World of Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta, GA

14 August, 2015 | Tourism objects | 13 seen

It was a damned hot day when we arrived to Atlanta, Georgia. After a few hour rest in our motel we decided to explore what's interesting nearby our location, and turned out that museum "World of Coca Cola" were among the closest tourist attractions. So we started to walk (don't walk when it's + 108 Fahrenheit outside). And here you go - some pictures back from 2013.

World of Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta, Georgia

Aquarium at World of Coca Cola

View to Down Town Atlanta

World of Coca Cola museum

Vending machines

Author of this blog captured at Coca Cola museum in Atlanta

About World of Coca Cola

The World of Coca-Cola at Pemberton Place® celebrated its Grand Opening on May 24, 2007. It’s the only place where you can explore the fascinating story of Coca‑Cola® – the world’s best-known beverage brand.

Thunderstorm in Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee

12 August, 2015 | Travel guides | 5 seen

We stayed in Knoxville for some 3 nights, since our motel was located pretty far away from Downtown Knoxville we traveled here by Public Transport (for a surprise they have a one). Since we didn't know much  (except Megabus is heading here) about Knoxville, we opened Wikipedia and learnt that a World's Fair has been held here in 1982. We decided to take a closer look of Downtown Knoxville and here is what we got: 

Thunderstorm in Down town Knoxville

Author of this blog hiding from rain in some cafeteria

Knoxville

Down town Knoxville, Tennessee

Down town Knoxville, Tennessee

After Knoxville we headed to Atlanta, Georgia, but it's another blog post.

About Knoxville

Knoxville is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Knox County. The city had an estimated population of 183,270 in 2013, and a population of 178,874 as of the 2010 census, making it the state's third largest city. Knoxville is the principal city of the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area, which, in 2013, had an estimated population of 852,715. The KMSA is, in turn, the central component of the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette Combined Statistical Area, which, in 2013, had a population of 1,096,961.

Quaker Steak & Lube in Knoxville, Tennessee

11 August, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 9 seen

Seems this place is closed for now, but back in 2013 we found it our second favorite place in US (after Chikie's & Pete's in Bordentown). Quaker Steak & Lube was located closely to our motel and when we went here, we were just impressed.

Quaker Steak and Lube in Knoxville

Live performance at Quaker Steak and Lube in Knoxville

Bike Night 2013

Tables at Quaker Steak & Lube in Knoxville

Author of this blog eating pork ribs

The Bottom Line

It would be sad to learn that this place is closed (in 2015), it was a great place, with great food (Best Wings in USA), awesome atmosphere and good prices.

Washington D.C. (Super Moon & Spending Night With Homeless People)

9 August, 2015 | Travel guides | 13 seen

What seemed to be one of the most interesting travel experiences turned out to be the worst travel experience and that happened in Washington D.C. back in summer of 2013 (I can actually recall it was June 22). While back in Georgia we had negotiated an accommodation in Washington D.C. using coach surfing - our host didn't showed up and since it was late night we stayed on street.

We have never tried coach surfing again. Well, I agree we could book a hotel, but since we arrived late in D.C. we decided to take the next Megabus bus and head furthermore into Southern States. We had to wait some 6-7 hours... in time of what we met a lot of soliciting homeless people, with one I even chatted for some 2 - 3 hours and in fact it was a quite interesting conversation, we talked about Soviet Space program, about China's economical growth e.t.c.

Another interesting phenomena happened that night - Super Moon. I took my humble camera and tried to memorize this night in Washington D.C. 

Super Moon in Washington D.C.

Lively street in Washington D.C.

Street musicians in Washington D.C. 

Shakespeare theater in Washington D.C.

Streets of Philadelphia

8 August, 2015 | Travel guides | 12 seen

From my travel notes to the United States back in 2013. Just as from the World famous Bruce Springsteen song, we too experienced this lovely phenomena  called - streets of Philadelphia.

