Blog Archive: July 2022

Velēna church

28 July, 2022 | Churches and Monasteries | 22 seen

The Velēna Lutheran Church is at the crossing of the Smiltene-Gulbene-Lizums roads. I would call this as one of the most beautiful churches in Latvia.

It's said the first built church here was a wooden church with a turf roof. This is where the place got its name from – Velēna (Torf). Visitors can still enjoy one of the most beautiful organs in Latvia, built in 1898 in W. Sauer Company, they are considered as one of the best preserved organs in Latvia.

My mother, a Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church pastor Sarmite Fišere served here back in the 1980-ties and again briefly at the end of 1990-ties.

One Day in Micini

26 July, 2022 | | 13 seen

Micini has a very special place in my heart - I spent a brief time, about two years here, back in the 90-ties, living with my grandmother. Back in the days - there was some life here - a farm with more than 100 cows, few families, and even a public bus twice a week connecting to Valka.

My relatives from gradmother's side have been living here for a few centuries (at least) - and the scenery was much different here before WW2, when here lived my great grandfather with my great grandmother and their family. 

A lot has changed ever since, mostly all the older generations have passed away, and what is left - is just ruins and beautiful scenery. In today's Piece of Life series - one day in Miciņi

During the Soviet days a collective farm was established here and a small 4 apartment apartment block was built for farm workers. i remember at the start of 90-ties some Lithuanian boy Arturas lives here, as well some lady from Saint Petersburg (Tamara or Tatiana). My grandmother loved to visit neighbours and watching soap operas with the lady from Saint Petersburg. They left around 1994.

A state run collective farm was run here. In the 90-ties, other…

Top 15 Gaming laptops with AMD Ryzen 7 5800 processor

25 July, 2022 | Laptop Reviews | 92 seen

Ryzen is a brand of multi-core x86-64 microprocessors designed and marketed by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for desktop, mobile, server, and embedded platforms based on Zen microarchitecture. It consists of central processing units (CPUs) marketed for mainstream, enthusiast, server, and workstation segments and accelerated processing units (APUs) sold for mainstream and entry-level segments and embedded systems applications.

In this article, I've listed the top 15 gaming laptops powered by AMD Ryzen 7 5800 CPU

A quick note: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on Amazon site, I might earn an affiliate income from that. Prices for laptop computers listed on this page are retrieved using Amazon Product Advertising API and is updated daily. For actual prices please refer on the product page on Amazon.

• Ultimate Performance. Uncompromised Battery Life:…

Cafe Papes Vēji

23 July, 2022 | Restaurant reviews | 30 seen

Cafe Papes Vēji is a summer cafe located next to the Pape channel in Western Latvia near the Pape Lighthouse.

This place serves traditional Latvian cuisine, and cold beer and some can buy smoked fish (apparently in the season)

I have been fond of this area for a few years already and first discovered this cafe about a year ago, now in Summer 2022 we made a stop here, had a hearty dinner, and bought some smoked fish. Awesome

Seems there is also a museum on site available. During our visit here, many tourists from Lithuania, Germany and of course Latvia were present. 

Sup boards are gaining the momentum in Latvia and are present almost everywhere.

Seems this is the one and only cafeteria in the area. Grab your cup of coffee or get some smoked fish if you get lucky.

Listing Vilgāle apartment for sale

22 July, 2022 | | 13 seen

After some thinking, I decided to list for sale our Vilgāle apartment. 

I bought this apartment about two years ago in an online auction, paying about EUR 4,000. During the past two years, we have done some serious renovation with a total investment being closer to EUR 18,000. 

Today I bought my first flat on an online auction site

I decided to list it for EUR 25,000 on local ss.lv website, here is the advert:

The owner is selling a renovated apartment in Vilgale - double glazed windows, Estrich warm floor tile/laminate covering. Installed pellet central heating, unfinished bathroom / sauna construction. Water on meters. Registered in the land register.

Low payments - managed by "Kuldīgas communal services", management fee around 26 EUR/month. Good neighbors.

Good location, close to school, grocery store, bus stop. 5 min walk to Vilgale lake.

Distance to Kuldīga 16km, Aizpute 28km, Riga 164km

https://www.ss.lv/msg/lv/real-estate/flats/kuldiga-and-reg/kurmales-pag/UnwBHU1lRls=.html?1658345246

After first 24 hours there haven't yet been any call for this property, which means the listing price…

Summer Cafe Kazbārs in Kazdanga

20 July, 2022 | Restaurant reviews | 10 seen

Summer café-bar “Kazbārs” is located next to the watermill in the heart of the scenic park of Kazdanga.

This place serves freshly ground coffee, Italian dessert affogato, refreshing soft ice cream (including vegan options), cold live beer, and vegan soups. 

Place is run by energetic couple from Riga, if you will be happy enough you could catch up with host Ernests and enjoy the conversation about the running restaurant, flying planes, local area and more

Top 3 Things to do in Kazdanga, Latvia

Kazbārs offers to rent sup boards (around EUR 5/h in 2022), as the lake is located across the street, this seems quite attractive.

Sup boards are getting the momentum in Latvia. Smart to have them at rural cafeteria I guess.

The place is open May-September. 

They are looking to open indoor restaurant and serve steaks soon. 

