Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday, and Berlin decided to celebrate by not being 1000 degrees. It was a much more reasonable 73, and while it did pour later in the night, I preferred that to dying of water loss.

Some epic clouds, foreshadowing
the downpour to come

Marcos and I slept in, because what is your birthday for except getting obscene amounts of rest? Then we walked to Maximilian's, a traditional German restaurant about 20 minutes away. We got the Bavarian starters, which included a couple of dips (one cheese, one yogurt) and a pretzel––the ratio of carbs to dip was not nearly ideal, as we had a good 2/3 of the dips leftover, but it was very tasty––and the "sausage parade", which was 6 sausages of 3 different types with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.

Marcos deemed the white one "grub-like". Fortunately,
it tasted better than it looked.

There were radishes, which we did not eat. Meat and
carbohydrates only!

It was very delicious and extremely filling! We also got a light Munich beer, which Marcos found to be extremely mild and therefore drinkable.

Deutscher Dom

Afterwards, we ventured to Gendarmenmarkt, the square with the Französischer Dom and Deutscher Dom churches (which I visited 3 years ago), and then went to Fassbender-Rausch chocolatiers (which I also visited 3 years ago!).

Französischer Dom in the background

I had wanted to go to the Operncafe for my birthday cake, but they closed in 2011, sob.

Thanks for the gigantic chocolate recreation of the Reichstag,
honey––it's just what I wanted!

F-R was delicious, though! We got a mocha chocolate mousse cake and an Eisschokolade, which was cold chocolate and ice cream––very rich and filling.

OH MY GOD I AM SO EXCITED

We then booked it back to the hotel so I could try and Skype with the family, but they had not had success getting it to work and were a bit annoyed by the time we finally got in contact. Still, it was nice to hear their voices :-)

Ric came over around 8:00, and in my excitement to see him I managed to break a wineglass in the bathroom, so we chilled in the hotel room while we waited for housekeeping to come up and clean up the glass.

Marcos had gone to get razors and got to walk in to a glass-strewn room, which was probably less surprising than I might hope, given my general flusteredness. Ric is doing really well––he's married (we get to meet his husband later this week, at which point we can apparently also do laundry at their place, hurray!) and runs a modeling agency and seems very happy with his life, which is great! We drank the rest of the vişne şarap (wine) we'd gotten in Şirince, and then ventured out for a birthday drink/snack. It was raining by that point, but we trekked up to Potsdamer Platz and had a cocktail in the Sony Center, after which Marcos and I headed up north to meet Matt at a jazz club.

The S-bahn did not seem to be running that direction, so we took a cab up there and arrived just as the jazz was ending. I was quite tired and a bit hungry, so we took the S-bahn back down to our hotel (it's less than a block away from the station!) but were unable to find any open food places, so I snacked on some Tibs and called it a night. All in all, it was a very pleasant day, and it's nice to be back in Berlin!

This is half a block from our hotel; Ric said it is the only part
remaining of the old head train station, through which all
deported Jews were processed on the way to the Concentration Camps.
Hence why nothing else is left of it. Such poignant reminders
strewn throughout the city of its horrific past.

Today, we were thinking of going to Potsdam but after all the walking yesterday, but I ended up not feeling up to it, so instead we just took an easy day in. We walked to the döner place around the corner (only 3€ this time!), and then to the grocery store a couple blocks away where we bought 4 different kinds of chocolate and some off-brand Pringles, because we are adults.

Mm, yes, the Brandenburg Gate

You can see here, the horses and columns representing
militaristic strength

Truly, a memorable monument.

I actually have no idea what this thing is. --Marcos

Me: Look happy about meeting your true love!
Marcos: They're never happy about it when they meet him.
Me: Then look unhappy about meeting your true love!
Marcos: (This face.)

Me: Am I allowed to eat my true love? Otherwise,
I am not interested.

