Blog Archive: August 2015
Brighton Beach - Russian Speaking Neighbourhood in Brooklyn
| Travel guides | 45 seen
From my travel notes to the United States back in 2013. With little photo editing in 2020.
Last time I visited Brighton Beach back in the Summer of 2013 and I even stayed overnight here at some Russian owned apartments. Well actually that's the main reason we headed here - it was already late evening and we were sitting at Starbucks next to Central Park waiting for a host we had previously spoken on coachsurfing, but since the host was not responding anymore we decided to catch the last subway and go to the Russians.
Quickly we were in Brighton Beach, we headed to some Russian store and asked where could we get some cheap accommodation here and soon we were rewarded with lovely apartments somewhere in Brighton Beach. We paid some $140 for a two-night stay here and got a large room, shared kitchen and shared bathroom. No questions asked - who are we, where are we from and where are we heading to - God I just love such attitude.
Here are just a few reasons I love Brighton beach - you can get Riga Black Balsam here (At Tatiana's Grill Bar on the Boulevard), you can say a Gamarjoba to Georgian who is working at Tatiana's Grill Bar and they have a lovely white sand beaches here, and yes you can try speaking Russian here.
Russian TV channels in Brighton Beach
We got an apartment in Brighton Beach from a Russian guy (Mark, if I remember correctly) for some $70 per night
Author of this blog captured in Brighton Beach
What can be better than drinking milk on the street in Brighton Beach? Right - drinking vodka!
Boulevard in Brighton Beach
White sand beach in Brighton Beach
Riga Black Balsam and Georgia on my mind
Bar attainder at Tatiana's Grill Bar noticed flag on my cap and said to me - Gamarjoba (Hello, in Georgian) it seemed he was surprised to learn that we are expats in Georgia, and we got Riga Black Balsam here.
Brighton Beach's Subway station
It connects you straight with Manhattan, and I believe that's just one another great reason to visit Brighton Beach. Also there used to be Baba Roza selling smuggled cigarettes from Europe. lol
About Brighton Beach
Brighton Beach is an ocean side neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, along the Coney Island peninsula.
For a very long time, until the end of the 20th century, the area was not considered prestigious. There were dirty streets, high crime rates, and many illegal immigrants. During the summer, though, people from all around the city went to Brighton Beach's beach next to the Atlantic Ocean.
The collapse of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent significant changes in the social and economic circumstances of post-Soviet states, caused thousands of former Soviet citizens to immigrate to the United States. Many of these Soviet immigrants came to Brighton Beach during the late 1980s and '90s. Brighton Beach had a heavy influx of emigrants due to low housing prices. The new residents spoke mainly Russian, so a large number of firms, shops, restaurants, clubs, offices, banks, schools and children's play centers speak Russian and are intended mainly for Russian-speaking clients.
Bordentown - Home For Funerals
| Travel guides | 16 seen
With this post I'm starting my latest United States travel notes I made back in the Summer of 2013. It has been a while already, but today overlooking some old photos I did find some epic pictures from the United States, and I will start with a quiet and a bit strange small town in New Jersey - Bordentown. Why I'm calling this place a little bit strange? As we learned later - Bordentown is home for Funerals.
If I remember correctly we arrived here from New York's Penn Station by train, actually yes we bought tickets to Trenton (New Jersey), and then in Trenton, we booked a motel in some 10 miles radius, and it turned out to be located in Bordentown. And also turned out that you can reach Bordentown by another smaller train from Trenton, and here we were - a home for funerals. Did we know that prior? Nope, we even didn't know of the existence of such a place.
Few reasons why some (perhaps you) will love Bordentown: They have a great Crabs House - Chickie's and Pete's, a lot of interesting porch's and of course that strange feeling that you have visited a home for funerals. If you are into history you will enjoy the fact that in Bordentown lived the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte - Joseph Bonaparte.
Welcome to the Bordentown:
Trenton Train Station
Author of This Blog Captured in Bordentown
An American Cat
And tell me he/she is not!
Bordentown Home for Funerals
Bordentown Home for Funerals
City name on the barrel
Pretty stadard American style
Cemetery in BordentownEconolodge motel in Bordentown
Our motel was located close to this place, actually in a distance of some 2 miles from the center of Bordentown, next to the highway
Porch's in Bordentown
Farm in Bordentown
Pretty standard American landscape
Chickies & Petes Crab House
Our favorite dining place in Bordentown, again located close to our motel.
About Chickies & Petes Crab house - in 1977, Peter and Henrietta Ciarrocchi bought the Robbins Avenue taproom in the Mayfair neighborhood of Philadelphia. Young Pete followed his parents’ example and served the regulars with a smile. He was and still is a friend to all. Growing up Pete ran with both jocks and rockers. He could change minds, influence peers, and even reinvent taste. In 1987 Pete made sure his parents’ legacy lived on. Pete became the face of Chickie’s & Pete’s with the help of his brother, Tom. His charisma, dynamic personality, and great food were enough to bring in the crowds on Sunday to celebrate, jeer, and be Philadelphia. Pete understood the pulse of the city: food, sports, and people.
Porch in Bordentown
Flowers in the barrel
We met a lot of interesting lawns in Bordentown
Dwelling house in BordentownWomen's Heritage Trail in Bordentown
Street in Bordentown
Memorial in Bordentown
Railway station in Bordentown
From here we headed to Philadelphia, but that's another blog post.
About Bordentown
Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 3,924.
Bordentown is located at the confluence of the Delaware River, Blacks Creek and Crosswicks Creek. The latter is the border between Burlington and Mercer Counties. Bordentown is 5.8 miles (9.3 km) southeast from Trenton and 25.3 miles (40.7 km) northeast of Philadelphia.
Several years after the banishing of his family from France in 1816, arriving under vigilant disguise as the Count de Survilliers, Joseph Bonaparte, former King of Naples and Spain and brother to Napoleon I of France, established his residence in Bordentown. He lived there for 17 years, entertaining guests of great fame such as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and the future 6th U.S. President, John Quincy Adams. The residents of Bordentown nicknamed the Count, "The Good Mr. Bonaparte" (Good to distinguish him from his younger brother). He built a lake near the mouth of Crosswicks Creek that was about 200 yards wide and half a mile long. On the bluff above it he built a new home, "Point Breeze". The current Divine Word Mission occupies its former site along Park Street.
Cafe Pīlādzītis in Kuldīga
| Restaurant reviews | 18 seen
Cafe Pīlādzītis is located in Kuldīga, on picturesque place with great views both to Venta waterfall and Old Brick bridge. This place offers a typical Latvian cuisine. For a complete list of my Kuldiga restaurant reviews see: Kuldīga restaurants
Old Brick bridge near Cafe Pilādzītis
Cafe Pīlādzītis in Kuldīga
Cold soup at cafe Pīlādzītis
French fries and pork chop
Area near cafe Pīlādzītis
The Bottom Line
Cafe Pīlādzītis in Kuldīga is a budget friendly place which offers tasty meal - best enjoyed in mild summer nights with great views of Venta waterfall and Old Brick bridge