The wine-tasting was pretty cool--for whatever reason, I didn't like any of the red wine. At first I thought maybe I just wasn't a red wine person, but then I recalled one night at WM where I tried about 7 different red wines and liked them all. Maybe it was just the mood I was in. I certainly liked the white wines. We also tried ice wine, which you can look up here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_wine. It was super, super sweet. It was good to try but I don't think I'd like to drink it in any large quantity.
And when I got back from the wineyard, Meg was here!! To sum up what we did, we went to Staufen (and the castle there, which I didn't climb up to when we hiked here the first time), another soccer game in Freiburg (which Freiburg won in the 87th minute!), Basel twice (where I found a store that sells brownie mix, mac & cheese, and frosting, as well as a Domino's!!), and otherwise just chilled around Freiburg. On Thursday, we had a class field trip to Strasbourg, France. For whatever reason, I was just not that excited, but it was a cool little city. Had I been in a better mood, I think I would have really liked it. We got to watch part of a session of the European Parliament, which I really enjoyed as well.
Now I'm working on uploading pictures to facebook. I'm about a month and a half behind. It's taking forever and a day, so I'm afraid that for now you'll have to make do with the first soccer match and part of the trip to Tallinn.
Soccer match #1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010124&id=1222890044&l=6384a175dc
Tallinn, Estonia: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010127&id=1222890044&l=6e04ec246f
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
classes, brief update
I'm trying to get into the habit of updating this regularly, since I've been so bad about it for the past two months. Let's just talk about how worthless today's classes were. The first class, culture and politics, Hoffmann, the crazy professor, talked at us for an hour and a half, which is standard. In German we had SOAR, where we talk about how we're adjusting to the program. We went to a cafe and talked for an hour. In Regions of the EU, we watched Goodbye, Lenin. It took me about halfway through the movie to realize that I'd seen it before. It was certainly good, though. Not altogether academic. And in PO350, the joke class, the professor asked us to get into groups of four and discuss the reading for the day, then he left the room. The class then realized that no one had done the reading. We confessed when he returned, and he was ok with it. Oh, study abroad.
Tomorrow I'm going to a vineyard/wine tasting for a field trip. I'm pretty excited about it. AND MEG'S COMING IN!!! I hope she gets here ok.
Tomorrow I'm going to a vineyard/wine tasting for a field trip. I'm pretty excited about it. AND MEG'S COMING IN!!! I hope she gets here ok.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Luxembourg, Brussels, and Paris
Wow, I really don't want to write another entry. This will not be nearly as detailed as the previous entry.
Monday morning we leave via bus for Luxembourg. I briefly thought I forgot my ipod, but it turns out I did have it. Along the ride, we stop at the largest WWII cemetery in Europe, St. Avold Cemetery in France. It's really pretty. It's also quite peaceful. I look for Big Nick, as I don't know whatever happened to him, but no success. The unknown tombs are the worst to look at.
After some more driving we arrive in Luxembourg. It's adorable. I love it. It's quite small, 37% the size of Freiburg. I visit the cathedral and feel really bad about not going to Mass since the first week. I resolve to go on Wednesday. There's also a Chi Chi's here, but we only have one free hour, not leaving enough time to explore and sit and eat. I save the Mexican food for a later date.
After our free hour, we get a quick city tour in our bus. We learn about the architecture of each of the 167 banks in Brussels as well as about how much our tour guide hates modern art. IT's a terrible tour and we make fun of the tour guide for the rest of the trip. After the tour we leave for Brussels. Several hours in a bus later, we arrive. Turns out I really like Brussels too. It's absolutely gorgeous downtown. We try to get a Belgian waffle that night, but by the time we find one, I'm not hungry, so I steal a bite of someone else's. I don't really like it. [No worries. I have one later and it's REALLY GOOD.] My friend Aparna and I go out for ice cream later and gossip and complain about people in our program. It's wonderful to vent.
