Top Selling Laptops with 2.2K Display

15 August, 2022 | Laptop Reviews | 19 seen

Looking to upgrade your laptop - take a look at these laptop models with 2.2K display (2240 x 1400)

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

• BEAUTIFUL SCREEN: The Dell Inspiron 14 5420 14 inch laptop is designed with a 14 inch 2.2K anti-glare narrow border 300-nit WVA display with ComfortView Plus Support
• PROCESSING POWER: The latest 12th Generation Intel Core processors with NVIDIA GeForce MX570 Graphics provide incredible responsiveness for a smooth multitasking experience
• TRANSPORTABLE: Easily tote around this small 14 inch laptop wherever you go whether you're traveling to your…

Koknese Castle

12 August, 2022 | Military Heritage | 72 seen

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 the region of Latgale at the start of August 2022

Before the arrival of the Teutonic Knights, Koknese was the site of a wooden hill fort inhabited by the Balts. In 1209 Bishop Albert of Riga ordered the construction of a stone castle at the site, naming it Kokenhusen. For the first 50 years of its existence, Koknese was solely used as a defensive fort, but by 1277, Koknese had enough population to receive city rights. Koknese also became a member of the Hanseatic League thanks to its strategic location on the Daugava trade route.

The castle was heavily contested between Polish, Swedish and Russian forces in the 16th and 17th centuries. It changed hands many times, while the native inhabitants endured periodic slaughter, capture, and famine. In 1701, during the Great Northern War, Koknese was finally blown up by…

More Laminate flooring, Tiles for the Bathroom + some electricity works

11 August, 2022 | Home Remodeling | 23 seen

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 (instead of 3mm)

I bought 8m2 of laminate, but was bit short after my first day, bought additioanal 4m2 at the end

I had to spend a good afternoon deciding on the pattern and composition. But result was worht the time spent.

We will have both sauna and shower in the bathroom, using tiles I tried to seperate those spaces

I used a special aluminum divider to separate laminate from the tiles

An electrician friend of mine helped to fix the cables (at least some of them)

Looks quite awesome now, kind of like a studio

Cost so far:

• Water plumbing: EUR 60
• Sadales Tīkls: EUR 60
• Electrician: EUR 155
• Architect: EUR 800
• Removing walls and floor: EUR 775
• Chalk removing, / wiring: EUR 500
• Wall plastering/frame for…

Quail Farm Rīta Putni / Olalā Koknese

10 August, 2022 | Farms | 54 seen

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 in this business. At the start of August 2022, during our weekend trip to the Latgale region, passing near Koknese city we decided to locate the place and see it ourselves.

Some elements on the site reminded me the Gardenia Sherndadze flower garden in Tbilisi.

On site there were a small pop up shop were you can buy ice cream, creme brulee and get some coffee.

Here you will find a quail egg and meat delicacy factory; a peaceful flower, fruit and vegetable garden; pop-up store, where you can spend a moment with the owners.

If you happen to be in area, make a stop!

Church hill Daugavpils

9 August, 2022 | Churches and Monasteries | 21 seen

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 acquainted with Daugavpils should definitely visit Church Hill which has gathered the churches of four different confessions.

Daugavpils Church Hill is located a clear distance away from the city center, in the Jaunbuve neighborhood.

This neighborhood was built in 1865 after the approval of the land-use plan for then named Dinaburg (one of the earlier names for the city of Daugavpils). At that time, Jaunbuve consisted mainly of one-storied wooden houses. At the end of the 19th century, red brick buildings started to appear as well. At the turn of the century, the population was beginning to grow.

The congregations of most religious denominations started to have more followers. The need for building churches appeared in this area. Martin Luther Cathedral (18 Novembra Street) was the first to be built…

Evening on the Vilgāle Lake

4 August, 2022 | | 9 seen

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 beautiful rooftop on the bottom left.

Across the lake there is Vilgale village located where we own a Soviet style apartment

Piece of Life

Demolishing tiles, Hydroisolation for bathroom

3 August, 2022 | Home Remodeling | 15 seen

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 get any request during more than 7 days, I decided I still want to sell this flat but I will make it look better, will finish bathroom. 

One of the first things I decided to remove tiles in the hallway and install laminate flooring. I will leave tiles just in the kitchen. 

I was not happy how tiles looked together with laminate flooring and decided to decrease the overall surface with tiles and leave them just in the kitchen area. the actually tile removal was not hard, but bit complicated, and required some arm strength. 

In parallel I started hydroisolation in bathroom. once done I'm looking to tile here too.

I was actually looking for some epoxy flooring, but was not able to find what I need and decided to continue with tiling bathroom floor.

Cost so far:

…

Guesthouse Pirts Baudas

2 August, 2022 | Hotel reviews | 11 seen

Guesthouse Pirts Baudas is located in Ilzenes parish, Aluksnes county. The property is 24.1 km from Alūksne, and guests benefit from complimentary WiFi and private parking available on site.

We booked this place during our day trip to Valka and the area. I thought this place will be much closer to Valka, but it turned out about a 2-hour drive with a distance of some 130km. Though the drive was spectacular with stops at places like Gaujiena, Trapene, Lizespasts.. city of Pskov in Russia seems to be closer there than Riga. Anyhow.

The vacation home is fitted with 2 bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen with a fridge and an oven, and 1 bathroom with a shower and a hairdryer. Towels and bed linen are offered in this accommodation.

We were greeted by open-minded local millennials and cat Mirdzina. Enjoyed the bath and peppermint from the garden. In total, we paid about EUR 116 on Booking.com for a one-night stay. I would love to return here and stay longer.

Highly recommend, book on Booking.com

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!