A Hop, Skip, and an Ocean Away

Auf Wiedersehen

traveling_texan — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 08:01:00 GMT

We are back in Texas now. By the time we ended our final day in Vienna we needed to pack, grab a couple hours of sleep, and get our butts to the airport for a 6:25am flight. Therefore I didn’t have time to write about our day, but now I do! So here it is!

On Saturday (12/21) we got up early to go to the Naschmarkt with Thomas and have some breakfast. When we stepped outside it was sunny! (The first and only day we saw sun on our trip.) The Naschmarkt is a combination of outdoor vendor displays and indoor markets and restaurants. We walked around for a bit looking at all the fruits, veggies, cheese!, meats, and random souvenirs. We had breakfast at Café Drechsler across the street and then parted ways. Zach and I continued to poke around the Naschmarkt ending up at the HUGE flea market at the end. We spent a good amount of time looking around the flea market which had a wide variety of products. I did buy an embroidered purse, but for the most part we found that the vendors knew what their stuff was worth and asked higher prices than we were willing to spend. There were trinkets, records, clothing, purses, steins, shoes, toys, etc. Tons of things. We even saw a vendor selling traditional dirndls and lederhosen. I would love to have my own dirndl, but that will have to wait. After we walked the whole of the flea market we headed back through the Naschmarkt where we bought some truffle and parmesan butter-like substance to use on pasta and we sampled their truffle salami – YUM! We stopped by the shop Zach wanted to visit on our way out – Urbanek – but sadly, it was closed.

We left the Naschmarkt to make it to the opera house for the 1 o’clock tour (it was one of only two tours available during our stay). The tour was wonderfully informative especially since we weren’t able to see a performance. (I did order stand by tickets when we were in Austin, but tickets never opened up. There are standing tickets available an hour or so before the show, but neither one of us really wanted to stand for an entire opera.) The Wiener Staatsoper is pretty spectacular. It is not entirely original as it sustained fairly severe damages during WWII – I believe our guide said 8 bombs dropped on the opera house. Following the war, money was short and the opera house was not as important as other buildings. The façade is original and really stunning, but most of the building was restored during the late 40s and early 50s and definitely reflects that period. It is less grandiose – still gorgeous, but noticeably different from the imperialistic style of late 19^th century Vienna. Even so, I would still love to see a performance there sometime. It’s a beautiful building and has a long operatic history.

We left the opera and made our way out to Schloss Schönbrunn, the former imperial summer palace of the Hapsburgs. After we got our tickets we sat down in the café to finally try to infamous Sachertorte. We didn’t really find it to be spectacular – it’s just chocolate cake! Obviously it was good, but I think it has definitely been overhyped. Full of cake we left to explore the grounds a bit in the sunlight before heading inside to tour the palace. The palace is quite impressive. After 1743 Empress Maria Theresa made it one of her life’s projects to have it remodeled as her residence. We saw a lot of her influence in the decoration of many of the rooms in the rococo style. Only Emperor Franz Joseph’s rooms looked less-grandiose. Photographs are not allowed in the palace so I don’t have any examples, but google a couple of my favorite rooms for an idea: Porcelain Room, Great Gallery, Million Room, Chinese Round Cabinet Room. We timed our tour just right; we were able to see the palace and grounds in the sunlight and when we emerged from our tour the sun had already set. In the winter Schönbrunn is also home to a Christkindlmarkt which is more picturesque after dark with the palace lit up in the background. We hung out there for a while drinking Kaiser Punsch which is mulled wine with rum (we think) and shopping. We also had some sort of mac n’ cheese variation with bacon and leeks. We spent quite a while there browsing the many vendor stalls and ended up with a few more ornaments and some liqueur – Cappuccino and Apfelstrudel.

We left the market to do one final thing before meeting up with Thomas and Richard: Prater. The Wurstelprater is the oldest amusement park in the world. We went chiefly for the giant Ferris wheel – Wiener Riesenrad – which was built in 1897 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Franz Joseph I. It’s 212ft. tall and rotates VERY slowly. We went at night so we couldn’t see the entire skyline of Vienna very well, but Zach was still able to pick out the Rathaus and Stephensdom. It really was a lovely ride, even though being stopped at the top freaked me out. Now we have to watch The Third Man…

After our ride we left Prater to meet up with Thomas and Richard one last time at 1516 Brewing Co. where we had some delightfully American-like IPAs. We were there a little while before being booted out of our table and decided to end our night with one last piece of cake. The Imperial Hotel has its own torte which can only be found at the hotel unlike its more famous counterpart, the Sachertorte, which can be found all over Vienna. The Imperial Torte is better in my opinion. There were 3 different options that night – original, Schwarze Orange, and an anniversary edition. Zach had the original version and I tried the Schwarze Orange (a dark choc. orange). It was delicious and a wonderful to cap our time in Vienna. We should have bought one for home!

We went back to Thomas’s to pack and rest briefly before leaving at 4am to catch a 4:30 bus to the airport and then our flight. After a full 24 hours of travel we finally arrived back home in Austin. This trip was quick, but it was perfect. It would be wonderful to go back in the spring or summer and see more of each city in a more favorable temperature, but the point of this trip was to experience the Christmas markets – which we did! We visited 4 Christmas Markets in 3 different countries and brought home lots of gifts for ourselves and others. Although it was colder than what we’re accustomed to in Texas it was nice to be out in freezing temperatures drinking mulled wine and eating hot stews. The Christmas Markets need that bitter cold to really be such beacons of warmth and delight. It’s wonderful to be outside walking around in the cold and then be welcomed by the warmth of a comfy coffee house or the steam of glühwein billowing up in your face. Hopefully we can go back again.

