Travels
So, as some of you know I got stuck with my vacation from 03-11 Jan. This is a bad time since many flights are still full from new years, college breaks, etc. Well, I couldn't get anywhere cool for a while, then on Thursday night the flight to Amsterdam had a few seats, so I got on it!
I figured I could at least enjoy spending a few days in Amsterdam, but then my friend Zuhal from Turkey convinced me to come visit her in Istanbul. So I spent one night in Amsterdam, enjoying the fine, very well-lit scenery there. ;) The hostel I stayed in could use some work. It was in a great location, right on the edge of the red light district and close enough to everything to walk to, but it had many problems. My room-mates were the worst--4 pikey British guys and one seemingly cool Londoner. They all snored--a lot. I was also still so jet-lagged I didn't get more than an hour of sleep I think. Being in that room you would swear you were in a zoo or something, I've never heard people snore like that! Really loudly, and no one else seemed to wake up! You could hear each person snore/breath individually creating a constant stream of sound. Ugh, I hate thinking about it! Then I woke up about 3 in the morning to the room filled with smoke, two of the idiots were smoking a joint in my damn room! Oh well. It was really the only bad experience I've had at a hostel. Oh and the shower was disgusting. The curtain had dirt all around the bottom, and the shower head wasn't attached to the hose and kept falling off! I was happy to be out of there in the morning!
So I managed to leave the hostel by 8 to grab a train to Schipol for a 10AM KLM flight to Istanbul. I got here yesterday, and after sitting through customs for an hour, finally met up with my friend. She's letting me stay in her home with her family which is really amazing. I so much prefer this setting to exploring a city by myself, from the "outside" and staying in a hotel or even a hostel. So last night we cruised around the city a bit. I still had my bags with me so that was a bit annoying; we didn't stay out too long. Had dinner at a very delicious Turkish restaurant. I'm sorry Istanbul (the restaurant in Minnetonka, that is), but you just can't cut it any more! I look forward to trying some even better places before I leave. :) I met her family and they were all very nice, even though only her siblings speak any English. Her uncle's German was about as broken as mine, but at least we could understand each other. We had a very nice "breakfast" at midnight with good bread, cheese, jam. It really was nice.
Today we're going to go to a Turkish bath, which I think will be very nice from the sound of it! Then we're going to check out some of the sites in the old part of the city and I'll have some pictures eventually.
The only bad part of this trip so far is that I don't know for sure when I can get back! Apparently Wed. is a holiday here, so people will be travelling a bit. Both KLM and Turkish airlines flights are overbooked on the 10th and 11th, and I have to work on the 12th! Oh well, hopefully I won't get fired. :) I'll get around to posting another update soon.
I figured I could at least enjoy spending a few days in Amsterdam, but then my friend Zuhal from Turkey convinced me to come visit her in Istanbul. So I spent one night in Amsterdam, enjoying the fine, very well-lit scenery there. ;) The hostel I stayed in could use some work. It was in a great location, right on the edge of the red light district and close enough to everything to walk to, but it had many problems. My room-mates were the worst--4 pikey British guys and one seemingly cool Londoner. They all snored--a lot. I was also still so jet-lagged I didn't get more than an hour of sleep I think. Being in that room you would swear you were in a zoo or something, I've never heard people snore like that! Really loudly, and no one else seemed to wake up! You could hear each person snore/breath individually creating a constant stream of sound. Ugh, I hate thinking about it! Then I woke up about 3 in the morning to the room filled with smoke, two of the idiots were smoking a joint in my damn room! Oh well. It was really the only bad experience I've had at a hostel. Oh and the shower was disgusting. The curtain had dirt all around the bottom, and the shower head wasn't attached to the hose and kept falling off! I was happy to be out of there in the morning!
So I managed to leave the hostel by 8 to grab a train to Schipol for a 10AM KLM flight to Istanbul. I got here yesterday, and after sitting through customs for an hour, finally met up with my friend. She's letting me stay in her home with her family which is really amazing. I so much prefer this setting to exploring a city by myself, from the "outside" and staying in a hotel or even a hostel. So last night we cruised around the city a bit. I still had my bags with me so that was a bit annoying; we didn't stay out too long. Had dinner at a very delicious Turkish restaurant. I'm sorry Istanbul (the restaurant in Minnetonka, that is), but you just can't cut it any more! I look forward to trying some even better places before I leave. :) I met her family and they were all very nice, even though only her siblings speak any English. Her uncle's German was about as broken as mine, but at least we could understand each other. We had a very nice "breakfast" at midnight with good bread, cheese, jam. It really was nice.
Today we're going to go to a Turkish bath, which I think will be very nice from the sound of it! Then we're going to check out some of the sites in the old part of the city and I'll have some pictures eventually.
The only bad part of this trip so far is that I don't know for sure when I can get back! Apparently Wed. is a holiday here, so people will be travelling a bit. Both KLM and Turkish airlines flights are overbooked on the 10th and 11th, and I have to work on the 12th! Oh well, hopefully I won't get fired. :) I'll get around to posting another update soon.