Other highlights of Brussels include our city tour, including the statue of the little boy peeing, which is the national symbol of Belgium. Go figure. I have an "academic lunch" with a group of students and one of my professors, Arndt. I eat rabbit. It's not bad but I don't think it's something I'd order again. This is also the day that I have the wonderful Belgian waffle. SO DELICIOUS. Thursday night I get mussels in Brussels for dinner. Both funny and delicious. (We go out to a bar afterwards. It's a good time.) I've decided that Brussels is my favorite legitimate city so far.
And then we go to Paris. No lies, I didn't expect to like Paris. I don't love cities, and Paris is big in close to the same way that New York and Istanbul are big. But I really like it. The Musee d'Orsay is open late on Thursdays, the day we arrive, so I decide to try to take the Metro to the museum on my own. It's still light out and they say it's safe enough. I end up going in the wrong direction, but I eventually find a metro stop and make it to the museum. On my way from the Metro stop to the museum, I see the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. It's so cool. It was definitely worth going on my own. There's something about discovering these things on your own. At the museum I run into a bunch of people from my program but continue to explore the museum on my own. It's awesome. The highlight for me downstairs was the genie lift I see in the corner, but I think that Emily and others might be able to understand the homesickness that might stir. But once you get up to the fifth floor, it's one masterpiece after another. As soon as you enter, you see Whistler's Mother. The next room is Degas [and you better believe there's a picture of me posing in front of it], the room after that is Monet, Renoir, and Pissaro, then more Degas and Renoir, then a room just of Monet, then VAN GOGH, and the last room was Cezanne. It's amazing, especially because it's such a manageable size. I really liked it.
Afterwards we go out to eat (expensive!) and we walk over the Eiffel Tower. We don't go up, and we're searching for a metro stop when Kris goes to ask some drunk high schoolers directions. Always a poor decision. Living in a tourist town, I can spot BS directions from a mile away. We ask a passing Parisian and go the correct way.
The next day I walk to Notre Dame on my lunch break. It's a real disappointment, honestly. After being so amazed at the Hagia Sophia, I was looking forward to architectural wonder WITH religious significance. But Notre Dame is a tourist trap to the max. It's really sad. I don't spend much time there and I head back via the regional train. When I ask a Parisian if he speaks English so I can confirm I'm going the right way, he replies that he speaks Spanish. Using my high school Spanish skills I navigate my way back in time. Go me.
That evening I go to the Louvre. It's free because it's a Friday night. Paris rocks. This museum is not as enjoyable as the Musee d'Orsay because it's so big, but it's still amazing. After I get a map, it's a lot better. The highlights of the Louvre are the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Code of Hammurabi. It's just so cool to see these famous works. It's a lot of work, though, traipsing through the Louvre. I also fall down the stairs. Well done, Christy. That night we go to Moulin Rouge (weird. and touristy.) and Sacre Coeur.
The next day we have free (Go IES!!) I head to Versailles with John. This is a John you haven't yet been introduced to. He's a UVA student, so we chat about that on the train. It's awesome. We get the audio guide, which really talks about rooms for the perfect amount of time, and then we wander the gardens on our own. After we return I chill out in my room until dinner.
Dinner, which is AWESOME. IES pays for a really nice dinner for us in Paris, and I order the asparagus with crab dip for appetizer (which I split with Andrew for his escargot), the duck for entree, and the sorbet for dessert. I also try other people's food, so I try raw salmon, escargot, foie gras, and steak tartare. I enjoyed all of them, especially the escargot and the foie gras. I haven't found a seafood I don't like. I count snails as seafood. It makes it easier to stomach. But seriously. I love seafood. So much. And Mexican food. But that's another story.
That night we go up to the second story of the Eiffel Tower. It's pretty awesome, even if we couldn't make it to the top. The next day we embark upon our epicly long bus ride back to Freiburg.
The end.
Monday morning we leave via bus for Luxembourg. I briefly thought I forgot my ipod, but it turns out I did have it. Along the ride, we stop at the largest WWII cemetery in Europe, St. Avold Cemetery in France. It's really pretty. It's also quite peaceful. I look for Big Nick, as I don't know whatever happened to him, but no success. The unknown tombs are the worst to look at.
