Germany Round One: Home Sweet Friends

After a month in Albania (Phil wrote more about our last towns visited on his blog) we headed to Germany. Our friends Katie and Kirby have been planning a move with their sons to a small town near Frankfurt for quite some time and even when our other summer travel plans were up in the air, we knew we would be visiting them for sure.

Katie is our friend from college. We’ve known her for a long time. She’s a gal, like me, who appreciates good food and experiencing new things. She studied abroad in Australia, later lived in New York City, and then moved to St. Louis a short time after we did in the mid-aughts. In fact she was our only friend from Missouri who came out to stay with Phil and I when we lived in Long Beach.

When we arrived at Katie’s new home (much much later than anticipated due to some hiccups with the trains), we felt at home. It has been a long time since we have stayed in an actual home. We’ve stayed in hotels and rentals but not a home with folks who feel like family. When I say Katie feels like family, it is not an exaggeration. We text or email sporadically, we go years at a time without seeing each other but when I’m at her house I feel no awkardness about scoping out her fridge and pantry or sitting alone, messy haired and bleery eyed, on her couch first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee in my PJ’s.

Phil and I had big plans for our time in Germany. We were going to take the local train to different towns and explore, almost daily. Well, it seems as though our bodies, sensing this whole “family in a home situation”, wanted to hunker down and hibernate despite our plans. We slept in and lounged on the couch and watched their boys play video games. It was delightful.

Even in our hibernation mode, we still managed to take advantage of the area. Rodenbach, the town Katie lives in, is a very cute little place with a church, tasty bakery, ice cream shop, and a number of walking/biking trails. The town is very near the large airforce base, Ramstein, which is both the headquarters for the US Airforces in Europe and NATO’s Allied Air Command. Because of this large US military presence, the population of the area, or at least in Katie’s neighborhood, was about half and half Germans and Americans. This made it very easy for us as we did not have to worry about trying to speak German since almost everyone speaks English. That being said, Germans are known for speaking English pretty well, so airforce base or not, we probably would have been ok.

We walked around Rodenbach, passed several churches, a cemetery, and a cool clock tower. Unfortunately we could not go inside of any of them but snapped some pics of the outside. We had a snack of a couple of savory pastries and a giant, tasty butter cookie from the local bakery.

Another afternoon, following a morning of hardcore couch lounging, we decided to check out one of the nearby trails. We wandered through the town, a park, and even a small putt-putt golf course (complete with attached beer garden. It is Germany after all). The trail took us past a frog fortress (pictured below). We did not see any frogs, which was a bummer but just a little farther down the trail, we came upon the ancient burial mound of a celtic prince (with a creepy entrance) dating back to around the 5th century BC. The small display inside included a sword and a couple of other small objects found in the mound. Atop the mound is a small obelisk.

As we walked further down the trail, we were soon in a lovely wooded area with tall trees. It felt good to be out in nature. With the exception of an older fellow and his dog we passed, it was just the two of us until the trail eventually led us back into town. It was a really nice walk.

One of our days, we went to Little America on the Ramstein base with Katie for a little taste of home. We went to the big mall (basically it is a mall) and the giant American-style grocery store. The aisles were huge! Some highlights of the haul: jalapeno kettle cooked potato chips, velveeta and rotel for queso dip (!), and some bomb-ass peanut butter cookies. The plan was to have lunch at Chili’s but the wait was over an hour and Katie told us that they didn’t have southwest eggrolls there anyway (what?!?), so nbd. We decided it would be better to have a lighter lunch anyway so we could save room for the taco feast Katie was preparing that evening. As you can imagine, I was very excited.

After leaving the base, Katie dropped us off the nearby city of Kaiserslautern (population around 100,000) so we could do some exploring. Our first stop was the Art Museum, Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern, followed by a lunch of schnitzel in a pepper sauce with fries and a beer. I know, I know, not the light lunch we’d discussed but Phil and I split the meal so I didn’t feel like I was spoiling my taco dinner. Plus, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Germany, drink beer and eat schnitzel.

One of my favorites from the museum by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
One of my favorites from the museum by Albert Haueisen
A sculpture on the streets of Kaiserslautern
Schnitzel!
Beer!

After schnitzel, we walked around a bit, passed a couple of fountains, one of which was very unique looking, and then toured the history museum of Kaiserslautern, the Theodor-Zink Museum. Afterward, we took a stroll through the Kaiserslautern Japenese Gardens and finished the day with a cab ride back to Katie’s and the aforementioned taco feast. It was absolutely delicious. Tacos not pictured because tacos don’t sit still.

View from lunch
Unique fountain
Beside the fountain
History museum
History museum
Japanese gardens
Entrance to the gardens

The next day, it was time for a ladies trip to the French town of Strasbourg just over the German border. Katie’s eighteen year old niece, Kennedy, and her friend Kody (not a lady but was down to participate) joined us. They arrived in Germany from Arkansas the day after Phil and I did. We planned to visit a large flea market that Strasbourg is famous for. This also happened to be the first time in over two and a half years that Phil and I had more than a few hours apart. He stayed behind with Kirby and the boys for some guy time. We both enjoyed our weekends very, very much.

We left around 8am and after a couple of hours drive to the border, we parked the car with the plans of training it over the border and into Strasbourg. We’d just missed the train so decided to go outside and look for a cab instead. We found the taxi stand but no taxis were present. I asked the french woman in the cafe we were waiting near if a taxi would be coming and she said “yes, maybe ten minutes”. We stood in the hot sun waiting for what seemed like well over ten minutes. It is almost unheard of to wait so long for a taxi right outside of a train station in Europe. They’re usually lined up outside waiting to catch a fare.

I decided to order a beer at the cafe so we could sit down while we waited (I know, I really took one for the team). As we sat, Katie noticed the tram line, which was right across the street from us, that seemed to be heading over the bridge and into Strasbourg. We decided that, of course, would be our best and easiest ride into the city, so we hurriedly gathered our things and headed toward the tram that was just arriving. As we were about to cross the street, we had to stop for the red light. As soon as the light turned green, we made a run for it. The tram driver saw us and appeared to be waiting for us (sweet!) but as soon as we neared the doors, the tram drove on. Dammit! We headed back into the train station and had just enough time to catch the next one into Strasbourg. From there we caught a taxi and finally arrived at our airbnb where we could set down our backpacks and have a cold drink before heading to the flea market.

We had a bit of trouble finding information online about the flea market and it’s location so decided to set out and see what we saw. Near the city center, we did come upon a flea market, mostly vendors selling various clothing items. Not what we’d had in mind (I am happy to report Katie has since since returned to Strausbourg and found the actual, famous flea market, which she stated was glorious) though Kennedy did find a super cute dress for herself.

We decided to stop for some food and we found a cute little spot called Pacific Princess that looked like a cruise ship inside. We sat on the patio and shared a few delicious small plates and a bottle of  rosé. While our younger companions didn’t love everything we sampled quite as much as Katie and I did, they did try everything which is great. Your tastes change as you age and tasting different cuisine is a huge part of the traveling experience. So while you may not love everything a paticular country, region, or style of cuisine has to offer, I think it is important to try it and try it more than once because who knows, you might like it or you might eventually like it.

We shared meat and cheese plates, foie gras with currants, a viennese chicken with curry wurst sauce which was basically chicken nuggets with curry sauce (score), fish cakes with a creamy mint sauce and strawberries (oddly delicious), and the star of the show was a dish of smoked gravlax (a scandanavian dish of dry, cured salmon using salt, sugar, and herbs), with a corn imulsion and micro greens. It was smokey and delicious and served in a small, sealed, glass dish with smoke on top that disappated upon opening. It was all super tasty and a delightful experience.

We walked around Strasbourg a bit more after lunch, taking in the pictureeaque town, popping into a small catholic church and taking a few pics, then happening upon a huge cathedral! The cathedral of Notre-Dame Strasbourg is very impressive outside and in with gorgeous stained glass.

Kody and Kennedy
The cathedral
The cathedral

The next day we were off the Black Forrest and the town of Baden-Baden. We decided to stop in the small town of Bühl on the way for lunch as we planned to do a bit of a hike through the Black Forrest and figured we needed our energy for the trek. We found a cool little pub, or bierhaus, with dark wooden booths and friendly service. For some reason, the chicken wings on the menu were really calling to me. Well, actually I know the reason, it is because I hate having to choose between a salad or fries. I want salad AND fries and the chicken wings came with both. I know it’s not a particularly German order but sometimes bar food is bar food, right?

I am so happy I ordered the wings because they were the best chicken wings I have ever had. I don’t know if it was a fried then baked situation or twice fried (there was definitely a two-step process at play is all I’m saying) or what but they were delicious. Super crispy and juicy and extremely well seasoned. Katie, who does not particularly care for chicken wings agreed, they were damn good. I washed them down with a Paulaner beer, which is a particular favorite of mine made even better because I was in Germany.

Next stop: The Black Forest! Katie took us to an area she had been before for a lovely hike to a waterfall. The hike was perfect; shaded, even terrain without many hills. I won’t shy away from a sweaty uphill hike but it was nice to take more of a scenic nature walk instead.

After our hike, we drove into the town of Baden-Baden. There is a famous bakery there that makes the famed black forest cake. We walked around a bit and then headed for the bakery. Cafe Koenig has a small shop with many delicious options for baked goods with an attached patio area and a rather fancy-looking restaurant inside. Lucky for us, it wasn’t too busy and we snagged a spot on the patio. Katie had been there before and tried the black forest cake so opted for an ice creamy-coffee drink instead. Kody and Kennedy both said they were still full from lunch and just ordered water. “What does being full have to do with anything?” was my reply. I was in the Black Forrest and dammit, I was going to eat Black Forrest cake.