**Huge shout-out to Thomas and Richard (& Milkana) for making our time in Vienna so wonderful! Thanks, guys!

Art & Cheer in Vienna

traveling_texan — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 10:46:00 GMT

Today we got a much earlier start. We were out the door, got breakfast, and at Albertina Museum just after it opened. We spent a few hours there. It's a nice museum with some really nice exhibits. We saw a good mix of Impressionism, Expressionism, Fauvism, even some Pointillism. There was the usual mix of Monet, Matisse, Derain, Gauguin, but I also liked a lot of artists that I don't know much about - Kandinsky, Jawlensky, Lebasque, Vlaminck, and Van Dongen. It was a really nice, compact museum with a good layout. The only downside was that there were a lot of school groups in the main exhibition and they were a little annoying at times and it could get pretty crowded.

We left Albertina and walked over to a café we had read about, but it looked really crowded since it was around lunch time so instead we walked across the street to the Rathausplatz Christkindlmarkt. I haven't really gone into much detail about the Christmas markets yet, but all of them are generally the same in principle. There are a bunch of vendor stalls selling ornaments, chocolates, various handmade crafts, a lot of beeswax candles, and ceramics. Then there are the food stalls with varying meals - in Budapest we had goulash and sauerkraut stew. THEN there are the most important stalls - the beverages. We've been drinking mostly mulled red wine, but we've also tried honey wine and white wine. Today we had gluhwein (mulled red wine) and we ate a kasekrainer which is a cheese-infused sausage - yum! In Vienna you are served mulled wine in a commemorative mug and you pay a deposit. If you return your mug before you leave the market you get your deposit back. So today was our first experience at a market in Vienna ( I think there are around 13 here) and it was great! I bought a painted ornament with the Rathaus on it and we walked around keeping warm with a couple mugs of gluhwein. Tomorrow we plan on visiting the market at Schonbrunn Palace.

After we were starting to get tired we decided to walk back over and try the café again. This time we were able to secure a seat easily. Café Landtmann was one of Freud's favorites in Vienna. The interior wood walls and comfortable bench seating really allows you to relax and read or write or think. We had some coffee and a cake and wrote up some postcards. We left Landtmann to do a little shopping at a music store for Zach and a book store for me. Then we headed back up to Thomas's to drop off our things before meeting him for dinner at Pizza Mari - his favorite pizza joint. Pizza Mari was delightful. We all had prosciutto pizzas and then followed it up with espresso and chocolate cake. It was a nice, filling dinner. It was already getting late and we had had a full day of walking so we decided to call it a night and just hang out back at Thomas's and make plans for our final day in Vienna.

Photos: Vienna

traveling_texan — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 09:48:00 GMT

Vienna

traveling_texan — Sat, 21 Dec 2013 09:46:00 GMT

Alright, we're in Vienna now. We got in on Wednesday night and Thomas surprised us at the train station! So we rode in to his place with him and he pointed out all the sights along the way. After we got in and put our things down we headed back out to walk around the city and grab a bite to eat. We stayed up pretty late that night and we were exhausted from our travel day and pit stop in Bratislava so we decided to sleep in the next morning.

So yesterday we got a late start after sleeping in, showering, and figuring out where we wanted to go. We ended up first at the Hofburg- the home of the Hapsburg dynasty for 6 centuries. It's a huge complex and can take a long time and multiple entrance changes to see different parts so we chose the Silberkammer (Silver Collection), Imperial Apartments, and Sisi Museum. The Silberkammer is more than just silver it's an amazing collection of tableware in glass, silver, and porcelain used by the Hapsburgs. It was an incredibly extensive collection. Some of it is even used today for state dinners. Upstairs we learned all about Empress Elizabeth (Sisi) -her marriage to Franz Joseph, her unhappiness about being in the spotlight, and her assassination. The tour continues with a look at Franz Joseph's study, waiting room, and audience room; Sisi's rooms; the first bathroom; and the family room. I thought it was really interesting since I didn't know anything about Sisi or her death and of course, it was interesting to see how they lived which was a little more simplistic than some of the palaces we've seen. At the same time, it was still pretty opulent. One of our favorite features was the giant ceramic stoves that most of the rooms had. They were beautiful.

After standing around for so long we decided to go sit down at a café and have a coffee. So we went to Vienna's oldest coffee house - Frauenhuber. Mozart used to live in the same building and Beethoven used to perform piano sonatas in the café. We stayed there for a little while, had some coffee, apple strudel, and a "ham roll." We thought the ham roll would be ham inside some bread rolls, but instead it was a long rolled up piece of ham stuffed with a type of potato salad and covered in mayonnaise. It did taste good, but it certainly looked odd. It was a nice comfy coffee house. I'd love to go back and just sit and read for a while.

We left Frauenhuber and headed over to Mozarthaus. Mozart lived all over Vienna, but this location is the only building that remains. It is also where Mozart lived when he was happiest, most productive, and most affluent. The museum was really well thought-out. It was three levels and began by describing Vienna during Mozart's life, then moved on to describing Mozart and his musical contemporaries, and last we walked through the rooms of his apartment where we learned about his life in those rooms. I highly recommend visiting it if you're in Vienna and have the time.