After some more driving we arrive in Luxembourg. It's adorable. I love it. It's quite small, 37% the size of Freiburg. I visit the cathedral and feel really bad about not going to Mass since the first week. I resolve to go on Wednesday. There's also a Chi Chi's here, but we only have one free hour, not leaving enough time to explore and sit and eat. I save the Mexican food for a later date.
After our free hour, we get a quick city tour in our bus. We learn about the architecture of each of the 167 banks in Brussels as well as about how much our tour guide hates modern art. IT's a terrible tour and we make fun of the tour guide for the rest of the trip. After the tour we leave for Brussels. Several hours in a bus later, we arrive. Turns out I really like Brussels too. It's absolutely gorgeous downtown. We try to get a Belgian waffle that night, but by the time we find one, I'm not hungry, so I steal a bite of someone else's. I don't really like it. [No worries. I have one later and it's REALLY GOOD.] My friend Aparna and I go out for ice cream later and gossip and complain about people in our program. It's wonderful to vent.
Other highlights of Brussels include our city tour, including the statue of the little boy peeing, which is the national symbol of Belgium. Go figure. I have an "academic lunch" with a group of students and one of my professors, Arndt. I eat rabbit. It's not bad but I don't think it's something I'd order again. This is also the day that I have the wonderful Belgian waffle. SO DELICIOUS. Thursday night I get mussels in Brussels for dinner. Both funny and delicious. (We go out to a bar afterwards. It's a good time.) I've decided that Brussels is my favorite legitimate city so far.
And then we go to Paris. No lies, I didn't expect to like Paris. I don't love cities, and Paris is big in close to the same way that New York and Istanbul are big. But I really like it. The Musee d'Orsay is open late on Thursdays, the day we arrive, so I decide to try to take the Metro to the museum on my own. It's still light out and they say it's safe enough. I end up going in the wrong direction, but I eventually find a metro stop and make it to the museum. On my way from the Metro stop to the museum, I see the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. It's so cool. It was definitely worth going on my own. There's something about discovering these things on your own. At the museum I run into a bunch of people from my program but continue to explore the museum on my own. It's awesome. The highlight for me downstairs was the genie lift I see in the corner, but I think that Emily and others might be able to understand the homesickness that might stir. But once you get up to the fifth floor, it's one masterpiece after another. As soon as you enter, you see Whistler's Mother. The next room is Degas [and you better believe there's a picture of me posing in front of it], the room after that is Monet, Renoir, and Pissaro, then more Degas and Renoir, then a room just of Monet, then VAN GOGH, and the last room was Cezanne. It's amazing, especially because it's such a manageable size. I really liked it.
Afterwards we go out to eat (expensive!) and we walk over the Eiffel Tower. We don't go up, and we're searching for a metro stop when Kris goes to ask some drunk high schoolers directions. Always a poor decision. Living in a tourist town, I can spot BS directions from a mile away. We ask a passing Parisian and go the correct way.
The next day I walk to Notre Dame on my lunch break. It's a real disappointment, honestly. After being so amazed at the Hagia Sophia, I was looking forward to architectural wonder WITH religious significance. But Notre Dame is a tourist trap to the max. It's really sad. I don't spend much time there and I head back via the regional train. When I ask a Parisian if he speaks English so I can confirm I'm going the right way, he replies that he speaks Spanish. Using my high school Spanish skills I navigate my way back in time. Go me.
That evening I go to the Louvre. It's free because it's a Friday night. Paris rocks. This museum is not as enjoyable as the Musee d'Orsay because it's so big, but it's still amazing. After I get a map, it's a lot better. The highlights of the Louvre are the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Code of Hammurabi. It's just so cool to see these famous works. It's a lot of work, though, traipsing through the Louvre. I also fall down the stairs. Well done, Christy. That night we go to Moulin Rouge (weird. and touristy.) and Sacre Coeur.
