Blog Archive: June 2017
An ex-pat living in Georgia since 2011, I trade stocks, take photographs, work out at the gym, and many more. Here I write about travel, finance, and other things that might interest me.
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What to do and see in Istanbul in less than 24 hours
So you have just 24 hours for Istanbul? In this short indie travel guide, I will list places you could easily manage to visit and see in less than 24 hours. My story short - at the end of May we booked connecting flight from Riga to Tbilisi, via Istanbul, we had an option to have a shorter waiting time, but we decided to spend one night in Istanbul's Sultanahmet area, which offers great access to the most of the tourist sights in Istanbul. If…
Postcards from Istanbul
Istanbul has been on my travel radar since 2009, when I first visited it during a layover flight to Telaviv, Israel. Since then I've traveled countless times to and back from Istanbul. So did happened during our latest trip Riga - Istanbul - Tbilisi, we booked a lovely hotel Dosso Dossi in Sultanahmet district and spend one night in Istanbul, trying out local street food and visiting most iconic sites in Istanbul. Street food in Istanbul…
Istanbul Atatürk Airport
Istanbul Atatürk Airport is the main international airport serving Istanbul, and the biggest airport in Turkey by total number of passengers, destinations served and aircraft movements. Opened in 1924 in Yeşilköy, on the European side of the city, it is located 24 km (15 mi) west of the city centre and serves as the main hub for Turkish Airlines. The city's other, smaller, international airport is Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. As of 2017…
Dosso Dossi Istanbul Old City Hotel
We booked this 4-star hotel in Sultanahmet district, Istanbul for a one night stay during a layover flight Riga - Istanbul - Tbilisi at the end of May 2017. We paid about EUR 50 for one night stay at this hotel Located in Sultanahmet district, Dosso Dossi Hotels Old City is within a walking distance from historical sites such as Hagia Sophia Museum, Basilica Cistern and the Blue Mosque. Sultanahmet Tram Station is just a 4-minute walk from…
Grand Bazaar, Istanbul
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among world's most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazar at Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world. During my latest trip to Istanbul, which was…
Sultan Ahmed Mosque
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a historic mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A popular tourist site, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque continues to function as a mosque today; men still kneel in prayer on the mosque's lush red carpet after the call to prayer. The Blue Mosque, as it is popularly known, was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed's tomb, a madrasah and a hospice. Hand-painted blue tiles adorn…
Summer Solstice 2017
This is already fourth Summer Solstice featured on this blog. see how three years ago we made a barbeque on our Tbilisi's balcony and how we celebrated our first Summer Solstice in our newly inherited house two years ago. Also compare how did it go last year. This year we celebrated Summer Solstice already for the third time at our rural country house, see home remodeling. This year it was just us two and cats. Nothing fancy. Improvised DJ…
Abava Rumba Waterfall
Abava Rumba is the second widest waterfall in Latvia (after Venta Rumba) ,up to 1 m high and 35 m wide. I had a chance to visit it and spend some hour in lovely photography session at the end of May 2017, just after our Germany trip in the Mossel Valley. There is a camping area located just next to the rapid. Abava Rumba in Latvia I find such places tranquil and quite inspiring for my photography. Hiking trek near Abava Rumba As an…
3 day leisure trip to Germany (The Mossel Valley)
This is a round up post about our latest travel to Germany, at the end of May 2017. Our trip started at Dortmund airport, were we got a nice Nissan X-trail rental car from Hertz (about EUR 250 for 4 days). Although I've traveled to Germany countless times in the past, this is just third recap featured on blog, in fact about 2 years ago we made a similar trip to Germany but extended it it by visiting the Netherlands, see: My Germany and The…
Postcards from Germany
Welcome to another Piece of Life postcards from series. In today's article - Germany. We traveled to Germany for about 3 days at the end of May 2017. I was not at all in photography this time, but still managed to capture some cool sceneries. Sunset in Gudenberg, Germany One of rare HDR's I made during this trip. Folks interested in such an interesting architecture, make sure you plan your travels to the region of Hesse in Germany,…
Hotel Monopol in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
This 3-star hotel offers comfortable accommodation in Gelsenkirchen's northern Buer district. It is 3 km from the Veltins Arena and 1 km from Gelsenkirchen-Buer Nord train station. Hotel Monopol was our last accommodations while in Germany for a short few day trip, unfortunately I was not in the photography mood and didn't made much photos in the past days and almost forgot to photograph this hotel. In fact I captured just the entrance doors…
Haus Daniela Superior Apartment in Cochem, Germany
I now have pretty ambivalent feelings regarding booking apartments instead of hotel rooms. Despite my feelings, Haus Daniela was a really nice stay in Cochem. For this spacious apartment we paid about EUR 200 for a one night stay, but it featured 3 bedrooms, a huge outdoor terrace with an electrical grill and very well equipped kitchen. Offering free WiFi and a sun terrace, Haus Daniela Superior is set in Cochem. Cochem Castle is 400 m away.…
Rose Cottage in Udler, Germany
Featuring free WiFi and garden views, Rose Cottage is a holiday home, situated in Udler. It provides free private parking. We booked this place on booking.com for a one night stay during our few day leisure trip in Germany, sadly there are few good words I can use to describe our stay here. As this place is one of the few that actually kind of ruined our holidays. Anyhow let's start with positive - the rental property is decent, a lot of…
Cochem Imperial castle
The contours of the neo-gothic building rise more than about 330 ft above the river Moselle on an outstanding hill. The silhouette of the towering hill seems to continue in the building which is topped by the slate roof of the massive keep. As for its structure, Cochem Castle belongs to the category of castles protected by height that had to be protected all around. Romanesque fragments found in the well indicate a reinforcement of the castle…
Eltz Castle
Eltz Castle (German: Burg Eltz) is a medieval castle nestled in the hills above the Moselle River between Koblenz and Trier, Germany. It is still owned by a branch of the same family (the Eltz family) that lived there in the 12th century, 33 generations ago. Bürresheim Castle (Schloss Bürresheim), Eltz Castle and Lissingen Castle are the only castles on the left bank of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate which have never been destroyed. I paid…