Sadmeli Winery & Guesthouse
Located in Sadmeli village, close to Ambrolauri town in Georgia's Racha region - Sadmeli Winery features a garden, terrace, spectacular views towards the valley, and free WiFi throughout the property. The guest house has family rooms.
We booked a one-night stay at this place in mid-October 2022, during our Fall Break (at QSI Tbilisi) trip to the Region of Racha.
We arrived here by plane from Natakhtari (Tbilisi) to the Ambrolauri airplane. Shuttle service was organized for a small additional fee. In total we paid about GEL 330 for a stay in a family room, with a shared bathroom, our price included delicious on-demand supper with a bottle of local cider (from the vinerary and taxi…
Ambrolauri Airport
Ambrolauri Airport is a small regional airport serving Ambrolauri, a town in Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Georgia. The airport is owned and operated by United Airports of Georgia, a state-owned company. It has been open in its current form since January 2017 and can serve airplanes with up to 50 passengers capacity.
I first learned about this airport back in 2016, but first tried at the end of 2022, during a Fall break trip to Racha. We booked a round-trip flight here by Vanilla Sky and enjoyed a 35-minute flight from/to Natakhtari airport.
Ambrolauri Airport is located at the edge of Ambrolauri town, in the historic Racha region on the right bank of the Rioni…
Natakhtari Airfield / Airport
Natakhtari Airfield is a small domestic airport located in Natakhtari, close to Tbilisi, Georgia.
It is privately owned and operated by the parent company of Vanilla Sky Airlines, Service Air. Domestic flights to Batumi, Mestia, and Ambrolauri are served from here. Free shuttle service is available from Tbilisi city center for Vanilla Sky flights.
We have been huge fans of Vanilla sky airlines, for Tbilisi - Batumi flights, which previously were scheduled from Tbilisi international airport, but seem to have been rerouted via Natakhtari airport (at least in 2022), and that's how we discovered this small, cozy airport.
Free parking spaces in front of the temrinal building. Also free…
Scouting Potential Apartment Investment in Tbilisi (Samgori Ecocity)
For the past couple of weeks and months, I have been working toward my Tbilisi real estate investment idea.
Now I have a potential co-investor and we are looking to buy one apartment in Tbilisi (or Batumi) under construction, wait until it is completed, and sell it for a profit (hopefully).
As I had done initial market research for some potential value deals in Tbilisi, I found this quite an interesting offer located in the city outskirts but meantime well connected to the rest of the city - Samgori Ecocity project by Meti developer company.
Invest in Tbilisi Real Estate - New Projects under construction
I held initial talks with the developers and was quite satisfied with the offered…
Batumi and Tbilisoba
A quick day trip to Batumi and back by Vanilla Sky from Natakhtari airfield, stay at the Hilton hotel with heated swimming pool + some bits of real estate investing, returned back to Tbilisi and voted at Latvian Parliament elections 2022 at the embassy, the next day visited Tbilisi city festival.
Enjoy the show and thumbs up!
MyHeritage DNA test result
Today I finally received the DNA test result from MyHeritage. The result was quite surprising - I learned I have 56% Baltic, 18.8% Ashkenazi Jewish, 15.85% Balkan, and 8.7% North and West European DNA.
Before the test, I assumed my Baltic (Latvian) heritage will be about 75%, maybe 60%, but seeing 56% left me quite surprised.
I knew about Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry (my grandfather), so no surprise here, the biggest surprise though comes from the 15.8% Balkan ancestry.
Knowing that 18% Ashkenazi Jewish comes from my paternal grandfather I was left wondering, that probably 15% Balkans also comes from one of my paternal grandparents. I was left wondering, from whom then, as I had…
Dumas Restaurant Tbilisi / Axis Tower
Dumas is a French Restaurant with a Southern European accent, located on the 36th floor of the landmark Axis Tower in Tbilisi.
Looking to impress your date, business partner, or simply good coffee - Dumas restaurant is the way to go.
