Hotel Mezaparks in Riga

1 June, 2017 | Hotel reviews | 4 seen

Hotel Mezaparks in Riga is a really great value deal for a very affordable price (we paid about EUR 30). Located next to the lake Kisezers and just 15 minute drive from the Old town. We booked hotel Mezaparks for one night stay in Spring 2016. 

Hotel Mezaparks is a great choice if you are looking for a cheap stay for one night in Riga, it doesn't offer much extra's, although there is even a restaurant located in first floor.

This property is 1 minute walk from the beach. Hotel Mezaparks enjoys a quiet and green location in a park on the shore of beautiful Lake Kisezers, only a 15-minute drive away from the old town of Riga. Free Wi-Fi internet access is available in the rooms and free public parking is provided when arranged in advance.

Twin Room at hotel Mezaparks

The overall impression about this place - it's kind of summer camp for young athletes or something.

The cosy rooms are decorated with wooden furniture and carpeted floors. Most rooms have balconies with views over the lake.

The terrace overlooking the lake is a great place to enjoy a coffee or a cocktail. All meals, including breakfast, can be…

Lopota lake Resort & Spa

31 May, 2017 | Lakes | 32 seen

Lopota Lake Resort & Spa is ideal for those seeking a peaceful place to rest. Your personal piece of paradise is located in the Kakheti region of Eastern Georgia, surrounded by the famous Caucasus mountains, just 2 hours drive from Tbilisi, the nation's capital.

We first discovered Lopota lake in early Spring 2017, during a weekend trip to the region of Kakheti. We returned here back for a few day stay in June 2020.

Lopota lake in Georgia

Here is the story of how we first discovered this place - At the start of April (2017), we booked another hotel here in Kakheti (Chateau Mere near Telavi). Unfortunately, when we arrived on site, the weather was overcast and it was no fun to stay at the huge concrete complex, we took a local taxi and asked him to show us some cool nearby sites, as I was equipped with a tripod and camera I was looking for some lakes, water and so on, as wanted to make some long exposure shots. 

The taxi driver suggested us to visit Lopota lake, as I had heard about it before, we agreed.

At Lopota lake there are located a hotel complex, restaurants, outdoor pools and…

Hotel Chateau Mere near Telavi

30 May, 2017 | Hotel reviews | 19 seen

We booked hotel Chateau Mere Telavi at the start of April 2017 and were hoping to enjoy early spring in Kakheti. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side, and instead we enjoyed a couple of rainy days in a stylish hotel complex.

For getting forth and back from our Tbilisi apartment to Chateau Mere in Tbilisi we pre-ordered a shuttle service from the hotel (70 GEL one direction)

Housed in a stone castle, this design hotel features free Wi-Fi, an outdoor swimming pool and a spacious garden. Located in Telavi, it is set in Georgia’s wine-producing area amidst the Caucasus Mountains and Alazani Valley.

Stylish room at hotel Chateau Mere

Chateau Mere has classically decorated rooms featuring antique-style furnishings. Each room includes a flat-screen TV and minibar, and some rooms offer a balcony.

Outdoor swimming pool

Although it was already the start of April, the weather didn't spoil us at all. Mist, rain, and even snow. Thus the view from the balcony is nice.

The dining hall at Chateau Mere

A breakfast buffet is provided at the hotel, which also features its own restaurant serving…

Day trip to Gori and nearby vicinity

28 May, 2017 | Travel guides | 20 seen

Day trips to Gori and nearby vicinity are quite possible if traveling from Tbilisi. Although not so popular as day trips to Mtskheta and Jvari (because located very close to Tbilisi) a trip to Gori and the region (Shida Kartli) is a nice way to travel through the past. 

It was at the end of March 2017, when my business partner (traveltogeorgia.net) agreed to show me some cool and unseen places in Gori and nearby vicinity

One of the most famous landmarks in Gori is the Stalin Museum, which I, unfortunately,  didn't visit during this trip (as I've been here several times already in past). The second landmark you should see - Uplitsikhe Cave town ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, some 10 kilometers east of the town of Gori. Enjoyed some wine and the lovely small winery Chateau Ateni, visited Atenis Sioni, and last visited some hidden gem - Sulfur baths in Biisi village.

Sulfur bath house in Biisi, Georgia

27 May, 2017 | Health & Wellness | 35 seen

Georgia is well known of it's sulfur bath houses, most recognized are located in the Tbilisi' s Old Town (see Abanotubani district), but there are more across country. One such is located in Biisi village (Shida Kartli region).

I was taken here by a friend from traveltogeorgia.net after we visited Uplitsikhe cave town and Atenis Sioni at the end of March 2017

You won't find much comfort here, but if you love diggers stuff (and I do) or rough travel - Biisi is really cool and attractive place to visit. Eco tourists will enjoy, it's completely free to take a sulfur bath here. Grab a towel before.

Biisi in Georgia

Old and neglected. Rusted but cool.