We left Mozarthaus to meet Thomas and our other former couchsurfer, Richard, and his girlfriend for schnitzel at Figlmuller. Figlmuller is a very popular tourist destination for schnitzel. They serve schnitzel bigger than the plate! It was all very delicious, but alas, I couldn't finish my entire schnitzel. Following dinner we went for beers at Esterhazykeller which is a basement (cellar) bar. It had a great atmosphere - the table next to us was even serenaded by a pair of musicians - and the waitresses were even wearing dirndls. It was a good end to the night and our Couchsurfing reunion.

Photos: Bratislava

traveling_texan — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 11:18:00 GMT

A Brief Stop in Bratislava

traveling_texan — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 11:17:00 GMT

Yesterday morning we got up pretty early since we wanted to catch the 9:25 train to Bratislava. Unfortunately, even though we were at the station in time, we didn't see the listing for our train's platform number. I asked customer service - which is notoriously apathetic in Budapest - and he told me that our train was leaving from Track 3. So we bought some breakfast and rushed over to platform 3. No train. We waited awhile - it's possible that it was running late, right? - and a train did finally show up. We got on; no one else did. So Zach asked one of the train operators if it was going to Bratislava and of course, it wasn't. So we had another two hours to kill before the next train to Bratislava. We were both pretty upset because there was no explanation for our missing the train - we weren't late, we had asked where it would be, and still we weren't on our way to Bratislava. So we ended up sitting in a rather depressed train station restaurant with tea and coffee until the next train arrived and we could board. This time we were out looking at the board at least 30 minutes before the departure so that there could be no room for error. Thankfully, everything worked out and we left Budapest at 11:25- right on time.

It was a pretty brief train ride, but it was made extra special due to a "happy hour" in the dining car. We bought a couple beers with our remaining forints and arrived in Bratislava 2 hours and 40 minutes later.

Once in Bratislava we stored our bags at the station, bought our tickets to Vienna, and headed out to the city centre. We decided to first get a bite to eat and some hot drinks so we went to a café I'd read about in a NYT article. In the article it was described as a place you might expect to find in Austin, TX or Berkeley, CA so of course, we wanted to check it out. Stur (pronounced Shtoor - there's an accent over the S and U) was a nice place and definitely had a little bit of an Austin vibe - small and cozy with antiques littered around the café, top hats as light fixtures - it fit the bill. We sat downstairs and realized that we had left our Slovak language guide in the locker with our bags! Thankfully our waitress spoke excellent English and we were able to order. We ordered some drinks - latte and chai latte - and then Zach had a bacon and mushroom quiche while I ordered a local specialty - an open-faced sandwich with bryndza which is cheese made with sheep's milk. The color reminded of red pepper hummus and it was spread on nice, think pieces of bread. It was a little tart, salty even, but quite tasty.

After heading back out into the cold we tried to visit a couple of museums that we had read about, but unfortunately our later arrival caused us to miss the last tours in both the Clock Museum and Hummel Museum. So instead we went to the Christmas Market and indulged in a few different types of mulled wine - a white wine, honey wine, and red wine and bought some gifts for others and ourselves. We also ate some type of nutella pastry - kind of like a crepe, but rolled up and drizzled with nutella. We walked slightly further to another square where the market continued and then up to St. Martin's Cathedral. Directly in front of the cathedral is a highway which was designed during Slovakia's communist days. When Bratislava was the capital of Hungary (while the Ottomans occupied Budapest) 19 Hungarian kings and queens were crowned in the cathedral. Unfortunately it was already too late for us to go inside and take a look around. Plus we decided to catch the 6:43 train to Vienna so we needed to get back to train station.

I wish we had been able to stay longer. Bratislava has a gorgeous city centre and if we had arrived earlier we could have seen and done a little bit more. Hopefully we will make it back to Slovakia sometime.

Farewell Budapest

traveling_texan — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 12:32:00 GMT

Today we got a little bit of a late start. We work up close to 10 and then Laszlo took us over to his local market to have breakfast - strudel! We parted ways afterward so that he could do some shopping and we could see what we wanted to on our last day. First we wanted to buy our train ticket to Bratislava for tomorrow so we stopped by the train station to pick those up and then we headed over to Buda to see the Castle District. We took the metro most of the way, but decided to walk across the Danube on the Chain Bridge, Budapest's iconic bridge. It was the first permanent bridge linking the two sides, Buda and Pest. It was heavily damaged during WWII during the German retreat in 1945, but has been restored and is beautiful today. Of course, it is the winter so walking across it today wasn't the most enjoyable experience, but we can say we've done it. Once in Buda we took a funicular up to the Royal Palace and surrounding area (Castle District). We chose to forego the palace and instead walked up to St. Matthias Church, a gorgeous neo-Gothic structure topped with a dazzling multi-colored tile roof. It is spectacular. And the interior, which took me by surprise, is just as beautiful. The walls and ceiling are painted with different scenes and designs. The colors aren't bright and so sitting inside was calming and comforting. It really does give off a feeling of refuge from the outside world. Just outside the church is the Fisherman's Bastion, seven small towers that represent the seven Magyar (Mudjar) tribes who claimed Hungary. From the Bastion there are fantastic views of the Parliament and Pest just across the Danube.