The next day we have free (Go IES!!) I head to Versailles with John. This is a John you haven't yet been introduced to. He's a UVA student, so we chat about that on the train. It's awesome. We get the audio guide, which really talks about rooms for the perfect amount of time, and then we wander the gardens on our own. After we return I chill out in my room until dinner.
Dinner, which is AWESOME. IES pays for a really nice dinner for us in Paris, and I order the asparagus with crab dip for appetizer (which I split with Andrew for his escargot), the duck for entree, and the sorbet for dessert. I also try other people's food, so I try raw salmon, escargot, foie gras, and steak tartare. I enjoyed all of them, especially the escargot and the foie gras. I haven't found a seafood I don't like. I count snails as seafood. It makes it easier to stomach. But seriously. I love seafood. So much. And Mexican food. But that's another story.
That night we go up to the second story of the Eiffel Tower. It's pretty awesome, even if we couldn't make it to the top. The next day we embark upon our epicly long bus ride back to Freiburg.
The end.
Istanbul
Istanbul was exhausting. And a little bit terrifying. It's the fourth largest city proper in the world, and considering that I'm not ever planning to make it to Mumbai, Shanghai, or Karachi, it's pretty safe to say that it's the largest city I'll ever go to.
For background, there was a group of six of us who discovered a cheap flight to Istanbul and so we were going to go there for the weekend. What actually ended up happening was that the price got raised at the last minute, and my friend Andrew accidentally booked anyway, and he was going to be stuck going to Istanbul alone, so I decided to join him. We thoughtfully decided to make a list of everything we did in Istanbul, so this might be the longest entry ever. And you should realize that that's saying something. Prepare yourselves.
This trip took place from Thursday February 19 until Sunday February 22, for the record.
Our flight to Istanbul was set to leave at 7:45 am on Friday from the Basel airport, a short train ride away. Our problem was that the earliest train didn't leave until around 5 am, which wouldn't have given us enough time to get to the airport from the train station and check in. So we decided to take the last train to Basel on Thursday night and just spend the night in the airport. Our train left at 11:11, we got into Basel about an hour later, we took a really expensive cab to the airport, and we waited. We stayed up until about 3 in this deserted airport (really, it was tiny and there were maybe 20 people in it) but we decided to nap until we could check in at 5:45.
Our flight was filled with small children. They were all adorable. It was really interesting to see the little boys dressed in Western clothing and then their mothers in full-on burqas. (Well, really, niqabs. I just googled them. You can google too if you're really interested in the difference.) The flight wasn't bad; it was the first time I've flown EasyJet, one of the discount airlines, and it wasn't that bad. No free food on the flight, though. I slept through most of it.
The descent was so cool! It was the first time I got to see the Mediterranean. (and Asia!) It was a really, really long descent. Seriously, it felt like we were descending for half an hour. It was really cool though.
We get to Istanbul's airport on the Asian side and we have to buy our visas! Something we realize after standing in line to get our passports stamped. The visas were $20 (yes, dollars) and they're actual stamps in our passports. They stamp on top (with a rubber stamp) when you enter and exit. I can now go into Turkey whenever I want for the next three months. The visa was really exciting, and it certainly gives my passport some "street cred."
In order to get to the center of Istanbul, we need to take a bus to the edge of the Bosphorus (the strait separating the two sides of Istanbul) and then a ferry across to the European side. The bus ride was really long, and the bus driver had a habit of driving while the rear door was still open. It was certainly an adventure.
When we finally make it to the Bosphorus (after about an hour of standing on the bus) we try to buy ferry tokens, but it takes us a little bit of time as no one really speaks English. It takes us a while, and the Turks are constantly in a hurry. It turns out they were rushing to try to make the ferry across. We wait for a while and finally take a ferry ride across the Bosphorus! As we cross, we see the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. This trip looks like it's going to be awesome.
