Mount Kazbek
Mount Kazbek, is a dormant stratovolcano and one of the major mountains of the Caucasus located on the border of Georgia's Kazbegi District and Russia's Republic of North Ossetia–Alania.It is the third-highest peak in Georgia (after Mount Shkhara and Janga) and the seventh-highest summit in the Caucasus Mountains. Kazbek is also the second-highest volcanic summit in the Caucasus, after Mount Elbrus.The summit lies directly to the west of the town of Stepantsminda and is the most prominent geographic feature of the area. Mount Kazbek is the highest peak of Eastern Georgia.Mount Kazbek and Gergeti…
Hotel Stancia Kazbegi
Hotel Stancia in Kazbegi is a great and cheaper alternative to the more stylish and lavish Rooms Kazbegi hotel. Featuring a garden and a restaurant, Stancia Kazbegi is set in Stepantsminda. Among the various facilities of this property are a terrace and ski storage space. The hotel also offers free WiFi as well as a paid airport shuttle service.We booked Hotel Stancia in Kazbegi in early April 2019 and paid around GEL 150 (USD 56) for a one night stay, I should add that the listed price on booking.com was GEL 180 (USD 67) per night. By booking directly we saved USD 11. Nice. Not that I'm a fan of such a booking system, but as it was an unplanned stop in Kazbegi, seems like a nice…
Tsalka Lake / Water reservoir
Tsalka reservoir - is the largest water reservoir in Georgia, located in the Tsalka municipality, some 100 km from Tbilisi, at 1506 meters above the sea level in the valley of Khrami river.
The total area for Tsalka reservoir is 33.7 km², Maximum depth - 25m, while the average depth of 9,3 m. Reservoir stretches from the west to the east.
Tsalka reservoir in winter
Made this photo January 19, 2019, while doing a trip to Ninotsminda
Tsalka reservoir was made in 1946 for energy purposes (Hydropower plants Khrami 1 and Khrami 2). Water accumulation starts in April and lasts until July,…
Hotel Talsi
Hotel “Talsi” is located in a picturesque place, next to Vilkumuiza lake. Hotel "TALSI" offers 53 different standard Single, Double rooms and comfortable Suites. I booked Hotel Talsi, for a couple of days (nights) in August 2017. As there are not many hotels located in Talsi, Hotel Talsi seemed like a logical choice, which actually was quite true. As I traveled without a car, I managed to organize a taxi service from the hotel during my short stay in Talsi town.Hotel Talsi offers comfortable rooms, all featuring a bathroom with a shower.Simple Room at Hotel TalsiDuring my stay here at Hotel Talsi, I decided to give it a try for crypto day trading, see Starting To Learn…
Birtvisi Canyon in Georgia
Birtvisi canyon is located in the Tetri-Tskaro district in Kvemo Kartli region about an hour drive from Tbilisi. Canyon is ideally suited for those loving hiking (see: Hiking In Birtvisi Canyon (Hidden Trails Of Georgia)) and outdoor activities.There are many smaller and larger gorges, rocks and of course amazing nature. Also, the Birtvisi fortress is located here (which I still haven't found after some 4 years of inactive searches).The canyon is managed by Georgian Agency of Protected areas, to learn more see: http://apa.gov.ge/enBirtvisi Canyon in GeorgiaBirtvisi is essentially a natural rocky fortress of 1 km², secured by walls and towers, the most prominent of which…
Google Market Kazbegi
There has been a Google market in Georgian Stepatsminda / Kazbegi town at least since 2011. No, you cannot get here cloud storage or keyword ideas for your next AdWords campaign, instead, there are tasty Georgian lemonades and other goodies you can find in almost every regular kiosk in Georgia.First discovered back in 2011, in April 2019, the Google Market was still there, though seemed closed at the time I visited it. Google Market KazbegiEnjoy!
Kobi Gudauri Cable Car Station
Kobi Gudari cable car has been opened for public since January 2019. I first discovered in it early April 2019, while having a road trip Tbilisi - Gudauri - Kazbegi (Stepatsminda).Not far from the cable car station there is located Kobi mineral water plant. Kobi cable stationGudauri - Georgian Winter Capital for skiing, snowboarding, paragliding and heli-skiingAccording to agenda.ge the ropeway is 7.5km long and the total cost to build it was 81 million lari. The cable car connects Kobi with Gudauri in 15 minutes.The cable car will serve to make both Kobi and Gudauri more functional winter resorts, offering easier transportation in the area.Kobi -…
Mount Arejvani
Mount Arjevani is located in the central part of Georgia, some 70 km west of the Tbilisi. The top of Mount Arjevani is 2,757 meters above sea level or 779 meters above the surrounding terrain. The width at the base is 24.5 km.The terrain around Mount Arjevani is mainly hilly. Mount Arjevani is the highest point in the neighborhood. The nearest larger community is Tsalka located 19.4 km southeast of Arjevani. The area around Mount Arjevani is mostly agricultural land.Photos were taken, doing (trying to do) a trip to Ninotsminda (in the region of Samtskhe-Javakheti) in January 2019. Mount Arjevani from Koda…
March 2019 Dividend Income Report - $188.36
Welcome to the twenty-third (#23) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks, peer to peer lending (both fiat and cryptocurrencies) in March 2019.The last March was very exciting, it has not only beaten the previous year's March by quite impressive 256%, but it also was the first month I earned money from trading options.Spring finally has come to Tbilisi and more time we want to spend outdoors, unfortunately not always it happens so. Hope to be more outdoors in April.Blue snowdrops near Turtle lake in Tbilisi at early MarchLearn more: Spring in Tbilisi (near Turtle lake)Now, when speaking about the …
Tbilisi for kids (17 Places to Visit)
Shopping, eating ice cream, spending time outdoors or at cool amusement parks.
Tbilisi has a lot to offer for both grownups and their offsprings. Keep reading to find more about 17 kid-friendly places in Tbilisi
April 1st marks already the eighth anniversary since I've been living in Georgia. It was back on April 1st, 2011 I first put my foot on holy Georgian land.
During the past eight years, I've traveled across Georgia a lot, built a popular Tbilisi restaurants guide, documented my travels across the country, and so on. Also, I have become a father, and have switched the regular places I hang out to more kid-friendly places
To celebrate this little…
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…