Then I did some preparation for the conference, though not as much as I had hoped as the sites I was supposed to download content from were not working, and just chilled out, as it was raining and gross for most of the day. For dinner, we went to a Vietnamese-sushi place a couple blocks away (I'd forgotten how there's no such thing as non-fusion Asian restaurants around here!), which was quite affordable and, as usual, very filling. Now we are relaxing in our very nice hotel room (free upgrade!). We're moving hotels tomorrow to be closer to the conference, and I have a tutorial to go to tomorrow afternoon about using Mechanical Turk for research, so no more nice relaxing days for awhile. Marcos is planning to wake up early and go to Gendarmenmarkt to get the Domen in the morning light, when they're not backlit. We'll probably eat döners for lunch again, haha––so cheap, so delicious!

Çanakkale 2.0

I'm posting this in chronological order, even though I wrote the next post (Troy and Ayvalık) before this one, so you'll have to forgive any changes of tense/confusing deictic references! 

Happy bus! For some company, spotted
on the road down to Çanakkale

Before we left Bursa, Marcos and I wanted to find the real İskender kebab place, and I wanted to get some more modest clothing. We first got gas, and while Marcos was paying one of the gas station attendants gave me a bag full of packaged sweet bread, for no apparent reason. A wee bit dry, but tasty regardless, and definitely nice to have on hand!

Road trip to Çanakkale: Looks a little like southern Oregon in places

We then stopped by a shopping center that supposedly had a Collezione, but after thoroughly searching the building (though not asking anyone for directions––but in just a day, I've gotten better about using the language!) to no avail, I ended up going to C&A, where I managed to find a whole 3 items in size 4 and nothing any smaller. I eventually purchased a size 6 skirt that hits the ground (and is, of course, too large) for wear in mosques, and passed on a couple of very cute dresses for just being too big. Still on the hunt for a nice dress or two for Berlin!

Horse, on the same road

We fared similarly when searching for the kebab place; couldn't find it where the GPS said it should be, so we went to another that was inside a different shopping center. We were served free tea while we waited, and Marcos was let into the kitchen to take footage of the cooks while they were slicing the kebab (though he fears it's not actually all that useful). We ate it later in the day, as we weren't hungry at the time, and I think I'm just meh when it comes to İskender kebaplar: it was fine, but not awe-inspiring. 

Wind turbines!

Then we did the drive down to Çanakkale, some 4+ hours through rolling hills of grass, trees, and so many sunflowers! I took about a bajillion pictures, most of which were through the window of a moving car, so they're nothing to write home about (or write a blog about), but we did stop at a gas station to go to the bathroom and take some pictures of sunflowers (ayçiçeği in Turkish, literally "moon-flower"). 

While we were filming/photographing, one of the gas station workers (because Turkey, like Oregon, has people to pump your gas for you!) came over and asked if we wanted tea or coffee, and I agreed to tea––Turkish tea is great, you guys. It's strong but not bitter and it's drunk with sugar but without milk, which is ideal for my lactose-intolerant self! It was also free, because the Turks are, as advertised, very generous, but we both bought things at the market anyways. I got a chocolate-pistachio bar which was very delicious (I held it up and asked "iyi?" ["good?"] and the cashiers nodded vigorously), though it ended up sitting in the sun and melting somewhat. Sigh.

Bar, pre-melting

Once we got to Çanakkale and put our stuff in our room, we wandered down to the waterfront and walked along there. Because of Ramazan, there was a huge group of people at tables outside watching some people give speeches (in Turkish, so I have no idea what they were about), and some workers went around giving people food, but no one ate until the signal was given.

This is maybe a third of the crowd

We'd thought they would start eating as soon as the sun crossed under the horizon, but it was a good 20 minutes before any food was consumed, and I'm still not sure why! I was very impatient to see everyone eat, and I'm sure those waiting were even more so.

When is the eating going to start?!

Brad Pitt (or possibly the entire cast of the movie Troy) donated the wooden horse used in the film to the town of Çanakkale, and it now features prominently in the middle of the boardwalk. It's a really cool design and looks like it was made out of boards from a ship (Marcos's observation, to give credit where credit is due!).

OMG I'm in front of a horse! 