Update: I wish I was a better photographer back then, as all of the photos from that trip were taken using my old Sony DSC camera, and ... let's say they didn't pop out. Some three years latter, by writing an article on Geghard monastery in Armenia, I remembered Philly. All I was left, to browse for my old articles and take a help from Adobe Lightroom and fine tune my scenery.

Here are few things I can associate Philadelphia with - Penn Station (if you are traveling deeper into United states using rail or bus network, you will definitely use this facility), very Masonic city (here you will find Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and a lot of Masonic symbols), very beautiful skyscrapers, tastiest coffee in the United States, and here I first time observed have noodles actually are prepared (at Philadelphia's Chinatown). Oh, and Philly cheese steak - damn I miss one right now.

Yellow cab in streets of Philadelphia

Ask me - what US associates to me - and yellow cabs will be a top of the list

Huge billboards and skyscrapers

Didn't they invented both?

Noodles being prepared at Philadelphia's China Town

Nope, I wasn't a restaurant critique back then, and this awesome place is missing it's spot on restaurant review series.

China town in Philadelphia

Masonic temple in Philadelphia

Oh, gosh, just like from the National Treasure with Nicolas Cage

Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania

The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania claims to be the oldest Grand Lodge in the United States, and the third oldest in the world after England (est. 1717) and Ireland (est. 1725), having been originally established as the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in 1731. This claim is disputed by both the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and the Grand Lodge of Virginia.

Sculpture in Philadelphia

Benjamin Franklin - Craftsmen

At Penn Station

Streets of Philadelphia

From Philadelphia's Penn Station we used Megabus coach service and headed to Washington, DC

Thanks for reading, sharing and commenting.

Manhattan - Island of Many Hills

6 August, 2015 | Tourism objects | 13 seen

Today by overlooking some old photos (taken in Summer 2013) I found some epic pictures back from my travels to United States, so I decided to add some photos I have taken there on my blog - and today I will add Manhattan. 

It was interesting for me to learn that "Manhattan" can be translated as "Island of many hills" from the Lenape (Unami) language. I didn't noticed many hills there, but a lot of skyscrapers instead.

Street musician in Manhattan's subway

It is interesting to learn that in New York you can (must) obtain some license for performing on the streets - as you can see from picture above - this musician is a musical saw player.

Manhattan 

Manhattan 

Times Square in Manhattan

Visit card of Manhattan - yellow taxi cabs

Manhattan

About Manhattan

Manhattan is the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is coterminous with New York County, founded on November 1, 1683 as an original county of the U.S. state of New York. The borough consists mostly of Manhattan Island, bounded by the East, Hudson, and Harlem Rivers, but also includes several small adjacent islands, as well as Marble Hill, a small neighborhood on the mainland.

Manhattan is often said to be the economic and cultural center of the United States and serves as home to the United Nations Headquarters. Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading financial center of the world, and Manhattan is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Many multinational media conglomerates are based in the borough. Historically documented to have been purchased by Dutch colonists from Native Americansi n 1626 for the equivalent of US$1050, Manhattan real estate has since become among the most expensive in the world, with the value of Manhattan Island, including real estate, estimated to exceed US$3 trillion in 2013.

Staten Island Ferry - Free Tourist Attraction in New York City

5 August, 2015 | Tourism objects | 15 seen

In case you are looking for budget-friendly and interesting activities in New York - try a free-of-charge ferry service connecting Manhattan with Staten Island. Y

ou won't find much interesting in Staten Island (although you can rent a much cheaper apartment here like in downtown New York), but you will definitely enjoy views offered from the ferries deck, the best way to see Liberty Statue for free? - Staten Island Ferry!

Staten Island Ferry

View to Manhattan

Staten Islands Ferry's deck is a great place for photographers to take beautiful views of Manhattan, unfortunately back then I had only a simple bridge camera and best I could get was above seen picture. Also you can capture Statue of Liberty from ferries deck as well.

Author of this blog captured in action

About Staten Islands Ferry

The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. It runs 5 miles (8.0 km) in New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island. The ferry operates 24/7.

