Musings on Turkey

(overlooking the Bosphorous and Asia at breakfast on the roof)

Istanbul Day 2 - July 8

When I got off the plane last night, I was walking to passport control when I saw a sign that gave me a mini-heart attack: Visas required for these countries, followed by a list that included Canada. Was my research wrong? Could I not buy one at the airport like I thought? I'm going to be stranded in a Turkish airport, what a disaster! I went up to a help desk and this wonderful young man assured me that I could indeed buy one in the airport for $60 USD, and then proceeded to walk me through directions to my hostel so I wouldn't have to pay for a taxi from the airport. He wrote his number down on the map and said to call him if I had any trouble. I didn't even get his name...

By the time I had got this all sorted out, I went to retrieve my bag, and saw an empty luggage belt that had stopped moving. Cue the heart palpitations. I've lost my luggage for the first time this trip.

I head to lost luggage to ask for some help, and this lovely young Turkish woman looked into it for me--turns out I was looking at the wrong flight from Athens. oops. We went to the proper belt and saw my bag, the lone ranger, just waiting for me to find it. Turkish people are SO nice!

I had to take a subway, transfer to a tram, then get off at Sultanahmet (near all the tourist stuff) and walk a bit. I didn't trust myself finding this place on foot at night, and didn't want to end up in a dark alley weighed down by 80 lbs of baggage, so I haggled with a taxi to take me. They said I could walk, but I'm glad I just took the car. So much easier. Plus i got to refine my bargaining skills!

The city is really unlike anything I've ever seen. You feel like you're in the middle east, but without the poverty, so it still feels like Europe, but there's so much history--the city is older than both Athens and Rome. Napoleon said that "If the Earth was a single state, Istanbul would be its capital." I can see why...

I woke up this morning still clutching my valuables, which is a good sign for safety in this new hostel. I seem to have misplaced my lock, so until I can buy another one (maybe at the Grand Bazaar), they are being carried with me at all times.

There is free breakfast included, so I headed up to the roof to enjoy some turkish coffee and whatever they eat for breakfast (cucumber, tomato, unidentified pungent cheese, unidentified meat, and bread with fake nutella). I ate in the open air, overlooking the Bosphorous and the gateway to Asia. I'm about as far east as you can possibly go in Europe.

As I was unpacking last night, I realized my aerosol sunscreen had exploded and was totally empty (thanks for the ziploc bags, Mom! My clothes are safe!) so I headed to the nearest market to buy some more. Only one problem: buying sunscreen that is good enough for my alabaster complexion is actually like the quest for the Holy Grail. The highest I've seen so far is SPF 4...

I may or may not come back with skin cancer.

Today I'm having lunch at this place near the Blue Mosque called Cafe Medusa, which had all sorts of signs outside with good reviews from the NY Times, tripadvisor, etc. So I figured I should check it out. I grabbed a table under a lemon tree, and ordered fried squash with cheese and eggplant stuffed with minced meat--hopefully it's good Turkish food! I've seen some signs for Turkish cooking classes near my hostel, so I may indulge tonight or tomorrow.

Fried squash appetizer:

Stuffed eggplant entree:

Things I still want to do here: - Hamam (turkish bath) - Sightsee the Sultans Palace, Hagia Sofia, and the Blue Mosque - Grand Bazaar - Walk over to Asia

I think Turkey is a democracy, but religion is definitely at the forefront of their society--you have to state your religion on your identification. Turkey is 98% muslim, so there are mosques everywhere. 5 times a day, people just drop everything, turn towards the sun, and perform their prayer rituals. It's quite strange seeing this happen in the middle of the sidewalk, but I guess that's part of life here. I heard it's rude to take pictures of people praying, so I refrained, otherwise I'd show you what I mean. I don't need to be thrown in Turkish prison or something, though, so I'm not about to test my luck. You can also hear the prayers being called or sung over a PA system, which gives the feeling that you aren't in Europe anymore.