The cake was not what I expected. Black Forrest cake in the midwest is basically chocolate cake with cherry pie filling on top. The real deal consists of several layers of sponge cake and cream, one of which contains a boozy, liqueur component, cherries of course, with a cookie-like bottom crust. I wouldn’t say I loved it, though It did grow on me with each bite and I ate the entire piece, so it was pretty good.

We headed back to Katie’s after leaving Baden-Baden and Phil and I packed for our departure the next day. We were heading to Frankfurt in order to catch a very early flight to Budapest the following morning. We ended our last night in Rodenbach with nachos made with the leftovers from taco night. It was the perfect ending to a lovely visit.

Albania Mania Part 2

After leaving the village of Theth (see part 1 of Albania Mania here), Phil and I headed to Lake Shkodra (or Shkodër, and to be more different the Montenegrins call it Lake Skadar so take your pick). It was a two hour drive, back down the mountain. We stopped at Rozafa Castle in the city of Shkodra on the way to the lake, which oddly is not in the actual city of Shkodra.

The castle dates back to the Ilyrians in the 4th century BC (Phil writes in more detail about the history in his post). We paid a small entrance fee and climbed up a steep hill paved with well worn stones. The first of several castles we would visit during our time in Albania, Rozafa offered great views and many intact, climbable ramparts. Unlike some of the other castles we visited, there were no security guards or barriers to block access to any part of the castle so we were free to roam where we chose. We often marvel at how in Europe, most historic or scenic sites do not have any fences or safety barriers (only barriers to prevent folks from walking on centuries old mosaics, for example) unlike in the US. It’s kind of refreshing and I suppose a bit dangerous. I guess they trust you to use your head and not jump off the edge of the cliff, wall, ledge etc.

After our castle stop, we were on to our next guest house, Lake Shkoder rooms. As the name suggests, it is located right on the lake, past the little lakeside town of Shiroka. Down the winding road we went wondering if we would ever reach the place. At the literal end of the road there it was, right next to a mosque, nestled on the blue shores of the lake.

We were welcomed warmly by Ardit, who runs the guesthouse and attached restaurant, along with his family. Ardit spoke very little English but between his limited English, our very limited Italian, gestures, and google translate, we communicated quite effectively during our stay.

On the day of our arrival Ardit’s brother Elvis and his family from Italy were concluding their final day at the lake. Elvis spoke English and as we conversed with him we asked him where abouts he lived in Italy and he informed us he had been living in Pescara for the past 22 years. Pescara! We had just visited Pescara with my mother-in-law during her visit back in May. The city is located in the Abruzzo region where she was born. Elvis knew the town of her birth, Raiano, quite well. We took the family’s warm welcome and connection to Abruzzo as a good sign.

Ardit, Elvis explained to us, had graduated from culinary school in Italy and was now running the restaurant’s kitchen, with a little help from his mother, who made a couple of local specialties. For our first meal, we ordered the recommended lake trout along with a Greek salad. Platter after platter emerged from the kitchen and we were treated to a real feast, including several dishes we hadn’t ordered. We enjoyed the lake trout, pasta with cheese and olive oil, bread topped with cheese that had a similar consistency to cast iron skillet corn bread but was not made with corn meal, and a platter of fried fish roe cakes. Everything was delicious.

The following day we decided to relax a bit and take advantage of the lake’s beach right in front of our room that we practically had all to ourselves. The lake water was turquoise blue and beautiful. I took a little walk to a nearby convenience store and bought an inflatable raft to use on the lake. It was lovely to float around, under the sun, feeling the breeze on my skin without a care in the world. The lake was very quiet other than the occasional small fishing boat passing by in the distance. I would have probably stayed in the water for well longer but, after seeing what I thought was a small water bird bopping along out of the corner of my eye, I realized it was not a bird when a mother and daughter who were wading near the shore pointed at it, screamed, and ran. I quickly became acutely aware, after having seen it rise up, out of the water, that it was in fact, a snake. I paddled my way to shore with the speed of an olympic champion.

Our beachfront
Floating around
Blue lake Shkoder

Each morning, we were treated to a fantastic breakfast from Ardit. The frist morning we had crepes with nutella and homemade cake (good thing neither of us is a diabetic), the second morning a plate of tomato, peppers, eggs, sausage, and cheese with a basket of toast, the third delicious croissants, and the last a huge basket of toast with a variety homemade jams. Each day we were given water, juice, and coffee as well. Breakfast was a great start to the day and mostly kept us full until dinner.

Yum

On our third day at the lake, we decided to drive into Montenegro as we could literally see the neighboring country from our guesthouse. We could have walked over the border relatively easily but, wanting to take the official, legal route in, we opted to drive an hour, over the boarder and into the beach town of Ulcinj on the Adriatic coast.

Ulcinj had a very touristy beach area with a lot of crowded beaches to choose from to lounge and relax. We opted to take a walk along the Adriatic on a trail Phil had discovered called the Long Beach Trail. We had assumed the trail would run right along the coast, on a boardwalk or paved path (or at least I had assumed that). Instead, it was somewhat high on a hill with occasional glimpses of the sea. We walked under one section of trees that had at least six spiderwebs complete with giant spiders hanging in them. I should have snapped a photo of this spooky scene but I was too concerned with trying to limbo my way under them without knocking them down or getting them in my hair.

After the walk, er hike, we found ourselves by a sprawling sandy beach with chairs and a little strip of convenience stores and restaurants. I had been unprepared for such a nature hike only having worn sandals. Phil, being the tropper he is, offered to walk back and get the car where we had parked it before setting out on the walk and then come to pick me up. I sat at the large resort hotel that apparently owned all of the seats on the beach and had a beer at the bar. Once Phil returned, we grabbed a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant serving traditional, Montenegrin food. We shared stuffed eggplant with tomatoes and cheese along with grape leaves that were served warm, and cooked with oil and what looked like thick bacon. Both were super tasty.

We grabbed a few supplies at one of the convenience stores, including the peanuts I mentioned in my last post (oof). On the drive back, we stopped at a lookout point high above Lake Skadar (aka Shkoder) before crossing back into Albania.

We were so full from our late lunch, we opted to skip dinner, instead munching on a few snacks we had in the room. I opted for chocolate and peanuts. After our snacks, we sat on the lovely restaurant patio and played cards and drank some of Ardit’s homemade raki (traditional Albanian spirit).

That night I woke up with tummy troubles that continued into the next morning. Phil ventured out into the nearby town of Shiroka while I attempted to recooperate, hoping it was a twenty-four hour thing. When Phil got back from his trip into town, I was feeling well enough to float on my raft while he took a swim and promised to watch for snakes.

The next morning I was feeling mostly better with just a hint of weird belly as we ate breakfast and then set out for our next destination, Berat. Berat, known both as the white city and the city of a thousand windows, is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Located on the Osum River, the town is known for its Ottoman houses and Berat Castle sits high on the hill above the town.

We arrived at our guesthouse and met our hosts Lili and her husband. Lili had two rooms available and let us pick our favorite of the two. She spoke a little English while her husband spoke none but both were kind and full of smiles for us, offering us coffee after our long car ride.

After settling in at the guesthouse, we walked toward the city in search of food. Phil had quickly googled and found a highly rated local restaurant serving traditional Albanian food called Lili Homemade Food. The old town, with homes built onto the hill reminded me a bit of Frigiliana and Cudillero in Spain with its old buildings and steep, winding, stone pathways.

They were repairing some of the stone stairs and at one point we wondered if we should even be walking on the street, thinking surely a restaurant could not be located in such a tucked away, hard to get to location. Soon we saw a sign for Lili Homemade Food. It certainly did not look like a restaurant and it felt a bit as if I was walking into someone’s home as I peeked my head into the door and went in.

Entrance to Lili’s

We were warmly welcomed by Lili who luckily had one table left, informing us that he had reservations for the table at 8:30 but if we could be done before then it was ours. It was 6:30 and we assured him that would be no problem.

There were six, two person tables, set up in what looked like Lili’s home patio (I’m pretty sure that was exactly what the situation was). Phil and I sat beside a young Irish couple, and Lili excitedly described the menu options to us (with the menu board pictured below) and the others gathered for an early dinner. We ordered the fergesa, which is a warm dish of tomato sauce, cheese, and spices served with bread for dipping, along with the qofte (meatball), Greek salad, and byrek (Albanian stuffed filo pastry) with cheese and spinach. We paired the meal with a pitcher of homemade wine made by Lili’s father. All of the food was prepared by his wife whom he would occasionally disappear to talk to but who we never actually saw during our time there.

Menu board
Byrek
Our spread
Lili’s

Phil and I chatted with the Irish couple sitting next to us while Lili hopped back and forth between the patio and kitchen, bringing wine, water, and food. The food was all delicious and afterward, Lili offered everyone a complimentary glass of homemade raki (Albanian pomace spirit). Everyone graciously accepted the offer of raki. As we waited for the spirit to be poured, the Irish couple asked if we had tasted raki before. We said it had and it actually tasted quite a lot like whiskey, thinking they would like it, because well, they’re Irish. They both informed us, they did not particularly care for whiskey which immediately made me feel like a stereotyping jerk but what are you gonna do (besides learn more about people). After Lili brought each of us a shot glass filled with raki, and took a smaller glass for himself, we all toasted one another. The Irish couple did agree the raki tasted like whiskey, which somehow made me feel better.

We watched as Lili had a small toast of raki with each table before coming back to ours and offering us another. We all accepted as our eyes communicated to each other our surprise at the situation. None of us particularly loved raki but because Lili was such a gracious host and seemingly wanted people to toast with so he could drink more raki, we all smiled and drank more. The third time Lili filled our shot glasses, we all laughed in disbelief as he smiled and explained he had to “get ready” for the next group of guests coming for dinner at 8:30. By that time, the raki had grown on us (as often happens after a third shot of anything). We all left feeling happy and warm, from both Lili’s hospitality and the raki.