The ferry departs Manhattan from the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal at South Ferry, at the southernmost tip of Manhattan near Battery Park. On Staten Island, the ferry arrives and departs from the St. George Ferry Terminal on Richmond Terrace, near Richmond County's Borough Hall and Supreme Court. Service is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and is punctual 96% of the time. The Staten Island Ferry has been a municipal service since 1905, and currently carries over 21 million passengers annually on the 5.2-mile (8.4 km) run. While trips take 25 minutes, service usually runs every 30 minutes most hours of the day and night, with more frequent service during peak times.

The ferry is free of charge, though riders must disembark at each terminal and reenter through the terminal building for a round trip to comply with Coast Guard regulations regarding vessel capacity and the use of placeholding optical turnstiles at both terminals. For most of the 20th century, the ferry was famed as the biggest bargain in New York City.

Brighton Beach - Russian Speaking Neighbourhood in Brooklyn

4 August, 2015 | Travel guides | 45 seen

From my travel notes to the United States back in 2013. With little photo editing in 2020.

Last time I visited Brighton Beach back in the Summer of 2013 and I even stayed overnight here at some Russian owned apartments. Well actually that's the main reason we headed here - it was already late evening and we were sitting at Starbucks next to Central Park waiting for a host we had previously spoken on coachsurfing, but since the host was not responding anymore we decided to catch the last subway and go to the Russians.

Quickly we were in Brighton Beach, we headed to some Russian store and asked where could we get some cheap accommodation here and soon we were rewarded with lovely apartments somewhere in Brighton Beach. We paid some $140 for a two-night stay here and got a large room, shared kitchen and shared bathroom. No questions asked - who are we, where are we from and where are we heading to - God I just love such attitude.

Here are just a few reasons I love Brighton beach - you can get Riga Black Balsam here (At Tatiana's Grill Bar on the Boulevard), you can say a Gamarjoba to Georgian who is working at Tatiana's Grill Bar and they have a lovely white sand beaches here, and yes you can try speaking Russian here.

Russian TV channels in Brighton Beach

We got an apartment in Brighton Beach from a Russian guy (Mark, if I remember correctly) for some $70 per night

Author of this blog captured in Brighton Beach

What can be better than drinking milk on the street in Brighton Beach? Right - drinking vodka!

Boulevard in Brighton Beach

White sand beach in Brighton Beach

Riga Black Balsam and Georgia on my mind

Bar attainder at Tatiana's Grill Bar noticed flag on my cap and said to me - Gamarjoba (Hello, in Georgian) it seemed he was surprised to learn that we are expats in Georgia, and we got Riga Black Balsam here. 

Brighton Beach's Subway station

It connects you straight with Manhattan, and I believe that's just one another great reason to visit Brighton Beach. Also there used to be Baba Roza  selling smuggled cigarettes from Europe. lol

About Brighton Beach

Brighton Beach is an ocean side neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, along the Coney Island peninsula. 

For a very long time, until the end of the 20th century, the area was not considered prestigious. There were dirty streets, high crime rates, and many illegal immigrants. During the summer, though, people from all around the city went to Brighton Beach's beach next to the Atlantic Ocean.

The collapse of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent significant changes in the social and economic circumstances of post-Soviet states, caused thousands of former Soviet citizens to immigrate to the United States. Many of these Soviet immigrants came to Brighton Beach during the late 1980s and '90s. Brighton Beach had a heavy influx of emigrants due to low housing prices. The new residents spoke mainly Russian, so a large number of firms, shops, restaurants, clubs, offices, banks, schools and children's play centers speak Russian and are intended mainly for Russian-speaking clients.

Bordentown - Home For Funerals

2 August, 2015 | Travel guides | 14 seen

With this post I'm starting my latest United States travel notes I made back in the Summer of 2013. It has been a while already, but today overlooking some old photos I did find some epic pictures from the United States, and I will start with a quiet and a bit strange small town in New Jersey - Bordentown. Why I'm calling this place a little bit strange? As we learned later - Bordentown is home for Funerals.

