Blog Archive: July 2015

Guest House "Garīkas" in Latvia

31 July, 2015 | Tourism objects | 19 seen

Although this post should probably go into hotel review category, taking into consideration that I haven't stayed here overnight I'm listing this place under tourist attractions. And here are few reasons that made me think that Guest house Garīkas is worth not only of (perhaps) a lovely stay but as well for some good landscape photography. At first - Garīkas are famous shitake mushroom growers in Latvia, secondly they feature a lovely watch tower here and third... they have a cobbled driveway. Guest house Garīkas is located in Courland (region of Latvia), Skrunda district, parish of Rudbārži - some 150 km away from nations capital city Riga.

Wooden inscription

Shiitake mushroom nursery

Yes, that's right owners of this guest house are famous shitake mushroom growers in Latvia.

Watch tower at Guest house Garīkas

Now this is a neat feature this guesthouse offers - a watchtower ofering aerial views both to remote meadows and close by located guest house complex

Aerial view of Guest house Garīkas

Rapeseed field

Now, I call this photo one of the best I have captured this year

Mini tractor at Garīkas

Wood pile

another very interesting photo

Cobbled surface at guest house Garīkas

Just amazing what a man can do. I mean in middle of nowhere, far away from any city communications you will find a cobbled road... where? At guest house Garīkas in Courland, Latvia.

About Guest House Garīkas

Guest house "Garīkas" is located in the middle of Kurzeme (Courland), between two small towns of Skrunda and Aizpute. To the house leads hundred years old linden alley Guest house is located in an ancient, small rural manor house. Hosts of this charming place are engaged in non-traditional agriculture-shiitake mushroom cultivation. 

Visit: www.garikas.lv (in Latvian) to learn more

Bandžēni Farm

30 July, 2015 | Farms | 15 seen

Now, some of you already of you know my love of different agricultural farming things, like once I visited a dairy farm in Georgia, then I visited a fish farm (again in Georgia), this time I visited an agricultural company in Latvia - meet Bandžēni farm.

Bandžēni farm in Courland

Greenhouse for seedlings

Greenhouse for tomatoes

Seedlings

Gazebo at farm

Now, that's for sure - a decent farm must have a decent gazebo

Gazebo at farm

..built on artificial island and connected to mainland by a lovely wooden bridge

Bandžēni farm

In a shor conersation I made with the owners of this farm I learnt they manages some 500 ha of land here, of whom around 200 ha are lakes (fish farming). I was and still I'm very much impressed of this place and I do wish all the best and a lot of success to the owners of Bandžēni farm.

Cafe Bordertauna Close to Saldus

29 July, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 19 seen

Cafe Bordertauna (Bordertown) is located in the Novadnieku parish in distance of some 3 km from Saldus city. I visited this place after a Kutaisi - Vilnius flight and then Vilnius - Mazeikai transfer. At time I visited cafe Bordertauna some local banquet were held on site and kitchen was closed, the only chance to get something was from salad bar.

Cafe Bordertauna

Cafe Bordertauna

Billboard is saying - tasty, fast dinner

Salads and a soup at Cafe Bordertauna

The Bottom Line

Pretty good place for hungry ones traveling by Mazekai - Saldus highway, you can always get something here.

David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport

28 July, 2015 | Airports | 61 seen

Kutaisi airport or David the Builder Kutaisi International airport is a major hub for entering (or leaving) Georgia for cheap. It's mainly served by low-cost airlines Wizzair and connects Kutaisi with Vilnius (Lithuania), Warsaw, Katowice (Poland), Budapest (Hungary) and some other airlines offering flight to - Kiev, Minsk, Moscow and I believe to Istanbul as well. 

Kutaisi airport, sometimes referred also as Kopitnari airport is actually not located in Kutaisi but in distance of some 20 km from Kutaisi, the best option to get to Kutaisi city from this airport is by taxi (such drive should cost some 20-30 lari / $9-$13/ EUR 8 - EUR 12) or you can catch a Batumi - Tbilisi marshrutka just opposite from the terminal on the highway, marshrukta should cost some 3-5 GEL to Kutaisi.

If you are planing to head either to Tbilisi or Batumi from Kutaisi airport - you can use Georgian bus services, price for Tbilisi ride, which is some 4 hours long will cost you some 20 Lari. Read: Georgian Bus - Great way to travel from Kutaisi to Batumi or Tbilisi

There are an ATM's inside Kutaisi airport terminal. 

As well you can buy a local Georgian SIM card (it's Beeline) inside the terminal building.

Kutaisi airport Terminal building

Passengers heading to terminal building

Parking lot at Kutaisi airport

I have used Kutaisi airport several times and had flight to Warsaw (and then JFK in United States) and Vilnius both routes served by Wizz Air.

Although Kutaisi might seem as cheap alternative I personally still prefer Tbilisi airport, well I'm living in Tbilisi, and I find those Tbilisi - Kutaisi transfers very exhausting. 

About David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport

Kutaisi Airport  also known as David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport is an airport located 14 km (8.7 mi) west of Kutaisi, the second largest city in Georgia and capital of the western region of Imereti. It is one of three international airports currently in operation in Georgia, along with Tbilisi International Airport serving the Georgian capital and Batumi International Airport near the Adjara Black Sea resort. The airport is operated by United Airports of Georgia, a state-owned company.

The airport was closed for renovation in November 2011. Its reopening ceremony was held on 27 September 2012. It was attended by President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán and Wizz Air CEOJózsef Váradi.

For preparation works for the commissioning of the airport and training of staff, the French company Vinci Airports was contracted. Some construction work around the airport continues. There are one duty-free shop and two coffee shops operating at the airport. The airport is currently connected to scheduled public transportation to Kutaisi, Tbilisi and Batumi after each arrival.The airport terminal is located next to the main road between Kutaisi and Batumi, so it is possible to transfer to those cities also by marshrutkas

The priority of the Kutaisi airport is to attract low tariff airlines and create a special environment between airlines and airports. It will be equipped with the highest quality navigation and weather systems. A significant growth in the number of passenger has been noted soon after the reopening of the airport in 2012, mainly due to Wizz Air operations linkingKutaisi with Polish and Ukrainian airports. For 2013 the operator reported 187,939 passengers.

Hotel Edemi Review in Kutaisi, Georgia

27 July, 2015 | Hotel reviews | 12 seen

Before arriving to Kutaisi I didn't search for any hotels online to book, just because of... it's Georgia. And in Georgia you can find a hotel once you are on site, and the best of all - I really like bargains, so...after we arrived at Kutaisi (we had a plane in next morning to Vilnius) and just left our Tbilisi - Kutaisi marshrutka opposite to McDonald's I was lucky enough I met a familiar taxi driver Nugzar.

In short I explained that I would love to get to the Kutaisi Old Town, and if he could recommend some reputable hotel for under 100GEL per night, that would be excellent. Nugzar suggested Hotel Edemi in the heart of Kutaisi Old Town, and here we were: meet hotel Edemi:

A TV set in Hotel Edemi

Well...it didn't worked actually

Beds at Hotel Edemi

They were clean at least

Façade of Hotel Edemi in Kutaisi

​

View to Bagrati Cathedral

a lively Brosse street next to hotel Edemi in Kutaisi

Although I wouldn't call hotel Edemi a very reputable hotel I would rather call it a budget hotel, I managed to make a bargain here, and I got that simple room for some 50 Lari ($22 / EUR 20), and since we stayed here just for one night, it was a pretty OK. 

About Hotel Edemi in Kutaisi

Located just opposite the Drama Theatre in Kutaisi historic centre, Edemi Hotel features free Wi-Fi and a 24-hour lounge bar. The UNESCO Heritage 11th-century Bagrati Cathedral is 15 minutes' walk away.

All the air-conditioned rooms at Edemi come with a flat-screen TV. A hairdryer is provided in the bathrooms.

You can enjoy Georgian cuisine in the on-site restaurant, and local wines are also offered at the lounge bar.

The 12th-century Gelati Monastery is 8 km from Edemi Hotel, and Kutaisi Bus and Train Stations are 1.5 km away providing access to Tbilisi City.

Book Edemi hotel on Booking.com

Tbilisi Central Railway Station

26 July, 2015 | Railway / Bus / Ferry | 71 seen

Tbilisi Central Railway Station is a major transport hub in Georgia, serving many domestic and two international routes: Yerevan (Armenia) and Baku (Azerbaijan)

Originally built in 1872, Tbilisi Railway station has undergone various architectural transformations, and currently serves as a combined railway station and shopping mall. The current station building looks like some grand Chinese pagoda made in concrete.

Tbilisi Central Railway station

Major rail lines from Tbilisi central station: Batumi ( with stops at Gori, Khashuri, Kutaisi, Zestaponi), Borjomi, Sadakhlo (Marneuli), Gardabani, Tbilisi airport, Nikozi (Gori), Zugdidi and Poti. For complete map network check out this Georgian railway map (very detailled) made by local expat enthusiast or see official Georgian Railways website (not very detailed).

Electronic timetables at Tbilisi railway station

Traveling in Georgia by railway is fun, and if you have some spare time - definitely try Georgian Railway.

Train from Batumi approaching in Tbilisi railway station

The first central station in Tbilisi was built in 1872, with trains to the black sea port of Poti. In the 1940 the building was demolished and replaced with a building in the style of the Stalinist architecture. In the early 1980s the 1940s building was demolished and replaced by a building in the style of the Brutalist architecture. The architects Bairamashvili, Kavlashvili, G. Shavdia and Jibladze won a State Prize for their work in 1992. In 2010 the station was rehabilitated and transformed into a combined railway station and shopping mall. The transformation was designed by Zwarts & Jansma architects.

Riga International Coach Terminal

25 July, 2015 | Railway / Bus / Ferry | 27 seen

Riga international coach terminal or bus station is a major traffic hub in Latvia and Baltics. I last time visited this place and used Riga - Vilnius coach transfer and then departed from Vilnius to Kutaisi. This coach terminal is situated in the heart of city, close to the Old Riga and Riga Central Market. In fact I was surprsided to learn that here you can make really interesting landscapes. 

Riga International Coach Terminal

View to St. Peters Church in Old Riga

Iron Bridge, National Library of Latvia and coach terminal

Very interesting perspective

View to the Riga Central Market

About Riga International Coach Terminal

The coach terminal has been built and put into the service in 1964. The initial project of the coach terminal complex has been developed in the former design institute “Latgiprogo-stroj” (“Латгипрогострой”) from 1960 to 1962.

Since Latvian independence it was necessary to make activities of the Riga coach terminal more appropriate to the capital city status, providing services not only for local and regional but also for international bus lines.

By 1997 the building belonged to the national bus company “Nordeka”. On September 11, 1997 the Latvian Privatization Agency (LPA) made a decision to restructure Riga coach terminal and its buildings into a privatized public joint-stock company “Riga International Coach terminal”.

On 2000 coach terminal privatization was completed transforming it to a public limited company. The location of coach terminal is in the historic and economic center next to the Central Market near the railway embankment.

At present Riga International Coach Terminal is one of the most important transportation hubs in the country. It was registered in the Coach terminal register of Ministry of Transport and its core business is the provision of services to passengers and overland passenger transportation companies. Coach terminal relationship with passenger carriers is governed by mutual agreements based on the laws of Republic of Latvia, terms of the Cabinet of Ministers and other state institution legislation.

The Board of the Riga International Coach terminal operates in accordance with statutes and decisions of the shareholders. According to the concept of the development of coach terminal, the Board’s mission is to create Riga International Coach Terminal as a modern passenger transfer and complex services point in the European passenger transport network.

Dali Cafe & Art in Riga

24 July, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 35 seen

Dali Cafe & Art is located in Spikeri quarter in Riga, I visited this place at night before leaving Riga (right next on the corner from this place is Riga bus station) and headed to Tbilisi (a long way, via Vilnius and Kutaisi). The night I visited Dali Cafe was the Eurovision song festival night, and folks gathered here of watching it.

Dali Cafe in Riga

Located in one of the brick houses of Spikeri quarter

Interior at Dali Cafe

Menu at Dali Cafe

We order some coffee and a beer and in total paid some EUR 10.00 - a little bit above average to Riga prices, but pretty ok

Paintings at Dali Cafe & Art

You wont find here as much from Salvador Dali, as you could find in Figueres, Spain, but at least some reproductions of great authors works were represented here.

About Dali Cafe & Art

Café Dali is an arthouse Coffeeshop, situated in the heart of the creative district Spikeri, Riga.

Coffee is more than just a drink. We believe it will only take one cup to completely change your perception of coffee. Specialty coffees are high quality beans grown in ideal climates, and are distinctive for their full cup taste and little to no defects. Each coffee’s unique scent and flavor is as a result of the special characteristics and composition of the soils in which they are grown.

At Café Dali, we are giving you a place where you will discover the most important person – yourself. And we will do everything possible for your meeting to become a life changing experience.

