Blog Archive: December 2020

Užava Lighthouse - a lighthouse located on the Latvian coast of the Baltic Sea. The lighthouse stands in an isolated location, on a 28 metres high sand dune, which is permanently threatened by the Baltic Sea waves' erosion.For this reason, the first coastal reinforcement – a dense log wall was constructed to secure the lighthouse's location in…

Vilgāle (formerly also Saldenieki) is a village in Kurmāle Parish, Kuldīga District, Latvia. Located on the shores of Lake Vilgāle. Distance to  Kuldīga 17 km, 181 km from Rīga. Back in September 2020, I bought a flat in this village in an online auction (without actually seeing the flat), see: Today I bought my first flat on online auction site…

The ruins of Embūte Castle are located in Embūte, Latvia, in Embūte Parish, Vaiņode Municipality, not far from an ancient hillfort erected by Curonians. It was an ancient Curonian settlement and is mentioned in ancient chronicles as a place with strong Curonian resistance to German crusaders. The bishop's castle was built as a border castle with…

Zaķu krogs is both a restaurant a hotel located near Jūrkalne in Latvia. We discovered this place while driving around Užava, Pāvilosta, and decided to take here a quick stop to order some food for our toddler girl.  Just later I learned there is a hotel also located. Zaķu krogs near Jūrkalne Located in Jūrkalne, Zaku Krogs is about 0.9 mi…

Devil's Dam of Embūte is an awesome place for hiking and trekking in the Courland region.  We first discovered this site at the end of 2020, and plan to return here more often. Devil's Dam from a drone flight Taken with DJI MAVIC AIR 2 Here is what I was able to find about this place (Source: Joda Dambis) At the western foot of the Indulis…

The Embūte church is located in the Embūte Nature park, nowadays, there are just remains left from the old day glory. It was in a hazy December 2020 afternoon, I took my DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone and made some nice aerial photography and even a video here, see Embūte Nature Park 4K. Ancient Curonian Land. Latvia . DJI MAVIC AIR 2 Embūte church…

On September 18, I was lucky enough to win an online auction and bought a flat in Vilgāle village. It took a few more months before all legal procedures were done and I had the entry in the Land Registry before I was able to proceed.I first saw this flat about a week ago, when I got the keys from the previous landlady (ut turns out there haven't…

Īvande Manor, also called Lielīvande Manor, is a manor house in Īvande parish in Kuldīga municipality in the historical region of Courland, in western Latvia. The manor Groß-Iwanden was created by the merger of several small estates. In the middle of the 16th century the estate was owned by the family of Rudolf Steinrat. Ivande manor Three…

This is a quick follow-up post to my original idea of experimenting with writing crypto covered calls on Ethereum and Bitcoin, I started at the end of November 2020This is not the first time I'm selling options on crypto, in fact, I've been doing so for the last two years. This is the first time I'm applying one trading strategy only. About 3…

In this article, I have listed Top 20 laptop models with the 11th generation Intel Core i7 processor. Below listed models will be the top choice among gamers and business users. Creative graphic designers, video animators, and photographers will enjoy these powerful laptops as well. See: Top 5 Best Selling Intel Core i9 (Gaming) Processor…

Ēdole Castle is a Gothic Revival castle situated on the banks of Ēdole Lake, Ēdole parish, in the historical region of Courland, western Latvia. Originally consisting of two residential buildings linked by a stone wall, the castle is surrounded by a landscaped park. It is considered an architectural and archeological monument of national…

Kronvalda Park (originally Strēlnieku dārzs) is a part of the greenery of the Old Riga canal bank. The total area of the park is 11.92 ha. Kronvalda park which borders Elizabetes and Kr. Valdemāra Street, as well as Kronvalda and Kalpaka Boulevards. The city canal divides the park into two parts. Kronvalda park in Riga I spent a good hour…

Welcome to the forty-third (#43) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks and peer to peer lending in November 2020.Last November we spent in Latvia, did several trips here and there. I had a chance to play with my latest DJI Mavic Air 2 drone, made some really nice HDR photos, hyper lapses, and more.St …