If I remember correctly we arrived here from New York's Penn Station by train, actually yes we bought tickets to Trenton (New Jersey), and then in Trenton, we booked a motel in some 10 miles radius, and it turned out to be located in Bordentown. And also turned out that you can reach Bordentown by another smaller train from Trenton, and here we were - a home for funerals. Did we know that prior? Nope, we even didn't know of the existence of such a place. 

Few reasons why some (perhaps you) will love Bordentown: They have a great Crabs House - Chickie's and Pete's, a lot of interesting porch's and of course that strange feeling that you have visited a home for funerals. If you are into history you will enjoy the fact that in Bordentown lived the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte - Joseph Bonaparte.

Welcome to the Bordentown:

Trenton Train Station

Author of This Blog Captured in Bordentown

An American Cat

And tell me he/she is not!

Bordentown Home for Funerals

Bordentown Home for Funerals

City name on the barrel

Pretty stadard American style

Cemetery in Bordentown​Econolodge motel in Bordentown

Our motel was located close to this place, actually in a distance of some 2 miles from the center of Bordentown, next to the highway

Porch's in Bordentown

Farm in Bordentown

Pretty standard American landscape

Chickies & Petes Crab House

Our favorite dining place in Bordentown, again located close to our motel.

About Chickies & Petes Crab house - in 1977, Peter and Henrietta Ciarrocchi bought the Robbins Avenue taproom in the Mayfair neighborhood of Philadelphia. Young Pete followed his parents’ example and served the regulars with a smile. He was and still is a friend to all. Growing up Pete ran with both jocks and rockers. He could change minds, influence peers, and even reinvent taste. In 1987 Pete made sure his parents’ legacy lived on. Pete became the face of Chickie’s & Pete’s with the help of his brother, Tom. His charisma, dynamic personality, and great food were enough to bring in the crowds on Sunday to celebrate, jeer, and be Philadelphia. Pete understood the pulse of the city: food, sports, and people.

Porch in Bordentown

Flowers in the barrel

We met a lot of interesting lawns in Bordentown
Dwelling house in Bordentown​Women's Heritage Trail in Bordentown

Street in Bordentown

Memorial in Bordentown

Railway station in Bordentown

From here we headed to Philadelphia, but that's another blog post. 

About Bordentown

Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 3,924.

Bordentown is located at the confluence of the Delaware River, Blacks Creek and Crosswicks Creek. The latter is the border between Burlington and Mercer Counties. Bordentown is 5.8 miles (9.3 km) southeast from Trenton and 25.3 miles (40.7 km) northeast of Philadelphia.

Several years after the banishing of his family from France in 1816, arriving under vigilant disguise as the Count de Survilliers, Joseph Bonaparte, former King of Naples and Spain and brother to Napoleon I of France, established his residence in Bordentown. He lived there for 17 years, entertaining guests of great fame such as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and the future 6th U.S. President, John Quincy Adams. The residents of Bordentown nicknamed the Count, "The Good Mr. Bonaparte" (Good to distinguish him from his younger brother). He built a lake near the mouth of Crosswicks Creek that was about 200 yards wide and half a mile long. On the bluff above it he built a new home, "Point Breeze". The current Divine Word Mission occupies its former site along Park Street.

Cafe Pīlādzītis in Kuldīga

1 August, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 17 seen

Cafe Pīlādzītis is located in Kuldīga, on picturesque place with great views both to Venta waterfall and Old Brick bridge. This place offers a typical Latvian cuisine. For a complete list of my Kuldiga restaurant reviews see: Kuldīga restaurants

Old Brick bridge near Cafe Pilādzītis

Cafe Pīlādzītis in Kuldīga

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Cold soup at cafe Pīlādzītis

French fries and pork chop

Area near cafe Pīlādzītis

The Bottom Line

Cafe Pīlādzītis in Kuldīga is a budget friendly place which offers tasty meal - best enjoyed in mild summer nights with great views of Venta waterfall and Old Brick bridge

Guest House "Garīkas" in Latvia

31 July, 2015 | Tourism objects | 18 seen

Although this post should probably go into hotel review category, taking into consideration that I haven't stayed here overnight I'm listing this place under tourist attractions. And here are few reasons that made me think that Guest house Garīkas is worth not only of (perhaps) a lovely stay but as well for some good landscape photography. At first - Garīkas are famous shitake mushroom growers in Latvia, secondly they feature a lovely watch tower here and third... they have a cobbled driveway. Guest house Garīkas is located in Courland (region of Latvia), Skrunda district, parish of Rudbārži - some 150 km away from nations capital city Riga.

