Experience Istanbul

Shortly after I arrived, as my shuttle raced down the seaside highway, the breeze hitting my face, the smell of salt air and meat grilled by picnicking families, and Turkish music blasting through the stereo, I realized that you don’t just go to Istanbul…you experience Istanbul. It engages all 5 senses: sight (the mosques with their towering minarets, houses as far as the horizon, the beautiful blue Bosphorus), smell (sea air, body odor on the tram, sweet smoke of the nargile pipe), taste (mezes, fresh watermelon, apricot juice), sound (the 5 daily calls to prayer, the honking of traffic, the babble of the bazaars) and touch (crowded against passengers on the tram, having to throw elbows to get those that push up too close to back off, the warm sunshine).

In Istanbul, at least if you are traveling alone, you will find yourself with (uninvited and of course unofficial) tour guides. I had a tour of the Blue Mosque (was then invited for tea…thanks for the tip, Katherine) and as soon as I got rid of my guide, another gave me a tour of the Hippodrome area. I finally ditched my ‘guides’ and visited the Basilica Cistern, which was my favorite spot…it was cool and peaceful with soft music and gentle movement of the water, which was a striking contrast to the hot, crowded streets above. The Spice Bazaar and Grand Bazaar were, of course, crazy and exhausting…the haggle is part of the game but I think I got a few decent deals. If they like you after the deal is over, they usually give you something free…I wound up with a few extra trinkets this way. The Bosphorus Cruise was long (1 ½ hours each way with a 3 hour stop in between) but well worth the time investment as it glided by beautiful mosques and palaces of both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul…and the final stop on the Asian side allowed time for a trip up to an old castle remnant with fabulous views of where the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea (and now I can say I have been to Asia).

I definitely was glad I got a hotel with a pool…a quick dip served as a perfect mid-day break when the heat and the crowds got to be too much. My hotel had an excellent view of the Blue Mosque but was actually closer to Suleyman Mosque, so I was able to hear their calls to prayer quite well. I liked the calls as they were very melodic and a good reminder to pray even though I am not Muslim.

As I whiled away my final evening, drinking tea from tulip glasses and smoking the nargile pipe in the courtyard of a mosaic cafe, I knew: this is Istanbul.

Prague...Czech it out!

(Ok, I came up with this blog title BEFORE I saw the same cheesy logo on a T-shirt!)

Maybe it is just my Czech roots but I felt a deep connection to Prague. It was cold and rainy the whole weekend...I can't imagine how beautiful it must be on a sunny day! It was amazing, even in the gray, rainy weather. Now, to say Prague is amazing is like saying a Renoir is a 'nice painting'; I don't think words (or even pictures) can really do Prague justice. There is so much intricacy and detail that it is hard to know what to point your camera at. My camera broke the second day, but I am kind of glad because it gave me a chance to stop looking through the camera and just absorb the city. I went to Charles Bridge, St Vitus Cathedral (unbelievable), the Loreta (they don't let you take pictures there), Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock (large crowds gather to see the saints come out on the clock on the hour), Powder Gate, St. Wenceslas Square (no pics, camera was broken at this time). I definitely didn't get to see or do all that I wanted...but at least I got to visit a city I have always wanted to see and definitely want to go back to.

The buildings in part of Prague still have their original identifiers (they weren't numbered until much later) so it was fun finding and 'collecting' all the different signs: two suns, the red lamb, the golden key, a golden panther and many others (I never did see the green lobster though).

The food was unbelievable in Prague...not exactly a capital of healthy cuisine though. I ordered a traditional Czech dish, Smažený Sýr (fried cheese), for dinner my first night. Now, lest you think this is just cheese sticks like you would get at your local TGI Friday's let me set the record straight: this is a meal consisting of 3 or 4 different types of big wedges of fried cheeses...and it comes with a side of tartar sauce and french fries. It is meant to be enjoyed without thinking about calorie content or cholesterol! Needless to say, I wanted something a little lighter my second day...but I did get to try a few local pastries...some kind of nut pastry was really good!

I did some souvenir shopping during the heavier bouts of rain and got my Dad a Father's Day present (or two). Also had to buy a new camera because I have one month and a few more trips before I come home. On Sunday morning when getting ready to leave Prague I saw on CNN Interational: Orlando Magic made it to the NBA Finals! It is so cool to see good news about your home town when you are in a foreign country.