Marcos the Conqueror

We wandered around for awhile looking for someplace to eat, and ultimately ended up back at the waterfront and had kebab (me) and dürün (wrap, Marcos), as well as the usual bread basket and salad.

With our respective foods

There was also some tomato-y concoction, though I'm still not sure whether it was meant for the bread, the kebab, or as another salad.

Are you salsa?

I dipped my bread in it and had it with some of my kebab, and it was quite tasty. I also opted to try ayran, a traditional yogurt drink. Here is how I felt about it:

Initially psychotically excited

Ultimately non-plussed.

We finished off with peynir helvası, Çanakkale's signature dessert, a melty cheesy mixture topped with caramelized sugar and flour.

peynir helvası

Superior to Bursa's kastane şekeri, in our opinion!

Sunset over the harbor

Çanakkale was much more touristy than Bursa, and there were correspondingly more shorts and sleeveless dresses. I felt perfectly at ease in my cotton dress, so it seems that in areas more frequented by tourists, even when the towns themselves are small, you can get away with less conservative clothing. Good to know!

Bursa

Today I slept most of the day away, not waking up for real until 4:30 pm. Nothing quite like jet lag to bring out the CFS! But now I feel back to normal––including the desire to go to sleep soon!

Bursa from atop the citadel, post-sundown

Marcos and I woke up around 9:00 to check out the breakfast, served on the top floor. I didn't take my camera (sorry!), but there was a large selection of foods: several kinds of breads, a few cheeses (two of which were initially off-puttingly salty, but I grew to like them), some toast, 15 or 20 jams and spreads, 4 kinds of olives, some cucumbers and tomatoes, mini sausages, fried potatoes (jojos, really), and 5 kinds of juice, including fresh-squeezed orange! We tried a bit of everything, and I was happy with the selection––Marcos, being the sweet tooth he is, wished there had been more sweet options, but he still managed to find some chocolate cereal, so all was not lost. The vişne juice, made from sour cherries, was really delicious! Though I'd poured only a bit to try, I think I'll have a full glass tomorrow.

While I slept the day away, Marcos went adventuring and got some stock footage of some mosques, though he thinks they weren't all that successful.

This evening, we ventured to Ulu Cami, the Great Mosque, whose construction was ordered by Sultan Bayezid I, finishing in 1399. It has 20 domes (supposedly, he initially promised to build 20 mosques after winning some big battle, but ultimately decided that would be rather absurd and settling for 1 mosque with 20 domes), and it is huge and beautiful.

The Sultan's signature

Tons of calligraphy, a fountain in the middle, and wide open space. Very serene.

I wrapped one shawl around my waist, as my skirt didn't cover my knees, and the other around my head and shoulders, and let me tell you, it was hot. I have no idea how Muslim women wear it all the time! (Not that all Muslims here do so, but still.) The carpet was very soft, and methinks Christian churches should take a page out of their book and switch to shoeless carpeted buildings––so much more comfortable!

There were some little kids running around inside the mosque, which I thought was very cute, as well as a number of people praying (though we made sure not to go at a prayer time!). We were definitely not the only people taking pictures, though Marcos was disappointed that they didn't let him use his tripod :-(

The guides I'd read said that as long as you don't wear short shorts and tank tops, you don't really need to worry about dress code in Turkey, but I've noticed that very few women wear anything above the knee. This is a problem, as I have one (yes, one) dress that falls below my knees, and everything else is above-the-knee. Because it's hot, obviously. Since I forgot one dress at Lizzy's (such a dummy), I need more clothes anyways, so I think I need to make a quick shopping stop to pick up some longer skirts and/or pants. I'll need a nicer dress for the conference, too, since the one I forgot was one of my more professional ones! Oh well. Hopefully we'll have time to stop at Collezione tomorrow––it looks like the Turkish version of H&M, but cheaper? I'll keep you posted!

Ulu Cami from the Bursa citadel

I find myself very anxious about speaking Turkish, and I wish I had studied more before coming. I need to just get better about using what little I do know, and stop being embarrassed by making mistakes, but it's hard! I can understand more written than spoken, but I hope that continued time here will help me feel more comfortable. Unfortunately, I find myself thinking first of the word in German, then Spanish, then Turkish, so it tends to take me awhile to find the write term, if I even happen to know it! Practice makes perfect, I suppose.