Wooden inscription

Shiitake mushroom nursery

Yes, that's right owners of this guest house are famous shitake mushroom growers in Latvia.

Watch tower at Guest house Garīkas

Now this is a neat feature this guesthouse offers - a watchtower ofering aerial views both to remote meadows and close by located guest house complex

Aerial view of Guest house Garīkas

Rapeseed field

Now, I call this photo one of the best I have captured this year

Mini tractor at Garīkas

Wood pile

another very interesting photo

Cobbled surface at guest house Garīkas

Just amazing what a man can do. I mean in middle of nowhere, far away from any city communications you will find a cobbled road... where? At guest house Garīkas in Courland, Latvia.

About Guest House Garīkas

Guest house "Garīkas" is located in the middle of Kurzeme (Courland), between two small towns of Skrunda and Aizpute. To the house leads hundred years old linden alley Guest house is located in an ancient, small rural manor house. Hosts of this charming place are engaged in non-traditional agriculture-shiitake mushroom cultivation. 

Visit: www.garikas.lv (in Latvian) to learn more

Bandžēni Farm

30 July, 2015 | Farms | 15 seen

Now, some of you already of you know my love of different agricultural farming things, like once I visited a dairy farm in Georgia, then I visited a fish farm (again in Georgia), this time I visited an agricultural company in Latvia - meet Bandžēni farm.

Bandžēni farm in Courland

Greenhouse for seedlings

Greenhouse for tomatoes

Seedlings

Gazebo at farm

Now, that's for sure - a decent farm must have a decent gazebo

Gazebo at farm

..built on artificial island and connected to mainland by a lovely wooden bridge

Bandžēni farm

In a shor conersation I made with the owners of this farm I learnt they manages some 500 ha of land here, of whom around 200 ha are lakes (fish farming). I was and still I'm very much impressed of this place and I do wish all the best and a lot of success to the owners of Bandžēni farm.

Cafe Bordertauna Close to Saldus

29 July, 2015 | Restaurant reviews | 19 seen

Cafe Bordertauna (Bordertown) is located in the Novadnieku parish in distance of some 3 km from Saldus city. I visited this place after a Kutaisi - Vilnius flight and then Vilnius - Mazeikai transfer. At time I visited cafe Bordertauna some local banquet were held on site and kitchen was closed, the only chance to get something was from salad bar.

Cafe Bordertauna

Cafe Bordertauna

Billboard is saying - tasty, fast dinner

Salads and a soup at Cafe Bordertauna

The Bottom Line

Pretty good place for hungry ones traveling by Mazekai - Saldus highway, you can always get something here.

David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport

28 July, 2015 | Airports | 61 seen

Kutaisi airport or David the Builder Kutaisi International airport is a major hub for entering (or leaving) Georgia for cheap. It's mainly served by low-cost airlines Wizzair and connects Kutaisi with Vilnius (Lithuania), Warsaw, Katowice (Poland), Budapest (Hungary) and some other airlines offering flight to - Kiev, Minsk, Moscow and I believe to Istanbul as well. 

Kutaisi airport, sometimes referred also as Kopitnari airport is actually not located in Kutaisi but in distance of some 20 km from Kutaisi, the best option to get to Kutaisi city from this airport is by taxi (such drive should cost some 20-30 lari / $9-$13/ EUR 8 - EUR 12) or you can catch a Batumi - Tbilisi marshrutka just opposite from the terminal on the highway, marshrukta should cost some 3-5 GEL to Kutaisi.