If you happen to be in area - make sure to visit Kazbārs

Laidi, Ječi & Verbelnieki

19 July, 2022 | | 9 seen

Another interesting day has been recorded for history. We started this morning by unloading a cellar in Laidi castle. Later in the afternoon visited Ječi and for the second time, this week already went for a lovely dinner at Verbelnieki.

In the evening we returned to Laidi and I had a chance to observe the stock market for a few minutes - my positions were in recovery ING was up, and Barrick Gold also.

Life is good!

Fun day in Liepāja, Ječi and Verbelnieki

15 July, 2022 | | 11 seen

The day started with visiting the cinema Cinamon in Liepaja, a cool movie about Minions in Latvian.

After the movie went to the Fontaine place to order some pizza and then headed to Jeci to visit our new property and trim the grass, I already bought an electric lawnmower a few weeks ago in Riga. Now was a good time to excel.

After a few hours of lawn moving we went for dinner and sunset photography to Verbelnieki - a really awesome camping area next to the Baltic sea.

Returned for an overnight stay in Jeci. 

Tried to trade options outside, but mosquitos won and literally ran inside. Fun day.

How to type ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ on MAC

13 July, 2022 | | 33 seen

The shrug emoji 🤷 is a popular image used to convey confusion or emphasize a question.

I first noticed ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ at the end of some tweet and wondered how to type it actually? upper line/slash/underline.. squares and then some strange symbols I doubt I have on my MAC.

After googling it - I found this brilliant article: How to Type the Shrug Emoji ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ in 2 Seconds Flat

And here is how:

1. Copy "¯\_(ツ)_/¯"

2. Go to System Preferences

3. Click Keyboard

4. Press Text

5. In the Replace box, type "shrug"

6. In the With box, paste "¯\_(ツ)_/¯"

Top 11 gaming / business laptops with 64 GB RAM 2022

11 July, 2022 | Laptop Reviews | 80 seen

Laptops with 64GB RAM memory are getting momentum and are quite affordable in 2022. 

Most of the 64 GB RAM laptops come with the latest Intel Core i7 processors, also the Intel core 9 is gaining momentum. Though not as popular as less RAM-enabled models, these models will find their audience among gaming enthusiasts and business users

For a better gaming performance or high-end business, use expect to spend at least $1,500 up to $4.000 for a 64 GB RAM laptop

Keep reading to find out the TOP 11 laptops with 64 GB RAM memory in 2022 alternatively, see 

Top 20 Laptops with 64GB RAM (Gaming / Business)

A quick note: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links on this page and by making a purchase on Amazon site, I might earn an affiliate income from that. Prices for laptop computers listed on this page are retrieved using Amazon Product Advertising API and is updated daily. For actual prices please refer on the product page on Amazon.

How to Sell a Car in Riga / Latvia

8 July, 2022 | | 17 seen

We bought a used Mercedes Benz ML 400 Diesel car in Riga a few months ago. We hoped the car would suit us for the years to come, but in the end, the vehicle was faulty even before we bought it. So the car died (or almost died) - with the problem being - a timing belt, which needed to be replaced.

I asked to a few handymen how much it could cost, and understood that I'm not willing to take the extra burden on this already old car, so we decided to list it on the local ss.com website. After talking with several handymen I decided to list it for EUR 1,800 just to test the waters.

In my advert, I was honest and said, that the car needs its timing belt to be replaced while all the rest seems good. Apparently, the regular car buyers were left out and I was left alone with fixer-up guys. 

After my initial listing, I got 2 offers - one guy was offering EUR 800, while the second was EUR 600. I replied to the first one that I'm ready to sell for EUR 1,000 if he will take it today, and to the second I replied I'm ok with EUR 1,200.

Both didn't agree on my terms. And I decided to wait for a few more days, before adjusting my advertisement and listing…

Average Monthly Salary in European Union 2022

7 July, 2022 | Macroeconomics | 1,110 seen

In 2022 three were 27 member states in the European Union (EU), and 20 of the 27 EU member states have adopted the euro (€) as their common currency.

In this article, I've listed European Union member countries by the gross monthly average salary in 2022.

I wouldn't call the below written scientific research or take it too seriously, as most of the data in this article are taken from Wikipedia's article List of European countries by average wage. 

All calculations are done using Google Spreadsheets. The data provided below might not be 100% accurate but they should give an overall insight into average salary levels across European Union member countries.

Cafe Pāvilostas Enkurs

6 July, 2022 | Restaurant reviews | 31 seen

Cafe Pāvilostas Enkurs is located on Dzinstaru street 69 in Latvian Summer Capital Pavilosta.

they serve fish and chips, pizza, and traditional Latvian cold soup here. 

One of the best fish and chips I've tried in Latvia

Seems like a popular place in Pāvilosta, many tourists

Give it a try once in Pavilosta

GDP Per Capita in European Union 2022*

5 July, 2022 | Macroeconomics | 107 seen

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total population of about 447 million. 

The other morning I was talking to a friend from South Africa, after a nice conversation about living in Georgia, railways, copper, and African Union I decided to look back on my old articles about African Union and GDP data from there.

After a few hours of research, I come up with a newly updated article and was quite surprised to see a decline in GDP per capita in many of the African economies.

Now I decided to take a fresh look at data about GDP per capita in European Union

Many years ago I did an article about GDP Per Capita in European Union 2013.

Without further ado, here is the raw data: