Roshen Candy Store in Kiev (Khotynska Street)

Roshen Confectionery Corporation is a Ukrainian confectionery manufacturing group.The leading manufacturer of confectionery products in the country, it operates facilities in the Ukrainian cities of Kiev, Vinnytsia and Kremenchuk, as well as in Budapest, Hungary and Klaipėda, Lithuania. The name of the company was derived from the last name of its owner, current president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.It was back in August 2017, we were in Kiev to celebrate my birthday when we discovered this lovely candy store.Roshen Candy store in KievIf I remember right, this one is located on Khotynska St, 2At Roshen candy store

Ukraine |

Pet Food Store in Tbilisi - Zoomart on Abashidze street (near Vake park)

Zoomart on Abashidze street 78  (located very conveniently close to the Vake park) has been our favorite pet food store (actually the only one) for several years already. We came here regularly to buy special cats dry food. 

According to Zoomart website, there are already 11 stores across Tbilisi (2018). 

At Zoomart you will find brands like Canvit, ferplast, Vitakraft, Brekkies, catzone, elmubas, Versele-Laga, Advance, Kong, Acana, Morando, Animology  e.t.c

Together with Natia Beridze Veterinary, these are two of the pet-related places I'm familiar with in Tbilisi

Georgia |

IWA Christmas Charity Fair Tbilisi 2018

Annual Winter Fair (Christmas charity fair) was held at Tbilisi's Radisson Blue Hotel on December 1, 2018

For many expats in Georgia, it has been already a tradition to visit this fair year. For me, this was already some sixth or seventh fair (as a visitor), maybe I should start selling hot wine in the next years (who knows)

Here are a few articles from the past: Christmas Charity Fair Tbilisi 2017, Christmas Charity Winter Fair in Tbilisi 2015, Christmas Charity Winter Fair in Tbilisi Sheraton Hotel, Christmas charity fair in Tbilisi

As usual, I took my DSLR camera, backpack and went shopping (this year was special, as it was the first fair for our…

Expat in Georgia |

November 2018 Dividend Income Report - $111.60

Welcome to the nineteenth (#19) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks, peer to peer lending (both fiat and cryptocurrencies) in November 2018. In case you are wondering why I'm sharing online my earnings - the answer is pretty simple -  back in January 2017, I set a goal to reach one million dollars in my bank account by the time I will turn 60 (27, 26 years still to go). I believe in transparency and sharing dividend income reports every month helps me to observe my personal progress or bounces. Hopefully, those reports can give some inspiration to you as well. (If so,…

Dividend Income |

How To Install XTRF 8 on Ubuntu 18.04

XTRF is a Polish translation management system available to install as SAAS or on your own server (both Windows and Linux). In today's article, I will keep notes on how to install XTRF 8 on Ubuntu 18.04

Our company has been using the XTRF translation management system since 2011 (if not earlier) and recently we opted for a major upgrade (from version 2 to version 8). The previous version was run on Linode VPS (Debian). For the latest version, I decided to go with the same VPS from Linode (to make it work I chose 8GB RAM Linode), but instead of Debian, i opted for the latest Ubuntu 18.04 LTS release.

Insert the following line into the /etc/…

Servers & Config |

Tbilisi TV Tower in the National colors of Latvia

The Tbilisi TV tower was lit in the Latvian nation colors on November 18th, 2018, to celebrate a 100 year anniversary since the Republic of Latvia was proclaimed on November 18, 1918As I had the great observation point I made a quick long exposure and decided to share it via Piece of Life series.Tbilisi TV tower in the national colors of LatviaHappy birthday Latvia!

Expat in Georgia |

Samsung Galaxy A6 32GB (2018) Review

Samsung Galaxy A6 was first released in May 2018. We bought it as the replacement phone for Samsung Galaxy A3, to whom glass cracked on the rocks in Georgia (in the yard of Iosebis Duqani) while we traveled to the region of Kakheti.As the repair cost was about the half price of a new one, we decided to go for a brand new and more powerful phone.2 year lifetime is good for a phone, at least that's what I believe so.Bought this phone during Black Friday sale in Georgia (Tbilisi) at AltaOk store in Eastpoint. The sales price was GEL 599 ($225.61), and it said it's discount from GEL 749 ($282.11). Though on Amazon you can get brand new unlocked Samsung Galaxy A6 phone for $214.…

Laptop & Gadget Reviews |

Ordering Goodies From Amazon - Baby Play Mat and more

It has been a while since I made my first international Amazon delivery to Georgia, using parcel delivery and forwarding service USA2Georgia. See how I ordered and installed new hinges for my old HP laptop back in 2014. How To Order Goodies From US to Georgia - Usa2Georgia.comAt the end of 2018 we ordered some goodies for our little baby girl - unfortunately, I haven't saved exact names for the items, so I will try to guess their actual names in this photo post.Goodies delivered to our Tbilisi aptVery neat shopping, and actually pretty fast - our order was fulfilled (since ordering online) in about a week (delivered to doors in Georgia)Goodies for babyPlay mat,…

Expat in Georgia |

Drupal 7 Rules: Send E-mail to User Referenced by NID After Saving Content

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 decided to delete this instance to save money, but before that, I decided to keep at least one interesting feature I figured out - how to send e-mail to the assigned user (not user but node reference, in terms of Drupal) , after saving new project (node)

I had 2 content types - Translators and Projects, in the…

Drupal Development |

Rainy Day in Tbilisi

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 be a Rainy day. Actually, about a year and a half ago, I made a cool time-lapse video from our previous apt, see: Rainy day in Tbilisi - Time Lapse Video.