I'm a few days behind in posting because the wifi at the hostel was really shady. I'll catch up in the next few days.

Steep learning curve in Planning.

I originally booked 3 days in Istanbul before my flight to India via Dubai, but realized after I hadn't factored in travel time. I changed my reservation in Istanbul to 2 nights, booked a night in Thessaloniki and thought I would be fine. Take the ferry to the mainland from Corfu, bus to Thessaloniki, and train the next day to Istanbul. Apparently due to Greece's financial troubles, that train has been suspended indefinitely from service. Now I have an extra night that I have to fill, another deposit I'll lose because I don't want to go to Thessaloniki anymore if I'm not taking the train, and I have to find a flight. I didn't fly in the first place because there are no direct flights from Corfu to Istanbul, so I have to connect in either Athens, Vienna or Stuttgart, making the trip minimum 4 hrs of flying.

In short, planning fail. But how could I know? I'm off to find a flight from Corfu instead, and see if Istanbul will give me back 3 nights. Ugh what a disaster...this is one time where I'm glad I'm traveling alone, because I'm pretty sure whoever I would travel with would want to shoot me right about now.

Cor-fun In The Sun

corfu from the plane Corfu Day 1 - July 4

Happy Independence Day! In other pointless exclamations, Corfu. is. beautiful. I had a window seat on the plane, and I just stared out the window the entire time because I couldn't believe I was actually going there (side note: the coast of Albania is amazing, highly recommend checking that out on a future trip).

I touched down to sun and beautiful scenery, and am so glad I picked this over Romania! I was thinking of continuing east because that's the easiest way for me to get to Istanbul, but I just realized, this is my trip, I can do whatever I want, and I want to go to places that I'm excited about, not just going for the sake of going.

The hostel I booked offers free pick ups from the airport, which I gladly accepted -- even though I had to wait an hour for her to show up. I'm glad I waited though, as taxis to the hostel are about 50 Euros. Welcome back to "Western Europe", Katy.

The hostel is family owned and run, like the last one, but it's pretty remote, so it operates almost more like a resort--breakfast and dinner are included, and there's a bar in there too. It's kind of weird though, because this is also where the family lives, so you'll be at the bar and then turn around and one of her kids is watching tv in the living room.

The room is very small, although coming from our last hostel (18 foot ceilings) I guess I'm kind of spoiled. Reality check. It's also kind of sketchy security-wise...there's an old key to my room, that I share with one other person, and that's it. No locker or anything. So I've been carrying all my valuables around with me because I don't trust it in the room.

The location is definitely why people go here. The views are just breathtaking, and there's a patio that you can sit in with unobstructed views of the Ionian Sea in every direction. It's so beautiful it's surreal.

I quickly changed and headed down to the beach where all these lounge chairs were scattered. I found an empty one and laid out, basking in the Greek sun and feeling like a million bucks until I hear a voice. "You pay?" I'm thinking what is this? "You pay," he repeated. Ummmm no? "Then you leave." Apparently the chairs cost money, something my hostel neglected to mention! Screw that, I packed up and took it as a sign that I shouldn't be baking myself any longer.

Tonight, I just hung out at the bar and chatted with the staff a bit--there's not too many people staying here, so tables were eventually pulled together and I met a couple from England and 2 people traveling together from Perth, Australia. They were really great, but they left the next morning :(

At about 3 am, we decided to run down to the beach and go for a late night dip in the Sea. It was one of the best moments of my trip. All you can see is the water, and this massive canopy of stars everywhere you look, because there was no moon. I just remember opening my arms, looking up, and thinking, 'Life is amazing.' I really hope everyone experiences a moment like that at some point..it's hard to describe but you'll know when it happens.

After about 10 seconds we realized how cold we were and ran up to the hotel on the beach and crashed their pool so we could warm up...sorry if you were staying there. But you're not using the pool at 3 am anyway.