Sulfur bathhouse in Biisi

Some handy locals have made a lovely hardwood finishing.

Bath in Biisi

I didn't dare to take a bath here, but I must admit that the bathhouse seems completely functional, and I love the idea of free things. If you travel to this place, don't forget to drop a comment and tell how did it go.

Ateni Sioni Church

26 May, 2017 | Churches and Monasteries | 18 seen

The Ateni Sioni Church  is an early 7th-century Georgian Orthodox church in the village of Ateni, some 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the city of Gori, Georgia. It stands in a setting of the Tana River valley known not only for its historical monuments but also for its picturesque landscapes and wine. The name "Sioni" derives from Mount Zion at Jerusalem.

I had a chance to visit Atenis Sioni first in March 2017, as my business partner from tourgeorgia.eu Mrs. David Gabliashvili took me to the most interesting places in Gori area.

Atenis Sioni in Georgia

Sioni is an early example of a "four-apse church with four niches" domed tetraconch (between the four apses are three-quarter cylindrical niches which are open to the central space). The church's cruciform interior measures 24m x 19.22m, and its façades are faced with carved rectangular greenish-gray stones, richly decorated with ornaments and figurative reliefs. The church is not dated but is very similar in design to the Jvari Monastery at Mtskheta, which is generally held to have preceded it, and…

Chateau Ateni (Winery in Georgia)

25 May, 2017 | Tourism objects | 18 seen

Here comes another interesting, though small winery I've visited here in Georgia. Meet Chateau Ateni near Gori. I was taken here in the frames of short day trip to Gori with my business partner David Gablishvili from Traveltogeorgia.net.

Chateau Ateni is a small family run winery, offering to try local wine and famous Georgian hospitality. Located some 10km from Uplitisikhe cave town. 

Chateau Ateni winery in Georgia

As we visited this winery at the end of March it was still nothing much to see, but should be very beautiful if visited in Summer or Fall.

Chateau Ateni winery in Georgia

A small exhibition hall with fine bottled wines from this winery. 

Wine tasting room

Uplistsikhe Cave Town in Georgia

24 May, 2017 | Tourism objects | 26 seen

Uplistsikhe is an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, located some 10 kilometers east of the town of Gori, Shida Kartli.

Built on a high rocky left bank of the Mtkvari River, it contains various structures dating from the Early Iron Age to the Late Middle Ages and is notable for the unique combination of various styles of rock-cut cultures from Anatolia and Iran, as well as the co-existence of pagan and Christian architecture.

First visited back in 2011, I have returned here for a few times more, though personally, I find Vardzia cave town more impressive, no doubt Uplistsikhe is a great example of rich Georgian history and is pretty easy reachable from Tbilisi by car.

There is a small museum located just after the entrance in the cave complex, a lot of interesting information located here:

Uplistsikhe museum

Uplistsikhe

Uplistsikhe is identified by archaeologists as one of the oldest urban settlements in Georgia. Strategically located in the heartland of ancient kingdom of Kartli (or…

How To Reference Nodes in Drupal 8 + Views Relationships Display

23 May, 2017 | Drupal Development | 42 seen

Lately I feel very enthusiastic working with latest Drupal 8 release, though Drupal 8 have been around for a while already, there are still few drawbacks which keeps me avoiding developing full scale on Drupal 8.

I will write down my notes of pros and cons about switching from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 in some of the future posts, in today's Drupal tutorial series I will provide information how to use reference fields and build something awesome, as usual I will use a live example. We are going to build a views display, listing tours in a blog article.

You can see my previous simple tutorial on the same functionality for Drupal 7 site here: Node reference views display using relationships

In fact if you are familiar with relationship fields and node reference fields in Drupal 7, there is basically nothing new in Drupal 7, with exception that this functionality is already built out of box in Drupal 8, you don't need to download and install any modules

Here is what the final result looks

Referenced node view

You can see a live preview here: John Graham Tours joins Tourgeorgia

Nasdaq Baltics Review After One Month Investment in Dividend Paying Stocks

22 May, 2017 | Investments | 18 seen

I started this year (2017) with a goal to save one million dollars in savings accounts by the time I will turn 60 (that's in 2045). For some such goal might sounds unrealistic, for others nothing so special.Anyway it's not about who is right and who is not. It's all about finance discipline and hopefully sunny days in retirement age. 

It was decided that I will invest $8,561 in 2017, in different investment opportunities- peer to peer lending, dividend paying stocks and mutual funds. 

I've written several articles about my investments in peer to peer lending already, see:

• Review of Mintos Peer to Peer Lending After One Month of Investing
• Mintos.com Review after 3 month investing in Peer to Peer loans
• and  Q1 2017 Online Income Report - $5,886.46

By now investments in Nasdaq Baltics in my portfolio makes 25%, without doubts I'm looking to increase investments here to at least 40% by the end of year.

Investment portfolio May 2015

It was around the end of April 2017, when I decided to diversify my portfolio, and without any doubts I looked on dividend paying stocks as the…

Investment Goal #1 - $100/mo from Dividend Payments

21 May, 2017 | Investments | 15 seen

It has been a while I did set my general goal of saving million dollars before I will turn 60 (there is still plenty of time). The good news I've been on the right track for the past 5 months and I've been investing in peer to peer lending, dividend paying stocks and mutual funds.

I like the idea of getting monthly interest or dividend payments, and I started with investments in Latvian mintos peer to peer lending. Despite pretty high interest rates (more than 11% annually) I feel pretty concerned regarding peer to peer lending, especially in loans issued in Eastern Europe. That's the reason I started to invest in dividend paying stocks, unfortunately or for good, right now I'm still investing the same region I'm concerned with - Baltics. See: Dividend Paying Stocks In Nasdaq Baltic Market By Yield

The good thing about dividend paying stocks in Baltics, in general it's easy to find stocks with annul dividend yield higher than 6%, the bad thing - higher yield means higher risk and companies listed on Nasdaq Baltic list takes the same risk as this region (Eastern Europe). For now, I don't see red flags in the economies of…

Magic Fish - Tbilisi Restaurant

20 May, 2017 | Restaurant reviews | 54 seen

Magic Fish is another interesting restaurant I've discovered in Tbilisi (see complete list with Tbilisi restaurant reviews). The fun fact is following, I had seen this place countless times by passing it by on lively Aghmeneshabeli avenue, but never thought, there is a restaurant located inside.

As flashy banner, and kind of strange name lead me to think there is some disco bar or something. Turns out I was wrong, and Magic Fish actually is a decent seafood restaurant in Tbilisi.

I was taken here actually by friend, I met at gym, see Champions academy in Tbilisi.

Shrimps

Fish

Hard Rock Cafe Tbilisi

19 May, 2017 | Restaurant reviews | 45 seen

I've found one of my favorite Tbilisi restaurants - meet Hard Rock cafe Tbilisi, located on lively Vasil Petrashvili street 1, near Tbilisi Philharmonic building.

Hard Rock Cafe Tbilisi, in fact is first Hard Rock cafe I've ever visited, but now I know, there is a good reason to visit them around the World.

Hard Rock Cafe Tbilsi

​Located steps away from Casino Sakartvelo in the historical Vera District of Tbilisi (the capital of Georgia), our brand-new cafe combines the modern style of the Hard Rock brand with a sense of local history. Hard Rock Cafe Tbilisi is located within a restored wine factory, which was originally built in 1896 by famous Georgian industrialist and philanthropist David Sarajisvili, who is known as the founder of brandy production in Georgia. In fact, our building is listed as a cultural heritage site.

Fish & Chips

Amazingly well done, I had a chance to try fish & chips in US based Red Robin place, well the one you can get in Tbilisi is 100 times better than that at New Jersey's Red Robbin. 

Delicious Oreo biscuit cake

Now…

Drupal 8 Custom Taxonomy Term Pages with Views

18 May, 2017 | Drupal Development | 212 seen

By default, out of the box, Drupal taxonomy term pages are styled kind of ugly, but with the help of just a few simple tweaks, we could style them as we wish, just by using CSS. In today's Drupal tutorial series, I will provide a simple how-to on how to create custom Drupal 8 taxonomy term pages using views.

Luckily, you won't need to install any additional modules, as in Drupal 8, views are already built in the core, and if you are already familiar with how to style taxonomy term pages in Drupal 7, it will be an easy task in Drupal 8, as most of the steps involved are the same.

Although this aticle was writtne for Drupal 8, most of it still applies in Drupal 9 and Drupal 10 versions. If you need any help with configuring Drupal taxonomy pages I might be just the person you're looking for. As the founder of Terramatris.eu, a Drupal development agency, I have years of experience working with this platform and helping clients achieve their goals through custom Drupal installations. Learn more at Terramatris.eu

Default taxonomy term page view in Drupal 8

In the above example, you can see the default taxonomy term page…

EU Cookie Compliance For Drupal 8 Website

17 May, 2017 | Drupal Development | 8 seen

I'm not an expert in EU laws, but as far as I remember since 2012 there have been passed a law, so called EU Cookie Compliance law, asking website located in the territory of European Union to provide cookie disclaimer to website visitors if any cookie installed on website. 

To play safe, I have enabled cookie information bar on my blog (you can see it in the bottom of each page)

As, recently I started Drupal 8 development on .eu domain website, which actually is hosted from EU territory I decided to wrap up a simple tutorial on best practice how to enable EU cookie compliance notification bar for Drupal 8 websites.

The good news, there is a special module to handle EU cookie directive: EU Cookie Compliance

This module intends to deal with the EU Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications that comes into effect in the UK on 26th May 2012. From this date on, you run the risk of enforcement action if you are not compliant or visibly working towards compliance. More information can be found here: Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive 2002

The above information applies to the UK however the EU…