Blog Archive: March 2019
Chailuri Fortress
| Military Heritage | 15 seen
Chailuri fortress is located between Manavi and Kakabeti villages in the region of Kakheti (or about one hour drive from Tbilisi towards Sighnaghi) on a hill right next to the Kakheti highway.
Fortress is a small pentagonal citadel with towers. The history of this fortress is shrouded in mystery.
The fortress is well visible from the highway side, but visitors rarely take stop here, so did I made my first stop here on January 12, 2019, when returning from Sighnaghi, I should add that I took a wrong entrance road and actually didn't reach the fortress, but at least I made a couple of photos and was able to track the name and sort of history for this place. Which is complicated.
Chailuri fortress in Georgia
Here is what I was able to find about Chailuri fortress in Russian (Source) Rough translation by me.
The height of the walls reaches 3-4 meters, and their width is 1.5-2 meters. Many historians believe that it was built at the beginning of the 17th century and for a long time served as a residence for the then ruler Shadiman Baratashvili.
Some disagree with this opinion and…
Restaurant Laivas
| Restaurant reviews | 17 seen
Dine in amazing ambiance on the banks of Lielupe river, in Jūrmala, Latvia.
We visited Restaurant Laivas for a brunch menu (if I remember correct EUR 18 per person) back in June 2018.
Now I have another great addition to Jūrmala restaurants list
Interior at Laivas Restaurant in Jūrmala
The brunch menu at Laivas
Sweets at Laivas restaurant
The True Story of the Internet: Dot Com Bubble (Documentary)
| Documentaries | 42 seen
Older, but still good documentary about the dot-com bubble from early 2000-s. Would recommend watching to crypto investors now.
The dot-com bubble (also known as the dot-com boom, the tech bubble, and the Internet bubble) was a historic economic bubble and period of excessive speculation mainly in the United States that occurred roughly from 1995 to 2000, a period of extreme growth in the usage and adoption of the Internet.
The Nasdaq Composite stock market index, which included many Internet-based companies, peaked in value on March 10, 2000, before crashing. The burst of the bubble, known as the dot-com crash, lasted from March 11, 2000, to October 9, 2002. During the crash, many online shopping companies, such as Pets.com, Webvan, and Boo.com, as well as communication companies, such as Worldcom, NorthPoint Communications and Global Crossing failed and shut down. Others, such as Cisco, whose stock declined by 86%, and Qualcomm, lost a large portion of their market capitalization but survived, and some companies, such as …
Spring in Tbilisi (near Turtle lake)
| | 9 seen
Spring has finally reached Tbilisi. In today's Piece of Life, a few shots from our baby walk near Turtle Lake on March 6th, 2019
Sprouts and blue snowdrops. Can't wait for April.
Blue snowdrops near Turtle lake in Tbilisi
Early sprouts
Piece of Life
February 2019 Dividend Income Report - $83.25
| Investments | 21 seen
Welcome to the twenty-second (#22) dividend income report, covering earnings I've made from dividend-paying stocks, peer to peer lending (both fiat and cryptocurrencies) in February 2019.
February was quite a windy here in Tbilisi, we did a couple of road trips around the country this month (All about Georgia) and I spent some time photographing (there are now zillions of baby photos and videos)
Here is a windy and cold evening in Tbilisi done in HDR
HDR photo from Tbilisi
It has been a while since I have made HDR photography, so in the middle of the month I decided to catch the golden hour here in Tbilisi from the balcony of our apartment (that's the view I see every day since October 2019)
Now, when speaking about the dividend income, the last February was a bit unplanned - two companies (Baltic Horizon Fund and BGLF) decided to pay a dividend in March, instead of February, and that's the reason actually for such a low month (on the other hand we will see a really huge boost in March).
$83.25 was taken from dividend…
'The Kim dynasty in North Korea' DW Documentary
| Documentaries | 12 seen
Lately, DW has been one of my favorite sources for documentaries, 'The Kim dynasty in North Korea' is a great short documentary for those trying to educate on North Korea topic.
Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump did hold a second summit meeting in late February in Vietnam. At their June 2018 summit, they agreed to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
But does North Korea intend to give up its nuclear weapons program? Some attribute the recent chain of events to the long-term stability of North Korea's ruling dynasty. North Korea has consistently refused to give up the nuclear program that it has been pursuing since 1962. Washington has been equally consistent in changing its policies toward Pyongyang. And what will become of the US commitment to protect South Korea and Japan? Our report outlines the history of North Korea's nuclear program, and also explains how the US has helped to enhance Pyongyang's strategic position. Every recent US administration - from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump - has changed the country's policy toward North Korea. American presidents come and go, but the Kim dynasty remains in place.
…
Moxy Hotel Lobby Bar in Tbilisi
| Restaurant reviews | 29 seen
Moxy hotels lobby bar in Tbilisi serves delicious coffee latte and offers a really stylish interior. The one you could find in the fine NYC hotels or at least high-end hotels in Georgia.
Discovered by accident in January 2019 while walking with our almost 6-month old daughter. For me, it was something new to learn that Moxy is a brand by Marriott. If I were to travel to Tbilisi I might consider booking a hotel room here as well (despite it might be pricey, as paid for two lattes here almost GEL 20)
Top 10 Boutique / Luxury Hotels in Tbilisi (Georgia)
Interior at Moxy hotels lobby bar in Tbilisi
A trendy design popping all around the world nowadays. See: Rooms Hotel Kazbegi
Moxy hotel in Tbilisi
Might be a good place for meeting point as well
Charlie Pizza, Mazeikiai
| Restaurant reviews | 16 seen
Charlie Pizza is a Lithuanian fast food chain located all across the country, serving pizza, salads, pasta and other freshly prepared dishes.
It was in May 2018, when we visited the one located in the Mazaikai town.
Starter plate at Charlie Pizza in Mazeikiai, Lithuania
Lithuanian Cepelinai served at Charlie Pizza
Cepelinai or didžkukuliai (singular: cepelinas) is a popular dish in Lithuania. They are a type of dumpling made from grated and riced potatoes and usually stuffed with ground meat, although sometimes dry cottage cheese (curd) or mushrooms are used instead. So named because their shape resembles that of a Zeppelin airship, cepelinai are typically around 10–20 cm long, although the size depends on where they are made: in the western counties of Lithuania cepelinai are made bigger than in the east. After boiling, the cepelinai are served with sour cream sauce and bacon or pork rinds.
A burger at Charlie Pizza
You'll find Charlie Pizza at most of the larger cities of…
Fluffy Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
| Food blogger | 11 seen
On January 13th, 2019 little baby Fischer girl turned 6-month old, to celebrate it, we enjoyed a lovely Old New Year's Fireworks in Tbilisi and momma baked tasty fluffy lemon/raspberry cupcakes.
Lemon / raspberry cupcakes
Ingredients & Instructions(Source: LEMON RASPBERRY CUPCAKES)
LEMON CUPCAKES
- 6 tbsp (84g), unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cups (155g) sugar
- 6 tbsp (86g) sour cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 1/4 cups (163g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 tbsp (60ml) milk
- 2 tbsp (30ml) water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
RASPBERRY FROSTING
- 4 oz (113g) raspberries
- 1/2 cup (112g) salted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (95g) shortening
- 4 cups (460g) powdered sugar
- Raspberries, for topping
- Lemon slices, for topping
INSTRUCTIONS