Tomorrow I'm going to take the bus into town (about 30 min) and explore a bit--I want to go horseback riding, parasailing, and rent a quad to see the rest of the island at some point, so today is my time for relaxation.

Hungarian Hyperinflation

Budapest Day 1 - July 1 Happy Canada Day! I wore my t-shirt with the flag on it during our travel day in honor of the occasion (thanks, Beacon Hall!).

We checked out of the hostel in Vienna and caught an 11:54 train to Budapest, which took about 3 hours. This was my first train ride of the trip, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was reasonably priced, compared to flying, even without a Eurail Pass- I paid 36 Euros. We arrived at Keleti station at 3 pm and were immediately greeted by several men and old ladies consecutively asking us if we needed a nice hostel...ummm so you can lock me in your dungeon or watch me while I sleep? No thanks.

Nothing is in English, and no one speaks English here. It's quite overwhelming, this is the first Country I've been in where nobody speaks my language and I don't know any of theirs. We managed to figure out which way the exit was, amid other travelers clutching their belongings tight--Keleti confirmed earlier comments that theft is common in Eastern Europe. I was not getting a good vibe from this place, even though I was trying really hard to like it.

We found a bank and withdrew about 200 dollars each...which translated to 40,000 Forints. Gotta love that inflation. Really confirming eastern european stereotypes. Necessary ballin' photo included:

We navigate the subway, which is indicated by a rough sketch on a piece of plywood with an arrow...yeah, Im feeling great about this place so far. A one-way fare costs 320, but all we have are 10,000 notes. which the ticket lady and the machine both will not take. I guess the bank likes to get rid of them so they spit them out of the ATM at tourists like us to deal with. It took a trip to an exchange booth and a stop at McDonalds before we had proper denominations of Forints that were usable.

Speaking of. I have had McD's in every city so far, and this may become a tradition--not gonna lie, it's kind of fun to try the local specialty, it's dirt cheap, and you probably won't die from eating it. Although the security guard standing at the door didn't do my sense of security any favors. Is this a target for tourists here? Can I trust you with my life here, Ronald?

We finally found the hostel, which is essentially a 3-bedroom apartment. Really nice. And so different than our last hostel. This is family-owned; they did our laundry for us! And they only staff reception from about 9-5. The rest of the time, we're on our own. There are no locks on the doors, but we have codes to the gates and outer doors. Interestingly enough, I actually feel like my stuff is safer here than in Vienna, I guess I trust this family? May be a terrible life decision, so I'm still being careful and using the locker provided.

So. After we check in, we relax for a bit before getting ready to meet up with some guys from Manchester that the boys had met earlier on their trip. They're in Budapest at the same time but in a different hostel. We trekked over to their hostel (which was like a mexican cantina party--salsa lessons, a pool, and a cabana bar full of goth locals--such a weird and random combination!) and hung out there from about 10 pm til 1:30 am.

Then we hit the club. This place, INSTANT, had 6 bars and 23 rooms. No cover charge, and beer was 350 Forints. The exchange rate is 189:1. So less than 2 bucks for a pint? Don't mind if I do!

We headed down the stairs and emerged in an underground cavern that used to be an old wine cellar. In Budapest many of the bars are "ruin pubs", old ruins that have been converted into popular night spots. It's hard to describe the feeling that came with being in a place like that, knowing its age and history in those walls, seeing the scene of writhing bodies in front of me, just completely lost in the music of the DJ, knowing how lucky I am to be here, experiencing moments like this. It was just a fleeting feeling, but those are why I am on this trip. That's what I seek.

We explored the rest of the club, which included a top 40 room, a bar with seating, and plenty of random alcoves, but the underground techno extravaganza was definitely the highlight. Even the DJ was getting pumped just looking at how much the crowd was into the moment.

We danced til the sun came up...it was about 6:30 am by the time we hit the sack.

Today we are going on a walking tour of Buda (Fun fact, Budapest is actually 2 cities separated by the Danube River--Buda, and Pest).

