Blog Archive: January 2023

The pillars of Sairme are a rock massif in the region of Racha - Lechkhumi, Georgia.  The region of Lechkhumi is rich with remarkable natural and historical monuments. Among them is one of the natural monuments, the rocky massif- Sairme Pillars. I first learned about this place back in 2022, during our weekned trip to the region of Racha. I…

Protect and attack, or yesterday I was playing chess with my 4-year-old daughter and we tried some new moves and combinations when I come up with  - protect and attach plan, which actually should be rephrased more to defense/offense play. Anyhow, this morning I decided to check if such a strategy even exists - "protect and attack" - to find out,…

Alpana waterfall is a small waterfall along the Alpana - Tsageri road in the Racha - Lechkhumi region of Georgia.  I was taken here by our driver we ordered back in Ambrolauri, just shortly after visiting Sairme pillars during our weekend trip to Racha back in October 2022 Seems there is a little pool where some could go for a nice refreshments…

My mom visited us in Tbilisi for about a 2-week stay. As it was already the end of January, and I have the plan to visit our construction site at least once a month, to document the progress, take some photos and enjoy a cup of coffee at the local Navthlugi market, I decided to take my mom with me and go for a short excursion to Samgori. Prior to…

During our latest (and yet first) Racha trip we discovered this quite awesome, but defunct Soviet cable car station near Tskhrajvari. Turns out, it has been the second largest Second longest aerial tramway in Georgia and Soviet Union with 3644 meters, height difference: 850 meters. The cable car station near Tskhrajvari is located at the top of…

While editing the "Big Documentary Film 2022"  and while working with August 2022 video files - I made an additional, short film - a wonderful weekend, during which we traveled from Ječi to Andzeli - visiting Koknese, Varakļani, Rēzekne, Daugpili, Dagdu - a couple of lakes and more. Latgale is cool, go to Latgale! Enjoy the video and thumbs up!

This Spring we are planning another awesome DIY project - to build a Scandinavian-style house in rural Latvia. A simple, one-storey building, with a total area slightly under 60m2. The local construction law in Latvia classifies buildings under 60m2 as Group 1 buildings, which requires fewer loosened rules, just a description of the construction…

Gaming laptops with Intel Core or AMD Ryzen processors are among best selling in 2023. ASUS, Lenovo, Acer, HP, MSI and some leaser known brands are computing for the title - best gamimg laptop in 2023. Keep reading to learn more about 20 great gaming laptops A quick note: This article contains affiliate links to Amazon.com, by clicking on links…

Israel movie is out - or we made a short week trip to the Holy Land, visiting Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Bethlehem (Palestinian territories), getting tan at Herod's place in Eilat, and back to Tel Aviv.  High-speed rail, inner flights, fine cuisine, and many more. Filmed: Dec 28, 2022 - Jan 3, 2023 Israel, also known as the Holy Land, is a country…

Mahane Yehuda Market often referred to as "The Shuk"  is a marketplace (originally open-air, but now partially covered) in Jerusalem. Popular with locals and tourists alike, the market's more than 250 vendors sell fresh fruits and vegetables; baked goods; fish, meat and cheeses; nuts, seeds, and spices; wines and liquors; clothing and shoes; and…

The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem, the State of Palestine. The grotto it contains holds a prominent religious significance to Christians of various denominations as the birthplace of Jesus. I first visited this church back in 2009 and revisited it again at then end of 2022. To get here I…

The Western Wall is known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam, as the Buraq Wall is a portion of ancient limestone wall in the Old City of Jerusalem that forms part of the larger retaining wall of the hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount.  Just over half the wall's total height, including its 17 courses located below…

On January 7, 2023, New Year's party was celebrated at the Caucasus Translations office in Tbilisi. We arrived early to set up the party scene, decorating with ballons and more. Pizza, sushi, wine & champagne, pinata game for little ones, t-shirts for employees. Music by Alexa (Amazon Echo) In total about 130 helium filled ballons were…

Greenwood hotel is located in Bakuriani on the A. Tsereteli street is next to the forest and close to the ski lifts and city center. We booked lux family rooms during Christmas 2022, paying about GEL 1,000 for a 3-night stay, thus as there was little snow in Bakuriani we left one day earlier.  Here I made a short documenary about our latest stay…

In this article, I've listed 27 awesome places (including hotels and restaurants) to visit in Georgia, Tbilisi, Batumi, Gori, Bakuriani, Rustavi, Racha i, and more. These are the places I actually visited and discovered for the first (Well most of them) back in 2022. From the impressive Gori Fortress to fine french cuisine in Tbilisi