Blog Archive: June 2017
Postcards from Istanbul
Istanbul has been on my travel radar since 2009, when I first visited it during a layover flight to Telaviv, Israel. Since then I've traveled countless times to and back from Istanbul. So did happened during our latest trip Riga - Istanbul - Tbilisi, we booked a lovely hotel Dosso Dossi in Sultanahmet district and spend one night in Istanbul, trying out local street food and visiting most iconic sites in Istanbul.Street food in IstanbulFilled potatoes. YummyMinarets of the Blue Mosque in IstanbulRead more here: Sultan Ahmed MosqueBlue Mosque
Istanbul Atatürk Airport
Istanbul Atatürk Airport is the main international airport serving Istanbul, and the biggest airport in Turkey by total number of passengers, destinations served and aircraft movements. Opened in 1924 in Yeşilköy, on the European side of the city, it is located 24 km (15 mi) west of the city centre and serves as the main hub for Turkish Airlines.The city's other, smaller, international airport is Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. As of 2017, 273 destinations are served from Istanbul-Atatürk, making it the airport with the second-most destinations worldwide after Frankfurt Airport.I've visited Istanbul Ataturk airport several…
Dosso Dossi Istanbul Old City Hotel
We booked this 4-star hotel in Sultanahmet district, Istanbul for a one night stay during a layover flight Riga - Istanbul - Tbilisi at the end of May 2017. We paid about EUR 50 for one night stay at this hotelLocated in Sultanahmet district, Dosso Dossi Hotels Old City is within a walking distance from historical sites such as Hagia Sophia Museum, Basilica Cistern and the Blue Mosque. Sultanahmet Tram Station is just a 4-minute walk from Dosso Dossi. The property offers facilities including a Turkish bath, a sauna, and a fitness centre. The rooms of the hotel are equipped with soundproofing. 24-hour front desk, concierge service and free WiFi is also available throughout.Dosso Dossi…
Grand Bazaar, Istanbul
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among world's most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazar at Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world.During my latest trip to Istanbul, which was actually a layover flight connecting to Tbilisi, I stayed for a one noght in Sultan Ahmet district and decided to photograph some cool sites in Istanbul, unfortunately during my trip to…
Sultan Ahmed Mosque
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a historic mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A popular tourist site, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque continues to function as a mosque today; men still kneel in prayer on the mosque's lush red carpet after the call to prayer.The Blue Mosque, as it is popularly known, was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed's tomb, a madrasah and a hospice. Hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s interior walls, and at night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights frame the mosque’s five main domes, six minarets and eight secondary domes. It sits next to the Hagia…
Summer Solstice 2017
This is already fourth Summer Solstice featured on this blog. see how three years ago we made a barbeque on our Tbilisi's balcony and how we celebrated our first Summer Solstice in our newly inherited house two years ago. Also compare how did it go last year. This year we celebrated Summer Solstice already for the third time at our rural country house, see home remodeling. This year it was just us two and cats. Nothing fancy.Improvised DJ Remote control and some snacks FireplaceGolden hour sunrise during Summer Solstice 2017
Abava Rumba Waterfall
Abava Rumba is the second widest waterfall in Latvia (after Venta Rumba) ,up to 1 m high and 35 m wide.I had a chance to visit it and spend some hour in lovely photography session at the end of May 2017, just after our Germany trip in the Mossel Valley. There is a camping area located just next to the rapid. Abava Rumba in LatviaI find such places tranquil and quite inspiring for my photography. Hiking trek near Abava RumbaAs an active outdoors fan I could resist to go deep in the "jungle"Camping area near Abava Rumba
Postcards from Germany
Welcome to another Piece of Life postcards from series. In today's article - Germany. We traveled to Germany for about 3 days at the end of May 2017. I was not at all in photography this time, but still managed to capture some cool sceneries.Sunset in Gudenberg, GermanyOne of rare HDR's I made during this trip. Folks interested in such an interesting architecture, make sure you plan your travels to the region of Hesse in Germany,Porta Nigra in TrierMy first trip to this place happened back in 2005 and it was nice to rediscover this place again in 2017. See more: Porta Nigra in TrierBurg Eltz in GermanyCochem CastleThe Mossel Valley near Cochem in Germany
Hotel Monopol in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
This 3-star hotel offers comfortable accommodation in Gelsenkirchen's northern Buer district. It is 3 km from the Veltins Arena and 1 km from Gelsenkirchen-Buer Nord train station. Hotel Monopol was our last accommodations while in Germany for a short few day trip, unfortunately I was not in the photography mood and didn't made much photos in the past days and almost forgot to photograph this hotel. In fact I captured just the entrance doors for this place. Hotel MonopolThe tastefully furnished rooms at the Hotel Monopol are all equipped with cable TV and a safe. Wi-Fi is also available.A full breakfast buffet is served each morning at Hotel Monopol. There are several restaurants…
Haus Daniela Superior Apartment in Cochem, Germany
I now have pretty ambivalent feelings regarding booking apartments instead of hotel rooms. Despite my feelings, Haus Daniela was a really nice stay in Cochem. For this spacious apartment we paid about EUR 200 for a one night stay, but it featured 3 bedrooms, a huge outdoor terrace with an electrical grill and very well equipped kitchen.Offering free WiFi and a sun terrace, Haus Daniela Superior is set in Cochem. Cochem Castle is 400 m away. Free private parking is available on site.Haus Daniela apartment in Cochem You can play table tennis at the property, and the area is popular for cycling and fishing. The nearest airport is Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, 23 km from Haus Daniela Superior.…
Cochem Imperial castle
The contours of the neo-gothic building rise more than about 330 ft above the river Moselle on an outstanding hill. The silhouette of the towering hill seems to continue in the building which is topped by the slate roof of the massive keep. As for its structure, Cochem Castle belongs to the category of castles protected by height that had to be protected all around. Romanesque fragments found in the well indicate a reinforcement of the castle around 1056.For the sake of this article, I must admit - I didn't visited castle itself, because I found more interesting to photograph such huge objects from distance. So did I do - photographed from different angles. Cochem Castle in…
Eltz Castle
Eltz Castle (German: Burg Eltz) is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family (the Eltz family) that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. Bürresheim Castle (Schloss Bürresheim), Eltz Castle and Lissingen Castle are the only castles on the left bank of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate which have never been destroyed.I paid here a brief visit in May 2017, during a few day trip around Germany.The castle is surrounded on three sides by the Elzbach River, a tributary …
Monastery of Maria Engelport
The monastery of Maria Engelport (Kloster Maria Engelport) is located on the edge of the Hunsrück in the Flaumbach Valley near Treis-Karden, Germany. We made here a briefly stop while traveling by car around these parts of Germany, it was overcast day, I was not in the mood for photography, just made some quick shots.Kloster Maria EngelportThe following written is a rough translation from German using automatic Google translate:The monastery was founded around 1220 by the knight Emelrich of Monreal and settled by Cistercians from the monastery Kumbd. Due to lack of economic support from the founding family, the monastery was…
Planing a trip to Greece: How to get a Prepaid SIM Card with Internet
I traveled to Greece for about 2 weeks in June 2017, our final destination was island of Crete. One of the reasons I was looking for prepaid sim card in Greece is simple - for navigation (Google maps helps a lot).
From my previous experience with dealing with different sim cards in multiple European countries I already knew, it shouldn't be a problem to get one in Greece.
Planing a Trip to Spain: How to Get a Prepaid SIM Card in Spain
I planned to purchase whatever operators SIm card with broad coverage at Athens airport. Unfortunately when there I forgot to do that, and bought one after a couple of hours near Acropolis metro station from a guy selling Vodafone Sim Cards (just for…
Porta Nigra in Trier
The Porta Nigra (Latin for black gate) is a large Roman city gate in Trier, Germany. It is today the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site.I first visited Trier and in particular Porta Nigra back in 2005, when arrived here from neighboring Luxembourg. My latest trip to the Porta Nigra was in May 2017, during a few day trip in Germany.The Porta Nigra in Trier GermanyThe name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has…
Peter's Market in Liepaja
Peter's market is centrally located on Kuršu street in Liepāja, Latvia. There are more than 200 sales outlets. It's the largest market in Liepaja and second largest in Latvia (after Riga Central market). Make sure to visit Peter's market once in Liepāja. Although not so impressive than those in Philadelphia, Barcelona or Riga, it's still quite interesting place. I believe over the time Peter's market has potential to become one of the most visited tourism attractions in Liepāja.Peter's market in LiepājaWe come here to buy some plants for our rural country house. Lovely selection of many flowers.Liepāja Peter's market
Sunset hotel in Jurmala
I now have a great selection of Jurmala hotels, in todays article the latest addition - Hotel Sunset on Pilsonu street in Jurmala. When traveling to or from Riga and looking for a cheap stay I prefer Jurmala (as it's close to Riga) or some suburbs in Riga. Although some might think Jurmala is an expensive city in fact - it's not. For a decent hotel room in Jurmala you could easly find value deals for about EUR 40. That's how we booked Sunset Hotel in Jurmala.Hotel Sunset in JurmalaThere is a signboard saying - For Sale. If you are looking for investments in the Baltics, might be an interesting option.This property is 4 minutes walk from the beach. Only a 2-minute walk from the…
Drupal 8 Minor upgrade using Putty SSH Terminal
In this article I'll shed some light on how easy it is to perform a minor Drupal 8 upgrade between versions using free Putty SSH terminal and just a few lines of code.
I assume your Drupal is configured under a VPS (take Linode, for example) and your installation path is /srv/www/
See: How to upgrade Drupal 6 to Drupal 7 - Process , Upgrading Drupal 7 (minor upgrade)
Drupal security updates
By accessing available updates page (admin/reports/updates/update) we can easy update modules by just clicking update button, but if you are asked to update Drupal version a manual operation is asked
Update Drupal 8 core
Now, open Putty, enter your username and password…
Apartment Alte Pfarre in Gudensberg, Germany
Alte Pfarre Gudensberg offers pet-friendly accommodation in a historical timbered house in Gudensberg, 17 km from Kassel and 42 km from Bad Hersfeld. The unit is 18 km from Bad Wildungen. Free private parking is available on site.After a visit to this place we have agreed, let's include such apartments in our future travel plans instead of just simple hotel rooms. Stay at apartments gives much better local touch. We booked Alte Pfarre Gudensberg on May 17, 2017 for a one night stay and it turned out that we were first visitors this year and as a gift we got a bottle of champagne. Lovely. Our booking price was just EUR 85. And let me call this place one of the…
May 2017 Dividend Income Report - $65.45
There are two financial goals I'm looking to achieve. The short term goal is to earn from dividend paying stocks more than $100/mo by February 2018. The long tern goal - to land 1 million dollars in my savings account by the time I will turn 60 (that's in 2045).I started my wealth building adventure (portfolio) January 2017 with goal to invest $8,561 this year in several batches. Now, five months latter I'm publishing my first dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from stocks and peer to peer lending in May 2017. About portfolio in May 2017Most of my investments right now are concentrated in the Baltic states and Georgia. My portfolio consists of…