İskender kebap

After mosqueing, we wandered down the street a bit and got some İskender kebap from one restaurant that was open. They initially seated us outside, then were like, "you can't sit here! it's Ramazan!" and we were like, we know, we just sat where you put us! So we were shepherded inside, and I asked for orange juice and they brought me sparkling orange juice-soda. Maybe portakal suyu doesn't mean what I think it does? Or maybe no one drinks orange juice with dinner, ha! Regardless, it was thirst-quenching. The kebap was on a bed of bread (we think) that had been doused in some sort of broth. A big pile of yogurt accompanied it. I didn't actually love it; there was some flavor that just didn't go with my tastebuds. We're going to one of the original İskender kebapçı tomorrow before we leave town, though, so we'll see how that compares!

We also got some kestane şekeri before we went to the mosque (chronologically organized posts are for squares); I asked for iki tane ('two pieces'), only to find out that they aren't sold individually but rather in a plastic container, facepalm. It was 7 TL (roughly $3.50) for 250 g, and we excitedly opened them in the street only to remember that it was still daylight and regretfully stuck them back in their bag for later. They're very sweet and nutty, unsurprisingly, given that they're chestnuts that have been soaked in some sort of sugary concoction. They have a strange texture, kind of mushy and grainy. I don't mind them, but they're not my favorite. Very glad to have tried them, though! But still, I hope to get some legit baklava tomorrow.

After eating, we drove up to the Bursa citadel, though we didn't realize what it was until after we'd gotten there. We managed to find parking and wandered into some park area where there were families having picnics and much food and merriment being enjoyed in the twilight. As it was up on a hill, I wandered over to a patio and took some photos of the city at dusk. It was very pleasant and pretty, but my shortish skirt made me feel off-balance (was everyone looking at me?!), so I should definitely find something more "modest" (aka, heat-entrapping, ugh). I also switched my ring from my left middle finger to my left ring finger so as to try and avoid unwanted attention, though who knows how effective that really is. The citadel is also where Osman and Orhan are buried, one of whom (can't remember which is the father and which the son!) founded the Ottoman empire. Their tombs were closed, but we peeked through the windows and saw the tops of the coffins, adorned with their turbans.

Tomorrow, we'll probably visit a few more sights in Bursa, including the bazaar, and then we drive to Çanakkale, which is near Troy. Depending on what time we get there, we'll either visit some that afternoon or save it for the following morning; it's one of the less-preserved ruins, so they say it won't take too long to see it (though "they" are not taking stock footage, so we shall see!). I'm excited to see the setting of the Iliad!

Now I must pack and go to bed; we have to leave by 10:00 tomorrow, and you know how much I hate waking up early...

Merhaba Türkiye!

Oh man, has it been a long day. Our flight was delayed by...I dunno, a lot? About an hour and a half, I believe. They claimed it was due to weather, but, I mean, c'mon, JFK, a little spritzing shouldn't shut you down. But then, we were off! The man originally seated next to me graciously agreed to switch seats with Marcos, so I was able to encroach on M's space on the flight––what a guy! The dinner and breakfast were lackluster, but at least they fed us. And I was able to sleep for about half the flight, which was good!

Vendor selling simit, bread with sesame
seeds: a commonly-eaten snack that Marcos
and I have not yet tried

For anyone flying into Istanbul on Delta, you should know that you need to buy your visa before you walk around the snaky line for passport control: the instructions in the airport/airplane are not clear in that regard. I attempted to get a SIM card for the phone that Steve had lent me, but after some 10 minutes at the counter and after being cut in line 2 times, I decided it was not worth the effort. I may try again at another counter that's not in an airport and see if I have better luck, but otherwise, just call my Google number (message me if you need it), as I'll have internet access every night and can Skype with you once I get your message!