If you are into the rain photography, I could also offer a trip to Verona on a rainy day, see: Rainy day in Verona



Lonely tree

I believe this tree will be…

Expat in Georgia |

Trinity Monastery of St. Jonas in Kyiv

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 GardenTrinity Monastery of St. JonasIt was Jonas, a Vydubychi hegumen, who founded this monastery in 1864. Princess Vasilchikov, the widow of Kiev's Governor General, decided to support the undertaking and presented her dacha to the brethren.It was on these grounds that the katholikon was constructed.The monastery's bell towerThe monastery's bell tower, at 110 meters,…

Ukraine |

Hryshko National Botanical Garden in Kiev

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 Garden is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.Cash desks at Kievs Botanical gardenI don't remember exactly what was the price for entrance, but it was really cheap (compared to Western Europe)The M. M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden is a botanical garden of the National Academy of…

Ukraine |

Shio-Mgvime monastery

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 2018, we booked a 4-star hotel Gino Wellness in Mtskheta and the girl from hotels front desk organized us a taxi for 60 GEL. Now, this is really expensive actually for such a short drive, but it's OK just for one time. According to a historic tradition, the first monastic community at this place…

Georgia |

Hotel Gino Wellness Mtskheta Review

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, Hotel Gino Wellness Mtskheta is located in Mtskheta. Each accommodation at the 4-star hotel has mountain views, and guests can enjoy access to a children's playground and to a hot spring bath.We booked this hotel at the start of November 2018, in the frames of Georgian Discount Week. Stayed here two nights at the deluxe room…

Georgia |

October 2018 Dividend Income Report - $168.10

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. Hopefully, my reports can give some inspiration to you as well. (If so, please leave a short comment below) Also, I have a goal to reach one million dollars in my bank account by the time I will turn 60 (27 years still to go). In short, last October turned…

Dividend Income |

Halloween 2018

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 PhotosHalloween pumpkin 2018I bought this one at local Tbilisi market and paid 9GEL for it (2 gel/kg). Turns out this was a 4 and a half kilos.Pumpkin carvedApple prepared for bakingFilled with yolk/sour cream fillingHalloween 2018

Expat in Georgia |

Tbilisi by day (New Apartment Version)

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 and TV tower in TbilisiNo doubts,best viewed during night time. This is one of my favorite spots in the apartment to take daughter on the shoulder and tell stories. Quite impressive.Rooftops of TbilisiRooftops of TbilisiStreet in TbilisiNext probably will be golden hour photography(HDR)

Expat in Georgia |

Istanbul Airport

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 and depart from the airport: Ankara, Antalya, Baku, Ercan, İzmir.These flights will all be operated by Turkish Airlines. Regularly scheduled flights to these destinations will still depart from Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen airports alongside these trial flights…

Turkey |

Tbilisi Office 2.0.

In October 2018, we changed not only apartments but also offices as well. In short, we moved from Agmanashabeli avenue to Vake district in Tbilisi.There is a little change compared to previous years when trying to find a new office in Tbilisi. Let's say this, this time we got lucky. See: Renting an Office in TbilisiSee pictures from the previous office here: Audio & Video Transcription Service by Caucasus TranslationsWorking space in the new Tbilisi officeThe office is located on the tenth floor in a residential / office/aparthotel building in VakeInterior at the new officeWe bought furniture (shelf, table, and chairs) at local Jysk store, paying about $1,000 for itSecond…

Expat in Georgia |

TP-Link TL-WN725N 150Mbps Wireless N Nano USB Adapter Review

TP-Link is a popular brand in Georgia, and most probably in CIS region, manufacturing Wireless routers and wireless adapters (probably a lot of other useful gadgets as well).I remember about 10 years ago I used a PCI WIFI adapter to have a WiFi functionality for a desktop PC.Now, in 2018, when moving into a new office, I decided it would be cool to get rid of at least some of the wiring for or desktop computers. And here comes miniature, I would even say nano-sized TP-Link Wireless adapterSleek miniature design so small that once plugged in, can be left in a Laptop’s USB portSpeedy wireless transmission at up to 150Mbps ideal for video streaming or internet callsAdvanced Security…

Laptop & Gadget Reviews |