Also, random observation: public washrooms in Hungary are not fans of toilet paper. Another strike against Eastern Europe. Thank god for Shopper's travel section--I knew that roll would come in handy.

Wienerschnitzel and the Opera: Traditional Vienna

Vienna Day 3 - Thurs 30 Today was our 2nd day in Vienna for sightseeing, so we had breakfast in the hostel and headed out to Schonnbrunn Palace, another Hapsburg Dynasty creation.

This palace was originally a summer hunting lodge for the royal family, but it was equally impressive to the first place we saw. We did the Grand Tour which was $9.50 Euros (student discount) and included 25 rooms. There was a 40 room tour for 13.50 but we decided the smaller tour was enough. The preservation of the palace was incredible--they have restored everything perfectly, so it really feels like you're seeing what life was like back then.

I didn't realize Marie Antoinette and Archduke Franz Ferdinand were descendants of the Hapsburg dynasty. I read on Wikipedia that the dynasty ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire for 6 centuries, until incest and inbreeding eventually wiped the line out completely. Fun Fact about the royals.

After the tour, we headed around the palace to the back gardens, where I'm assuming the hunting happened. The grounds were massive, yet perfectly manicured. There were extensive gardens, with a hill at the back, which we climbed. At the top you could look out and see all of Vienna--great view.

By that point it was about 2:30 so it was time to head back to the hostel and get ready to hit the Opera (after a quick pit stop at McDonald's, of course). We heard you can get standing room only tickets for under 5 Euros, but you have to go really early and wait in line. Since tonight was the last performance of the opera before they go on hiatus for the summer, we expected it to be packed, and we were right. Luckily we planned for this, and went 3 hours early to wait in line--there were about 25 people in front of us. It's a good thing we dressed up a bit too; people were getting turned away at the doors for wearing shorts (apparently t-shirts were fine..I was not impressed though. You look like a tourist, not someone who belongs at the opera. I always dress up to go to the symphony or the ballet, it's almost like a sign of respect to the performance. So I wore my birthday dress and felt like I belonged.)

We finally bought our tickets and headed into the theatre, where there were several rows of steps where you stand and tie a scarf or something on a railing in front of you to mark your place; they really cram you in there, but people are pretty respectful of the place you marked.

The performance started, and it was Katja (......), which I had never heard of. I was kind of hoping for something traditional like Die Zauberfloete, so some of the melodies I heard my mom singing as a child would be familiar, but no dice. This was a really confusing story in Russian, so I was glad they had the words (in English) on little screens where we were standing. The opera was about a married Russian woman who has an affair, feels guilty and spills the beans, then kills herself. Also included: Monster-in-law mother who practices S&M on the side, and unlikeable main character. The singing was fantastic, though. Kind of balanced out the strange story we witnessed.

We exited the theatre to weather 15 degrees colder than when we entered. After that, we figured we'd give our quest for TRUE Wienerschnitzel one more shot. John caved and had pizza, but Jamie and I held out, and boy were we glad we did. We were basically wandering the streets of Vienna looking for any place that had the traditional dish for under 15 Euros (we saw a few places in the 20 E range, no thanks. I'm not paying more for my meal than my accommodations), and we found this place that was in the basement of a building. Kind of sketchy, but we were starving so we thought let's give it a shot. We headed down 3 flights of stairs into this dungeon with a vaulted ceiling and discovered it had been a restaurant since 1591, pretty cool. Our schnitzel came and it was DELICIOUS. I devoured mine, my salad, and Jamie's too. He had a tougher time finishing but he made a valiant effort.

So. Traditional Viennese cuisine can be checked off my list. I didn't get to a dance class, but I did waltz on the subway, so I'm going to count that.

Tomorrow is Canada Day, and we're catching a train to Budapest, Hungary. Sad I'm missing the fireworks, so I'm repping my Canada t-shirt on the train today. Will be interesting to see how we fare in a country that speaks broken English at best, and we don't know a single word of Hungarian. Yikes.