Day in Borjomi National Park / Georgia
| Living in Georgia | 11 seen
Day in Borjomi National Park - or we love to head here 2-3x times a year.
Cool views, illegal dining in a secret restaurant, nice boutique apart-hotels, selfie-stick, trampolines, and of course a lot of mineral water.
Decided to experiment with mobile + drone videography. What do you think? Should I do more like this? Drop me a comment!
A quick daytrip to Uplistsikhe Cave Town in Georgia
| | 6 seen
At the start of April 2021, after a 6-month absence, we finally returned back to Georgia. One of the things we wanted to do - as many quick day trips as possible.
One of the first - day trip to Uplistsikhe Cave Town
Uplistsikhe is an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, located some 10 kilometers east of the town of Gori, Shida Kartli.
Uplistsikhe cave town in Georgia
As I was equipped with DJI Mavic air 2 drone, I decided not to climb much today. Made some lovely photos and video, see it here: Uplistsikhe cave town in Georgia / 4K / DJI Mavic AIR 2
Uplistsikhe Cave Town in Georgia
Built on a high rocky left bank of the Mtkvari River, it contains various structures dating from the Early Iron Age to the Late Middle Ages and is notable for the unique combination of various styles of rock-cut cultures from Anatolia and Iran, as well as the co-existence of pagan and Christian architecture.
Just the three of us
Uplistsikhe is identified by archaeologists as one of the oldest urban…
Investing in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with Baltic Horizon Fund REIT
| Stock Portfolio | 79 seen
Baltic Horizon Fund is a regulated closed-end contractual investment fund registered in Estonia. The fund is traded on Tallinn (Nasdaq Baltics) and Stockholm stock exchanges.
This fund operates under the REIT concept where the vast majority of Fund’s cash earnings are paid and only 20% can be reinvested.
On May 12, I bought some humble 100 shares with Baltic Horizon Fund from my local SEB bank broker in Latvia.
Baltic Horizon Fund stock price chart as of May 12, 2021. source NASDAQ Baltic
I've been investing with this fund since 2018, I really like this REIT, because it has quarterly dividend payments (rare in the Baltic) and the dividend yield is pretty high of some 4.5% annually.
- Why I'm Investing in Baltic Horizon Fund (NHCBHFFT)
I was holding this fund until the start of 2020 but was forced to sell it at the start of Pandemic to cover losses in my US brokerage account where I was facing margin calls. Following words I said when sold it:
I sold because I was facing rough times in my US broker account, I just needed to deposit additional cash to close my negative balance and avoid further…
Is XLM a buy now? Investing in Stellar Lumens Crypto Coin
| Crypto | 48 seen
On May 12, 2021, I bought a small amount of XLM - Stellar Lumens crypto coin from Coinbase - I decided to invest in this coin for the next 12 month, once in a month buying coins and spending about USD 50 on that (monthly)
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to the Coinbase.com website, by clicking on links on this page and by investing with Coinbase, I will earn affiliate income at no cost to you. Also, I'm not a financial advisor and I don't give you any advice, I'm just sharing my own experience. Investments in stocks, funds, bonds, or cryptos are risk investments and you could lose some or all of your money. Do your due diligence before investing in any kind of asset.
What do we know about Stellar Lumens crypto coin?
Stellar, or Stellar Lumens, is an open source, decentralized protocol for digital currency to fiat money transfers which allows cross-border transactions between any pair of currencies. The Stellar protocol is supported by a Delaware nonprofit corporation, the Stellar Development Foundation, though this organization does not enjoy…
Georgia - Never Miss a Moment
| Living in Georgia | 6 seen
Georgia - Never Miss a Moment - or we had an extended weekend, 4 days to keep us busy, made some hyperlapses in Tbilisi, learned to ride a scooter around the Lisi lake, climbed up to St Peters and Paul's monastery in Bolnisi, found some poppy fields, and wandered around The Chronicle of Georgia monument near the Tbilisi sea.
Like, share, and enjoy! Filmed April 30 - May 3, 2021 DJI Mavic Air + Premiere Pro Music by Scott Holmes - Never miss a moment!
Zedazeni monastery
| Churches and Monasteries | 30 seen
Zedazeni Monastery is a Georgian Orthodox monastery, located on the Zedazeni mountain the hills of Saguramo, northeast to Mtskheta, and to the east side of the Aragvi River.
There is a pretty steep but good-quality road heading to the monastery complex from the Saguramo village. This could actually be the very awesome route for hiking - Saguramo - Zedazeni monastery.
Zedazeni monastery
We first visited Zedazeni monastery in early April 2021, despite we have been quite a few times at the Saguramo village, there is a nice hotel with an open-air pool located in Saguramo, see Sevsamora Resort & Spa
Zedazeni monastery
The monastery was founded by Saint John, one of the Holy Assyrian Fathers of Georgia whose mission was to strengthen Christianity in the region.
Zedazeni monastery and huge Iron cross next to it
In a clear day some awesome photos toward Tbilisi town coul be made from the monastery complex. Also I believe this place is brilliant for golden hour photography.
Unfortunately, no drones are allowed at site.
Lopota lake resort & SPA in Georgia
| Living in Georgia | 12 seen
Lopota Lake Resort & Spa is ideal for those seeking a peaceful place to rest. Your personal piece of paradise is located in the Kakheti region of Eastern Georgia, surrounded by the famous Caucasus mountains, just 2 hours drive from Tbilisi, the nation's capital.
