Valka Bus Station
Valka bus station is centrally located in Valka and offers quite convenient intercity connections to Riga, Valmiera, Rūjiena, and Smiltene.The bus station in Valka was opened to the public in 1965. There is cafe Walk across the square.
Saghamo Lake
Saghamo Lake is a lake of Samtskhe-Javakheti, southeastern Georgia, just south of Gamdzani. It covers an area of 458 hectares. It is located north of Madatapa Lake and Biketi Lake. The village of Saghamo lies on its eastern bank.
We made a brief stop here, during our Javakheti trip in early June 2021
Saghamo lake is located on the east part of Javakheti volcanic mountains, in the Paravani river basin, at an altitude of 1996 meters.
The watershed of the lake is located in the east part of the Samsari range and at the west part of Javakheti range slopes.
The south and south-western shores of the lake, built with andesites are downhill and collapsed. From the north side of the lake is a…
Okatse Canyon and hanging cliff trail with a platform
Okatse Canyon is another breathtaking landmark in beautiful Georgia. The main tourist attraction at Okatse canyon probably is the 780 m long hanging cliff trail with the 20m long platform at the trail end, hanging above the canyon and providing panoramic views. The canyon is located some 50km west of Kutaisi, Georgia.
I first visited Okatse canyon at the start of September 2021, during a weekend trip to Kutaisi and the area, see: Kutaisi Trip / Tskaltubo, Okatste canyon, Kinchkha waterfall, Martvili
We arrived to the main entry by our own car, and from there hired a local driver for GEL 80 to take us to the start of the trail (its possible to walk by foot and free too). Also…
Borjomi and Akhaltsikhe trip
A quick day trip (with an overnight stay) to Borjomi and Akhaltsikhe in beautiful Georgia
In this drone video footage - Saint George Church and Monastery (sometimes referred just as that lovely women monastery up there somewhere in Borjomi), Atskuri fortress, the gem of Samtskhe Javakheti region - Safara monastery; and of course Rabati complex (there is a nice hotel actually located inside the complex).
Music by Scott Holmes - Epic Cinematic!
Taken September 25 and 26, 2020 with DJI Mavic Mini.
Kinchkha Waterfall in Georgia
Kinchkha Waterfall is located in Georgia near the village of Kinchkha, some 300km away or 4h 30m drive from Tbilisi / or about 55km 1h20m drive from Kutaisi.
The waterfall is located in the river gorge of Okatse (Satsikvilo) at 843 meters above sea level.
We first visited Kinchkha waterfall at the start of September 2021, despite I had heard about this magnificent place many many times before.
The waterfall is clearly visible from the roadside, but if you want actually get down to it, there is a visitor's center and the entry price was about GEL 18 per adult (foreigners) in 2021
Kinchkha Waterfall has three steps in the chalkstone slopes: the upper step with 25m height drop…
Wooden church near Paravani Lake / Phoka monastery
Poka St.Nino Nunnery - is located at the shore of Paravani lake, Ninotsminda Municipality, South Georgia.
The Little Wooden church is located bit outside the Poka village, on the left side on Tbilisi - Kojori - Tsalka - Ninotsminda road. That' s how we actually found this place. We were heading from Ninotsminda and wanted to make a stop at the famous Phoka nunnery, but at first found this lovely woodend church near the Paravani lake. Just later we learned that the nunnery is actually located inside the village (some 500 meters back on the road), while there is still a men monastery located close to the wooden church (some 200 meters)
The establishment of the monastery is connected to…
Kutaisi Trip / Tskaltubo, Okatste canyon, Kinchkha waterfall, Martvili
UFO-shaped but abandoned spa sanatoriums, hot pools near stalactite caves, waterfalls, and canyons.
Rivers and great cuisine. shortly put another great weekend has been recorded. Tskaltubo, Okatse, Martvili, Kutaisi and more.
Martvili Canyon
Martvili Canyon is a picturesque landmark of water and rocks, located some 50km west of Kutaisi, Georgia.
It is located 5 km from the town of Martvili, and 2 km from the village of Gachedili (which gave the canyon its other name, Gachedili Canyon).
We first visited Martvii Canyon at the start of September 2021 during a weekend trip around this part of Georgia.
The entrance fee per adult as about GEL 18 (for foreigners). At Martvili canyon a boat trip is possible, but during our time here boats were out of service.
700 meters circular hiking trail starts from the visitors' centre and passes through Dadiani's historic walkway.
There are 2 bridges, 3 viewing platforms, and 30-…
Naukšēni Manor
Naukšēni Manor is a two-story manor house located in the Naukšēni Municipality, Naukšēni Parish, in the historical region of Vidzeme, northern Latvia.
We discovered this manor by a chance by traveling Valka - Rūjiena road in the mid July 2021
Built in 1820, it was renovated in 1843 by Friedrich Gottlieb Gläser in Empire style according to the drafts made by its landlord Heinrich Wilhelm von Groth. Additional modifications were made at the end of the 19th century and again in 1938. Between 1920 and 1957 the building functioned as a children's home. It now houses the Naukšēni local history museum.
Phoka Nunnery in Georgia
Phoka – a village in Georgia, In the municipality of Ninotsminda, Samtskhe-Javakheti region, on the shores of Lake Paravani, with an altitude of 2080 meters above sea level.
Distance to Ninotsminda – 28 Km, to Tbilisi – 128 Km.
There are a public school and St. Nino operational monasteries and nunneries in the village. There are a parish school and a medical inspection room as well as a studio of cloisonne enamel for manufacturing icons and holy vessels at the nunnery.
