Norway and Istanbul Trip Report, finally!
Just remembered that I have this log laying around that I've meant to post as soon as I started it. I read through it, put on some finishing touches, and here it is! It is pretty long, but I figured that this is primarily for me, and I'd rather have the detail. I'm also censoring some last names, just because I'd prefer it not trace back to my family from the Internet. Speaking of, this was also meant to be something to send to my family eventually, so don't be offended by my explanation of what LAX is, for example :)
Tuesday, August 26th
After work, we wanted to get a head start to the Northeast to attempt Oslo the next day. DEN-EWR looked very full for standby, as usual. DEN-OMA-EWR looked great, but the night before I was getting a bad feeling about it. Probably because if we missed OMA-EWR, overnighting in OMA wasn’t very close to EWR. As it turned out, DEN-OMA was badly delayed anyway. DEN-PIT looked great, and PIT-EWR the next day had many open flights. But it happened to be after a couple DEN-EWR nonstops, so with nothing to lose, we tried those first. By the time we were at the gate, there were about a dozen other nonrevs above us due to carryover. However, some seats did open up, and some standbys did not show up. Within 5 minutes of sitting down at the gate, our names were miraculously called! Anne and I were not able to sit together, but oh well. We still made it on!
Unfortunately, EWR-OSL for the next day went from about 15 seats in the morning to -5 when we landed in EWR. According to my mom, it was as low as -11. At bedtime, we had about net 0 seats left. Still, anything could happen, and I had some backup ideas in mind that would still get us into Oslo later in the day!
(For those less familiar with airport codes, DEN: Denver; EWR: Newark, NJ; OMA: Omaha, NE; PIT: Pittsburgh, PA; OSL: Oslo, Norway)
Wednesday, August 27th
We wanted to check out New York City, but due to low time available and difficulty storing bags (didn’t want to check bags for a full international flight) we decided to stay at the airport and hang out at the United Club. Nice place, and being able to take a shower before a long flight was very refreshing. I can scratch “get naked inside an airport” off the bucket list (I usually make it up in my head as I go anyway). Unfortunately, we also found out that Bob and Scott’s flight ORD-EWR was delayed due to maintenance. They would be rebooked through CPH, arriving at OSL around 3:30PM. Eventually we discovered CPH was just a backup from EWR, not a replacement from ORD as expected. ORD-EWR flight left soon after, landing about 10 minutes before departure to OSL. Gate agents were able to hold flight for them, only to have a 2 hour maintenance delay. Of course.
In the meantime, we had been cleared in BusinessFirst! Sitting very comfortably in a seat that could lie flat, even if we planned to try to trade with Bob and Scott later on, we were told we’d have to move seats due to crew rest stations (but still in Business). Had to sit apart, but no problem. Then we got moved yet again to seats in economy after 2 revenue passengers purchased upgrades. Awww. But still, all 4 of us were on our way to Oslo! Unfortunately, the two nonrevenue passengers below us were coincidentally told to take the “walk of shame” off the plane at the same time as us, since the flight didn’t have open seats for them afterall. One believed it was because of us as we took our seats, and Scott and Anne heard him calling me/us “assholes” and “jackasses” for being late (within earshot of revenue pax). I looked up the passenger’s information on our reservations system, and relayed the story to the employee travel center, making clear that I’m not 100% sure about everything and don’t think firm discipline is as appropriate as a firm warning. No response ever did come. The suspected passenger did get cleared for a flight the next day, so it may be a good thing for him in case they revoked his flight privileges!
(More airport codes: ORD: Chicago; CPH: Copenhagen. Also, for those less familiar with my family who may be reading this: Scott is my brother-in-law, Bob my father-in-law, and Donna, who is mentioned later, my late mother-in-law)
Thursday, August 28th
Back in Europe again! Drove to the city of Hønnefoss, Norway. Translated, Hønnefoss means “Chicken Falls” or “Hen Falls” to be more literal. Had a lunch of cold meatballs and lefse at the falls… it tasted a lot better than it sounds. Of course, it was difficult to explain to Bob that Vorme Polse, a traditional street food at the Norwegian festival we go to every year in Iowa, is NOT a traditional (or even typical) Norwegian food, that this meat shop did not sell hot food or sandwiches, and that credit cards work a bit differently than America with them primarily using a chip and PIN system. I also bought the water that we forgot to get at first. About $10 USD for 2 half-liter bottles of water (a liter is about a quart, so this was about the size of a typical small bottle of water). Yup, Norway is expensive!