Awesome weekend at Lopota Lake resort, made a few fly-throughs with a drone, night shots, and an active track. Spring is in the air.
Music by: Urmuli - Suliko
Admiral Fish Restaurant near Birtvisi / Algeti
| Restaurant reviews | 39 seen
Admiral Fish restaurant is located near Birtvisi canyon literally on Algeti river. We discovered this place a few years ago while hiking at Birtvisi canyon and have returned ever since,
They have both a restaurant and fish farm on site, the place seems is run by Russian/Ukrainian business people. Here you can get a wide variety of fish food and caviar. It's said they deliver to Tbilisi fish also.
Admiral Fish restaurant
There is a place for parking, a kid's corner, restrooms, and really cozy gazebo's for dining. The best - it's outdoors. The restaurant is literally located on Algeti river.
I guess they are using freshwater for fish farming.
Gazebos above the river
Algeti river connected to the Nearby Algeti reservoir
If you happen to be in this area, make sure to make a stop here and try some fish.
Husky moto park in Tbilisi, Manglisi, and Birtvisi Canyon
| Tourism objects | 17 seen
A day in our lives - Husky moto park in Tbilisi, Manglisi, and Birtvisi Canyon in Georgia - failed attempt to press the record button with an active track filming motorbike in action was fully compensated with my free run and hide from a drone in Birtvisi.
Filmed April 17, 2021 DJI Mavic Air 2, Adobe Premiere Pro
Music by Scott Holmes: Hotshot and Stomps & Claps
Husky MotoPark in Tbilisi
| Outdoor Activities | 76 seen
Husky moto park is located on the left side of Tbilisi - Kojori highway, not reaching Mtatsminda.
I had a chance to spend some 20 minutes at Husky moto park and filming Enduro ride with DJI Drone Active track (unfortunately I failed), so I plan to return here some more.
What I know about this place, there is a school, tours and of course a club available. I was told that I could rent an Enduro bike and drive inside the track for about GEL 60/hour. Which seems reasanable.
Husky moto park in Tbilisi
Husky Group was founded in 2016 and has become an official dealer of Husqvarna Motorcycles in Transcaucasia. Other than dealership, we offer our customers off-road moto track for training - Husky Park, riding school, service for Husqvarna and KTM motorcycles, Husky Club membership, bike rental and adventure, enduro and Polaris RZR tours around Georgia.
Uplistsikhe cave town in Georgia / 4K / DJI Mavic AIR 2
| Churches and Monasteries | 9 seen
Here is short drone footage from Uplistsikhe cave town in Georgia.️ Taken with DJI Mavic AIr 2, April 9, 2021, post-processed Adobe Premiere Pro.
Should add more hyperlapses in the future videos.
Music by Scott Holmes: Epic Cinematic Thumbs up
Aparani Church from a Drone Flight
| Churches and Monasteries | 9 seen
Aparani Church of Saint George, Martkopi is located on Vaziani-Martkopi-Norio road, some 30 km from Tbilisi.
The surviving foundation in front of it suggests that in ancient times a larger church stood here. The church was built by Dito Kakhurashvili in 2000, and in 2001 a 12-meter cross (authored by Zurab Matiashvili) was erected near it, which was blessed by Father Zaza (Bezhashvili) on the feast of Aparna. The Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated in the 3rd week of Easter
Our must-go destination for apple twigs around Easter time. Seems this area is nice for some barbeque too. Taken April 4, 2021 / DJI Mavic Air 2 Music by Scott Holmes: Our Big Adventure
March 2021 Dividend Income Report - $91.06
| Stock Portfolio | 57 seen
Welcome to the forty-seventh (#47) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks in March 2021.
The last March we spent in Latvia, but on the last day of March, we returned back to Georgia. There is some progress with our apartment renovation works in Vilgāle. But works have started to slow down.
Vilgāle apt update: Window Casing, Drywall ceiling
From the perspective of dividend income - Last March was decent. The thing is it is about a year already I'm not focusing on dividends at all, instead, I'm growing my total portfolio using options trades.
In total, we took some shy $91.06 in dividend income last month. Which is quite OK, for doing nothing
Compared to the previous March in 2020, when we took $163.01 in dividend income, our monthly dividend has decreased by -44.14% (-$71.95). A year ago we did set a goal to take at least $250 this month, now this didn't happen.
Luckily, an additional $5,928.44 was made from options trading…
Aparani Church / Martkopi
| Churches and Monasteries | 17 seen
Aparani Church of Saint George, Martkopi is located on Vaziani-Martkopi-Norio road, some 30 km from Tbilisi.
Our must-go destination for apple twigs around Easter time. Seems this area is nice for some barbeque too.
Here is some info I found about this place in Georgian: The single-nave, hall-type church is a late medieval monument.
Aparani church near Martkopi
The surviving foundation in front of it suggests that in ancient times a larger church stood here. The church was built by Dito Kakhurashvili in 2000, and in 2001 a 12-meter cross (authored by Zurab Matiashvili) was erected near it, which was blessed by Father Zaza (Bezhashvili) on the feast of Aparna. The Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated in the 3rd week of Easter
Sigulda from a drone flight
| Tourism objects | 7 seen
Fun day at Sigulda / Made my first hyperlapse at Turaida Castle.
The famous Ferris wheel, Gutmanis cave, river Gauja, and some other goodies. Filmed November 8, 2020
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