Named after the famous French writer Alexander Dumas, the restaurant offers guests an authentic food and beverage experience that is fresh and flavorful. The ‘Dumas’ open kitchen serves up French and Mediterranean cuisine transitioning its menus throughout the day to please the most discerning gourmet palate, complimented by incredible panoramic views of the city.
with seating areas both next to the window and away from it
I bet sunsets are just magnificent…
Basilica of the Assumption, Aglona
The Aglona Roman Catholic Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Aglona is one of the most important Catholic spiritual centers in Latvia.
I have visited Aglona cathedral several times and always have left quite inspired. If there is a reason to visit Latgale,then Aglona Catholoc cathedral is atop of them.
Construction of the present church, which is in the Italian Baroque style, began in 1768 and was completed in 1780. Dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, it was consecrated in 1800 by Bishop J. Benislavski.
The church was the seat of the bishop of Riga from 1920 to 1924, when the newly promoted archbishop Antonijs Springovičs moved to the Cathedral of St.…
I'm making $0.21/daily* by selling covered calls on Solana coin
It has been several days since I'm playing again with crypto options, more precisely selling covered calls with Solana coin on the deribit trading platform.Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to deribit.com bitcoin options trading website, by clicking on links on this page and by investing with deribit, I will earn affiliate income at no cost to you. Also, I'm not a financial advisor and I don't give you any advice, I'm just sharing my own experience. Investments in stocks, funds, bonds or cryptos are risk investments and you could lose some or all of your money. Do your due diligence before investing in any kind of asset.Seems I have…
Christ The King Mount
Christ the King Mount (Kristus Karaļa kalns) is located near the Aglona Basilica in Latgale. This place have been opened to the public in 2006.
Several large wooden sculptures depicting biblical characters can be seen here. This is a great place to visit for pilgrims and rest.
I first visited this place back in 2010, with my latest visit here at the start of August 2022
This is a unique sculpture complex, with orchards of 650 ornamental plants. More than 120 fruit trees, with artificial ponds and two 17 m bridges. Here are located around 500 sculptures of the Biblical stories. As well as the Garden of Eden, Noah’s Ark, the wooden church. The unique sculptural complex was opened in…
Hotel Kopola in Tskneti Review
Hotel Kopola is located in Tskneti, the suburbs of Tbilisi. Kopola Hotel features an indoor pool, a green garden, and a sun terrace with sun beds. There is a bowling alley at the hotel and guests can enjoy the on-site restaurant.
I have been familiar with this place for ages, as in the past we come here for playing bowling and having some drinks.
Now, it was at the start of September 2022, we were left with no car (Sold our VW Touareg at the start of June and haven't bought a new one) and decided to take an easy weekend trip to a nearby place with a swimming pool, that's how Kopola hotel made it again on our list. As we enjoy Genius discount on Booking, we paid about GEL 130 for a…
How To Prepare Traditional Borscht Soup at Home
Borscht is a sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word "borscht" is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, which give the dish its distinctive red color. The same name, however, is also used for a wide selection of sour-tasting soups without beetroots, such as sorrel-based green borscht, rye-based white borscht, and cabbage borscht.
In today's Food Blogger series I will share my way of preparing traditional red beetroot borscht at home. For the truth's sake, it was my borscht soup I made, but once you know the trick of how to prepare soups, the rest is just a matter of…
Notes from Tbilisi: Trading German Energy stocks, Dealing with Binance to transfer BUSD to Coinbase
Greeting from Tbilisi. The weather is hot, air conditioners are running, but the autumn winds are also present.
This morning I was looking at two European Stocks to trade options with Dutch ING bank or German E.ON. It turned out a holiday in the US (at least on the stock exchange), where Labourš day was observed, and the European market opened lower. Both ING and EON fell by more than 2% and I thought this is an opportunity.
Decided to test the waters with German E.ON and sold one put option with a September 16 expiry and strike price of EUR 8.4. Premium received EUR 18
With European stocks opening lower decided to write puts against German multinational energy and gas company E.…
Nida Pebble Beach
Nida Pebble beach is the most Southern public beach of Latvia located on the Baltic sea shores just 1 km from the Lithuanian border.
