Daugavgrīva Fortress in Riga. Where Russia first gained access to the sea

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My love for castles is irresistible and visiting a country without visiting fortifications is possible only if they are not within 100 – 200 kilometers. However, in the Baltics there are no problems with this, and therefore from Riga we went to Daugavgriva fortress. Thankfully, it is very close by.

This fortress is located on a peninsula in the Gulf of Riga and has a very rich history. Today it is part of one of the districts of the Latvian capital. Let’s walk around the ruins together, and at the same time I will show you photos, tell you about my own impressions and share important information for visiting.

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Bernardine Garden in Vilnius, where it is pleasant to walk in the evenings

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Vilnius is the third most populous capital in the Baltics. And this imposes a certain imprint: transportation, crowds of tourists…. At such a moment you always want, after a long day of sightseeing, to dive into a park…. Or take shelter there from the sultry summer sun in the heat of the day. The Bernardine Garden is a wonderful place for this.

When quite by chance we wandered here in 2018, I genuinely wondered how I missed it, having explored this part of town so much in 2013, especially around the Užupis neighborhood.

After a couple of minutes of studying the history of the park, the question fell away by itself. And what it is and how to get here – I will tell you in this article.

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Pääsküla bog, Tallinn. No need for Susanin here!

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Tell me, what comes to mind when most people hear the word “swamp”, especially if they have never seen it in their lives and know only from movies and fairy tales about this type of landscape?

I was sure it was something completely bleak. However, how could one come to Estonia and not visit the bogs? It took a long time to convince my companion that it would be interesting there, and yet we planned a trip to Pääsküla bog.

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Protolche and Khortytsia floodplains (Khortytsia Nature Reserve)

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Khortytsia floodplains and Protolche

At the southernmost tip of Khortytsia Island, which stretches across the Dnieper River in the city of Zaporizhzhia, there are remnants of floodplains. Nearby is the territory of former settlements called Protolche. This is a protected area where you cannot drive a car or ride a bicycle, sail a boat or kayak. And you cannot walk everywhere here either.

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Want to save nature? Buy a live Christmas tree!

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The dynamics of the destruction of Carpathian forests for export. Source: zik.ua

So, now I’m going to break your stereotypes and your consciousness. Because I promised to write about this, and so I’m keeping my word.

So, New Year’s Eve is just around the corner. Traditionally, wonderful coniferous trees will appear in apartments and houses around the world: firs, pines… They will delight children and parents with their appearance and aroma, but they will terribly depress “environmentalists,” who already in November began posting nonsense on social media such as “A Christmas tree was born in the forest, let it live there,” “Buy an artificial Christmas tree — save nature,” and the like.

And now I come along and say something completely incomprehensible that no one can wrap their head around: “If you want to save nature, buy a live Christmas tree!” Oh, the horror =)

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How to protect your bicycle wheels from punctures

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Do you often have a punctured bicycle tube? You can’t imagine a ride without nerves and pulling out spikes? I understand you very well, believe me! I faced this problem as soon as I bought my first adult bike and went for a ride in the city park. That ride turned into constant tire inflation and taping at all the service stations I encountered. And such a condition continued for many more years.

The reason for this, of course, is the area where I live. It is the endless steppes of Zaporozhye, where thorns from acacia, yakorza (the main pest, by the way) and various weeds are everywhere. For example, after driving along the asphalted road for 10 kilometers, I punctured the wheel 7 times. I extracted about 50 spikes from the tread, which did not reach the camera with the help of tweezers. And this is the norm for this kind of terrain. What to say about traveling cross-country, even somewhere in the steppes of Khortytsia or Zaporozhye plains?

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The Sinai desert as an alternative reality

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Sinai Desert. This is the name of the part of the Sahara that is located on the Sinai Peninsula and belongs, for the most part, to Egypt.

My introduction to the area first took place in 2018, when I flew to Egypt to swim in the sea in winter on a regular package tour and decided to go to the famous St. Catherine’s Monastery.

Since the monastery is located in the central part of the peninsula, in the mountains, and Sharm el Sheikh on the southern coast, I had a long road through the desert on an old, traditional in the Middle East minibus toyota.

I must say that I did not regret it one bit. Even from the window of the bus, the surrounding scenery is breathtakingly beautiful.

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Snorkeling: how to choose a mask, snorkel, fins and swim underwater correctly

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The underwater world beckons with beauty and mystery. Snorkeling is an opportunity to look into this magical world of fish, coral and absolute blue. In this article we will talk about snorkeling, where both technical and psychological aspects are covered. From it you will learn how to choose a snorkel and mask, whether you need fins and a wetsuit, where and when it is better to dive and how to do it to get maximum pleasure. I will also cover the issue of underwater photography and videography.

If you are attracted by the desire to see rivers, lakes, seas and oceans from a non-standard angle, and not just lie on the shore under the sun – then this article is definitely for you, do not be lazy to read, and learn the charm of snorkeling!

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Numismatics in traveling – collecting coins from different countries

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When you go on a trip, there is a question of what to bring yourself as a memory, what souvenir to buy… People without imagination buy up magnets … Of course, this has the right to be, but not everyone has to magnetize the refrigerator. Therefore, everyone chooses for himself some hobby, collecting, which can be realized with the help of travel.

I have a number of such collections. I talked about it in the article “What to bring back from a trip”: postcards, tickets for public transport, photos and videos.

One of these passions – numismatics, and simply – collecting circulating coins. It does not require special expenses financial or time, it is easy to realize the collection of necessary things that do not take up a lot of space and well stored. Information about this hobby and I want to share with you today.

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