After lunch and a VERY long adventure trying to find our hotel, we eventually made it to the General Hotell, which was quite close to the T******g farm Bob’s grandmother grew up on before leaving for America. The hotel itself was part of a complex that used to be a Norwegian military base of some kind, but is no longer active. The hotel seems to be a refurbished bunk house of some kind, but I emphasize that it was refurbished and quite nice. It didn’t take long for us to take a nap to help recover from jet lag.
When Bob and Donna were in Norway several years ago, someone pointed this farm out to them. He called the current owner to see if they’d be ok with meeting, but they had a birthday party to attend. However, contact information was swapped and they invited us to visit next time we were in town. Bob did keep in contact, and before the trip they invited all of us to come out for drinks and dinner, along with a tour. When we got there, we met:
Regina: Descendent of the buyer of farm, which had been split into smaller parcels and passed down through a couple generations. Her family has traditionally been in the shipping industry. She is a psychiatrist, and seemed to feel need to focus all attention on being a hostess for us, of which she did a fantastic job.
Steven: Irish blood, born and grew up in Minnesota, and eventually moved to Norway. Dual citizen between US and Canada, but not Norway. Married Regina after each had kids from previous marriages (or relationships). Very friendly, very talkative, yet still very interesting. Maintained growing in their section of the farm until a few years ago, now hired out. Principal trade is architecture. Hobbies include such physical activity as biking and (previously) competitive swimming.
Regina’s dad: Older, maybe early 80s, but got around very well for his age. Spoke relatively little with us, but I believe his English wasn’t the best. He did seem very kind at heart when he did talk.
Max: Son of Steven, 18 years old. Finishing up high school, planning on joining Norwegian military. Definitely inherited dad’s personality. Great to talk with, painted exteriors of buildings (very large) as preferred chores around the house.
Eira: Daughter of Steven and Regina (only child together). Almost 12 years old, was a little shy at first but always very sweet. Joined in exploring farm. Was also the first child in Norway to be baptised outside of the church walls, which was technically illegal at the time (and may still be). Because Steven and Regina seem to know many people in the area, this had a HUGE celebration following.
Exploring the farm land, we walked through some wheat fields. The crops were recently cut down and harvested, so navigating was very easy. On top of a large (but not too steep) hill was a Viking burial ground. These are all unmarked, though fairly obvious looking at the unnatural look of the hill on top of the hill. Of course, digging in this area is highly illegal. If caught, your best bet is feigning ignorance, which may not be totally unreasonable. Uh, not that I plan to do that or anything.
Next, we looked at the relatively new house of Regina’s dad. This place was very beautifully decorated, especially his office. I’m not a huge history buff, but I was absolutely fascinated by what he had to show, including many artifacts found near the burial ground. Due to the size of the findings, everything legally had to be reported and given to the Norwegian Archaeological Society, which works to preserve the artifacts. However, the finder or property owner can still have the pieces at home “on-loan.” Theoretically, they could still request them back at any time, but according to Max that has only happened when they wanted to do some kind of preservation maintenance to the piece.
The rest of the farm was about what you would expect - now split into 3 separate parts, (upper, middle, and lower T******g) we spent most of our time in middle and upper T******g. There were houses, storage silos, different equipment, etc. While the only crops we saw were carrots still in the ground and cut down wheat fields, Steven also explained that strawberries grow extremely well in Norway due to the midnight sun in the Summer.
Eventually, it was dinner time. Elk and moose steaks, with a side mixture of potatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic. Sounds very Norwegian to me! None of us had moose before, and I believe most haven’t had elk (I once had an elk bratwurst in Colorado, and deer is probably similar and relatively common in Wisconsin). Steven commented that the moose turned out tougher than the elk. While that may have been true relatively, both were extremely well-prepared (not to be confused with having the steaks “well-done” - they were closer to medium or maybe medium rare).
Dessert was a mix of chocolates (maybe fairly typical by Norwegian standards, but the type and quality was definitely a rare treat for us Americans) as well as “rips” berries. These were small, juicy, and quite tart; they came in both clear-green and red, which was a little more tart surprisingly.
Friday, August 29th:
Saw a few last sights in Hønefoss, starting with the church near our hotel. The cemetery of the church has a few relatives buried in the area. Next, Bob went to Rolph’s house. Who Rolph is, I honestly do not know. But they had met previously, and he gave Bob and Donna a tour of the Ringerikes museum, where we went next. This place was once the pastor’s house for the nearby church. Since the pastor was such an important and influential person for the town, his house was quite large and always had some kind of activity going on. There was also a room that was fairly important in Norwegian fights against the Swedes - there are still a few bullet holes on the walls from a battle. The rest of the museum dealt with local history for the region as a whole. While interesting to see, there honestly wasn’t too much to describe due to the small size of the county.
Next, we drove from Hønefoss to Elverum. First stop was in Gran, a small town with some descendents on both Anne’s side and mine. Which is surprising, since it is a very small town. But there were no relatives available or known sights to see. We did have lunch at an Italian place, which of course had huge portions of great food. I also got a large 1.5L bottle of water at the grocery store, this one at a more reasonable $3 USD. Surprisingly, there seemed to be quite a few Muslims for such a small town in Northern Europe. In the time we were there, we were at a Turkish style restaurant (communication was difficult, and he didn’t think he could accept our cards, so we went elsewhere), our waiter at the Italian restaurant in Norway was Turkish (seems natural, right?) and Bob saw a woman dressed in a hijab (if not more). Also stopped in Hamar, which seemed like it had the potential to be very scenic due to being right on the coast. It was ok - nothing spectacular, but it was also a subsite for the Lillehammer Winter Olympics. The speed skating rink is still there - shaped like an upside-down Viking ship.
After we arrived in Elverum, we had dinner at a fairly small place with some relatives with which the Anne’s side of the family had revived contact several years ago - mainly the family of Tove and her husband Arnfinn. The atmosphere of the restaurant was fairly difficult to describe. Actually, no it isn’t: Imagine you have a large formal sitting room in a house, opening up to a formal living room, with access to a kitchen behind the scenes. That’s about it. Some tables would have guests sitting at a very nice couch. Anne and I ordered the trout, which we didn’t think would be served “whole” when we ordered. Though we did realize it before the food arrived, at least. Sure enough, that’s what it was. Anne hates to have food looking at her. It may have been our first time ordering food like that, but it was delicious and we managed to get the vast majority of the meat off without getting a mouthful of fish bones. And Anne had a (possibly forced) breakthrough where she realized it’s the same food, you just see more of it that you don’t need to eat. Bob paid for everyone’s meal (ranging $40-60 per person on dinner alone, plus beer and wine being very expensive in this area). While most European restaurants now use a portable credit card reader and customers can enter a tip, Bob’s card didn’t have a chip or PIN, both of which are the standard in Europe. The waiter was able to work it out, and when he went through the step to add in a tip, he (intentionally) didn’t - the one time it could be done. Told Bob not to worry about it. Tipping really isn’t seen the same way in Norway as it is in America, and Tove slipped him less than $10 USD cash (which was totally acceptable).
Driving home was a bit terrifying: while Bob surprisingly nailed the hill start from the restaurant despite being rusty with a manual transmission, we also had to remind him that there was a large truck in the roundabout that he should slow down for, and despite us telling him to turn right at the roundabout to get to the hotel, he was a little confused thinking he was supposed to turn left, stopped in the roundabout for a moment, and finally got out. Thankfully all people and cars were ok.
Saturday, August 30th
While this day was pretty well-filled, it doesn’t have too much to write about without overloading on details.
The day started with meeting a few new family members in the morning at the hotel, including Bente. Her English was pretty rusty, as she’d be happy to admit herself, but she was able to help out by guiding us to a few grave sites in Elverum. There were actually a few carloads of people joining us, about a dozen people total. It felt like we were attending a VERY casual funeral. Of course, we also went to the accompanying church.
Next, we went to the H*****h farm, which is divided by H*****h North and H*****h South. One part was owned by Bente, but when she was divorced she didn’t think she’d be able to keep the maintenance on it, especially at her age, so her ex husband has it. However, we were still able to tour the land. Like the day, there was enough to see, but not enough to write much more about. There is a food storage building that had some holes around the door. Around the turn of the century (early 1900s) someone stole the food inside. Because of that, it was rigged up a bit differently - the entrance is somewhere hidden on the side, and that door must be opened from the inside. The other side of the farm is still in the family.
The rest of the day was spent at a cabin in the woods owned by Arnfinn for a family reunion. It was originally his mother’s, but she wanted to sell it to one of her sons (both were interested). Rather than splitting the land, or sharing it, or giving it to the elder son, they literally drew a name from a hat. Arnfinn won. Very remote, very beautiful land and a very cozy cabin. It is completely off-grid, with electricity coming from a gas generator when heavy-duty use is needed (such as power tools) or a 12 volt solar system with a battery for things like lights. Arnfinn is extremely handy for maintaining this kind of thing, and his pride in the land really shows. And of course, meeting the family was also great. Everyone was very welcoming, even the few older ones that didn’t speak English. One walked over to me, and introduced herself saying “Nelly.” I knew she spoke no English, but only know about 5 words of Norwegian. All I could do was respond “Brian, nice to meet you” with the best body language I could to help with communication. Shaking hand, smiling, even bowing my head slightly. Her response: “Nelly.” Well, about 29 out of 30 people at the reunion isn’t bad, I guess.
Sunday, August 31st
Bob’s birthday! Also the day we left Elverum. Before leaving, we had lunch at Tove and Arnfinn’s with the kids and grandkids. While visiting, Scott asked if they could sing the Norwegian version of “Happy Birthday” - which had one version completely different from what we’re used to, and another that was in Norwegian, but to the tune of the traditional American “Happy Birthday” song. We then headed to Oslo. Because the direct route, E6, had some pretty heavy construction on the way up, we decided to take the scenic country roads. I noticed that at one turnoff, we could go right to Oslo, or left 15-20 miles to the Swedish border. Since Anne and I have never been to Sweden, Bob was fine with taking a (sometimes winding) detour. The border was very neat, but simple. A Swedish sign welcomed us in (I assume, it was in Swedish afterall), and there was a change in road design, and a marker (post) of the official border. And trees cut down along the border itself. We made fools of ourselves running around between one country and the other, telling Anne to get back to this country this instant, and Scott and I marking our territory in the woods on the Swedish side. We are men, afterall. With the number of times we crossed the border, I think that Sweden and Norway are now technically our most visited countries outside of the US.
I later learned that “Riksgräns Sverige” means “Sweden national border.” Not completely surprised at that :)
Arriving in Oslo, we had a birthday dinner for Bob after walking around town to The Royal Palace. We originally wanted to go to a place that had traditional Norwegian food, but on a Sunday evening it was already closed. Oh well, Norway is not exactly known for its cuisine. Instead, we ended up at an Italian place on the waterfront. Expensive, of course, but pretty tasty. Anne and I also bought birthday ice cream for Bob - 2 single scoop cones and 2 double scoop cones for a total of about $25USD. Definitely more than it would be a home, but given the location maybe not the end of the world all things considered.
Monday, September 1st
Our only full day in Oslo, and our last full day in Norway! While Norway has been very nice, it has also been very expensive, and it feels surprisingly like Wisconsin in many places we’ve been so we never really felt “away” this trip. I think leaving for Turkey tomorrow will probably come at just the right time.