Phil and Lili

The next day we ventured out, looking for a dervish mosque, Halveti Tekke, that dates back to the 1500’s. I had read the visiting hours were inconsistent but it was well worth a visit should you find it open. We wandered up to the building and saw an older gentleman nearby. He approached us and, with his limited English and our few words of Italian, communicated effectively. He told us the history of the Halveti Tekke, a small, one room building decorated exquisitely. Then he left us alone to take a few pictures, advising us to meet him at the entrance of the [much larger] mosque across the courtyard, when we were finished.

After finishing up at the Halveti Tekke, we walked toward the larger mosque, still in use. I started to cover my hair and the older fellow who was showing us around informed us that Albanian muslims were very liberal and there was no need for me to do so. We took off our shoes and entered the mosque. I think he could tell we were genuinely interested in the history and architecture because he asked us if we wanted to climb the stairs to the minerette. The minerrette is where, in most mosques nowadays in our limited experience, speakers play the five times daily prayers of muslims. At one time, the mosuqe imam climbed the minerette steps to recite the prayers.

Phil and I jumped at the change and excitedly climbed the 94, cramped, dusty steps to the top of the minerette. Only one of us at a time could peer out the small door and step out onto the ledge to take in the view of the whole town. It was so cool and an amazing experience.

The next morning, our plan was to climb to the Berat castle, high atop the city. I woke up feeling not quite 100%, again with the belly trouble but decided I was well enough to carry on with the planned hike. Phil and I slowly made our way up, taking rest and water breaks as [I] needed.

Once atop the city, we took in the views. The castle walls enclose a large area that is still inhabited by residents as well as shops and restaurants. Phil and I met Toni, a resident, who offered to take us on an hours-long tour of the castle grounds. We accepted and were joined by a Czech couple from Prague, Roman and Hannah.

Toni, who was born and raised in a house within the castle walls, told us the history of the place as we walked. He informed us that the oldest base walls dated back to the 4th century BC and were built by the Illyrians who were later conquered by the Romans. Berat became a part of the Byzantine Empire in the 11th century. Later, in 1417, it became part of the Ottoman Empire.

Phil climbing up the catel wall

We saw the old Roman cistern, a mosque from the Ottoman era, and several churches. At one time, there were twenty churches within the castle walls. Only a few remain but lucky for us, Toni had the keys to two very old ones that only hold service once a year. The small, Orthodox churches still had colorful frescoes on the wall. Though obviously damaged by time and moisture, they were still a site to behold. We ended our tour at the Berat Castle lookout point high above the city that offered great views of the city and river below.

High above the city

We headed back to our guesthouse where I remained with fevers and chills, until the next morning when we left for Gjirokastër. Lili, the proprietor of our guesthouse was very sweet and when I did not show up for breakfast the next morning, she gave Phil a fizzy alkaselzter-like medicine to give me as well as another presumably Albanian remedy that tasted a bit like maple syrup and tea. I drank both because I could use all the help I could get and figured that this Albanian grandma knew a thing or two. As we left, she urged me to eat something. I declined to which she replied, “one crepe”. I declined again and she said, “it is just bread and cheese. Eat.” I thanked her but I was adamant that I did not want to eat. She reluctantly let me leave without breakfast. Her husband helped us load our bags and we were off.

In Gjirokastër we stayed at a hotel rather than a guesthouse. It was a somewhat surprisingly very nice hotel with a large room, big, comfy bed, thick blinds, and satellite TV. This was all perfect for me since I spent our two days in Gjirokastër at the hotel convalescing from what I am now positive was salmonella from those damn Montenegrin peanuts. Phil was able to see the village and wrote about it here.

While I am bummed I got sick, I still had an amazing time during our month in Albania. The people were so kind, the food so tasty, and the beaches, swimming and castles all amazing. We traveled farther south to Ksamil and Himara, and then back to Vlora and the capital, where we started our Albanian adventure, Tirana, of which I can’t wait to tell you more about!

I Caught a Full-blown Case of Albania Mania (with a side of Montenegran salmonella)

Hi all! It’s hard to believe that Phil and I left Greece three weeks ago! Man, time flies when you’re having fun. Although I greatly enjoyed the food tour of Athens we did and I wrote about here, we did a lot more in our five days there which Phil wrote about here, here, here, and also here.

Albania has been so fun! I say this even after having been out of commission for almost a week with what I am pretty sure was salmonella from some peanuts I ate during a day trip to Montenegro. Whatever it was is gone now, hallelujah, and I am so happy to be feeling back to normal. I’ll spare you the details on the food poisoning and jump right into the beauty and hospitality of Albania.

Why Albania? Where is Albania? I’ve been asked both of these questions more than once. Where? Albania is a Balkan country located on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, across from the boot of Italy. To it’s north lies Montenegro and Kosovo, to the east North Macedonia, and to the south, Greece.

Why? Well, in looking at our post-Spain, pre-return home summer travel options, we looked at several criteria. Summer is notoriously the busiest, touristy time to visit anywhere in Europe. This is why all of our previous trips have been in the spring or fall. We did not have the luxury of choosing the season this go-round, so we looked at places that aren’t necessarily the most popular destinations in hopes we’d find a few less tourists. We also looked at countries that sparked our interest but that if we were flying to Europe from the U.S. would not be easy to get to (therefore taking up valuable vacation days with travel time).

Phil and I visited Croatia and Slovenia in 2004 during our first trip to Europe together. We knew the Balkan countries were beautiful and have talked about visiting more countries in the area on multiple occasions. We also knew July anywhere in Europe was going to be HOT, so best to choose a country with plenty of options to get in the water and/or up into the mountains for a respite from the heat. We watched videos on Albania and not only was the country beautiful, we heard and read over and over again how friendly the people are. And so, it was decided. We would spend July exploring Albania.

We picked up our rental car in the capital city of Tirana after landing and were off to Shëngjin on the northwest coast of Albania, on the Adriatic Sea. Phil and I have now been on both sides of the Adriatic, most recently with my mother-in-law in Pescara, Italy. We took an unforgettable road trip up the Adriatic coast of Italy in the spring of 2019 (ah, sweet pre-pandemia). It definitely holds a special place in our hearts.

Shëngjin is a laidback beach town. Not all beach towns in Albania are so laid back, we would later discover. Shëngjin is mostly a tourist destination, with a long strip of sandy beach and beach bars (forever chiringuitos to me) on one side of the street and restaurants and more bars on the other side. Lining the beachfront are various beach chairs with umbrellas, usually with a small table. Each change in chair style or umbrella color denotes a change in ownership of the seating area. Once you identify a seating area/umbrella situation that suites your needs, one simply sits down at an open seat and shortly a fellow will be by to collect the small sum (less than $5 USD) to rent the chair(s) for the day. Oftentimes, these seats are affiliated with a beach bar. This offers both the comfort of lounging by the beach and the ease of procuring a beverage mere steps away.

Our first beach day in Shëngjin was spent a short five minute walk from our accommodations (let’s talk more about Albania accommodations later because they are worth mentioning). We set up in beach chairs equidistant from the sea and the beach bar. We had a large umbrella with a table around it to block the sun and hold our drinks. The beach was soft and sandy, the water blue and while not the clearest or most beautiful we’ve seen, it was warm and inviting. The water was so shallow near the shore, one could walk out nearly fifty yards and still touch the sea floor. We swam and lounged and drank the whole afternoon, grabbing a couple of pizzas on the way home for dinner.

A waiter at one of the beach bars had advised us to check out the Rana e Hedhun Beach (Thrown Sand Beach), a short drive north of Shëngjin as it was a nice place to watch the sunset. The next afternoon we did just that.

As laid back as the beach in Shëngjin had been, the Rana e Hedhun beach was even more so, with fewer people and larger stretches of beach between the beach bars and seating areas. The Italian fellow who owned the beach bar we settled at was very nice and even made us mojitos that he served us on the beach. The sunset, as advertised, did not disappoint.

The next day we said goodbye to Shëngjin and headed for the mountain village of Theth, set high in the Albanian Alps.

During our time in Albania we have stayed in what are referred to as guesthouses, very similar to rural casas in Spain. They typically consist of a building or house that has been divided into several guest rooms, with indoor and or outdoor common areas. Breakfast is often included and the guesthouse is usually operated by a couple or family. Some rooms are spacious and feel like studio apartments whereas others feel more like dated hotel rooms. We haven’t had a bad stay in a guesthouse yet. Albanians are known for their hospitality and the guesthouse owners genuinely want to ensure their guests are taken care of. The gueshouses are also extremely affordable. The one we stayed at in Shëngjin was the equivilant to $20 a night for a large room with queen bed and two twin beds (we often ended up with triple or quadruple rooms or the “family suite” where we stayed because we wanted a private bathroom), a kitchen table with four chairs, and a kitchette complete with full-sized refriderator. The room wasn’t fancy and it looked like it was straight out of the 1970’s but it was clean and had airconditioning so suited us just fine.

Ariel photo of SH-21 courtesy of dangerroads.org

The road to Theth winds high through the Albanian Alps (aka the Accursed Mountains-for real, that’s the name). The road, known as SH-21, is impassible from November-May due to the heavy snow and ice accumulation. In fact, prior to September of 2021, one needed a four-wheel drive and an extreme thirst for adventure to drive the road at all as it was unpaved and guardrails were sparse. I found this video of someone driving the road before it was paved and it was no joke.