As we arrive on the European side of Istanbul, we are immediately overwhelmed by the noise, the angry (and TERRIBLE) drivers, and the sheer quantity of people. We see a doner place, and decide it would be really cool to eat doner in Turkey. It's a Turkish food that's quite popular in Germany as well. As we cross the street to the doner place, the little man in the cross/do no cross sign walks! It's pretty exciting. This is a feature that's pretty different in each country. It's pretty cool that it looks like he's walking. And he speeds up when you're running out of time to cross the street! It's the little things that are so exciting.
After the doner, we walk to the Topkapi Palace. It's gorgeous and a really cool example of architecture we've never seen before. There's also a museum in the palace. In this museum, we see the purported staff of Moses, sword of David, sword of Mohammad, skull and arm of John (the Baptist. Check out the legend on wikipedia), and the footprint and beard of Mohammad. We also see enough emeralds to save the global economy. It's awesome.
After the palace, we're pretty tired, so we decide to head over to our hotel after we check out the Grand Bazaar. We actually get lost on our way to the bazaar. Andrew has made it his mission to buy a flag in every country we visit, so he figures he can get one here. IT'S INSANE. SO MANY PEOPLE. It's completely overwhelming. You can't walk five feet without being accosted by another salesman. Andrew asks one man for a flag, and after much searching, the man finds one. The initial price is 70 lira, which is definitely too much. (At this point we're not sure of the exchange rate but think it's about 1:1 with the dollar. It turns out it's around 2:1 with the euro. So 2 lira=1 euro.) After about 10 minutes of haggling, Andrew is about to walk away, when the guy finally shoves the flag in a bag and shoves the bag into Andrew's arms, telling him to give 30 lira and just take it. It's a really high-quality flag, so Andrew agrees and ends up with the flag for a pretty good deal after all.
Trying to leave the bazaar is an adventure. It's huge. Every store we pass has another salesman trying to sell us something. We're also pretty obviously Americans: we're both wearing backpacks. I learn that keeping my head down, avoiding eye contact at all costs, and never responding to what they say helps to get through the bazaar relatively smoothly.
We try to walk to the hotel, but end up getting lost. We hail a cab and he makes it to the hotel. Google Maps had failed us. At the hotel, we discover our salmon/pink room, and the tv inside. We find Frasier IN ENGLISH, which is incredibly exciting, and when that ends, we watch Home Alone II on mute, since it's been dubbed. You can still follow it, though. We both end up falling asleep before 9. It's wonderful. We don't wake up until the alarm at 8.
The next morning, it's raining and a little colder, but this means there are no street vendors. This is a major improvement over the previous day. We walk over to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. They're both gorgeous from the outside. When it hits 9, we go into the Hagia Sophia. It's pretty amazing. Did you know that they completed the third rebuilding in six years? That's insanely quick. There's so much history there. Also, my camera is dying, so I have to buy a disposable camera for the rest of the trip.
The Blue Mosque is still a functioning mosque, so we have to take off our shoes as we enter. It's also gorgeous; there's a lot more light inside. After the Blue Mosque, we go to the Hippodrome (it used to be a sports venue, like in the beginning of the first millenium AD.) It's pretty awesome.
Then comes the best part of the trip. Prepare yourself. We have DOMINO'S for lunch. I've been craving Domino's since we got to Germany. It's the copious quantities we had last semester with Theresa's extra FlexPoints. It's not quite the same, but it's still wonderful.
After this we head back to our hotel, but not until we stop at a gift shop with fixed prices. It's a real blessing. I get gifts there for a lot of people, which I'm probably going to send back to the US with Meg when she visits.
[SIDEBAR: My best friend is visiting for WM's spring break!! She'll be here from Friday until the next Sunday. I'm sooooo excited.]
After a short rest at the hotel, we go on an expedition to find the old city walls. We can't find them, but we do see ancient aqueducts, which is pretty awesome. We also get weird Turkish pretzel-type things from a street vendor. They're pretty terrible but it was worth a try.
After this expedition we take another break and watch Chuck (which neither of us has ever watched before, but at least it's not dubbed!) and then Tom and Jerry. Terrible, new, Tom and Jerry, but at least there aren't any words, really.