We started by visiting Frogner Park in Oslo. Lots of very well-known statues in the area. Anyone who likes naked people made out of stone would love this place! But even aside from that, the park is very beautiful, large, and quiet. If you can ignore all the tour groups coming through.
Next, we took the tram back towards the city center and took a ferry from there to get near the Viking Ship Museum and Norwegian Cultural Museum. Both well worth a visit. The ferry had a great view of the city as a whole, and the museums are in very nice, well-to-do neighborhoods. The Cultural Museum had many sights that were very common when we spent time in rural Norway, like the design of the barns and fences with diagonal pickets spread apart. There were also buildings built in the 1200s or so, if memory serves. Some had a small amount of refurbishing, but in the interest of preservation were moved to the museum as early as the 1880s. One building was a very old “Stave” style wooden church. Many have since burned down, only about 5 remain in Norway. The Viking Ship Museum is an archaeologist’s paradise… in addition to some human skeletal remains found, there were old carts, textiles, and yes, entire Viking ships (or close to it). Even today, you can tell that there were some very intricate designs used. Sadly, some coloring that once existed on some artifacts had to be sacrificed to preserve the rest of the piece (specifically, its engraving).
Interestingly enough, we spent 50 NOK (about $8.08 USD as of this writing) on a round-trip ferry pass, which is fairly reasonable by Scandinavian standards. When we first arrived in Norway and stopped at the meat market in Honnefoss (the one where we got the meatballs and lefse) I bought those two bottles of water for 60 NOK, or about $9.69 USD. And that store was definitely not a weird touristy area where prices are inflated. But I guess the water was sparkling (didn’t know at the time) and made by Coca Cola (just like Dasani is back home). Either way, Norway’s prices are weird.
After returning back to the main part of Oslo, we went to the Akershus Castle. While things were starting to close down by the time we arrived, we could still see a few things from the outside. This castle was one of the first components of early Oslo, and also played a major role in World War II when the Nazis captured it. Next, we went to Oslo City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded. According to Bob, it is very intricately decorated inside. But of course, it was also closed when we arrived. But we did get a glimpse of the prime minister of Norway getting into her car. Unfortunately, while we heard that the prime minister of Norway was leaving, we weren’t really sure which one was the prime minister until after she left. Oh well. Anyway, before dinner, we went to the Oslo Opera House, one of the most modern-looking buildings in Oslo. It is designed so that you can walk to the rooftop from the outside and see the city. How cool is that? Scott and I climbed to the top to snap a few photos.
Finally, we had dinner at the restaurant we missed out on the day before. Honestly, it turned out to be similar to some of the foods at the hotel breakfast, but more “dinner-y.” Meatballs, baked potatoes, some kind of bean puree, and a side of lingonberries. Very Norwegian - not that that’s a good thing. The food was good, don’t get me wrong, but as I’ve probably said previously, Norway is not known for its cuisine.
Tuesday, September 2nd
Uff da. Usually when I sit down at night to write my daily entry in this log, the most recent things I’ve done stick out the most. That may be the case to some extent, but I think one of the first things we did today will scar me for life. I have no problem with Bob driving in Wisconsin around his own home, though I have heard stories. In less familiar areas, things can get a little… interesting. In the sidestreets of Oslo, it’s downright terrifying. I’ll spare the details so nothing comes back to haunt me later on, but I think it’s best to simply say this: you do not ever ever stop in a roundabout unless the car in front of you is stopped. And you REALLY never ever ever go in reverse because you missed your turn. Thankfully, all humans and vehicles are physically ok, and despite traffic and being slightly lost, we made our flight with plenty of time to spare. But Anne and I have agreed not to be in a car with Bob driving outside of the USA. Oh boy… he’s going to borrow ours next time he visits us in Denver. Bob, if/when you read this, I’m sorry :)
Oh yeah! I still have trip stuff to talk about. Well, since Bob really wanted us to see city hall, he drove us there. See the above paragraph for details of the journey there. It was a really neat building filled with art, balancing old and new styles very nicely. Maybe not worth the terror required before and after, but I would visit again. Then we went to the airport. Again, see the above paragraph for details on that ride.