Since we were up on a hill and it was colder today, we were chilled to the bone after those few sights and so we headed down the street to take a break in a charmingly cozy coffee shop- Ruszwurm. We had tea, coffee, and a delightful chocolate cake. We stayed there for a while, warming up, writing post cards, and refueling. Then we begrudgingly went back outside to brave the cold and get back into Pest. We returned to the Christmas Market - this time it was dark when we arrived - and it seemed more festive already. The Christmas lights were on, there were more people, the steam rising off the food and mulled wine just put you in the Christmas spirit. We bought a few things we had seen the previous day and then sat down to a steaming bread bowl of goulash. It was great. Warmed us all the way through. Then, mulled wine and hot chocolate in hand, we set out to finish our shopping.

After watching some of the live music we decided to thoroughly warm ourselves by going to the thermal bath. There are a few in the city, but we chose Szechenyi which is in the City Park. It was a little confusing at first. The main entrance was closing in a hour when we arrived and we couldn't find anyone to ask (we had seen online that the baths were open later). Finally someone told us to walk around to the back and there we could access the pools until 10. Once we made it back there we paid and were given "watches" to access our lockers and enter the spa area. The locker rooms are gender separated so after splitting up we each put our belongings in a locker, changed into our swimsuits, and met in the hallway. We rented towels and then headed up to the outdoor pools. There's nothing quite like walking outside in 30 degree (F) temperatures in just a swim suit and a towel. BRRRRR. We quickly set our towels on a bench and high-tailed it into the pool. It was glorious. I think we stayed in the pool for about 1.5 hours before getting out to shower and change. The steam rolled off the pool all around us, sometimes getting so thick we could hardly see in front of us. It was beautiful. And warm.

We eventually forced ourselves out of the pool and back to the locker rooms to shower and change. We decided to end the night with a beer. We went to a Scottish bar off Andrassy - I think it was called Caledonia. We had a little food, a nice dark stout, and then we walked back to Laszlo's. A great way to end our time in Budapest.

Tomorrow morning we are leaving for Bratislava. Although we were only here a short while I thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would love to come back again some day.

**Photos coming soon!

Budapest

traveling_texan — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 11:50:00 GMT

Budapest has been wonderful! It's already the end of our time here so let me catch y'all up on what we did.

We arrived around 10pm on Sunday night. We collected our bags and took a taxi to our host, Laszlo's home. I think we arrived somewhere near 11pm. We stayed up a little while with him - he made us tea - and then we went to bed hoping to rest enough for our first full day.

Monday morning we got up fairly early and headed out into the city. We ended up first at a cozy coffee shop and tea house for breakfast - Mozaik. We spent a while there enjoying the atmosphere, our food and drink, and the opportunity to warm up after a long walk. We decided to see the Great Market Hall (Nagycsarnok) first. The Great Market Hall is a giant city market where you can buy fruits, vegetables, meat, booze, and of course lots of tourist knickknacks. The first floor is dedicated to the grocery items while the second has row upon row of craft stalls selling everything from scarves to figurines. There are also some food stalls on the 2nd floor and while we were very tempted we had just eaten our breakfast.

After leaving the Great Market we crossed the Danube on the Szabadsag Bridge over to the Buda side. It was quite cold and windy crossing the water! Once on the other side we were next to Gellert Hill which was named after the missionary who was reportedly rolled down the hill inside a barrel filled with nails. Yikes. Nestled in that hill is the Cave Church. From the outside it looked very interesting and we had read that there were passages leading deep into the hill that you could tour. Unfortunately the tour we took wasn't all that interesting.

Following our tour of the cave church we were feeling pretty cold and in need of some mulled wine so we decided to venture over to the Christmas Market in Vorosmarty Square. It was wonderful! We walked around with our hot wine, perusing craft stalls and food stalls, listening to Christmas music all while freezing our butts off! We bought a couple things and then sat down with more wine and a piping hot sauerkraut stew. I'm not really sure quite what it was, but it was exceptional. There was sauerkraut, there was sausage, another meat, and a sauce - it warmed us right up.

We left the Christmas Market resolved to come back the next day, made a quick detour to a bookstore just behind the Opera, and then headed back to Laszlo's to clean up and rest before our concert at the Opera House. Before we left Austin, I bought tickets to the Budapest Philharmonic Christmas Concert so that we could see the Philharmonic, but also see a performance at Budapest's gorgeous opera house. And it is gorgeous. Wow. It's a very intimate and opulent space - I know that my photos are inadequate. We had great seats on the floor. The concert was fantastic, the space was gorgeous - I'm so glad we had the opportunity to see a performance. It was just breathtaking.

Following the concert Laszlo met us outside and we walked around Pest for a while as he showed us different things about the city. We ended up at a very eclectic - a mix between Spider House and the Cathedral of Junk if you Austinites can imagine. It's a large space with several little bars on a few levels and a bunch of junk hanging all over the place. We had some mulled wine there and then headed out to grab some food. After going to a couple places and finding them closed we ended up at a great restaurant - Menza. Amazingly they stay open until midnight so we were able to eat a great meal even though it was after 11. Zach and Laszlo both had the duck liver with mashed potatoes while I had the Hungarian beef stew with spatzle. Everything was spectacular. We even ordered a side of cucumber salad to help even out our meals. It was a great way to end our first day.

We walked back to Laszlo's along Andrassy marveling at the beautiful buildings on either side, Heroes' Square at the end, and the entrance to City Park.

