been doing photography for some time already and actually have never done anything more with photo like cropping and resizing it. Well I have some basic knowledge on Adobe Photoshop, like I'm using it sometimes to make some simple text logos or other basic graphics for web development.

It has been some time since I got my first DSLR camera and I have done with that the some lovely thing - photographed and photographed a lot - Take for example Tourist Attractions section on my blog, or just browse photos to get familiar with my works.

At the end of September I decided to go for a 365 photo project to start exploring better my camera, and what's probably the most important to shoot in M (manual mode).

So it was the eight day of my 365 photo project, when a friend of me (very experienced photographer) visited me and we headed for a small walk to the nearby park. Since I'm into this photo project I took my camera with myself figuring out where to take that another just another decent shot in M mode, while talking about some things with a friend.

So I took the following…

Temple of Saint Seraphim of Sarov (Borjomi/Georgia)

3 October, 2015 | Churches and Monasteries | 266 seen

Temple of Saint Seraphim of Sarov is located close to Borjomi (some 1.5km) in Georgia. You can get here either by car or as I prefer - by foot using Borjomi - Baghi - Tba - Tsemi road. That's actually exactly we did at the end of September during our hiking tour in Borjomi. I must admit this was not the first time for me at this place, but prior to that I didn't know the name and meaning of this place. Now I know, so the place is actually called the Temple on Saint Seraphim of Sarov and is related to Russian Orthodox church. 

Tourist sign indicating direction to the temple

It's written in Georgian, unfortunately I'm not familiar with Georgian script (but hey there is Georgian translation service available) and I cannot tell you what's exactly written there, but it should be something related with the temple, like a name.

Church house

Church icons and candles for sale

At Temple of Saint Seraphim of Sarov in Borjomi

Wooden temple on site

Actually it's a rare opportunity to see wooden temples in Georgia

At Temple of Saint Seraphim of…

Ultimate List With Top 10 Gudauri Hotels (Georgian Ski Resort)

2 October, 2015 | Hotel reviews | 114 seen

The holiday season is approaching, and if you have chosen Georgia as your final destination for skiing, there is a good reason to visit Georgian Winter capital Gudauri. It's famous of skiing slopes, heliskiing, hiking and of course wonderful relaxation accompanied by famous Georgian hospitality service. To make your stay in Gudauri even more pleasant, here is the ultimate list with top 20 Gudauri hotels, apartments, and guesthouses to choose from.

• Be prepared to take cash with yourself, it has been countless times when I have found that bank terminals are not actually working here.
• If you are heading to Gudauri to enjoy ski rides, pay attention to those hotels/apartments which actually are located close to the slopes (many of hotels are actually near the slopes, but they come with a price attached)

Here are two hotel reviews I've stayed so far in Gudauri - Hotel Shamo, Hotel Edelweiss

Alternatively, see:

• Bakuriani Hotels - Enjoy Your Winter Holidays in Georgian Ski Resort
• 6 Best Value Hotels in Borjomi, Georgia

Please note: All hotels listed in this article contains…

Actual Price Index in Tbilisi Market (Georgia) - At Start of October 2015

2 October, 2015 | Living in Georgia | 11 seen

Right, this might probably sound as yet another hipster style article and probably you are right. The thing is  - during month of October I have decided to write down my everyday expenses and in the next month I will provide article on Cost of Living in Tbilisi (Georgia). Since it was start of October, I headed to Google Play store to download first expense tracking app and started to write down my expenses.

I had to visit Tbilisi Dezerteer bazaar just to buy some groceries, and I decided hey it actually would be neat if I would write down actual prices for vegetables and fruits there. So I did. I must admit it was fun and entertaining to enter that app after each purchase I made (I don't want to miss a single item).

• 1 kg garlic - 6 GEL
• 1 kg potatoes - 0.70 GEL
• 1 bunch of spring onions - 0.60 GEL (or buy 3 for 1 lari)
• 1 bunch of parsley - 1 GEL
• 1 bunch of dills - 1 GEL
• 1 kg washed carrots - 2 GEL (1.5 GEL for regular ones)
• 1 watermelon (~6kg) - 5 GEL

As you can see it's not a perfect consumer basket, but hey that's what I…

How I Reached My Google AdSense Goal To Make $40.00/mo In 19 months

1 October, 2015 | Blogging | 10 seen

Wow, that title actually sounds pretty scary - some humble $40 per month in 19 months? Poor me! Well.. in fact I don't look on that as something very scary or low income. Back in the 2014 at start of the February, my blog was just about 4 months old, I decided (understood) that to actually succeed anyhow on this money making thing I should define some goals and I created my first goal - to earn enough to break even my hosting expenses (which at that time was $40/mo)

It's Official now - in the month of September 2015 I first time crossed $40.00 Google AdSense milestone, when in total earned $45.58.

Now in the past 19 months I have learned other ways you can make some lucrative income from your blog, and Google AdSense probably is not your best bet to get those dollars rolling to your bank account, but it (Google AdSense) has been on my blog for the most time of my bloggers carrier, and there is a reason for that - I look on Google AdSense earnings as a dividend payments from stocks - they are not huge, but it's good to have them.

In fact 19 months latter I'm paying even more for hosting, it…