Flying into Istanbul, we took Turkish Airlines OSL-IST. It was a very lovely service. Imagine a first class service (meal, alcoholic drinks, etc) in an economy seat. It was fantastic. Even if the meat was a little tough, it was certainly edible and much more than what they have on an equivalent US domestic flight! For that matter, it was even better than what was served on our overseas flight on United. I did see a few open seats (including one between us, which was also nice) so we could have theoretically flown standby at a much cheaper ZED fare, but having that peace of mind was certainly worth the price difference (our confirmed tickets were about $200 USD per person, one-way, including taxes, compared to about $53 USD).
After arriving at the airport and waiting quite a while to get our bags, we were able to take a van to the hotel, which they provided since we were staying a few days. Seeing the city was even interesting from the highways - hills on the side have flowers growing to make a design, for example. Or things like a kid walking between lanes of traffic selling water bottles. Ooof! On the way in, we met a couple from Albuquerque. They’re just starting a very long trip (approximately 5 months away from home) with a few days in Turkey, then an African safari, followed by some time in Southern Europe. Part of me is very jealous about that trip, but I think that may be too long, even for me.
After arriving at the hotel, we met Reha, a friend of a friend in Denver. We were going to take a taxi - I mean, taksi - from near our hotel to Taksim Square, but traffic on Kennedy Street was very abnormally bad, so we went back to where we started and had dinner at a rooftop in Sultanahmet (old town Istanbul). So far the Turkish hospitality has definitely shown. When we got in the cab, I told Reha that we hadn’t had a chance to withdraw any lira from the ATM. His response was something along the lines of “You think you can pay? Don’t even try!” - this meant ta(x/ks)i and dinner and dessert, all of which definitely beats the traditional Norwegian cuisine.
Before we went into the hotel, we stopped at a store to get a bottle of water. This is even more important than in Norway, as it is not only hotter, but you also shouldn’t drink the tap water due to the old plumbing in the city. Being in the touristy old town, walking into a shop that mainly seemed to sell Turkish delight with a small cooler in the corner, I expected to pay tourist prices, but still better than Norway prices (remember that $3 1.5L bottle of water at the grocery store that seemed like a good deal?). I asked the young kid working the store how much a large bottle (also 1.5 liter) cost. 1 lira, or about $.50USD. Excellent! I think this will be a great balance to the high prices of Norway, just as I hoped.
(IST: Istanbul, Turkey)
Wednesday, September 2nd
Wow, what a day! We definitely got a feel of the Old Town side of the Golden Horn in a nutshell. And there’s also plenty we didn’t see! Our itinerary did get modified a bit from what we originally planned, but I think we still had a full day. My feet would agree.
We started by walking up to the Sultanahmet neighborhood. The line for the Blue Mosque seemed a little long, and we figured that a lot of people probably planned to go there for the first thing on their agenda. Instead, we went to Hagia Sophia, a church turned into a mosque turned into a museum. Very tall building with breathtaking domes (one of, if not the largest dome in the world at the time) and lots of artwork. The original Christian artwork isn’t totally gone, but it is a little worse for wear in some places. But it is somewhat surprising that it’s still there at all, when you consider that Islam does not use any people in their artwork (they do not want people worshipping anyone or anything but Allah) and instead opt for complex geometric patterns.