That night, we go to a McDonald's for dinner and then to a Whirling Dervish ceremony at the same train station at the end of the Orient Express. It's really cool. The Dervishes seem crazy though. Their entire religion is based on love. We think the hippies who live in Vauban (our neighborhood) would enjoy the Dervishes.
The next morning, we walk to the ferry, ferry to the bus, bus to the airport, fly to the Basel airport, take a cab to the train station, train to the tram stop, and tram to our dorm. Thus taking every form of transportation possible in a span of 8 hours.
And then I pack for Luxembourg, Brussels and Paris. We leave in 15 hours.
For background, there was a group of six of us who discovered a cheap flight to Istanbul and so we were going to go there for the weekend. What actually ended up happening was that the price got raised at the last minute, and my friend Andrew accidentally booked anyway, and he was going to be stuck going to Istanbul alone, so I decided to join him. We thoughtfully decided to make a list of everything we did in Istanbul, so this might be the longest entry ever. And you should realize that that's saying something. Prepare yourselves.
This trip took place from Thursday February 19 until Sunday February 22, for the record.
Our flight to Istanbul was set to leave at 7:45 am on Friday from the Basel airport, a short train ride away. Our problem was that the earliest train didn't leave until around 5 am, which wouldn't have given us enough time to get to the airport from the train station and check in. So we decided to take the last train to Basel on Thursday night and just spend the night in the airport. Our train left at 11:11, we got into Basel about an hour later, we took a really expensive cab to the airport, and we waited. We stayed up until about 3 in this deserted airport (really, it was tiny and there were maybe 20 people in it) but we decided to nap until we could check in at 5:45.
Our flight was filled with small children. They were all adorable. It was really interesting to see the little boys dressed in Western clothing and then their mothers in full-on burqas. (Well, really, niqabs. I just googled them. You can google too if you're really interested in the difference.) The flight wasn't bad; it was the first time I've flown EasyJet, one of the discount airlines, and it wasn't that bad. No free food on the flight, though. I slept through most of it.
The descent was so cool! It was the first time I got to see the Mediterranean. (and Asia!) It was a really, really long descent. Seriously, it felt like we were descending for half an hour. It was really cool though.
We get to Istanbul's airport on the Asian side and we have to buy our visas! Something we realize after standing in line to get our passports stamped. The visas were $20 (yes, dollars) and they're actual stamps in our passports. They stamp on top (with a rubber stamp) when you enter and exit. I can now go into Turkey whenever I want for the next three months. The visa was really exciting, and it certainly gives my passport some "street cred."
In order to get to the center of Istanbul, we need to take a bus to the edge of the Bosphorus (the strait separating the two sides of Istanbul) and then a ferry across to the European side. The bus ride was really long, and the bus driver had a habit of driving while the rear door was still open. It was certainly an adventure.
When we finally make it to the Bosphorus (after about an hour of standing on the bus) we try to buy ferry tokens, but it takes us a little bit of time as no one really speaks English. It takes us a while, and the Turks are constantly in a hurry. It turns out they were rushing to try to make the ferry across. We wait for a while and finally take a ferry ride across the Bosphorus! As we cross, we see the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace. This trip looks like it's going to be awesome.
As we arrive on the European side of Istanbul, we are immediately overwhelmed by the noise, the angry (and TERRIBLE) drivers, and the sheer quantity of people. We see a doner place, and decide it would be really cool to eat doner in Turkey. It's a Turkish food that's quite popular in Germany as well. As we cross the street to the doner place, the little man in the cross/do no cross sign walks! It's pretty exciting. This is a feature that's pretty different in each country. It's pretty cool that it looks like he's walking. And he speeds up when you're running out of time to cross the street! It's the little things that are so exciting.
After the doner, we walk to the Topkapi Palace. It's gorgeous and a really cool example of architecture we've never seen before. There's also a museum in the palace. In this museum, we see the purported staff of Moses, sword of David, sword of Mohammad, skull and arm of John (the Baptist. Check out the legend on wikipedia), and the footprint and beard of Mohammad. We also see enough emeralds to save the global economy. It's awesome.