If you are planing to head either to Tbilisi or Batumi from Kutaisi airport - you can use Georgian bus services, price for Tbilisi ride, which is some 4 hours long will cost you some 20 Lari. Read: Georgian Bus - Great way to travel from Kutaisi to Batumi or Tbilisi

There are an ATM's inside Kutaisi airport terminal. 

As well you can buy a local Georgian SIM card (it's Beeline) inside the terminal building.

Kutaisi airport Terminal building

Passengers heading to terminal building

Parking lot at Kutaisi airport

I have used Kutaisi airport several times and had flight to Warsaw (and then JFK in United States) and Vilnius both routes served by Wizz Air.

Although Kutaisi might seem as cheap alternative I personally still prefer Tbilisi airport, well I'm living in Tbilisi, and I find those Tbilisi - Kutaisi transfers very exhausting. 

About David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport

Kutaisi Airport  also known as David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport is an airport located 14 km (8.7 mi) west of Kutaisi, the second largest city in Georgia and capital of the western region of Imereti. It is one of three international airports currently in operation in Georgia, along with Tbilisi International Airport serving the Georgian capital and Batumi International Airport near the Adjara Black Sea resort. The airport is operated by United Airports of Georgia, a state-owned company.

The airport was closed for renovation in November 2011. Its reopening ceremony was held on 27 September 2012. It was attended by President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán and Wizz Air CEOJózsef Váradi.

For preparation works for the commissioning of the airport and training of staff, the French company Vinci Airports was contracted. Some construction work around the airport continues. There are one duty-free shop and two coffee shops operating at the airport. The airport is currently connected to scheduled public transportation to Kutaisi, Tbilisi and Batumi after each arrival.The airport terminal is located next to the main road between Kutaisi and Batumi, so it is possible to transfer to those cities also by marshrutkas

The priority of the Kutaisi airport is to attract low tariff airlines and create a special environment between airlines and airports. It will be equipped with the highest quality navigation and weather systems. A significant growth in the number of passenger has been noted soon after the reopening of the airport in 2012, mainly due to Wizz Air operations linkingKutaisi with Polish and Ukrainian airports. For 2013 the operator reported 187,939 passengers.

Hotel Edemi Review in Kutaisi, Georgia

27 July, 2015 | Hotel reviews | 12 seen

Before arriving to Kutaisi I didn't search for any hotels online to book, just because of... it's Georgia. And in Georgia you can find a hotel once you are on site, and the best of all - I really like bargains, so...after we arrived at Kutaisi (we had a plane in next morning to Vilnius) and just left our Tbilisi - Kutaisi marshrutka opposite to McDonald's I was lucky enough I met a familiar taxi driver Nugzar.

In short I explained that I would love to get to the Kutaisi Old Town, and if he could recommend some reputable hotel for under 100GEL per night, that would be excellent. Nugzar suggested Hotel Edemi in the heart of Kutaisi Old Town, and here we were: meet hotel Edemi:

A TV set in Hotel Edemi

Well...it didn't worked actually

Beds at Hotel Edemi

They were clean at least

Façade of Hotel Edemi in Kutaisi

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View to Bagrati Cathedral

a lively Brosse street next to hotel Edemi in Kutaisi

Although I wouldn't call hotel Edemi a very reputable hotel I would rather call it a budget hotel, I managed to make a bargain here, and I got that simple room for some 50 Lari ($22 / EUR 20), and since we stayed here just for one night, it was a pretty OK. 

About Hotel Edemi in Kutaisi

Located just opposite the Drama Theatre in Kutaisi historic centre, Edemi Hotel features free Wi-Fi and a 24-hour lounge bar. The UNESCO Heritage 11th-century Bagrati Cathedral is 15 minutes' walk away.

All the air-conditioned rooms at Edemi come with a flat-screen TV. A hairdryer is provided in the bathrooms.

You can enjoy Georgian cuisine in the on-site restaurant, and local wines are also offered at the lounge bar.

The 12th-century Gelati Monastery is 8 km from Edemi Hotel, and Kutaisi Bus and Train Stations are 1.5 km away providing access to Tbilisi City.

Book Edemi hotel on Booking.com