Photos: Budapest

traveling_texan — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 11:01:00 GMT

Farewell to Turkey

traveling_texan — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 02:19:00 GMT

On our final day in Amasra, Zach and I woke up early to walk around the town in its post-dawn calm. It seems in Turkey everyone gets started a little later in the day – shops open later, people eat breakfast at home with their families, and things stay just a little more quiet in the mornings. So it was nice to enjoy Amasra before the tourists came back out to play in the sun.

Amasra was once an important trading port for the Genoese (they rented it from the Byzantines), but under the Ottomans lost its importance and has since been a laidback spot for Turkish tourists. It’s a small town situated on a peninsula that juts out into the Black Sea. There are two islands – one connected by a Roman bridge (Büyük ada) and another off the coast a bit called Tavşan adası or Rabbit Island. There are small black rabbits hopping all over the island which we could even see from our boat tour.

Zach and I walked through the castle walls and over the Roman bridge to Büyük ada (big island) where we received spectacular views of Küçük Liman and the main part of Amasra. The morning light and the general quiet of the island made it an incredibly rewarding view. As we walked back into town we stumbled upon the local farmer’s market! We walked around admiring all of the fresh produce – vibrant greens and reds – and available products. We ended up with a couple jars of honey and the itch to come back for more with the rest of the group.

We stopped and had some breakfast at a café where Zach could have an espresso and I could have a chocolate éclair. It was great to have something other than cheese and bread for once! We went back to the pensiyon to collect Tim, Jenny, and Rudy and we headed back over to the farmer’s market. We bought several more jars of honey and some blackberries and strawberries to snack on around town. The guys wanted to get a shave at the local barber shop so we stopped in so all 3 of them could clean up before heading home.

After their shave we picked up our bags from the pensiyon and made the short trek to the bus station for our 3:30 bus to Istanbul. What should have been a 7 hour journey turned into 9 hours! As we got closer to the main bus station in Istanbul we encountered horrible traffic. One lane of traffic was taken over by parked cars while the remaining lane stood at a standstill. There were people walking around through the traffic and cars making U-turns to get away. We couldn’t get an explanation from anyone either. Before we knew it our bus was also making a U-turn and we went off in another direction only to encounter more traffic. Eventually we made it into the bus station, but were again stalled, this time by massive crowds of people (mostly young men) chanting, cheering, and shooting off fireworks for a specific bus’s departure. We never could find any information online about what we witnessed.

Luckily, our bus finally made it past the huge crowd and we were able to disembark. We grabbed our belongings and headed for the exit – which was thankfully away from the crowds – to look for a taxi. Our flight from Istanbul was scheduled to depart at 6:15am so we headed straight to the airport. We initially planned on getting two taxis since there were 5 of us, but the first cab driver we found decided he could fit all of our luggage and all 5 of us into his cab. He managed to get most of our luggage in the trunk before strapping the back down with a bungee cord and then cramming 4 of us into the back seat. Thankfully we weren’t far from the airport.

We arrived at the airport around 1:30am which gave us a little down time to nap or wander around. We were able to check in around 4am and go through passport check to wait for boarding to begin. From there we were only 3 planes away from home – the first leg to Rome, the second to Atlanta, and the third to Dallas.

Now that we're home I think about the people of Turkey most. Everyone we encountered was wonderfully friendly and full of life. They were eager to interact and learn - just like we were. If you have the chance to go, go soon. The culture, the language, the people will capture a place in your heart that cannot be surrendered.

Amasra: Our Beach Escape

traveling_texan — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 06:26:00 GMT

By the time we left, showered, and made it to bed we all probably got only 4 hours of sleep before we had to be up on Sunday. We were up at 7 and out the door around 7:35. We walked down, down, down to the bus office where we were picked up by minibus to be transported to the main bus station. Wow, what a mess! There was traffic continuously on the road in and out of the bus station. I didn’t see it let up one bit while we were there. There was a little confusion at first over whether or not we had missed our bus, but it turned out that it was late arriving. By the time we loaded up and left we were about 35 minutes behind our expected departure. The bus was nice and comfortable; there were tv sets in the back of each seat and Turkish tv for you to watch, we received tea and a snack at the beginning of the ride, and a few hours in we were given a nice rest at an auto stop (which was a collection of stores and one main area with a food court and toilets).

The trip took 7 hours. Tim and Rudy slept the majority of the way, Jenny slept a good amount, while Zach and I were the hold-outs. I watched as the scenery transitioned from rolling hills into beautiful pine forests and mountains. There wasn’t any evidence of commercial farming only small family farms with decent fields, cows grazing, and greenhouses set up. It was a pretty drive dotted with quaint mountain villages and sad, run-down towns. We arrived in Bartin, the stop prior to Amasra, and were the only tourists left on the bus. In addition to the five of us there were 3 older women – all Turkish. We became slightly concerned when at one point the bus turned in the opposite direction of the Amasra sign. We pulled into a gas station and were all instructed to get off the bus. I then noticed a minibus pull up. So we grabbed our things and loaded them into the minibus and set off toward Amasra at last. (If we had a better command of the Turkish language we would have known what was going on, as the crew made an announcement to all the passengers.)