After the palace, we're pretty tired, so we decide to head over to our hotel after we check out the Grand Bazaar. We actually get lost on our way to the bazaar. Andrew has made it his mission to buy a flag in every country we visit, so he figures he can get one here. IT'S INSANE. SO MANY PEOPLE. It's completely overwhelming. You can't walk five feet without being accosted by another salesman. Andrew asks one man for a flag, and after much searching, the man finds one. The initial price is 70 lira, which is definitely too much. (At this point we're not sure of the exchange rate but think it's about 1:1 with the dollar. It turns out it's around 2:1 with the euro. So 2 lira=1 euro.) After about 10 minutes of haggling, Andrew is about to walk away, when the guy finally shoves the flag in a bag and shoves the bag into Andrew's arms, telling him to give 30 lira and just take it. It's a really high-quality flag, so Andrew agrees and ends up with the flag for a pretty good deal after all.
Trying to leave the bazaar is an adventure. It's huge. Every store we pass has another salesman trying to sell us something. We're also pretty obviously Americans: we're both wearing backpacks. I learn that keeping my head down, avoiding eye contact at all costs, and never responding to what they say helps to get through the bazaar relatively smoothly.
We try to walk to the hotel, but end up getting lost. We hail a cab and he makes it to the hotel. Google Maps had failed us. At the hotel, we discover our salmon/pink room, and the tv inside. We find Frasier IN ENGLISH, which is incredibly exciting, and when that ends, we watch Home Alone II on mute, since it's been dubbed. You can still follow it, though. We both end up falling asleep before 9. It's wonderful. We don't wake up until the alarm at 8.
The next morning, it's raining and a little colder, but this means there are no street vendors. This is a major improvement over the previous day. We walk over to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. They're both gorgeous from the outside. When it hits 9, we go into the Hagia Sophia. It's pretty amazing. Did you know that they completed the third rebuilding in six years? That's insanely quick. There's so much history there. Also, my camera is dying, so I have to buy a disposable camera for the rest of the trip.
The Blue Mosque is still a functioning mosque, so we have to take off our shoes as we enter. It's also gorgeous; there's a lot more light inside. After the Blue Mosque, we go to the Hippodrome (it used to be a sports venue, like in the beginning of the first millenium AD.) It's pretty awesome.
Then comes the best part of the trip. Prepare yourself. We have DOMINO'S for lunch. I've been craving Domino's since we got to Germany. It's the copious quantities we had last semester with Theresa's extra FlexPoints. It's not quite the same, but it's still wonderful.
After this we head back to our hotel, but not until we stop at a gift shop with fixed prices. It's a real blessing. I get gifts there for a lot of people, which I'm probably going to send back to the US with Meg when she visits.
[SIDEBAR: My best friend is visiting for WM's spring break!! She'll be here from Friday until the next Sunday. I'm sooooo excited.]
After a short rest at the hotel, we go on an expedition to find the old city walls. We can't find them, but we do see ancient aqueducts, which is pretty awesome. We also get weird Turkish pretzel-type things from a street vendor. They're pretty terrible but it was worth a try.
After this expedition we take another break and watch Chuck (which neither of us has ever watched before, but at least it's not dubbed!) and then Tom and Jerry. Terrible, new, Tom and Jerry, but at least there aren't any words, really.
That night, we go to a McDonald's for dinner and then to a Whirling Dervish ceremony at the same train station at the end of the Orient Express. It's really cool. The Dervishes seem crazy though. Their entire religion is based on love. We think the hippies who live in Vauban (our neighborhood) would enjoy the Dervishes.
The next morning, we walk to the ferry, ferry to the bus, bus to the airport, fly to the Basel airport, take a cab to the train station, train to the tram stop, and tram to our dorm. Thus taking every form of transportation possible in a span of 8 hours.
And then I pack for Luxembourg, Brussels and Paris. We leave in 15 hours.
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