Phil is driving during our time in Albania. We thought the extra money to rent an automatic would be well worth it as we’d read that Albanians are very aggressive drivers. In fact, the fellow at the rental office (who himself is Albanian) said Albanians don’t like to follow the rules of the road and are the worst drivers in Europe. Phil is from Chicago, home of the aggressive driver. Offensive driving he calls it. O-ffensive driving I call it. After driving all over the U.S. and having lived in LA where there are up to six lanes on each side, Chicago is still one city I prefer not to drive in if I don’t have to. Anyway, we felt Phil had a unique set of skills that lent themselves well to driving in Albania.

Luckily, we didn’t encounter anyone driving too crazy on the way to Theth because although the road is paved, it is still windy, mountain driving with narrow roads and switchbacks. As is also true with most mountain driving, we had glorious views of the beautiful country.

At the end of SH-21 lies Theth. It’s a cute little village on the Shala river whose icy waters flow down from the mountains. The village is composed mostly of Guesthouses, restaurants, bars, and a couple of small convenience stores. Theth National park also lies in the Shala River Valley and the surrounding mountains. A relatively short but narrow road led to our guesthouse, Bujtina (the Albanian term for guesthouses, literally translated as Inn) Dreni.

We arrived in the evening after being greeted by young Aron, the teenage son of the owner, who showed us to our room. It was our simplest accommodation; a bed, nightstand, and small bathroom but it met our needs just fine. The main guesthouse had a restaurant and dining room on the first floor, with guestrooms on the upper floors. There was also another, smaller house next to the mainhouse that was a bit like a hostel, offering shared accommodations and bathrooms with no private rooms.

The guesthouse had a very laid back, wandering traveler kind of vibe to it; a couple of fellows were hanging out on the front porch drinking beer and playing cards, a solo young woman emerged from the shared accommodations and headed toward the river to take a dip, and a few other pairs of backpackers made their way down the road presumably returning from a day’s trekking in the area.

The mother of the family running the guesthouse, Anna, told Phil the two must-sees in Theth were the Blue Eye of Theth (a natrual blue pool in the mountains-which we had already planned to visit) and a nearby waterfall. She told him the waterfall was only about a 20 minute walk from the guesthouse. We decided it was still early enough in the evening for us to check it out, so off we went. We walked along the river, following red signs pointing the way to the falls. We eventually saw the waterfall in the distance but were confused as to how to reach it. Soon the trail curved upward and we knew how we would reach it, by climbing up the damn mountain (escalar, escalar). We had already been walking for well over 20 minutes but figured we’d made it this far so might as well keep going.

Up we went, climbing and sweating. Before too long, we felt the temperature drop as we neared the mountain falls. They were lovely and well worth the climb. As we were there not long before sunset, there were only a few other folks and pretty soon, it was just the two of us. It was a great way to spend our first few hours in Theth, getting out into nature and breathing in the fresh air (respira al aire). The green hills and rustic stone walls of the area reminded me of our beloved Asturias.

On our way back to the guesthouse, we stopped at a little beer garden; an area with small tables that had a couple of coolers of cold beverages and a few snack offerings. We drank water and enjoyed a beer while we cooled off from our impromptu mountain hike.

The next morning after a tasty breakfast outside, gazing at the mountains, we walked into the village where we found a little festival that was taking place. A stage had been erected outside of a large indoor/outdoor restaurant and two fellows were speaking and laughing as the audience listened. We saw some other folks in traditional looking garb preparing for some kind of performance and decided to carry on with our walk (the village is not that big) and circle back afterward to see what was going on.

View from breakfast
Walk to town
Walk to town
Walk to town

After a quick stop at the tourist information center and the general store, we headed back toward the festival. We found out from the gal working the tourist information that the festival was celebrating the opening of the tourist season. The town essentially closes in the winter and all but a few families return to wherever they live full-time. Anna, Aron, and their family who ran our guesthouse live in the capital city of Tirana for most of the year.

After watching a bit of the performances and grabbing a beer, Phil and I decided to make our way back to the guesthouse as the sky was getting dark and rain looked to be moving in. They’d even started taking the stage down from the festivities. On the way we saw the Kisha e Thethit, the small Cahtolic church in town. It was in the direction of our guesthouse so we decided to take a different route that would take us home, passing in front of the church.

The church was completely encircled by a gate, though one area had steps that let up and over the gate and down again. The door to the church was open and there was a white horse hanging out in the grassy area near the door. We’re pretty sure he was the guard horse as some young men approached the church as we were standing there, and the horse walked toward the door and seemed to block it. The sprinkle of rain that had started as we neared the church had turned into a full blown rain, so we put some pep in our step and headed for the guesthouse with haste.

Guard horse

The wind picked up and the rain drops grew fatter and our umbrella turned inside out! As we rounded the corner toward the guesthouse, a friendly barkeep who must have seen us coming, stepped outside and opened his door, ushering us in. We thanked him and sat down, ordered a couple of beers, and tried to dry out a little. The nice fellow brought us a small plate of tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese to have with our drinks. About 20 minutes later, the rain began to let up a bit and we decided we should make a run for it before the road to the guesthouse was one big mud puddle.

Waiting out the rain
View from the bar, waiting out the rain

The next day, we made the trip to the Blue Eye of Theth. One can take a small bus to the trail head that leads to the Blue Eye for only €6 and hike the remaining 45 minutes or one can take a 4 hour hike to the Blue Eye. We like hiking but an hour and a half round trip is much more our speed than eight hours round trip. We boarded the bus along with some other folks from the guesthouse around 10:30 am and were off. After a bumpy half hour ride we arrived. A small bridge over the river and lovely blue swimming hole led the way, past a couple of small stores and restaurants. A couple from Dublin who were staying at the guesthouse with their two teenage girls invited us to join them and their private guide for the hike to the Blue Eye. We happily accepted, chatting as we went.

Parking near the trail head

The relatively flat, gravel trail led to an uphill rocky one. At one point we stopped for a breather and one of the teen girls asked the guide if we were almost there to which he replied we were not quite half way. She audibly groaned and said she was just going to stay seated in that spot and wait for them to return. She wasn’t so lucky and on we went, up the mountain. As we got closer we passed through a little shack on the trail selling cold beverages and a covered spot to drink them. I figured if we stopped at that point, I might make an offer much like the teen girl did so we refrained and carried on.

On the hike
On the hike

We arrived at what we thought must be the Blue Eye, a large blue swimming hole with a bridge atop it and another man selling ice cold beverages in a huge metal trough cooled by the mountain water. I asked the man if we were at the Blue Eye and he said, “Blue eye up” and pointed. Damn.

Drink shack
Blue eye up
Blue eye up

At that moment, we saw a group of hikers coming down from the direction of the fellow had pointed and we asked them how close we were. “Three minutes” he said. That sounded doable so we walked up and then back down to the Blue Eye. It was beautiful and blue and clear and freezing cold. Some folks lounged near the edge of the water in their bathing suits but only a very few braved the icy waters. After sitting along the water’s edge, taking a few photos, and refilling our water bottles with the cold, fresh, mountain water, we headed back down to meet back up with the bus.

That evening, after dinner, we sat outside and played cards and drank raki, the traditional, potent, distilled spirit made from grapes. It was a lovely way to end our time in Theth. The next morning we were off again, back down (and up and down and up and down) the mountain road. This time we were headed for Lake Shkodër. Stay tuned for more on our time there.

Raki and cards
Heading out
Goats on the road out of town

Eating [my way through] Athens

I’ve wanted to visit Greece for a long time. Because it’s so far away from the rest of Europe, it wasn’t an easy add-on to our previous European travels. It is also a long flight (15 hours from LA). Though once we knew we were going to Turkey and then Albania, Greece, being between them, was an easy choice and with only staying a few days, it wouldn’t break the bank.

Because we only had five days, we decided to stay only in Athens and forgo a trip to the islands (we had beach time in Antalya and more to come in Albania). Islands are nice but c’mon, it’s Athens. While a trip to the islands would have technically been doable, after spending the fifteen prior days in intense Istanbul, we felt like staying put and chilling. Now, the idea of chilling in Athens may sound funny given that it is a major tourist destination, especially in summer. Compared with Istanbul however, Athens is a relatively small city.

In Athens we had an entire rental to ourselves! No more box of a hotel room that barely fits around the bed! We had a full on apartment with a separate bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen. It was so very nice to spread out. I was even able to fit in some yoga which I hadn’t been able to properly do in several weeks given the size of our accommodations. The apartment also had AC! Athens is hot, very hot, so being able to chill in a cool apartment during our down time was a dream.

We arrived in Athens around 9am and couldn’t check into our rental until 2pm. Schlepping around luggage in the hot hot is not fun so we found a cafe and hunkered down for a few hours before grabbing lunch at a fantastic restraunt right around the corner from our rental called the Traditional. Our lunch consisted of a Greek salad (with an entire flippin’ slab o’ feta cheese on top!), mousaka, and what the menu simply listed as “piglet” which was roast suckling pig. It was nice to have pork again after being in Turkey where it is tough to come by. I do love lamb but pork will always have my heart (if you keep eating so much pork it will, Jess). It was all delicious and at prices that rivaled those in Turkey which was a surprise indeed.

The next day, we had an Airbnb experience booked; a food tour of Athens hosted by a native Athenian, Julia, who was assisted by her husband George. A few days before, Phil and I had been talking about some religious images we’d seen and I said I thought it was St. George. He wasn’t convinced. My logic was that we had seen the image in a Greek Orthodox church and I thought George was probably a pretty common name in Greece as almost every Greek restaurant I have ever been to in the U.S. was named George’s (we later discovered, it was indeed St. George). Julia informed us on our tour that George (pronounced Yay-or-hee-os… kind of) is the most common male name in Greece and said if you find yourself in trouble and simply call our “George!”, someone is bound to come to your aid.