Spikeri Quarter and Promenade in Riga

23 July, 2015 | Tourism objects | 31 seen

Spikeri quarter and promenade is recently renovated neighborhood in Riga and it has all chances to become a very popular tourist spot in Riga. This place is closely located to Riga Central market (I will write about in anytime soon), Riga International Bus station, Railway station and of course Old Riga.

I visited this place for a very short time prior to waiting a bus to Vilnius (Lithuania) and then heading to Kutaisi (Georgia) at the end of May, 2015

Spikeri Quarter in Riga

This quarter is one of the city’s epicentres of events and cultural festivals like White Nights, Staro Riga, Riga City Festival. 

Spikeri Quarter in Riga

Promenade at Spikeri quarter

A very lovely view to that Soviet time skyscraper.

Georgian Restaurant in Riga, Spikeri quarter

It was easy for me to recognize this Pirosmani painting. Unfortunately I didn't tried this restaurant, but no regrets about that - best Georgian cuisine is available in Georgia. Read: Tbilisi restaurant reviews

Spikeri Quarter promenade

View to Riga Central Market

Sikeri concert hall

​Turns out - there is a concert hall in Spikeri quarter as well, at least that's written on this brick wall

The Iron Bridge and National Library of Latvia

...and of course river Daugava - a lovely view from Spikeri quarter to Riga

About Spikeri Quarter

Spikeri Quarter is a complex of buildings between Maskavas, Turgeņeva and  Krasta streets.Renovated Spikeri promenade extends between the old Railway bridge to the Island bridge support.

Mayor of Riga Nil Ushakov and Urban development dommittee dhairman Vadim Jerošenko launched in 2012 Spīķeru Quarter and Daugava embankment reconstruction.

Works were carried out within the project “Maskavas, Krasta and Turgeņeva street block of brownfield redevelopment”. Its purpose was to provide a brownfield block between Maskavas, Krasta and Turgeņeva street, as well as a 1.3 km long waterfront revitalization stage, turning it into the population and tourists publicly accessible cultural, educational and recreational space.

By April 2013, the realized works: temporary building and site degrading fences demolition, plot of land, paved sidewalks and bicycle lanes, built fences, benches, litter bins and lighting installed, renovated pedestrian tunnel and the tunnel stairs, equipped with elevation, a safe and convenient access to the Daugava waterfront. In addition to the pedestrian promenade and bike lanes established active skaters sitting area etc.

Dzintari Concert Hall

22 July, 2015 | Entertainment | 17 seen

Dzintari concert hall is popular throughout Latvia as a place where concerts and other events are held, where outstanding artists have been performing for almost for 70 summers now.

I discovered this place by accident during my cycling Jūrmala ride. I stopped my vehicle in front of this place just to rest and decided to photograph this venue site as well.

Here is what I got:

Water fountain in front of Dzintari Concert Hall

Entrance gates at Dzintari Concert Hall

Dzintari concert hall

I really enjoy its wooden architecture

Cultural monument - Dzintari concert hall

According to the inscription on the plate - in this building back in 1986 happened a USSR - USA delegate meeting - Chautauqua at Jurmala: Since I had no clue what that actually means I found following. An excerpt from When Stars and Stripes Met Hammer and Sickle: The Chautauqua Conferences on US-Soviet Relations, 1985–1989

​..The second meeting, in Jurmala near Riga, Latvia, was put in jeopardy twice: first when the Soviet State Security Committee (KGB) arrested a U.S. journalist, Nicholas Daniloff, and later when the American Latvian Association protested the meeting out of concern that official U.S. participation would imply acceptance of the illegal Soviet incorporation of Latvia into the USSR during World War II. But as it turned out, the Latvian nationalist cause was helped rather than harmed by the meeting. Local Latvians, bolstered by the support of their kin in the U.S. delegation, turned the event to their advantage. The Americans criticized the restrictive attendance policy of the Soviet hosts and convinced them to open up the events to ordinary Latvian citizens. Latvian-speaking Americans passed out lapel pins with U.S. and Latvian flags, the latter of which had been banned by the Soviet authorities since 1940. The 1987 conference at Chautauqua received wide media coverage in the United States and helped expose Americans to the changes under way in the Soviet Union...

