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…
Hualing Tbilisi Sea Plaza
Tbilisi Sea Plaza trading center is located in the eastern suburbs of Tbilisi City, near the Tbilisi Sea.I first heard about this "project" back in 2013 or something, and actually tried to visit it already in 2015, without luck. Turns out this place has been opened for the public just since the end of 2016. Despite been opened for public for a while already this place is not close as popular as Tbilisi Mall or East Point shopping malls located in the suburbs of Tbilisi. I believe the reason is the missing anchor tenant, some large food storeIt was at the end of December 2018, we were wandering around Tbilisi in our new Volkswagen Tuareg car, and decided to locate this place finally.And…
Cafe "Kāpenieki" in Aizpute
Cafe Kāpenieki has been one of my best finds in the Aizpute town in Western Latvia. Tasty, traditional Latvian cuisine for a very decent price. The fun fact, at this place in May 2018 I opened my first online brokerage account and soon started to acquire European and the US stocks. Also, they sell tasty Kvass, which is manufactured by a company listed on Nasdaq Baltics (Gubernija). lolTraditional Latvian Cold soupThe main course at cafe Kāpenieki in AizputeToo big to fail, too large to eat in the first attempt. Damn tasty though.Located inside the old and neglected, but renovated Soviet-era building, Cafe Kāpenieki attracts locals and visitors from nearby towns and…
January 2019 Dividend Income Report - $174.71
Welcome to the twenty-first (#21) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks, peer to peer lending (both fiat and cryptocurrencies) in January 2019. Wow, times flies, the last January disappeared like a flicker, little miss Fischer baby girl turned already 6-month old. This January also marked a small 2 years anniversary since In originally set my goal to have in savings account 1 million dollars by 2045. In general, January was great for most of the investors (except probably just crypto investments) as in January most markets recovered after the sluggish year end of 2018. From the point of dividends, last…
Chinese Restaurant Ensemble (Hotels & Preference Hualing Tbilisi)
Chinese Restaurant Ensemble is located in a 5-star hotel "Hotels & Preference Hualing Tbilisi" near the Tbilisi Sea in the so-called - Tbilisi Sea New City. I got a recommendation to visit this restaurant from some other Tbilisi expats. So some Saturday afternoon in a company of the same expats we visited this place and I had a chance to try really authentic Chinese cuisine. Hotels & Preference Hualing Tbilisi buildingHere is what it's all about:For pure gourmets, the hotel offers an authentic Chinese Restaurant - ENSEMBLE with a masterful blend of ingredients and spices. Enjoy authentic Chinese dishes from various regions and provinces…
Day trip to Bolnisi and nearby vicinity
Day trips to Bolnisi and region of Kvemo Kartli are quite possible and easy done from Tbilisi.
In the mid-December, we bought an SUV VW Touareg car and it was just the right time to put it on the test, so we decided to make a day trip to some easy and close place from Tbilisi.
As we were traveling with our 5-month-old daughter it was important to return home the same day, though there are some great hotels available in Bolnisi. Bolnisi is located just some 70 km from Tbilisi and it might take about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get there.
Bolnisi is located in the Kvemo Kartli region, Georgia. It has an estimated 13,800 inhabitants.
In 1818 the…
Bird Watching Tower on Sloka Lake
Bird watching tower on Sloka lake actually is a floating platform which is a very popular tourist attraction among the locals and bird watchers.Discovered in the early May 2018, during our "living in Jūrmala" series. Bird watching tower on Sloka LakeThe bird watching tower actually is just one point from Sloka lake walking trail:The trail winds through diverse forest settings along the coastline of the lake populated by numerous waterfowl. It starts and ends next to Sloka Lake, where there is a car parking lot a picnic site and a 7 m high floating overhead platform for sightseers. Hiking on the trail takes you to a number of interesting sites: the swamp forests of…
Saint Peter and Paul Monastery Complex of Bolnisi
Saint Peter and Paul Monastery Complex of Bolnisi was built in 2012 and is located on Mount Elia close to the Bolnisi town in Georgia.First discovered and kind of visited in mid-December 2018, during a day trip to Bolnisi region. Originally I thought that at this place is located Bolnisi Sioni, and once we let our Tbilisi apt I just entered Bolnisi church in Google navigation. Huge was my surprise arriving at the real Bolnisi Sioni Cathedral instead of this place.From Bolnisi Sioni we continued our explorations in the area of Bolnisi, and reached another very interesting church (again I thought this is it) - Tsughrughasheni Church. We already started…
Mangaļsala Pier
The Mangalsala Dam or the Eastern Mole has been built between 1850 and 1861 and rumor has the Russian Empire's Tsar actively followed the developments (back in those days there were two tsars ruling the Empire, Nicholas I and Alexander II). Mangalsala is the first part of the Riga city which is crossed by all ships entering the Daugava river.The length of the mole is 2240 meters. The sea part of the eastern mole was formed by pile constructions, which were later laid out and covered with stones. The base of the dam is made of heavy fascines and stones. The dam of Mangaļsala serves as a strengthening of the right bank of the Daugava river.For me, the Mangaļsala pier has always…
Mintos.com Review After 24 Month of Investing in Peer to Peer Lending
I've been investing in Mintos.com peer to peer lending marketplace since the beginning of 2017, or it has been already 24 months or two years since I've been exposing my funds to this Latvian fintech platform. In the past 24 months I've made a nice revenue of EUR 902.57 (before tax) and in today's article, I decided to share a quick overview for the past two years and also make a quick glimpse for my plans for 2019Both individuals and entities can invest through Mintos. Individual investors must be at least 18 years old, have a bank account in the European Union or third countries currently considered to have AML/CFT systems equivalent to the EU, and have their identity…
HP ProBook 450 G5 (2RS04EA) Laptop Review
At the end of 2018 I got a new laptop - HP ProBook 450 G5 - in today's gadget review article series I will write down my humble observations. In short - gosh it feels so good owning a ProBook from HP.I bought this laptop at local ALTA OK store in Tbilisi, Georgia, just shortly before Christmas shopping craze in December 2018. Paid about USD 750 for this model. The sales price for Intel Core i5 8GB HP ProBook 450 G5 on Amazon is about $770. This laptop will retire my older Asus X552M Laptop. That said, after about a 3-year pause, while using ASUS manufactured laptop, I'm returning back to HP laptops. For about 8 years I was using the HP Compaq 6510b model, I loved that…