From 1999 by the blessing of the Catholicos-Patriarch of all Georgia Ilia II the day of arrival of St. Nino to Georgia has been being celebrated on each 1st of June. At the Day of Saint Nino, synod eparch,…
Hiking at Birtvisi Canyon
Looking for a fun and scenic day trip from Tbilisi? This past Sunday, we set out on what turned into a surprisingly adventurous and beautiful hike through two of Georgia’s natural gems — Birtvisi Canyon and an attempt at reaching Samshvilde Canyon.We started our morning at the always-impressive Birtvisi Canyon — one of our favorite hiking spots in the region. Just about an hour’s drive from the capital, Birtvisi offers the perfect combination of rocky trails, forest paths, panoramic views, and fascinating fortress ruins hidden among the cliffs. It’s an easy to moderate hike that anyone in decent shape can enjoy, and it never fails to impress with its dramatic scenery.After enjoying the…
Putraimi - guest house and recreational area near Kuldīga
Putraimi recreational area is located in Snēpele parish, Kuldīga municipality, some 170 km from nation's capital.
I discovered this place by a chance in the Summer of 2021, and though I didn't stay overnight here I would love to return here and have some outdoor barbecue in the future.
Here at Putraimi, they have several ponds with fish. Outdoor lovers and fishing enthusiasts will enjoy this place.
Contact details:
(+371) 29181329 - Aija
putraimos@inbox.lv
Lagodekhi and Kakheti trip
Lagodekhi & Kakheti Trip - our first real camping trip with a tent at Lagodekhi national park in Georgia.
Enjoying a wide variety of grapes at Ampelo resort and picking up hazelnut with a retired colonel at Chateau Bruale in Kakheti. Enjoy the video and thumbs up!
August 20-21, 2021
Ampelo Resort Kardenakhi
Ampelo Resort is located in the Kardanaki village some 2 hour drive from the Tbilisi. Reosrt feature a restaurant, bar, a shared lounge, and a garden.
There is an outdoor / infiniti pool, but at the time we visited this place it seemed the water is not heated (unlike in some other Kakhetian resorts, like Lopota lake, for example)
We booked a family room for a one night stay at this hotel at the end of August 2021 and paid GEL 480 ( USD 150) for that.
Boasting room service, this property also provides guests with a barbecue. The hotel features an outdoor swimming pool, evening entertainment and a 24-hour front desk.
Guests at the hotel can enjoy a buffet or a vegetarian breakfast…
7 Dividend Stocks To accumulate while selling Put options for extra income
In today's article, I'm going to talk about 7 dividend stocks I don't mind having in my portfolio and how I'm generating additional semi-passive income by selling put options (or credit spreads) on them.Disclosure: I'm not a financial advisor and I don't give you any advice here, 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. Subscribe to the Covered Calls with Reinis Fischer newsletterDividend stocksDividend stocks are companies that pay out regular dividends. Dividend stocks are usually well-…
The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia
The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia is an open-air museum located just outside Riga, the capital of Latvia, on the lightly wooded shores of Jugla Lake.
The museum currently occupies 87 hectares and displays 118 buildings, as well as more than 3,000 items. Most of Latvia's historical ethnic groups are represented in the museum. The museum's collection holds approximately 150,000 artifacts.
Despite being a native of Riga, I first visited this place back in the Summer of 2021
In 1924, the Latvian Council of Monuments signed an order to create the open-air museum in Riga.
The idea for the new museum was inspired by open-air museums in Scandinavia, particularly Skansen in…
Top 18 Gaming PCs with Intel Core I9 Processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090
Looking for some incredibly fast machine?Think PC with Intel Core i9 processor and the powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 graphics card.The GeForce RTX™ 3090 is a big ferocious GPU (BFGPU) with TITAN class performance. It’s powered by Ampere—NVIDIA’s 2nd gen RTX architecture—doubling down on ray tracing and AI performance with enhanced Ray Tracing (RT) Cores, Tensor Cores, and new streaming multiprocessors. Plus, it features a staggering 24 GB of G6X memory, all to deliver the ultimate gaming experience.Disclosure: 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…
Batumi From a Drone Flight 2020
Beautiful Batumi from a bird's flight. DJI Mini Mavic 2.7K drone footage August 5th, 2020 Lovingly post-processed in Tbilisi just now Music by Scott Holmes, Driven to Success While shooting this footage almost crashed my little drone to the Alphabetic tower while doing circuit cinematic flight
Abano Mineral Lake Natural Monument
Abano Mineral Lake Natural Monument is a small lake in Kazbegi Municipality in Truso valley on the left bank of Terek River, to the east of the village Abano at 2,127 m above sea level.
First discovered back in Summer of 2021, during the Kazbegi trip
The lake was created by a carbon dioxide filled underground stream flowing to the surface through carbonate rocks from the late Jurassic period.
The lake "boils" loudly with carbon dioxide bubbles bursting. The outflow of the stream is 2.5 million liters per 24 hours.
The total surface area of the lake is 0.04 ha. The emission of gas in calm weather causes carbon dioxide to accumulate in lower levels. Small animals suffocate when they…
Nīcava restaurant
Restaurant Nīcava is located in Nīca town, Latvia. some 230 km from the nation's capital Riga, sandwiched between Liepāja and Jūrmalciems.
We paid here a short stop in mid-July 2021, while traveling to the Pape beach
Turns out there is both a motel/guest house and a restaurant. Restaurant here serves typical Latvian cuisine.
Quite a nice place. We enjoyed here something from the grill menu and a few drinks.