I was very excited for the tour as the reviews were great and promised we wouldn’t leave hungry. It did not disappoint. We met Julia, Geroge, and the four other folks on the tour; a newly retired couple from Pennsylvania and two friends in their late 20’s who had met studying abroad in Germany during college (one lives in Long Island, NY and the other is Bahamian) at a bakery near to our rental. We sampled an Athenian pastry, bougasta, made with filo, custard, and plenty of cinnamon.

After introductions and the pastry sampling, we were off to the next stop; spice shops. We walked past shops, some 3rd and 4th generation, filled with beautiful looking and fragrant spices. Probably the most loved and most often used spice in Greece is oregano. I can totally support this. I too love oregano. They even have oregano flavored potato chips that are super tasty (not on this food tour, on the food tour that is my life). After the spices, we saw meats, delicious cured meats hanging from the rafters, literally.

As we walked through the neighborhood we next stopped at an olive cart with bins upon bins of olives, at least thirty different ones. We tried kalamata olives, green olives, back olives of all curing times and styles, spice pairings, and sizes. My favorite was probably a large green olive brined with lemon. So delicious. I probably ate fifteen to twenty olives. Good thing we brought a large water bottle with us.

After the olives, we stopped at a quaint local restaurant where we sat in the small back room and Julia made us simple, homemade tzatziki: full fat Greek yogurt, red wine vinegar, garlic and olive oil. We ate it atop a grilled Greek bread called lathobrekto that is a bit like a thick, square crostini with a distinct olive oil flavor. We also tried local red and white table wines that one could commonly find in Greek homes. The restaurant served us a generous charcuterie board of cured meats: pork and lamb salami along with a dried beef that is coated in spices and then air dried called bastruma or pastrima (a cousin of pastrami that is neither cooked or smoked). It’s distinctly bright red, hard casing looks a bit like wax but is not and really packs in the flavor. We also had feta and graviera (Greek gruyère) and learned that true feta can only be of Greek origin and made with at least 70% sheeps milk and can have up to 30% goat’s milk), otherwise it is not feta. It can be called feta-style or Greek-style cheese but true feta meets the origin and milk criteria (and a few others) set by the EU after Greece petitioned them to do so.

Yum
The front room of the restaurant
More yum

After the restaurant, we were off to eat a bit more. Por qué no (wait, that’s not Greek)? We stopped at the local meat market. Before heading in, Julia and George ordered up souvlaki makings. Julia showed us what she considers a perfect bite of food; a small pita triangle, the ground souvlaki meat dipped in a mustard sauce, topped with onion and tomato. She made two perfect bites and customarily, just like her grandmother used to, served them to the [two] men in the group (they’d be unable to do it themselves, she said) and then the gals were free to make up our own bites. They were delicious though pretty dang big bites.

After our bites (I was beyond full at this point), we walked through the meat market. Julia’s grandfather had owned a shop in the meat market when she was growing up and she knew the vendors and her way around well. We saw a variety of animals and their hearts, livers, testicles, heads, and faces. Living in Spain, it was fairly common to see heads and faces on butchered animals (unlike in the states) but in Greece for the first (and hopefully last) time I saw a skinned sheep’s head, complete with wide, staring eyeballs. It was extremely unsettling. Luckily I didn’t get a photo of it because it was something nightmares are made of. Clarice! Clarice! Yikes.

Meat market

After the meat market, we stopped at Polykala distillery, a one hundred and twenty-five year old family run distillery. Rena, whose grandfather started the business, told us a bit about the various liquors and liqueurs they make, complete with samples! We tried small servings of coffee, lemon, sage, cherry with cinnamon (that tasted like Christmas), grapefruit, and rose flavored liqueurs. My favorite was sage. It was so, well, sage-y. Phil’s favorite was peppermint. We compromised as he did not like the sage and I did not care for the mint, and purchased a bottle of the lemon, or limonata. It tasted similar to limoncello but not quite as sweet. I like Rena’s style. Inviting folks in and getting them a bit liquored, or liquered up as the case may be, tends to loosen the purse strings more often than not I imagine and everyone walks away happy from the experience.

After the distillery, we were off to eat more food. The booze did help to counter balance the extreme fullness I had been feeling so I was up for tasting a bit more. We went to a tiny, unassuming little restaurant and all sat together outside. The owner, from a small Greek island, uses fresh local produce to make different menu offerings daily, using his mother’s old recipes. On the day we visited, he offered us meza (small plates similar to Spanish tapas) of meatballs, zucchini fritters, fresh tomatoes with seaweed, and more tzatziki and lathobrekto bread and served with small glasses of rosé. Julia and George left to meet their next tour and we all sat and chatted for a bit. The owner of the restaurant came out and gave us and himself all a shot of Tsipouro, a grape distilled spirit very similar to raki. After taking mine, I looked at Phil and gave him the look of, “that was surprisingly smooth”, to which the owner responded by giving me, and only me, another shot. When in Greece I suppose.

We walked with the twenty-somethings back toward where we began the tour as the four of us were all feeling quite chatty at this point. We parted ways near our rental and we made our way back so I could promptly lay down and take a nap. It was a fabulous tour and a wonderful day in Athens.

Istanbul Part 3: The Princes’ Islands

The Prince’s Islands are a cluster of nine islands, the four largest of which are inhabited, located southeast of Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara. A former colleague of Phil’s who is married to a Turk and had visited Istanbul several times told him that her favorite thing in Istanbul was Büyükada Island, the largest of the Princes’ Islands. That is how we learned about them.

If one only has a few days in Istanbul, the hour and forty-five minute boat ride to the islands may not land it on the must see list but as we had fifteen days in Istanbul, it was definitely on ours. The boat is part of the Istanbul public transportation system so the rechargeable card that allowed us to ride the public buses and metro also got us on the boat to the islands.

We decided Sunday might be a good day to head to the islands. We were wrong. The huge boat was SO crowded. We were lucky enough to score a two person seat when we boarded. Folks on stops after ours were not so lucky and soon there were people sitting on the floor and stairs. A few smart passengers who had brought along portable beach chairs unfolded them and made their own space on the boat to sit.

We decided to disembark at the first Princes’ Island stop of Kinaliada, the smallest of the islands, and travel on to Büyükada later in the afternoon. It felt nice to get off the crowded boat. The port area was bustling with passengers arriving or waiting to leave, with plenty of bars, coffee shops, restaurants, and souvenir shops to offer them. There were even beach resorts where one could rent a lounge chair on the pebbly beach and swim. We had brought our swimming suits with us but a busy, rock beach right beside the buslting port wasn’t all that appealing so, we decided to walk on and if we found a spot to swim we would and if not, no big deal.

As we began our walk, we passed more cafes, restaurants, and beach bars but as we got further from the port, the less people we saw. The islands are primarily car-less other than emergency vehicles (and from what I read, only electric cars, though we didn’t see any). Residents drive mopeds and what look like suped-up jazzy scooters. The island is quite hilly so I understand why they would be the preferred method for getting around. We just had our feet but getting out in nature and moving, even if it was up and down hills in the hot and humid afternoon, felt really good.

One guy in the front two in the back
Scooter
Suped-up jazzy
Prepared for all weather
Grocery delivery

We walked around the whole island and while we did find a couple of beach spots that looked inviting, we opted to stay dry. It was nice, after having been in the super crowded city, to be in a place where we could get away and be by ourselves. We encountered a few people while walking around the island but for the most part, it felt like we were alone.

Checking out the Sea of Marmara
Chicken crossing the road
Getting away from it all

Before we reached the port area again, we passed by a couple of water-side restaurants and decided to stop for a late lunch. We opted for fish as it was very reasonably priced and we were literally sitting beside the ocean, so bet on it being pretty darn tasty. It was. We dined on small, whole fried fish that I think were anchovies or sardines though I really have no idea. They were small enough that once fried, you could eat them whole (including heads), with the exception of the tip of the tail. We also had the sea bream which was equally delicious. We paired it with a salad of tomato, pepper, parsley, and walnuts with balsamic that was absolutely delicious (our favorite salad during our entire time in Istanbul).

View from lunch

After lunch, we slowly walked toward the port. We purchased tickets to Büyükada Island (we didn’t want to wait for the public run boat so opted for a reasonably priced private one) and sat at one of the many cafes and enjoued a Turkish tea while we waited. We joined other folks on the dock waiting for the boat to Büyükada and boarded slightly earlier than anticipated.

Walking back toward the port

It was a short while later than we realized we had boarded the wrong boat and were headed back to mainland Istanbul. It was too late in the day to take another boat back to Büyükada from the mainland, so we decided to return again the next day when it would hopefully be a bit less crowded with tourists.

Just as we expected, there were much fewer people on the Monday morning boat to the Princes’ Islands than there had been on Sunday. We had our choice of seats and purchased round pretzel-like simit bread from a fellow selling them on the boat and settled in for the nearly two hour boat ride.

Near empty boat and our simit guy
Approaching our destination

Büyükada is the largest of the Princes’ Islands. Many folks visiting rent bicycles or opt to take the small mini-buses that shuttle people around the island. After a quick bite for breakfast at a cute little cafe, we opted to walk.

View from breakfast
View from breakfast

Our path took us straight up the middle of the island to its highest point at the Aya Yorgi (Saint George) Greek Orthodox Church. On the way we passed the The Prinkipo Greek Orphanage, a 20,000-square-meter wooden building that served as an orphanage from 1903-1964 and is considered the largest wooden building in Europe (the second largest in the world). The orphanage is fenced off and closed to visitors but is huge, and creepy. There is a house within the same fence as the orphanage and we saw [presumably] the owner walking around inside as we snapped a few photos. It was especially creepy as the [presumably] owners two small little girls were playing near the orphanage which gave it a super scary ghost vibe. They were ghosts, weren’t they?