After that, we tried the Blue Mosque again. The line was at the same length it was before, but we tried anyway. We were told it would be about a 15 minute wait, which is about right. Not too bad, really. We had prepared with some business casual attire that covered the legs and shoulders, per mosque dress code. Anne’s shirt was long-sleeved, even, and she had a scarf to cover her hair inside. This got really hot, really quickly. Even though the temperature in Istanbul was in the low 80s, the humidity was not as low as Denver’s and we already did quite a bit of walking. I should have worn an undershirt considering my shirt will show pretty much every drop of sweat my body makes. Oops. I did pack two t-shirts: a faded one I use for pajamas that has a few holes in it, and a Leinenkugel’s beer t-shirt. The first one was completely out of the question. The second, well, I felt bad about wearing a shirt like that in a Muslim country. But at the same time, Turkey is very progressive about their views on alcohol compared to most others. And more importantly, there is actually no indication that Leinenkugel’s is a beer company - so what they don’t know won’t hurt them.
By this point, I also felt a bit sick like I can get when travelling. But I managed to eat a little bit, which is usually my problem when that happens. Anne and I each had a lamb pide, kind of a long, crispy pizza with no cheese, diced tomatoes instead of sauce, and (in this case) bits of lamb on top. It was very good - a crispy crust, and the lamb was nicely cooked. Nothing worthy of being famous, but once my stomach got it, it was much happier.
Next, we went to the Grand Bazaar. Anne and I had a bit of a bucket list of things to get there, and I think we did quite well! Maybe my haggling skills aren’t the best, but I did ok. One thing that did take me by surprise (for better or worse) is that if you walk mid-bargaining, they didn’t try to keep you. Maybe my offers really were too low. From the bazaar, we walked away with some tobacco-free shisha, tea, a small lamp, some Turkish Delight, a small silver bracelet for Anne, and probably some other things I haven’t thought about. In the Rick Steves Istanbul video, he says to have fun with the merchants when talking and bargaining with them. He was absolutely right. Making up stories, joking around with each other, etc was its own component to the shopping experience. Apparently I now need to get a sister so I can give her some Turkish Delight, since if I was giving it to my coworkers it would be more expensive. The cheapest would be if it were for my girlfriend, but Anne was right next to me, so I couldn’t use that option.
After that, we visited the spice market. It smelled exactly as I expected, which was great. Got some “Turkish Saffron” (which after a quick Google search, found out this almost definitely isn’t the real thing. Oh well, we didn’t spend *that* much on it) and a few vanilla beans. Some vendors were selling general merchandise. I was considering a backgammon board, but the guy wasn’t as pleasant as the other vendors, nor was he really working with me in the negotiations. Set it down and walked. Which is funny, because if it were in a culture with no haggling, I probably would have happily paid the 35 lira ($17.50 USD) for it.
After the Spice Market, we went to our hotel to drop off our bags. Along the way, we passed by the Spice Market. Then the Spice Market again when we decided a tram would be best. The streets of Istanbul can be a little confusing at times. I will not write about how we went about halfway to the spice market AGAIN after getting off the tram before we realized we went the wrong way on one road, because that would just be embarrassing for me. Did I mention that Istanbul is not a particularly flat city?
Finally, we went to dinner. At my friend Hari’s suggestion, we went to the “Pudding Shop” - this was once a major stop on the route for Americans (hippies) travelling across Europe and into Afghanistan a few decades ago. While much more touristy today, the food here was excellent. And again, very reasonably priced. For under 80 lira ($40USD) Anne and I had a 1 liter bottle of water, grape leaves stuffed with rice, a yogurt sauce made with cucumber and garlic, an eggplant and meat mixture, a chicken and cheese dish, a can of Coca Cola, and a serving of raki. I can already hear you wondering what raki is. The Turks call it “lion’s milk” - a very strong liquor with an equally strong anise flavor. Watered down, it turns from a clear liquid into a white milky color, and becomes much more palatable. It takes some getting used to, for sure, but I think it may have potential in my liquor cabinet, even if only for the rarity back home.
Thursday, September 4th
Well, it’s been a day. Maybe not as much of a day as other days, but a day nonetheless. While Anne and I are sad that our vacation is coming to an end, we’re definitely starting to feel a little homesick and ready to go back to our own bed. While Anne has been afraid of driving in the Denver area (even the quiet outer edges in Centennial where we live) she’s starting to realize that things could be a lot worse when looking at the streets of Istanbul. Even I cringe thinking about what those drivers must go through. God forbid Bob ever rent a car out here!