The drive to Amasra was pretty. One we left Bartin behind we quickly made the ascent into the mountains and were taken up and up twisting, often cliffside roads. Finally we turned a corner and saw it: the Black Sea! Once we arrived in Amasra we gathered our things and walked into town. Since we didn’t have a map and Amasra is hardly mentioned in any of our guidebooks Zach tried asking a few people to direct us to our pensiyon. While the first couple of people we tried weren’t able to help we found one woman who was. She not only motioned us in the direction of the pensiyon, but walked us there.

Our pensiyon – Balkaya Pensiyon – is nice and clean. We’re paying TL100 each which is about $50 each for 2 nights – not bad! The owner is very friendly and speaks a little bit of English which helps. We are in the main area of town and are across from one of the town mosques. Incidentally that means that our rooms get an especially loud rendition of the call to prayer (although it hasn’t bothered us much). We were able to unload all of our things into our rooms and then explore a little bit.

Amasra is basically a resort town on the beach so there are a lot of people here right now. It’s not especially crowded, but you can tell it’s the height of the season. There are two harbors in Amasra – a little one and a big one – and they’re on either side of the town. So we walked down by Büyük Liman (big harbor) and saw the boats docked to give tours, the food vendors selling corn on the cob and potatoes on a stick (they reminded me of Texas taters at the fair), and fresh fish. We took a walk through the small craft bazaar they have here and picked up a couple of things then decided to have dinner at Mustafa Amca’nin Yeri, a fish restaurant overlooking Küçük Liman (little harbor). The restaurant had a great view of the sunset over the harbor. We ordered up some scorpion fish, anchovies, sea bass, and white mail fish along with a nice bottle of wine. Dinner basically knocked us out though and afterwards we were all ready to crash.

Today our plan was pretty simple: hang out at the beach.

Our pensiyon has breakfast arranged with a restaurant across the street and we were served olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, honey, cheese, bread, and a hard-boiled egg. After breakfast Zach, Jenny, and I wandered around a bit looking for the post office and inquiring about a boat tour. Then we rejoined Tim and Rudy to camp out at the beach on Küçük Liman. There are chaise lounge chairs provided along with umbrellas and an attendant from a restaurant above the beach to serve drinks, food, and aide with the chairs. We weren’t sure whether or not we need to pay for the chairs, but he came over and set up our umbrella and cleaned off the chairs so I guess they are complimentary. We spent several hours there and it was wonderful. The breeze allowed you to sit around without needing to get in the water and the water was warm enough that if you got in it wasn’t too cold (once you acclimated!). It was a great way to unwind from the hustle of Istanbul and relax before our trip home.

Amasra is mostly a tourist destination for Turks so it is quite possible that we are the only Americans here. So far there is less English spoken and we’ve all had to learn a couple more Turkish words, but everyone has been very friendly and accommodating of our inadequacy. It’s nice to finally be in a place where I feel like an outsider. Istanbul is so gigantic and cosmopolitan that you can almost forget you’re in a foreign country – although there are obviously indications. Amasra has given us the chance to see a different side of the country and its people and it’s refreshing.

Following our time at the beach we all wanted to eat so we went to a small pide (Turkish pizza) place not too far from the harbor. We wanted to end our final evening with a sunset boat tour so we headed over to the docks at the big harbor and hopped aboard. We received a lovely 45 minute tour of the town as the sun descended from its place in the sky. It was a great conclusion to the evening.

Now Tim and Rudy are smoking some nargile across the street and I think I’m about to call it a night. Only one more day in Turkey and only about half a day in Amasra. Tomorrow we leave at 3:30 to go back to Istanbul in order to catch our early morning flight on Wednesday.

Photos: Amasra

traveling_texan — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 05:58:00 GMT

The remaining photos from Amasra are in this Flickr set: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjHyJZnV

Our Final Day in Istanbul

traveling_texan — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 05:18:00 GMT

Saturday was our last day in Istanbul and we decided to split up so that everyone could try to do the final things on their list.

Zach, Jenny, and I got up to have breakfast on our street at a nice little café and then had coffee with our buddy, Fatih, at Supermind Coffee. We wanted to see one more mosque before we left and so we decided to visit Süleymaniye Mosque. It was commissioned by the richest and most powerful of the Ottoman sultans, Süleyman the Magnificent, and was designed by Mimar Sinan, Turkey’s most famous architect. Of the 321 buildings he designed in his lifetime, 85 are still standing in Istanbul. (The Ayasofya Hamami we visited was also designed by Sinan.) Sinan chose to be buried at the mosque and we passed his grave on our way to the entrance. The walled green space surrounding the mosque lent an aire of serenity that we hadn’t experienced at the Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque). There were far fewer visitors as well and the entire atmosphere felt more reverent. Jenny and I decided not to wear mosque-appropriate clothing this time and so we were given zip up dresses with attached headscarves to wear inside the mosque. The interior was certainly smaller than Sultanahmet, but was far grander. We took the opportunity to sit on the floor and bask in the grandeur. It was stunning. As the afternoon call to prayer approached we were asked to leave the mosque. So we wandered the grounds a bit before heading to a café Fatih had recommended. The Mimar Sinan Teras Café was located just down the street from the mosque and had excellent views of the city. We sat outside on their terrace and had some snacks and drinks. Their view is magnificent. You can see the opposing European side and Galata Tower; the Golden Horn meeting the Bosphorus; the Asian side in the distance; Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia.

