How To Prepare Traditional Borscht Soup at Home
Borscht is a sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word "borscht" is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, which give the dish its distinctive red color. The same name, however, is also used for a wide selection of sour-tasting…
Notes from Tbilisi: Trading German Energy stocks, Dealing with Binance to transfer BUSD to Coinbase
Greeting from Tbilisi. The weather is hot, air conditioners are running, but the autumn winds are also present.
This morning I was looking at two European Stocks to trade options with Dutch ING bank or German E.ON. It turned out a holiday in the US (at least on the stock exchange), where Labourš day was observed, and the European market…
Nida Pebble Beach
Nida Pebble beach is the most Southern public beach of Latvia located on the Baltic sea shores just 1 km from the Lithuanian border.
The pebble beach is quite uncharacteristic for a typical Latvian seaside beach and that already a good reason to visit it.
In fact the pebbles are hardly visible but still.
There are plenty of smaller stones…
Cafe Somersēta in Aglona
Cafe Somersēta is located on Somersētas street in Aglona town, the region of Latgale in Latvia. We discovered this place by a chance shortly before visiting the famous catholic cathedral in Aglona.
It seems the place is very popular among tourists, as during our meal time here, we mostly met tourists from all over the World. Well, we visited this…
Piloru oak grove
Pilori Oak grove is located on the banks of Lake Ežezers in the region of Latgale. Total area is about 19.6 ha
It is one of the rare oak groves in Latvia with a nature protection status granted already in 1928. The oldest oaks are around 300-400 years old.
I first learned of this grove at the start of August during a weekend trip to the region…
Tbilisi by Night
Tbilisi by night is very beautiful. Time after time I love to take out my DLSR camera and tripod to experiment with nighttime photography - long exposures, high ISO. Nighttime photography can be very creative.
In today's Piece of Live series - Tbilisi by night from the balcony of our apartment.
We are lucky enough living in a place which…
Lake Ežezers
Lake Ežezers is located in Kraslava municipality, in Ezernieku and Andzeļu parishes. It is the richest island lake in Latvia and even in the whole Baltic region. There are 35 islands in a total area of 77.6 ha and 70 islands formations or shoals. From the lake flows out river Narūta, which is one of the Daugava’s basin rivers.
I first visited…
MyHeritage DNA test, flight to Tbilisi, Stock Recovery
Today was the last day in Riga and Latvia for a while. No More Vilgale, no more Ječi, and no more Riga until Spring 2023 (earliest). QSI school started today in Tbilisi, but we will still skip the first days and should start our new school year on Monday.Back in April we already ordered the MyHeritage DNA test, and today was the day when we…
Coffee shop KUUP, Rēzekne
Kuup coffee shop is a chic place in Rēzekne, which offers coffee roasted in Latgale.
We found this place by a chance, thanks to TripAdvisor when searching for top restaurants in Rēzekne. We arrived here for some 40km from Varakļāni, just to have our morning coffee.
Pastry, coffee and sandwiches.
Kuup has its own coffee roastery,…
The Sacred Heart Cathedral of Rēzekne
The Sacred Heart Cathedral of Rēzekne is located in Rēzekne, Latvia.
I briefly visited this cathedral at the start of August 2022, during my birthday trip to the region of Latgale
On the site occupied by the church, there existed a wooden temple built in 1685. The church burned down in 1887 during a storm and the following year the works for the…
Rēzekne Castle ruins
Rēzekne Castle ruins are located in the downtown of Rēzekne, Latvia, a city in the center of Latgale. The castle served as a base of the local Livonian order landlords until the 16th century and also as the main military support base for battles against Russians and Lithuanians.
Today, fragments of the stone walls and the foundation can be seen…
Stargazing in Ječi, Boat Riding in Laidi, Stock Trading in Vilgāle
Yesterday we traveled to Ječi to move the lawn, grill a fish and use it as a camp base before visiting a pebbled beach near Nida close to the Latvian/Lithuanian.Our new favorite shop - LIDL, fish is awesome and the rest is good too. We are lucky to have one LIDL store in Liepaja, about 25 km from our Ječi house. I love both Nida and Pape,…
Guest House 'Odumiņi'
Guesthouse Odumiņi is located close to Varakļāni town in the historical region of Latgale, Latvia. We booked a one-night stay here at the start of August 2022, during our weekend trip to Latgale.
For a one-night stay here we paid about EUR 100, with the sauna included.
The vacation home comes with 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, bed linen, towels, a flat…
Varakļāni Palace
Varakļāni Palace is located in Varakļāni, in the historical region of Latgale, Latvia.
We visited this place shortly at the start of August 2022, during a weekend trip to Latgale. I was not sure what for to look in the area and just googled the top sightseeing objects in Varakļani and this place popped top on the list.
Just later I learned…
Koknese Castle
Koknese Castle is a complex in Koknese, Latvia, dating from the 13th century. The castle was situated on a high bluff overlooking the Daugava river valley. In 1965 a hydroelectric dam was built downriver, creating a reservoir that partially submerged the castle and flooded the surrounding valley.
We visited Koknese castle during a weekend trip to…
More Laminate flooring, Tiles for the Bathroom + some electricity works
After the tile removal in the kitchen and hallway area, it was already agreed - I will re-install laminate there. Additionally, after hydro isolation works in the bathroom I decided I will tile again.
I was very scared before the new tile job and measured everything 10 times before applying tile glue. Also, I decided to go for 6mm spacers (…
Quail Farm Rīta Putni / Olalā Koknese
Rīta Putni is located in one of the most picturesque places in Latvia - Koknese county Bilstini just a few minutes away from Perse and Daugava river, where an impressive view of Koknese castle ruins can be seen.
I first heard about this place, or more about its products - quail eggs, a few years ago back in Georgia, an acquaintance was involved…
Church hill Daugavpils
Baznīckalns or Church hill in Daugavpils is said to be one of the main tourist attractions in the city. This was one of the rare times I visited Daugavpils and I must admit I didn't had any clue what should we see here and just Google for the top attractions and Church hill or Baznickalns was atop of the list.
Every traveler who wants to be…
Evening on the Vilgāle Lake
It was already past 8 PM, I was just finished tiling the bathroom at our Vilgāle apartment when my fiancee and kiddo arrived to pick me up. My best part gave me the drone and said - it's a beautiful evening to fly a drone.
I looked around and agreed. The Vilgāle lake was covered in mist, the Sun was setting. Beautiful.
Look at the…
Demolishing tiles, Hydroisolation for bathroom
A few weeks ago I did the tile job in the kitchen and hallway for our Vilgāle apartment. In the end, I was not happy with the result, not happy with the tile job (which could be done better), and not satisfied with the visual looks.
At one point I decided to list this apartment for sale as it is, with asking price EUR 25,000. As I didn't…
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It has already become something of a tradition for us - escaping the cold during our daughter’s winter school break and trading grey skies for warmth, color, and a slower rhythm of life. Each year, we carve out about three weeks to leave Tbilisi behind and head somewhere sunnier. And more often than not, that “somewhere” turns out to be India.Our…