Poster at Dzintari Concert Hall

Promoting famous Latvian composer Raimonds Pauls and vocal group FRAMEST

About Dzintari Concert Hall

The concert hall was built in 1936. Famous Latvian artists and international stars such as José Carreras, M. Caballe, Y. Obraztsova, F. Chaliapin, L. Sobinov, F. Stravinsky, I. Glazunov, piano players G. Ginzburg, H. Neuhaus, S. Richter, violinists I. Bezrodny, L.Kogan, D.Oistrakh, as well as R. Pauls, I. Galante, P. Kaas C. Dulpher, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Bremen Symphony Orchestra, Kremerata Baltika have also performed here.

In 2004 – 2006 the Dzintari concert hall was reconstructed, at this time the park surrounding Dzintari concert hall was enlarged and landscaped, the stage and the auditorium were reconstructed and the amenities of the territory were improved.

Annual festivals of jazz and classical music, the international humor festival “Jūrmala 2009”, the show of the club for merry and witty ones"Singing KiViNs", the magnificent festival of ballet stars “Ballet Stars in Jūrmala”, the young performers’ contest “The New Wave” and the international festival of classical music “Summertime” have become traditional.

Every season the audience can enjoy approximately 100 concerts! The concert program is created to suit all tastes and all age groups, representing all genres – from folklore and classical music to rock and pop.

Cycling in Jūrmala (Bicycle Tourism)

21 July, 2015 | Outdoor Activities | 11 seen

Welcome to another cycling series post - this time about cycling in Latvian beach resort city Jūrmala. Actually it has been a while when I last time sat on my bicycle back in Tbilisi, Georgia.

We headed to Jūrmala city just shortly after the 3rd Eastern Partnership Business forum which was held in Riga. We stayed overnight at the lovely hotel Dzintars in Jūrmala and got a free bike rental at our hotel. 

Bicycles we used back there in Jūrmala were more some hipster style (not professional) but it was a fun. I didn't used any tracking devices to track my route, but instead I made some great pictures of Joma street, white sand beaches and a stage of beach volleyball.

Sculpture "Rose of Turaida": Sculptor : Valtis Barkans

A very interesting sculpture in Jūrmala

Jomas street in Jūrmala

Jomas street in Jūrmala

Cycling in Jūrmala - a hipster bicycle 

Tried my best to capture this photo

White sand beach in Jūrmala

Beach Volleyball stage in Jūrmala

Beach Volleyball

Jūrmala beach, a safety  boat

This was a short (max 1.5H) leisure ride in Jūrmala, beautiful views, a lot of sand. Definitely try a ride once in Jūrmala!

About Jūrmala

Jūrmala  is a city in Latvia, about 25 kilometres (16 miles) west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching 32 km (20 miles) and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River. It has a 33 km (21 miles) stretch of white-sand beach, and a population of 55,580, making it the fifth largest city in Latvia.

Visitors can access Jūrmala from Riga by suburban rail (30 min) or along the highway by car (20 min). Since 2008 Jūrmala and Riga airport have been connected by a bus service. Visitors with private vehicles must pay 2 euro for each day spent in Jūrmala.

Average Salary In European Union 2015

20 July, 2015 | Macroeconomics | 298 seen

My previous post about average salary in European Union for 2014 generated some buzz on social networks (Facebook, Reddit, Twitter) and on other websites, in total it has generated more than 15,000 page views.

I decided to compare how does average salary have changed a year later.

Update: Average Salary in European Union 2018

And I found following; Average median salary has decreased for about -1.3% in European Union in 2015, resulting in EUR 1470 / USD 1631 down from EUR 1489 / USD 1861 in 2014.

The average salary in European Union 2015

Data source: List of European countries by average wage

This is a list of countries containing monthly (annual divided by 12 months) net income (after taxes) average wages in Europe in USD currency and in Euro. Currency exchange rates for 2014 are set to 1 EUR = 1.25 USD, while for the 2015 1 EUR = 1.11 USD (as of July 2, 2015). The table above reflects the average (mean) wage as reported by various data providers. In less developed markets, actual incomes may exceed those listed in the table due to the existence of grey economies.

About average salaries in European Union member countries

While the median average wage in EU is about EUR 1470 / USD 1631 all countries are not equal, so, for example, the largest average salary has been registered in Luxembourg (EUR 3,149) while the lowest in Bulgaria (EUR 356).

According to the table above the largest growth for average salaries have been in Hungary (+21.77%), Greece (18.52%) and Czech Republic (8.36%) - speaking of Hungary and Czech Republic I believe the growth is affected by their national currency exchange rates to Euro, while speaking for Greece - either there is some update on how average salaries are calculated in Greece (probably in my table for 2014 - average wage for Greece was calculated for 14 months instead of 12, either... either ... well taking into account last events on troubled Greece's economy... leave me your suggestion in comments.

There were countries experiencing a huge dip for their average salaries: Denmark (-35.32%), Cyprus (-16.45%) and United Kingdom (-15.26%) - again speaking about Denmark and United Kingdom I can explain this drop with their national currency exchange rates to EUR. Speaking of Cyprus:

The 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis, part of the wider European debt crisis, has dominated the country's economic affairs in recent times.

Map

The average salary in European Union

Blog Monthly Online Income Report - June 2015 - $602.96

19 July, 2015 | Blogging | 7 seen

Welcome to the 18th online income report. In this post I will speak about earnings I have made in month of June solely with my blog (www.reinisfischer.com). I like to call this phenomena - a smart passive online income. 

In case you are wondering why should someone publish online his/her earnings - the answer is pretty simple - I like transparency and these reports help me to observe my progress or bounces. Hopefully they can inspire you as well.

Total numbers:

In June I earned in total $662.96 what is an increase for 52.90% if compared to previous month (May) when I earned in total $433.59. I really enjoy to compare my earnings to average and minimum wages across the globe. And so in June my earnings qualifies for a pretty solid minimum wage in Portugal, and gives me pretty average salary in Lithuania. 

My daily earnings last month: $22.10

When looking on these numbers I'm always thinking of a great documentary film - Overpopulated - In this documentary is shown a beautiful story about African family living with less than $1 day and dreaming to buy a bicycle. And how bicycle literally drives them out of extreme poverty.

About blog traffic:

June did setup a new traffic record, and in total my precious blog attracted 22,569 users. I'm really looking to break a 1,000 user milestone per day in next upcoming months.

Blog Traffic Report June 2015 Source: Google Analytics

Read more about June statistics: Blog Traffic Report - June 2015 - 22,569 Users

Income streams

In June in total I had 5 income streams that generated some income and one income stream (Linode) reported pending earnings.

I prefer to divide my income streams into a Display Ads and Affiliate programs:

Display Ads:

• Google Adsense: $31.43
• Amazon CPM: $4.76
• Sovrn: $0.64

Now June was the absolute best in terms for earnings from Google Adsense, earnings here for the first time in my blogger carrier cracked $30.00 milestone. Actually it's funny, but I still haven't reached my first Google Adsense goal to earn $40.00 per month to cover my hosting expenses, i did setup such goal more than a year ago. Read more: Setting my first Google Adsense goal.

Sovrn is a newcomer to my income streams - though $0.64 earned here seems a little bit pathetic result, I will leave Sovrn ads on my blog for some next months, to see can things improve here as well.

Affiliate programs:

• Amazon associates: $603.38
• Booking.com: $21.20

Amazon associates for many months in row is my best performing channel. Speaking of Booking.com, although it might seem as a newcomer to my earnings list, in fact it's not. I have been tried to promote Booking.com for some 3 years already (about for a year on this blog) and just now I can see first results. I do admit booking.com is a damned hard affiliate program for blogers (at least for me) - but I'm glad I managed to earn finally some money out of it this month.

Expenses:

• Linode VPS: $62.50

I'm proudly hosting my blog with Linode VPS and yes I'm spending more than $60.00 per month just to power my blog. Well actually I do some Drupal development on those Linodes as well.

June 2015 vs June 2014

This is the part I like the most in online income reports - comparisons how did it go a year ago. A year ago I earned $10.25 per month, I was so proud of myself back then. Now if compared June 2015 vs June 2014, last month I earned almost 65 times more. It's an awesome year on year growth.

Plans, Goals and Forecast for July

As usual I will end my report with goal and forecast sections. I'm looking to reach $500 milestone this month. Simple, it's a summer season and I believe I won't reach more. Anything above $500 next month will be a great achievement.

I do have some plans for this month also - recently I became an affiliate partner for Bluehost hosting and I have already started to do some Bluehost promotion, I don't have yet any goals or forecasts for earnings there, but I have a plan to create 4 articles reviewing Bluehost hosting this month.