The pebble beach is quite uncharacteristic for a typical Latvian seaside beach and that already a good reason to visit it.
In fact the pebbles are hardly visible but still.
There are plenty of smaller stones, so some can build some art. \on the other hand, there are plenty of pebbles in the sea. A good foot massage guaranteed.
The sign is saying - 1km to the border (Latvia/Lithuania)
It is said that Nida pebble beach is a protected area with a total area of 37.1 sqm. Milk quartz pebbles can be found at the beach.
Really authentic and…
Cafe Somersēta in Aglona
Cafe Somersēta is located on Somersētas street in Aglona town, the region of Latgale in Latvia. We discovered this place by a chance shortly before visiting the famous catholic cathedral in Aglona.
It seems the place is very popular among tourists, as during our meal time here, we mostly met tourists from all over the World. Well, we visited this place at the start of August 2022, I wonder what happens in the offseason.
Anyhow, this place serves traditional Latvian / Latgalian cuisine for a very reasonable price. Tastes good and looks like some British pub.
They have a seperate kids corner and very delicous food. If you happen to be in area, give it a try!
Piloru oak grove
Pilori Oak grove is located on the banks of Lake Ežezers in the region of Latgale. Total area is about 19.6 ha
It is one of the rare oak groves in Latvia with a nature protection status granted already in 1928. The oldest oaks are around 300-400 years old.
I first learned of this grove at the start of August during a weekend trip to the region of Latgale.
The oak grove is located aside from Ezernieki – Andzeļi road, there is a small parking lot, trail, informational stand, and recreation area with footbridge, with a view on the Lake Ežezers North bay and islands.
This is amazing, free camping area with a fireplace. I wish to return here and grill some fish.
Tbilisi by Night
Tbilisi by night is very beautiful. Time after time I love to take out my DLSR camera and tripod to experiment with nighttime photography - long exposures, high ISO. Nighttime photography can be very creative.
In today's Piece of Live series - Tbilisi by night from the balcony of our apartment.
We are lucky enough living in a place which offers us some of the best views towards the old town of Tbilisi
During the day we went there swimming.
It feels to be back to Tbilisi after some 2 month break.
Lake Ežezers
Lake Ežezers is located in Kraslava municipality, in Ezernieku and Andzeļu parishes. It is the richest island lake in Latvia and even in the whole Baltic region. There are 35 islands in a total area of 77.6 ha and 70 islands formations or shoals. From the lake flows out river Narūta, which is one of the Daugava’s basin rivers.
I first visited this lake back in 2010, when learned that my grandfather has been from this area (Village Andzeļi)
We returned here for a tranquil evening at the start of August 2022, and I plan to come here more often (at least once a year)
The average depth of the lake is 6.4 meters, maximum depth is 21 meters. In the lake, around 18-24 fish species can be found…
MyHeritage DNA test, flight to Tbilisi, Stock Recovery
Today was the last day in Riga and Latvia for a while. No More Vilgale, no more Ječi, and no more Riga until Spring 2023 (earliest). QSI school started today in Tbilisi, but we will still skip the first days and should start our new school year on Monday.Back in April we already ordered the MyHeritage DNA test, and today was the day when we finally took it, sealed and sent it back to Germany. Now we wait for some 6 weeks I guess. Exciting. I guess I will have some Russian, Belorussian, Iberian, and Latvian heritage will see. Maybe Ashkenazi Jew? Let's wait.I have some stock positions expiring tomorrow, I was worried about like DB and INTC stock, but seems they are going to recover or…
Coffee shop KUUP, Rēzekne
Kuup coffee shop is a chic place in Rēzekne, which offers coffee roasted in Latgale.
We found this place by a chance, thanks to TripAdvisor when searching for top restaurants in Rēzekne. We arrived here for some 40km from Varakļāni, just to have our morning coffee.
Pastry, coffee and sandwiches.
Kuup has its own coffee roastery, they sell both coffee roasted in Latgale and some souvenirs at their coffee shop
Quite awesome place. If you happen to be in Rēzekne, make sure to visit coffe shop Kuup.