We walked on and continued up the hill to the church (and former monastery) of Saint George. The church while small was very beautifully decorated inside (photos were prohibited). Phil and I had never visited an Eastern Orthodox church before. While there are similarities between it and the Catholic churches we’ve visited, it was distinctly unique (stay tuned for my post about Athens that includes photos of an Eastern Orthodox church).

Aya Yorgi
Aya Yorgi
Aya Yorgi

The church was nice but the view was the main attraction. It made the long climb up the hill totally worth it. A nice young woman was kind enough to offer to take a photo of Phil and I. We have a ton of selfies from our travels but photos of the two of us together are in short supply. After our photo op, we found a spot overlooking the sea and sat there together for at least an hour, enjoying the scenery and each other’s company.

Something I had noticed on the walk up that became even more notable at the top of the hill were trees with what looked to me to be trash (and in one paticular case a candy bar wrapper) tied around the branches, specifically strips of plastic, like plastic grocery sacks. Near our lovely vista of the sea, we saw even more trees with plastic tied around the branches. I consulted google to try to find out exactly why folks were leaving behind these non-biodegradable souvenirs. Most of what I discovered talked about Muslim Turks and Eastern Orthodox folks alike making a pilgrimage to the church on April 23rd, Saint Geroge’s Day. On this day, they leave bells and candles symbolizing prayers. I found only one article that mentioned tree branches that said mostly women will tie cloth (most I saw were plastic) threads around the trees as prayers for children.

We walked back towards the port down the opposite side of the hill that we climbed up. We were glad we did as this route took us past some of the famous old mansions of Büyükada that we had read about; huge, old, colonial-looking homes, some in better condition than others. We stopped for an ice cream before making our way back to the boat (we took the right one this time!).

We pulled into the port at the Kabataş stop an hour and a half or so later and disembarked. We decided we were a bit peckish and opted to find a dinner spot in the area. After a quick google search, Phil found a spot less than ten minutes away and off we went. We didn’t know the entire ten minutes would be spent walking uphill but it was totally worth it for the delicious meal we had at Ali Ocaskbasi Gumussuyu. We dined on stuffed zuccini blossoms, babaganoush, tzastiki, liver kebabs, and lamb ribs. Lamb ribs! I had never had lamb ribs before. They were amazing and tasted like the fatty/meaty part of a deliciously grilled steak where the meat meets the bone. We finished the meal with Künefe, a sweet cheese pastry made with shredded filo dough, honey, butter, and pistachio.

Lamb ribs!

After dinner, we discovered we were very close to the famous Taksim Square that we had yet to visit, so decided to make our way there. It was bright and bustling and full of young people hanging out, talking, and smoking cigarettes*. After snapping a few pics in the square, we headed back to our tiny hotel, grateful for another fantastic day.

*Side note: Turkey is the smokinest country we have ever visited. Europe in general loves their cigarettes and I thought Italy was number one in cig love but they’ve got nothing on Turkey. Cigerettes also happen to be super cheap in Turkey. At around $1.50 a pack, Turks can afford to pick up smoking as a hobby and not just a habit. It was gross and stinky and only made me want to pick smoking back up a few times.

After initially having apprehensions about going to Turkey, I am so glad we did! It was an amazing cultural experience. The history, art, architecture, food, and people were wonderful. I left wanting to know more about the country and its history; from the Byzantines, Ottomans, to the father of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and I wouldn’t hesitate to return. It was truly a life changing experience.

Next stop on our adventure: Athens!

Istanbul Travels Part 2: Schmoozing, Boozing, and Cruising

Phil and I experienced so much in Istanbul I couldn’t possibly write about it all. I mean, I could. It is humanly possible. Phil is going to (try). What I am saying is that I could not possibly write about it all without taking an extraordinarily long time, and so I won’t; but I will tell you about some of the things that I enjoyed while we were there.

After our whilwind first two days of rug buying and close call with religious converstion (you can read part 1 here), we met up with our friends Amanda and Rob, whom we’d met in Antalya, for dinner and drinks. We dined on pide (like sauceless pizza), vegetables, and kebabs at a tasty little restraunt Phil and I frequented several times while in Istanbul, The Three Partners Cafe (that we kept referring to as Tres Hermanos). I uncharacteristically have no photos of the food but trust me when I say we enjoyed good food, drink, and conversation. Amanda and Rob have traveled to many countries and we enjoyed listening to their travel adventures while recounting a few of our own.

After dinner we took a short cab ride to the hip Karaköy neighborhood near Galata tower that was absolutely bustling with nightlife. People were in the streets talking and laughing while music played from the bars that lined the sidewalks. We stopped at a little bar called The Tower Bar and ended up talking with a Turkish fellow named Mehmet for several hours. He had struck up a conversation with Rob about darts as we first sat down. I don’t believe anyone actually ever played a game of darts for the remainder of the night, just threw a few at the board intermittently while talking.

Galata Tower (and Amanda’s pink hair)

Mehmet was an interesting guy. He had studied in Oregon for his Ph.D and had traveled extensively. I was surprised when he asked us to guess his age and I said 36 that he responded he was in fact 26. He had a beard that perhaps covered a more yourthful looking face and had traveled more places than most 26-year-olds I know (I guess I don’t know that many 26-year-olds now that I think about it, but I once was 26). Phil later said he believed Mehmet’s age because although he was skeptical, he wasn’t yet cynical. Cynicism comes with age. And while I consider myself to be an optimist (you’re straight up delusional, Jess), I do agree with his summation.

We met up with Rob and Amanda again a couple of days later for a cruise on the Bosphorous Strait. Many local cruise operations catering to tourists offer two hour cruises from 20-30 euro. Lucky for us, Rob and Amanda had spotted one the day prior that is run by the city government for only 32TL (about $1.50)! The cruise was lovely and we had great seats on the middle level of the boat which was elevated enough to have great views but also covered to protect us from the rain and harsh sun (belileve it or not we had both on this afternoon). And we saw more dolphins than we ever expected to see. Bonus!

Phil and I visited several palaces and museums which he wrote about here and here. Below are a few of my favorite photos from the Rumeli fortress, Topkapi Palace, The Museum of the Turkish and Islamic Arts, the Naval Museum, under the Hagia Sofia, and the home of Turkish poet Tevfik Fikret called the Aşiyan Museum (that was quite a climb).

In addition to the places we visited, it was also cool just to walk around different neighborhoods and through street markets. There are so many areas and neighborhoods to explore in Istanbul, one could live there for years and still not see it all.

Probably my favorite thing we did (it’s so hard to choose!) was to visit the Prince’s Islands. We visited two islands, one each day, and here is a little taste of what those looked like.

Stay tuned!

Istanbul Part 1: Mostly Mosques

After leaving Antalya in the south of Turkey, Phil and I were off to Istanbul. I was equal parts nervous and excited for the trip. After getting used to the relatively laid back vibe of Antalya, I knew Istanbul was going to be intense. At least we would have a larger hotel room in Istanbul than we’d had in Antalya. Our room in Antalya was very cozy, consisting of a full bed, a closet, a desk and a chair all in about 75 square feet, though we did have a small balcony, which was nice. We were very much looking forward to spreading out in Istanbul and having a bit more space to decompress from our days navigating the densely populated city.

The taxi ride to the hotel was long; the driver drove way too fast and frankly, at times, seemingly dangerous, but a friend who lived in Istanbul for a few months told me when she first took a taxi in Istanbul she thought she was being punked due to irradic driving. When we finally arrived at our hotel we found that we had misjudged the size of the room based on the website pictures, and it was in fact even smaller than our room in Antalya. Oof.

Well, Phil and I have gotten used to close quarters so what was another 15 days? The nice fellows at the hotel put a small table in the corner of the tiny room at our request so at least one of us had a place to sit and type or eat, or just relax in a place that wasn’t the bed. The hotel also has a common area downstairs and a rooftop terrace (with a lovely view of the Bosphorus Strait) so at least we had a couple options for getting some more free space.

I also found a great coffee shop only a five minute walk away that I visited a few times by myself. I love espresso and I like turkish coffee but after spending so much time in the lands of small coffee, I wanted a large Americano; not nescafe or other instant coffee. I wanted a super tasty, good quality big ol’ cup of coffee, dammit. And I got it (several times)! God bless you, North Art Coffee. If you find yourself in the Sultanahmet Square area of Istanbul (and you will if you visit) I highly recommend it.

View of the Bosphorus from our hotel
Inside the coffee shop

Enough about your hotel and weird coffee obsession, Jess. Tell us about Istanbul. Ok, ok. Our first two days in Istanbul we bought a turkish rug and almost converted to Islam (Istanbul is going to eat these two impressionable midwifeterns alive!). Alright, so I’m exaggerating a little. I mean, we did buy a turkish rug. That is a fact (Phil talks about it here). We also visited Suleymainye Mosque (upon the recommendation of our rug salesmen) and talked at length with a volunteer there about his faith.

As we walked around the lovely mosque, a fellow approached us with a volunteer badge around his neck and introduced himself as Ahmet. He explained that he was a member of the mosque, a medical doctor by trade, and a volunteer. He asked if he could tell us a bit about Islam and we said of course. I for one, knew very little about the religion. I enjoy learning new things and given that I was in a country where 96-99% of the population identify as Muslim (and the fact that I am a citizen of the world) it felt right to expand my knowledge of the subject.

We talked to Ahmet for at least an hour, learning the basics of Islam and just how much it overlaps and intersects with Christianity and Judism. Muslims believe that Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, David, Jesus and Muhammad were all God’s prophets, Muhammad being the last and final one. They believe the Bible and Torrah are holy books along with the Quran. They even believe in the immaculate conception and virgin birth. In fact, just as the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, he appeared to Muhammad. While we weren’t quite ready to convert (it’s not you, it’s me and my distaste for organized religion at large) after our conversation, we did enjoy talking with Ahmet.

