Blog Archive: February 2019
Tbilisi sea
The Tbilisi sea or Tbilisi reservoir is an artificial lake in the vicinity of Tbilisi that serves as a reservoir. The lake has a length of 8.75 km and a width of 2.85 km. It was opened in 1953 and has become a popular recreation spot.There have been plans to develop the Tbilisi sea into a recreational park with various sports facilities. One of the most active developers in the Tbilisi sea area are Chinese investors from the Hualing group, see Hualing Tbilisi Sea PlazaI first discovered Tbilisi sea back in the Summer of 2014, when we decided to get here by bikes, see: Cycling to Tbilisi sea and backTbilisi reservoirThere are many…
Pokaiņi Forest
The Pokaini Forest, located 80 km south-west of Riga, Latvia near the small town of Dobele is a place where myths, superstition and mysterious events co-exist.The Pokaini Forest is a picturesque location and an ancient holy site famous for the wondrous legends told about it. Take a walk along the path and find out more about this energetic place.I first visited Pokaini forest back in 2008 or 2009. A lot has changed (developed) since then. During my latest trip here in May 2018, I did find many things have greatly improved like there is a kind of a tourism information center built, more trails are made and actually, the territory seems much larger than it was some 10 years ago. Not sure…
Rustavi Auto Market (Buying a Car in Georgia)
Rustavi auto market is one of the most popular and useful places for buying a used car in Georgia (imported mostly from the US, but probably also from Asia and Europe). It was at the end of 2018, we decided to buy a car here in Georgia. After research on the most popular Georgian auto website myauto.ge we decided to stick with a Volkswagen Touareg car (yes, damn expensive in exploitation, but safe)To get to the Rustavi I decided to call my old pal - Ramaz, sincere taxi driver. Ramaz helped to inspect cars, translate conversations and at the end even to screw car plates on our new car. Rustavi is really close to Tbilisi, the drive didn't take more than 30-40 minutes…
Panorama Riga Observation Deck (Latvian Academy of Sciences)
The 107-meter tall building is considered the first high-rise in Latvia. It has been a prominent fixture of the Riga cityscape since the 1950s.There are a total of 766 rooms on the 23 floors, occupied by scientists, researchers, historians, and various companies. It was in May 2018, when I first visited the observation deck located in Latvian Academy of Sciences building) and I was really impressed. So impressed that I would call this place actually the Empire State Building of Riga. Instead of paying USD 65 and waiting a couple of hours in the line (like in the NYC) here we paid EUR 5 entry ticket and without any line were taken up to the observation deck. Awesome. The Empire…
Dzveli Duqani
Dzveli Duqani is a typical Georgian cuisine restaurant located next to Didi Dighomi II Micro District on Davit Aghmanashabeli avenue's 12th km (you can get here when driving from Tbilisi mall back to the city)Discovered by accident in January 2019, after returning from Mtskheta. Next, to the restaurant, there is a small parking space under the bridge. Prices at Dzveli Duqani is considerably lower than those in the city center, but what's most important, food served here is really delicious. Homemade style French fries at Dzveli duqani in TbilisiWow, just amazing, the best portion of French fries you can see above, cost just GEL 5 here (as of…
Hualing Tbilisi Sea Plaza
Tbilisi Sea Plaza trading center is located in the eastern suburbs of Tbilisi City, near the Tbilisi Sea.I first heard about this "project" back in 2013 or something, and actually tried to visit it already in 2015, without luck. Turns out this place has been opened for the public just since the end of 2016. Despite been opened for public for a while already this place is not close as popular as Tbilisi Mall or East Point shopping malls located in the suburbs of Tbilisi. I believe the reason is the missing anchor tenant, some large food storeIt was at the end of December 2018, we were wandering around Tbilisi in our new Volkswagen Tuareg car, and decided to locate this place finally.And…
Cafe "Kāpenieki" in Aizpute
Cafe Kāpenieki has been one of my best finds in the Aizpute town in Western Latvia. Tasty, traditional Latvian cuisine for a very decent price. The fun fact, at this place in May 2018 I opened my first online brokerage account and soon started to acquire European and the US stocks. Also, they sell tasty Kvass, which is manufactured by a company listed on Nasdaq Baltics (Gubernija). lolTraditional Latvian Cold soupThe main course at cafe Kāpenieki in AizputeToo big to fail, too large to eat in the first attempt. Damn tasty though.Located inside the old and neglected, but renovated Soviet-era building, Cafe Kāpenieki attracts locals and visitors from nearby towns and…
January 2019 Dividend Income Report - $174.71
Welcome to the twenty-first (#21) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks, peer to peer lending (both fiat and cryptocurrencies) in January 2019. Wow, times flies, the last January disappeared like a flicker, little miss Fischer baby girl turned already 6-month old. This January also marked a small 2 years anniversary since In originally set my goal to have in savings account 1 million dollars by 2045. In general, January was great for most of the investors (except probably just crypto investments) as in January most markets recovered after the sluggish year end of 2018. From the point of dividends, last…
Chinese Restaurant Ensemble (Hotels & Preference Hualing Tbilisi)
Chinese Restaurant Ensemble is located in a 5-star hotel "Hotels & Preference Hualing Tbilisi" near the Tbilisi Sea in the so-called - Tbilisi Sea New City. I got a recommendation to visit this restaurant from some other Tbilisi expats. So some Saturday afternoon in a company of the same expats we visited this place and I had a chance to try really authentic Chinese cuisine. Hotels & Preference Hualing Tbilisi buildingHere is what it's all about:For pure gourmets, the hotel offers an authentic Chinese Restaurant - ENSEMBLE with a masterful blend of ingredients and spices. Enjoy authentic Chinese dishes from various regions and provinces…
Day trip to Bolnisi and nearby vicinity
Day trips to Bolnisi and region of Kvemo Kartli are quite possible and easy done from Tbilisi.
In the mid-December, we bought an SUV VW Touareg car and it was just the right time to put it on the test, so we decided to make a day trip to some easy and close place from Tbilisi.
As we were traveling with our 5-month-old daughter it was important to return home the same day, though there are some great hotels available in Bolnisi. Bolnisi is located just some 70 km from Tbilisi and it might take about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get there.
Bolnisi is located in the Kvemo Kartli region, Georgia. It has an estimated 13,800 inhabitants.
In 1818 the…
Bird Watching Tower on Sloka Lake
Bird watching tower on Sloka lake actually is a floating platform which is a very popular tourist attraction among the locals and bird watchers.Discovered in the early May 2018, during our "living in Jūrmala" series. Bird watching tower on Sloka LakeThe bird watching tower actually is just one point from Sloka lake walking trail:The trail winds through diverse forest settings along the coastline of the lake populated by numerous waterfowl. It starts and ends next to Sloka Lake, where there is a car parking lot a picnic site and a 7 m high floating overhead platform for sightseers. Hiking on the trail takes you to a number of interesting sites: the swamp forests of…