Beautiful gate, but we have no idea what it's called

We were afraid that the GPS that Marcos brought from the US wouldn't work here, as it showed the dreaded "searching for satellites" message forever in the airport, but once we got out in the open it worked. Phewf! I still used a fair amount of data getting the initial directions to the ferry, but I shan't need to do so any more :-) Speaking of driving, oh good Lord do you not want to in Turkey. Everyone drives like a crazy person! Turn signals aren't used, traffic signals are often ignored, and the lines denoting the different lanes are evidently just there for decoration.

This is supposed to be a 2-lane street

There's also a ridiculous range of speeds on the highway, with some going 40 mph and others 70. The guidebooks say to drive defensively, and yes, you have to if you don't want to get into 15 accidents in the first 10 minutes. Thankfully Marcos is doing all the driving (and those who have driven with him knows he also drives like a crazy person, but compared to everyone here, he's perfect) so I don't have to suffer through the stress too badly.

Random street in Istanbul

The first ferry we came to (Yenikapı) wouldn't have a boat to Bursa until 6:00 at night, so we decided to just drive it. About an hour later, we came upon another ferry at Eskihisar which left about 5 minutes after we got on it, and judging from the several other ferries out in the water along with us, I suspect they leave there every 15 minutes or so. Handy! It cost 50 TL (~$25) for us both, and considering time and gas saved and how awesome ferries are, it was money well spent. Also, gas: nearly $8 a gallon, but we were expecting $9-$10, so...that's something, I guess?

Goodbye, Eskihisar 

Hello, sister ferry

Sitting out on the deck was very pleasant with the breeze, though the salt water spray did not help my post-flight hair. It took us another hour-plus to get to Bursa, and after a brief bit of being lost, we found our hotel and got settled in. A shower has never felt so good, ha!

As we hadn't eaten (or drunk much, whoops), we headed out after washing up and found a little restaurant about a block away from our house. We suspect they may have been about to close, but they served us anyways. They gave us the option of sitting inside or out, and we opted for out, as the evening is a rather ideal temperature, only to realize a few minutes later after being stared at by a number of Turks that it is Ramazan (=Ramadan), and therefore quite rude to eat in public during the day. We won't be making that mistake again!

patlıcan, left, and salad, right; not pictured: bread, pudding, Fanta

We got the patlıcan dish, as that was a word I recognized (it's eggplant), which was really delicious: stewed eggplant in tomatoes with ground meat, garlic, and onion. Very tasty! It also came with a salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and olive oil; I will probably get diarrhea from it, as it seems unlikely that the vegetables were washed with anything other than tap water, but I am not about to spend my whole time here eating nothing but meat and bread! Besides, I figure my lactose intolerance has given me some experience with grouchy bowels. (TMI, but that's why you love me, right?) And also a ton of bread, a can of orange Fanta each (I tried to ask for orange juice, but used the wrong term for 'orange', asking for "orange-colored juice" [turuncu suyu] rather than "orange-fruit juice" [portakal suyu], hence the Fanta, haha!), and some magical dessert pudding with cinnamon. It was more than we could eat, but as I'd only eaten almonds since the cheese-egg-croissant on the plane, I was happy with the excess. And the final tab was 16 TL (roughly $8 for the both of us). Yay cheap food!

OMG food! 

We wandered around for a little bit more, but we're both tired and after finishing this post I am going to wash my face and go to bed. Marcos is currently snoozing on the bed with Turkish tv on the background; it was initially some soap opera, then music videos, then news showing rather graphic accidents and buses being shot at, and now some guy who built a helicopter powered by a bike? Weird.

The cat that tried to bum food off of us, but we had no
easily-removed protein. Marcos wanted to bring it home,
of course.

Tomorrow, we will explore Bursa some, and find the original home of İskender kebap (Bursa's special version of kebabs). There's a number of mosques and tombs to visit, though we'll have to see how I'm  feeling, and I absolutely want to find some kestane şekeri (sugared hazelnuts, Bursa's other signature dish)!

For now, I am going to go to bed. Hopefully my future posts will be less disorganized/sleep-deprived!