In addition to the fine conversation and beautiful mosque itself, the garden area outside of the mosque offered lovely views of the city. They also had a separate Garden that housed the tomb of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificient, the longest reigning Sultan and his favorite wife, who converted from Orthodox Christianity, Hurrem.

Very very sunny

Prior to our trip to Istanbul, I had never been to a mosque. The ones we visited in Istanbul were each beautiful. Having visited many, many (many, many, many) Catholic churches throughout Europe it was cool to view the mosques in contrast. The lack of pews or seating of any kind (you sit on the carpet, or kneel when praying) highlight the tall, interior domes with brightly painted ceilings. Muslims do not have any imagery in mosques (why replicate what God has made perfect), rather beautifully painted ceilings and columns along with prayers written in Arabic (the language the Quran was written in) calligraphy hung throughout the qubba (dome). Another mosque feature that really struck me are the low-hung chandeliers. Simple yet beautiful and mesmerizing. I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

Because we were in Istanbul for so long, we were able to revisit the famous Hagia Sofia mosque several times as it was very close to our hotel. Our first visit was with our friends Rob and Amanda, whom we met in Antalya. That visit was extremely crowded and a bit rushed as we had to wait so long to enter and they needed to catch a flight back to London soon after. While we were there, however, Phil overheard a tour guide telling some ladies that you can come back at night around the nine o’clock prayer time. Typically, tourists are not allowed in mosques during prayer time so this bit of information was quite helpful. We also wouldn’t have thought to return at night, assuming it would be closed.

Twice we returned at night, once toward the end of prayers and once after. Anywhere you are in the city, one can hear prayers from the loud speakers atop mosque minnerettes five times a day; at dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. It was cool to be inside of the mosque as the prayers were being recited. Both times we visited Hagia Sofia at night, it had a very calm and welcoming feel. People walked around, snapped photos, others stood, and many sat on the carpeted floors. Kids ran around, laughing as family and friends talked quietly. Tourists are not allowed in the areas reserved for prayer so those seeking that connection still have privacy and a relatively quiet place to pray. We enjoyed our nighttime visits, sitting on the carpet, feeling tranquil, and taking in the beauty of the mosque.

Hagia Sofia
Inside the Hagia Sofia
Mineret of the Hagia Sofia
Chilling on the carpet

Across from the Hagia Sofia is the equally famous, Blue Mosque. Unfortunately for us, it is currently under a major renovation. It is still open to tourists and for prayer but those seeking to take in the ceilings and grandness of the mosque have nothing really to see. I was able to snap a quick pic of the only piece of the ceiling that wasn’t completely covered by scaffolding and tarps.

The Blue Mosque

Another of my favorite places we visited in Suntameht Square was the Mosoleum of Sultan Ahmet that houses the tomb of three sultans and thirty-three sons and daughters of the sultans. It was bright and stunning and had the low-hung chandeliers that I like so much.

Though Istanbul has more to offer than just mosques and tombs (much, much more in fact). Stay tuned for my next post and I’ll tell you more about the magical city that is Istanbul.

Antayla, Part 2

Antalya has a lot to offer aside from the food and the beautiful turquoise water. It has a bustling night life, family friendly activities such as the aquarium and asusement park, as well as numerous public parks. We saw many Antalyans, particularly in the evenings once the blazing hot sun had started it’s journey westward, enjoying the parks. Almost everyone had portable camp chairs, some had blankets, and a lucky few scored one of the picnic tables provided in the park. It was nice to see so many people out enjoying each other’s company. Families picnicked, friends shared beer or tea, old men played batgammon. We saw this same scene repeated in each of the several parks we visited in the city. We have noticed in our travels that in cities, where people tend to live in apartments, and most folks don’t have yards, they really take advantage of their communal, public green spaces.

Probably the coolest thing(s) Antalya, has to offer (again, aside from the food and the Mediterranean) is the region’s multiple historical, archeological sites. Antalya was first settled around 200 B.C. by Attalus (and named in his honor) II Philadelphus, king of Pergamon. Shortly after it was occupied by the Romans and was a thriving port city. Turkey has around 120 ancient archeological sites and the region of Antayla has seven of these. We were lucky enough to visit two, as well as the archeological museum. Phil loves ancient history so he has written about these visits here, here, and here (He writes really fast. He’s a professional. Check out his book on amazon). Because Phil has written extensively about our visits to these sites, I’m just going to post a few of my favorite photos from our visits. Click on the photo for the location.

One other highlight from our visits to these archeological sites that I want to mention is that on our visit to Pammeluke, we met a couple from London; Amanda (originally from Canada) and Rob. We ended up having dinner with them after our tour and we hit it off so well, we made plans to meet up in Istanbul (stay tuned). It is really nice to have travel buddies!

I have mentioned several times how lovely the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean are (Yes, you have. We get it. But do you?), and a couple of my favorite activities from our trip were taking a day to get out on the water and a day to get out in the water. We took a two-hour boat cruise that rode us to Düden Falls (that we actually walked to a couple of times, as mentioned in Phil’s blog) and back. I really enjoy being out on the water and find it incredibly relaxing. Maybe this is from happy childhood memories of pontooning with my family on the Lake of the Ozarks or maybe it’s because everyone loves being out on the water and finds it incredibly relaxing. Either way, it was fantastic and the beautiful water mesmerizing.

Our hotel had a pool which we took full advantage of but we really wanted to get out in the sea. Our hotel was only about a two-minute walk to the water but quite a far walk from an actual beach. We were high above the water on rocky cliffs, which made for both spectacular views and a difficult time accessing the water, or so we thought.

On one of our walks to Düden Falls we noticed, while taking in the views that below us were beach chairs, sitting on decks that had been mounted to the side of the cliff. There were many of these places for sunning and swimming. They were sometimes connected with a hotel and always with some kind of restaurant or bar, in order to access refreshments easily as you lounged. At any of them, one could rent a chair with umbrella and towel for a relatively small fee (around $12 USD for two) for the entire day after descending the stairs to the cliff bottom. The aforementioned refreshments are available for an additional charge. There are also changing rooms and bathrooms for folks to utilize.

Luckily for us, a hotel/restaurant three minutes walk from our hotel had very nice swimming decks so we took half a day to enjoy the beautiful water and respite from the heat. They had two tiers of decks and we grabbed chairs on the lower one. The umbrellas offered sufficient shade for my pasty skin and a ladder off the end of the deck access to the water. We had a couple of beers, lounged, swam, and half slept for a few hours. It was divine.

Another fun activity Antalya has to offer is their cable car, or teleferik, as they call it. Up, up, up we took it to the top of Tünek Tepe Hill where more spectacular views awaited. Phil wrote in more detail of our trip but I have included some of my favorite photos below.

I would be remiss if I did not mention a few quirky features I noticed and found endearing about Antayla. The first is the number of well mannered and well cared for street animals, namely dogs and cats. There are dogs and cats all over the place, just hanging out. The dogs were usually quite large and while typically a large wild dog might be a bit (or a lot) inimidating, these dogs were passive. Why? Well, many businesses and individuals leave fresh food and water out for them. There’s no reason to be aggressive if you’re well fed, left alone, and living in paradise (that goes for people too, I suppose). When talking about the dogs to a fellow we met from Denmark, I said, “They all seem pretty chill” to which he responded (in a surprisingly very California sufer-sounding accent), “Yeeaaah, they chill suuuper hard”. The cats still slip in occasionally to the indoor-outdoor restaurants but mostly they are looking for dropped morsels and never usually stick around too long and never once meowed at us for food.

Another thing I noticed was almost every business, from hair salon, real-estate office, nail shop, car dealship, you name it had a table and chairs right out front for employees to utilize for relaxation (mostly tea drinking and smoking from what I saw). I first noticed this when I thought one nail shop was a cafe because of the table and chairs. These spots don’t seem to be used specifically for an official “break time” as such. Simply, if there is down time, they sit and releax. Much better than the “If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean” approach most U.S. employers take. I wasn’t able to take as many photos of the employee relaxation stations as I would have liked because they were usually being utilized. It would take away from my relaxation if a stranger randomly snapped a photo of me while I was chilling, so I had an eye out for vacant ones. I found a couple.

Lasty, a very handy feature of Antalya that I have never seen anywhere (they are not in Istanbul either) are taxi call buttons. The buttons are mounted on poles or the sides of bus stops. You simply press the button and within a few minutes (or often seconds) up pulls a taxi. A Russian fellow we met said, ” Who needs Uber when you have Button on a Pole?” Who indeed. Not me. Button on a Pole worked great.

We really enjoyed our two weeks in Antayla and have agreed we would definitely go back in the future. So, until next time Antalya!

Antalya Part 1: Let’s Talk Food

Our first stop in Turkey was the beach city of Antalya, in the south along the Mediterranean coast. Citizens of the U.S. need a Turkish Visa to enter the country, though this can be easily obtained via website or in-person at the airport upon arrival (we read). Phil completed the application online, paid $50 each, and we were able to print out the 90-day Visas, which we presented at the airport in Geneva prior to boarding our flight. Easy peasy.

We planned to stay in Turkey for a month, though that seemed too long to stay in Istanbul exclusively. After a friend of a friend in Spain mentioned she was going to school in a beach town in the south of Turkey, we started looking at our options. Antalya seemed like a great one, so we booked our flights. Antalya is a city and a region located on the Tourquoise Coast (the name tourqoise actually comes from the french “pierre turque” meaning Turkish stone) of the Mediterranean Sea. Antayla is in Asia and is a resort city popular with tourists and expats from all over the world. Neither of us had ever been anywhere in Asia previously, so that was cool.