Anyway, we took the train and walked to the new district of Istanbul, walking along the Bosphorous for part of it. To be honest, while I was hoping for a calmer, more modern scene, a place to sit down for a minute and people watch. But it was all still a very busy place where it’s easy to experience sensory overload. Exhausted from many days of traveling, Anne and I decided to go back to the hotel, relax, and enjoy the air conditioning. I came to realize around this time that I really do prefer Istanbul in the evening when it’s quieter and cooler.
We did make a couple stops on the way back, at least. One attraction we originally decided against was the Basilica Cistern, a large underground water storage facility that was forgotten long ago, then rediscovered. While it seems to be privately owned and is undeniably touristy, it’s also a neat place to walk around in. Just imagining the construction that had to go into this massive thing with such little machinery at the time - even though it would hardly be seen when used, the columns supporting this structure are still very intricately made. We also stopped for a doner kebab, the Turkish equivalent of a gyro - what trip to Istanbul would be complete without it? By far the best fast food we had on this trip. Unlike at home, they do not add any sauces, and it’s relatively dry. But the meat is juicy and delicious, and the kebab goes down very easily.
After a few hours rest and recombobulation, we had dinner at the Sultanahmet Buhara Kebab House. Yum! A little expensive, but very friendly staff, delicious food. Anne and I had small lahmahcuns as starters, which is basically a minced lamb pide like we had before but a little more like a pizza. I’ll have to see if I can recreate that on the grill with a pizza stone, or something. And our main courses… kebabs, of course! Very well made, delicious sauce, and just the right amount of yogurt (plain, natural, and done right in Turkey!) to balance things out. Our waiter also gave us each a small portion of baklava (a good reminder to bring home a box from the store) and a glass of tea after dinner - something Anne had wanted, but we were afraid of the caffeine keeping us up the night before our flight. Thankfully, this seemed to be an herbal tea (apple).
Well, speaking of going to bed, I think it’s time I do that! Tomorrow we’re hoping to fly IST-LAX-DEN, with IST-LAX being pretty easy to stand by for with the numbers I heard yesterday (40 seats in economy). LAX-DEN was also good (16 seats, we’re #1 and 2 on the list with vacation passes) when I checked last, but those numbers can change rapidly on United. Maybe a little more stable on the last flight, arriving after most flights from Denver leave. We’ll have to wait and see!
(LAX: Los Angeles, CA)
Friday, September 5th
As expected, we got our seats to LAX very easily, which was very nice and reassuring. I am glad we arrived nice and early (before we could even check in) because when it came time to check in for our flight, the agent did have some trouble. I believe it was because our electronic ticket had Anne’s middle initial, and her passport was used for the reservation, which had her full middle name. It eventually worked out. The flight was nice, like our OSL-IST flight, but the most memorable part of it all was that the plane was just a little bit warm for comfort. After about 13 hours in the air (plus a bit more on the ground) it felt good to get off that plane!
We would have easily made that flight from Los Angeles to Denver, but our flight from Turkey was a bit delayed, so we wouldn’t have been able to check our bags in time (we did have some liquids that we couldn’t carry on). Thankfully, I had a backup plan to take a flight on Southwest, which had about 100 open seats! And of course, that flight was just a little cold, so after being on such a warm plane for a while I felt like a sweaty popsicle.
Arriving in Denver felt miraculously familiar after so much time gone. We got home at about 1:00AM, about 24 hours earlier we had been checking in at the airport. A few hours before that was when we woke up for that long day. Needless to say, our own shower and our own bed felt glorious.
Saturday, September 6th
Having access to our own shower and toilet, drinking my own city’s tap water, after a night in my own bed, with our traditional Saturday “big breakfast” and Saturday morning tv watching, normality is quickly coming back.
While I look back on this trip with almost all fond memories, it was also good to be back home. One of my favorite parts of travelling is stretching my comfort zone and doing something new. While I accomplished that, it also makes me appreciate my own regular routine.