Please find first two completed reviews of Bluehost services:

• Bluehost VS Linode - Which VPS Hosting To Choose
• Cheap Drupal Hosting - Starting $3.95/mo - Bluehost

How To Setup CKEDITOR For Drupal Website

18 July, 2015 | Drupal Development | 38 seen

In this tutorial you will learn how to setup a CKEditor for your Drupal website + how to enable a few very neat modules - like IMCE for Image upload, Spell checker and Word count.

Since the beginning (almost since) I created my blog (www.reinisfischer.com) I have been using TinyMCE text editor for creating and editing blog posts. But lately I have found that CKEditor might be somehow a bit better text editor for my blog. I'm not against TinyMCE, just CKEDITOR seems a bit better text editor.

What is CKEditor?

CKEditor is the far superior successor of FCKeditor. The editor has been rebranded and completely rewritten. It is now much faster (the code has been optimized), loads faster (the number of files has been reduced, so the browser will perform less HTTP requests) and developers friendly.

Why I like CKEditor?

I like it for it's many out of box features, you don't need to install a single additional library, just download CKEditor module, enable it, and fine tune it a little bit. All libraries are loaded from CDN.

The simplest way to have the editor running is to use CDN, to use it set: //cdn.ckeditor.com/4.4.3/full-all

How to install CKEditor for Drupal website

• Download and install CKEditor to Drupal sites/all/modules folder and enable it from module page
• Create a new text format (admin/config/content/formats/add) for example: CKEDITOR, assign it to authenticated user roles

Visit admin/config/content/ckeditor and under Profiles choose either Advanced or Full tab and enable CKEditor for text format you just created:

CKEDITOR PROFILES

Expand Basic Setup tab and check your text format

Ckeditor basic setup

Congratulations you have just enabled CKEditor text format for your Drupal website, next create new post, and change display to CKEDITOR text format

Switch to CKEDITOR text format

CKEditor WYSIWYG text editor

Optional - Enable IMCE to insert images into CKEditor text editor

If you are planing to insert images in your posts  - you should install IMCE module and under File Browser settings tab (admin/config/content/ckeditor/edit/Full) change File Browser type for Image Dialog Window to IMCE

CKEditor IMCE

Optional - Enable Spell checker for CKEditor text editor

Another neat feature you might want to enable is spell checker. Under Advanced Options tab (admin/config/content/ckeditor/edit/Full) check Yes under Spell checker

CKEditor spell checker 

Optional  - Display Word Count for CKEditor text editor

This is the feature I really enjoy - since I believe that the length of the post affects how Google ranks the post (the longer the better) - I'm always trying to write at least 500 word long posts (Read more: Writing minimum 500 words per day)

Under Editor Appearance tab (admin/config/content/ckeditor/edit/Full) scroll down to the Plugins section and enable Plugin to count symbols, symbols without blanks and words 

CKEditor count plugin

The Bottom Line

CKEditor text editor is a fantastic Drupal extension for your website. 

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Georgia Expat Photography Club

17 July, 2015 | Living in Georgia | 15 seen

Recently Johann contacted me with his idea to create a photography travel club in Georgia. Since I have been into a photography for the first day I got my first personal digital camera (it's some 6 years probably) - and for the last 4 years I have been living in amazing, very rich of spectacular views, country of Georgia which I have traveled around a lot (See my Georgia travels map) - I was just eager to promote his idea, to make a fun and entertaining community, fuelled with beautiful pictures of Georgia.

The Bridge of Peace in Tbilisi, photo by Johann Kritzinger

I quickly come up with the idea to create a community on Facebook and made my offer for naming such organization - Georgia Expat Photography Club. We invited a few of our friends (both expats and photographers) and ... first step accomplished.

What's next for Georgia's Expats Photographer Club?

Johann has some wonderful ideas to do next - like to make some city (Tbilisi) photographing tours - everyone is welcome to join. We are planing to do some longer trips (perhaps with overnight stay)  - one of the closest destinations we are looking to head is Tusheti. Personally I have never been there and would love both to visit and photograph that place. Speaking of me - I would love to make a Svaneti photograph trip to happen. One of our next goals is to buy a drone for making rich aerial photos of Georgia.

Georgia Expat's Photographer Club is noncommercial community aimed for expats living in Georgia and sharing their love for photography, thus everyone is welcome to join.

What should I do now?

If you are interested in photography, live in Georgia -  you can start following Georgia Expat Photographer Club Facebook page, to stay connected, you are kindly asked to leave your recommendations and suggestions for this community.

I will keep you updated