Our original plan had been to visit the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market to do some last minute shopping, but those plans were dashed when we arrived and realized they were both closed due to Bayram. Although there were stands outside the markets that were open the crowds were so much more intense than usual that we forfeited. So instead we headed back to our place. Tim and Rudy had recently left to go to the Spice Market themselves after chatting with Fatih also. Jenny and I left Zach at the apartment to rest and made a run to Istiklal for some baklava, tea, and coffee. We returned shortly before Tim and Rudy.

Zach, Jenny, and I had wanted to go to one last place – Pierre Loti Café – so we left Tim and Rudy to rest and made our way down to the bus station. The bus station was pure chaos and our guidebook was no help. After making a few inquiries we realized which bus we needed to be on and got in line. Luckily the bus we needed was coming quite frequently so we didn’t have to wait long. Unfortunately in Turkey they operate on the “more is better” mentality and we were packed like sardines into that bus. The trip itself was brief and we were at our stop fairly quickly. It took us a little searching the find the funicular to get to the top and once we did we quickly realized we weren’t the only ones with that idea. The line for the funicular was incredibly long and though we could have made the 30 minute walk uphill to the café we decided against it. So we wandered around a bit and then went back to the bus stop.

Once we all got back to the apartment we worked on packing up our bags for our early departure to Amasra the next morning. Tim and Rudy had arranged to meet up with Fatih for drinks and around 11:30 or so we left to meet him on Istiklal. We ended up going to what I believe is Fatih’s favorite bar, Peyote. It’s a rooftop bar off of Istiklal in the bar district. It was really nice and we had a great time chatting with Fatih and his friends.

Baths & Breakfasts

traveling_texan — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 07:53:00 GMT

Yesterday morning Jenny, Rudy, Zach, and I had an appointment at the Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamami. It’s in Sultanahmet Park between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. It was built in 1556 for the sultan’s wife and recently underwent a renovation. It’s gorgeous. Since I couldn’t take any photos inside their website will have to do: http://www.ayasofyahamami.com/en/index1.html

Men and women have separate bathing areas so we didn’t even enter on the same side as Zach and Rudy. First we were given a locker to put up our clothes and purses, a peştamel to cover up, and plastic sandals to wear into the hamam. Then we were directed into the hamam – hot room first. There were two other women being massaged at the moment so first we were each seated next to a sink each with two faucets running scalding hot and ice cold water. There we were doused with water by our masseuses and instructed to steam and continue to pour water over ourselves. This we did for a while until our masseuses were ready to begin our treatment. First we were taken into the warm room. Seated next to another sink, my masseuse used a bath glove to scrub me down. She scrubbed vigorously and was pretty thorough. It’s been a long, long time since another person has bathed me. After she felt she had sufficiently cleaned me up she doused me with water again – head to toe. Then we went back into the hot room for the bubble massage. We laid down on a raised octagonal platform that was heated underneath with hot coals. The masseuses took a linen cheese-cloth like sheet about the size of a pillow case filled with bubbles and swung them to create more bubbly suds before squeezing the excess out on us. Then with olive oil soap they washed and massaged first our fronts and then our backs. After each set of suds we stood up to be rinsed off. Finally after we were scrubbed and washed clean, we moved on to the final phase of our treatment – a hair wash. They massaged the shampoo and conditioner into our hair while we sat next to another sink and again, doused us when they were finished to rinse it all out. Then we were wrapped in towels and led back out to the lounge to rest and drink some sherbet (a relative of the agua fresca). It was immensely relaxing. I don’t think any of us were quite ready to leave, but we had arranged to all meet Tim at 11:30. Tim had gone to a different hamam – Çemberlitaş Hamami – and did their self-service bath where you can go steam and bathe yourself.

After leaving the hamam we decided to grab lunch nearby and then go check out Taksim Square. Taksim and Gezi Park were pretty quiet. The park was full of vendors selling food and water, trinkets, and even tea and coffee. It’s a pretty park and a nice place to relax away from the all the people. There was a police presence in the square, but they weren't engaging with anyone. Taksim Square meets one of Istanbul’s busiest streets, Istiklal. So we strolled down Istiklal which was filled with people celebrating the end of Ramadan and ended up stopping for tea to get out of the crowd. Tim wanted to find the wet burgers that Anthony Bourdain had eaten on his episode for Istanbul so we tracked them down in Taksim Square. Zach, Rudy, and Tim all ate one. I just tasted a bit. It was like a chorizo sloppy joe. Surprisingly the bun really wasn’t that wet and it was pretty tasty. After that we continued our walk down Istiklal and ducked into some shops every now and then to do some shopping.

We came back to rest while Zach squared away the details of our trip to Amasra on Sunday. The rest of our evening was very calm. Zach, Jenny, and I went out and had a nice dinner then wrapped it up with a Guinness at a quaint English pub. Tim and Rudy found some food too and then we all met back up at the apartment to call it a night.

This morning we slept in a little and then decided to go have a Turkish breakfast. We ended up at a great place – Van Kahvalti Evi. We got the whole spread – tomatoes, cucumbers, a lot of different cheeses, some delicious bread, strawberry jam, nutella, a peanut sauce-like spread, honey, clotted cream, hard-boiled eggs, and more that I can’t even remember. It was really wonderful and was accompanied with as much Turkish tea as we wanted! The place was pretty small – 6 tables inside and more out on the sidewalk patio – but the ambience was really pleasant. The guys working our table were warm and incredibly attentive. It’s definitely a place I wouldn’t mind visiting again.