Turquoise waters
Turquoise waters

Our hotel in Antalya was very on brand for our “nice hotel about 20 years past its prime” preference (that I mentioned in this post). A couple of nice bonuses were their pool and free breakfast. I’m not a big breakfast person (brunch is another story all together) and often opt to skip the meal all together. However, when it’s included, it not only helps us save money on our overall daily food expenses (if we have a big breakfast, we usually skip having either a full lunch or dinner and have a snack for one of the meals instead) but it also forces us to wake up by a certain time. With that being said, I like to sleep. Not having a job and having a lot of time in the day to do what we please, often leads to us sleeping in. There’s nothing wrong with sleeping in. Sleeping in is great but having a semi-routine is also valuable. For me, a routine helps to serve as an anchor (to the day, to time, to reality) during a time in which I have no other obligations. Plus, if I really want to sleep in, I still can. You’re not the boss of me, breakfast!

The hotel breakfast was good. Turks are actually quite known for their breakfasts and many restaurants offer traditional Turkish breakfasts. A typical Turkish breakfast consists of different types of bread, cheese, meat, honey, jam, olives, eggs, tomato, cucumber and sometimes potatoes and other vegetables or delicious fried cheese rolls (looks like a taquito but tastes like phyllo stuffed with cheese). Oh, and tea. Lots of tea. Turks love their tea, even more than they love their famous Turkish coffee. In fact, Turkey is the largest consumer of tea per person in the world. Kahvalti means breakfast in Turkish and literally translates to “before coffee,” so while Turks still love their coffee (just not quite as much as tea), they do not drink it with their breakfast, only after. I am not Turkish, so I had both coffee and tea with my breakfast.

Unlike the Brits, Scots, and Irish, the tea loving Turks do not add milk when they have a cuppa, though may choose to add sugar. The strong, black tea is poured into a traditional, small, tuplip shaped glass. One drinks it by grabbing the lip of the glass with the thumb and pointer finger to avoid burning themselves.

So much tea
Not actually my breakfast but an accurate representation
Fried cheese!

One of the things that has struck me since being here, starting with our first hotel breakfast, is how fresh the produce is and how abundant (agriculture is Turkey’s largest employer). Some form of vegetable comes with almost any meal you order here. This is a very good thing for us. We like vegetables and try to eat them as often as we can. When traveling, however, especially when being budget conscious, we don’t always have as many as we would like.

As long as we are talking about the food, let me tell you more about the food. It is amazing. I love Turkish food. It consists of a lot of meats including lamb, which I love, also a lot of bread, which I also love. Typically when I think of Turkish food, I think of flat breads but we have encountered all types of bread here from fluffy white to a tasty pretzle-type ring bread called simit that is covered with sesame seeds (a favorite of Phil’s). But it’s not all meat and bread. We have also had delicious seafood, rice, chickpeas, pickled vegtables, and a bounty of the aforementioned fresh vegetables including; tomato, cucumber, eggplant, peppers of all kinds, onion, garlic, and fresh herbs. We have had a lot of fresh parsley since being here and it makes me wonder why we don’t incorporate it into salads more in the U.S. We have yet to have a bad meal in Turkey. In fact, you can find a delicious, meal for two if you look a bit outside of major tourist areas, for around 200TL (Turkish Lira), which is roughly $12. Oh, the food!

Some of our favortie dishes in addition to döner kebab are stuffed grape leaves (they call then vine leaves in English here), içli köfte (a stuffed, fried meatball), lahmacun (often referred to as Turkish pizza) which is a crispy flat bread with spices and minced vegtables and/or meat, pide (which actually tasts more like pizza than lahmacun) that’s a flat bread (thicker than lahmacun), covered in meat, cheese, or a mix of the two. We also found some tasty treats at the nearby bakery in Antayla including a delicious beef and onion stuffed flaky pasty (see excited photo below). One of the most surprising dishes we had was what the waiter described as “Turkish macaroni”. It was not something I would typically order but he urged us to so we did. It tasted a lot like toasted ravioli (if you’re from or have been to St. Louis, Missouri, you are very familiar with this) which is essentially deep fried pasta, then covered in a tomato sauce and yogurt. It was pretty good.

One of my favorite meals in Antalya was a small restaurant where the couple working spoke very little English. The woman was able to convey that we needed to come inside and look at the dishes they had prepared, select what we wanted, and then they would bring them to us. This type of set up is fun but can be quite dangerous for someone who likes to try a lot of foods. I kept pointing and they kept loading up plates and bowls. I even let Phil get a few dishes. The other notable thing about the restaurant were all of the jars of pickled vegtables they had stacked up. The dishes we had, usurprisingly, had a lot of pickled veg incorporated. It was all so delicious. We were way too full for dessert yet somehow ordered it anyway. It consisted of a Turkish flan-like dish and a crumbly cake with honey and cinnamon.

Antalya has way more to offer visitors than just delicious food, although that would be enough for me. For what we did (besides eat), stay tuned for more about our adventures in Antalya!

Adventures in Turkey: Pre-travel Worries and Confronting my Biases

After parting ways with my mother-in-law, Marie (read all about our adventures here), in Geneva, Phil and I flew to Turkey. Turkey is a place Phil has wanted to travel to for a long time but to be perfectly honest, I did not feel the same. I was apprehensive and a bit nervous about traveling to Turkey.

In texting with a couple of friends since being here, I said, “I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this.” That isn’t entirely true. I think deep down I did have some expectations and I think they were mostly tied to Turkey’s religion and geography, not that I know very much about either.

I know Turkey is an Islamic country, with 96-99% (depending on the survey) of people identifying as muslim. I have never traveled in a majority muslim country. I don’t know much about Islam, only some of the basic tennants and am familiar with western stereoptypes and (mis-)information.

Turkey shares a border with Iraq and Syria but it also shares a border with Greece and Bulgaria (and Armenia and Georgia, now we’ve covered them all) both of which are in the European Union. So while, it’s a good idea to stay away from the south-eastern border area, Turkey is a relatively safe travel destination.

So, what exactly was I nervous about? What was I expecting? If I answer with the first things that pop into my mind, in simplest terms, I thought: 1. I’m not going to be respected because I’m a woman. 2. I’m going to stick out as an American and that is a bad thing.

In researching our trip to Turkey, I read that because Antalya and Istanbul are big tourist hot spots, you can pretty much wear whatever you want and no one will look twice at you. Istanbul is the 13th largest city in the world (for comparison’s sake New York is 45th) for crissakes, no one cares what I’m wearing or look like. Did I think a group of radicals was waiting to disappear a big blonde American lady in her early 40’s for baring her shoulders in public? Did I think I would enter the spice bazaar and never come out? No. Of course not. Maybe? I don’t know.

Well, we’ve yet to visit Istabnul so TBD on the disappearing but so far so good. We have only visited Antalya which is a very international city and I have been amazed by the live and let live attitude here. Women in conservative muslim dress walking next to friends in shorts and tank tops (something one might see in Sourthern California, so why did it surprise me here?). Bars and restaurants serving alcohol are next to tea shops and restaurants that do not. A sex shop displaying their products in the window near a fancy dress shop offering very conservative options. Bridal shop after bridal shop (y’all, there are SO many bridal shops!) offering backless and sleeveless options alongside floor length, long sleeved ones. I was surprised when a muslim family asked me to take their picture while Phil and I were out and about as I was wearing a sundress that displayed a bit of cleavage. No one cares. Why should they? You do your thing, I’ll do mine. Let’s be cool with one another and mind our own business. In fact, Antalya feels much more tolerant than many US cities*.

*From what I have read, Turkey has a way to go with LGBTQIA rights and in fact due to shifting politics has taken a few steps backwards in terms of rights in recent years (the same could be said for the U.S.).

Much of what I expressed above sounds like it was written by a sheltered individual, ignorant of the world. It was. The more I travel, the more I realize how little I know about the world and other cultures and the more I want to keep traveling to experience them and gain some understanding. Yes, I was apprehensive but I came anyway. That’s a big part of travel; being [of course] excited but also a little nervous about being out of your comfort zone.

So, regarding the two fears I listed above, what has my experience been? Well, 1. Other than a taxi driver telling Phil that the people around him were all driving like women, I haven’t encountered any sexist sentiment, 2. I stand out here less than I did in Spain. There are all kinds of folks here, dressed in all kinds of ways with all kinds of body shapes and skin tones. Turks know I’m not Turkish when I don’t respond to them in Turkish when they speak to me but they don’t know I’m from the U.S. and if they ask where I’m from and I tell them the U.S., it’s always met with, “Oh, America!” in a friendly tone.

Since we’ve been here, Phil and I have attended two meetup groups (one was a spanish/english language exchange!) and met people from Iran, Mexico, Kasikstan, Denmark, France, Pakistan, and all over Russia (there’s quite a large Russian population here); Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Siberia. I mentioned that Antalya was a very international city and it also has an exciting and collaborative vibe to it. In some ways, I feel like I’m experiencing international travel for the first time here, in Turkey.

As I discussed in this blog post, the fact that I am very lucky indeed to be experiencing these adventures is not lost on me. The fact that I was born in a country that speaks the lingua franca and has one of the world’s most powerful passports that allows me to travel broadly is also not lost on me. I’m human, so there are still moments of frustration, laziness, and anxiety during this grand adventure but Phil and I make it a point to catch ourselves when we are in spectacular or sureal moments of our travel (like recently when we had an amazing meal on a terrace overlooking the Mediterranean Sea), gesture to our surroundings and acknowledge,”This is pretty amazing.” Turkey is pretty amazing.

I can’t wait to tell you all about our amazing adventures here in Antayla and Istanbul, so, stay tuned!