After breakfast (which we ate at lunch time) we walked over to Istanbul Modern, the city’s modern art museum. It sits right on the Bosphorus and has a fantastic view of both continents. We spent a few hours there studying their collection and admiring their view. On our way back to the apartment we did a little shopping and discovered a hip coffee shop/store. Supermind Coffee definitely had an Austin vibe. The owner was wearing a Heartless Bastards hat and was pleasantly surprised when we told him we were from Austin. We chatted with him for a while. We’ve met a lot of incredibly friendly Turks and he was no exception. We even saw him on our way to dinner later and he gave Rudy the postcards he had forgotten. I think we are going to stop by and have some coffee in the morning.

For dinner we took the ferry over to the Asian side of Istanbul. We tried to time it so that we could see the sun set over the city. We caught most of it as we sailed out of the Golden Horn and into the Bosphorus. Fatih, our AirBnB host, gave us a restaurant recommendation – Ciya. So we headed over there once our ferry docked. It’s a pretty lively scene off the coast. There are a lot of restaurants, bars, nargile lounges, and general entertainment in the first several blocks. Ciya was a little ways in, but wasn’t disappointing. We sat up on their terrace and enjoyed several different kebabs, an interesting pumpkin dessert, and some baklava. We headed back to the ferry to ride back over to the European side and are now relaxing at our apartment planning our final day in Istanbul.

Introduction to Istanbul

traveling_texan — Fri, 9 Aug 2013 03:59:00 GMT

Alright, time to catch all of y’all up on what we’ve been doing!

On Wednesday, our first full day in Istanbul, we started off the morning with some fresh-squeezed orange juice on our way across the Galata Bridge. After crossing the Golden Horn we grabbed a quick bite before our hike up to Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya). Built on the remains of at least two other churches, Hagia Sophia was originally built as a church. Commissioned by Emperor Justinian I, Hagia Sophia served as a church for nearly a millennium until the Ottomans took over the city. It was immediately converted to a mosque and renamed Ayasofya. Today it’s a museum and most of what we saw was from its time as a mosque. It’s an astonishingly large structure! There is ongoing restoration (and has been for the last 2 decades!) which blocked one side of the mosque. Unfortunately the photos and my words really can’t do it justice. You really just need to come to Istanbul and see it with your own eyes. The mosaics are beautiful, even the parts that are faded or missing patches. The mosaics from its time as a church are exquisite. We also partook in a common ritual – the miracle column of St. Gregory or the “perspiring column.” In one column, in the corner of the mosque, there is a hole surrounded by metal. For centuries people have believed that this particular column weeps holy water so of course we all had to try it! You stick your finger in the hole and if it comes out feeling damp your prayer will be answered. If not, put your thumb in the hole again and turn your hand 360°. I think I was the only one who had a damp thumb after the first attempt and wouldn’t you know – my prayer was answered!

After leaving Ayasofya we ventured across the street to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque or as it is more commonly known, the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque is a functioning mosque and so we did have to take care to wear appropriate clothing (although if your attire does not meet the requirements robes and scarves are now offered to keep you covered). Jenny and I had to cover our heads and our arms in addition to already covering our legs. The guys had to wear jeans. We all had to take off our shoes and keep them with us in plastic bags. The mosque is stunning to say the least. Again, our photos really can’t accurately convey the magnitude of this structure. The interior is lined with 21,000 handmade tiles. It is the dominant blue of these tiles that gives the mosque its common name. What really impressed me is that the main prayer hall can hold up to 10,000 worshippers at one time! It would be pretty incredible to see that.

We ventured across the street to check out one more site in Sultanahmet – the Basilica Cistern. It’s an underground cistern that was also commissioned by Emperor Justinian I. Today you can walk through the cistern and stare at the fish below. It’s almost completely dark save the small lamps lighting up 336 columns that are 1500 years old. It’s a little eerie, but mostly soothing with serene music playing in the background. We also took advantage of the cool, dry environment to take a break from the sun and heat.

We decided to venture over to the Grand Bazaar after leaving the cistern. This probably wasn’t the best idea since we were all tired, hungry, and not prepared to haggle. Zach and Tim both made purchases and we walked around aimlessly for a while, but eventually we gave up in search of food and a place to rest our feet. So we’ll have to make a return trip to the bazaar before we leave the city.

We took the tram back to our neighborhood and split up for dinner. Jenny and I ventured up to Galata Tower for some nice pasta and the guys ate pide (Turkish pizza) down the hill. After dinner we all napped. I don’t think we are quite over our jet lag; our sleep schedules are definitely off. Only Rudy has successful gotten a full night of sleep so far.

Revitalized after our naps we decided to go out and get a snack. A short walk from our apartment found us at the Galata Konak Café, a quaint rooftop bar with excellent views of the city. We each had tea or coffee and shared a couple desserts. Then at midnight we ventured over to nargile row in the Tophane district. We ended up at Ali Baba’s, an expansive, luxurious nargile lounge that was exactly what we didn’t know we wanted. We were seated at a table with an amazing spread of fruits and nuts, plush red-upholstered benches and pillows, and surrounded by mosaic lanterns. It was great. Since Tim is our resident hookah specialist we had him order for us. He chose a delicious watermelon mint shisha and we all ordered apple teas. Delicious! It was a great way to unwind from our busy day and relax. I think we’ll definitely be back before we leave.