Marie's Trip Through Europe : part 1

Istanbul - Malta - Paris - Munich

A 3 weeks trip through Europe.

Dates : 24 may - 17 june

Number of flights : 5 + one 10 hours train

Money spent : a lot!!

Number of pictures : 1/3 lost on the way (usb flash broken!)

Gorgeous memories and landscapes : unlimited!

It all started when my best friend told me she wanted to go back in vacations to Malta around may. Then I had this other friend with who I made agreement to participe in a european youth exchange in Germany. Then my best friend got invited to this music show in Malta, it was one more good reason to go. So it was settled. And I would escape from Rustavi going to Istanbul (because it's cheaper but also beautiful) and the lovely Paris on the way.

 Part I

24 may - 26 may : Istanbul!

I am waiting at the aeroport and I meet Dato, one volunteer from Tbilisi's Droni organisation, telling me he is going to Ukraine for one day to prepare a project. He has his tickets paid, in first class! Getting on the plane is something else. Outside it's very windy, and everybody is pushing to be the first in the plane. I can't wait to get away, after almost 8 months in the same town, and I have of course butterflies in my stomach!

I arrive at 6 am in Istambul, everything is really colorful, the morning clouds covering the top of the highest business towers. Also a lot of mosquees with strange arrows surrounding them. The bus shuttle to the town center is really comfortable and the road without any cracks, I am definitely in the right country. I get out at "Taksim" station the last stop where our evs friend Ibo is supposed to pick me up (or one of his friends). For those who don't know the story Ibo was one couch surfer who wanted to stay 2 days in our place but ended up staying 2 weeks!

Süleymaniye Camii

 I wait for an hour and a half, calling and calling again but nobody in sight. He picks up finally, saying "sorry totally forgot! Go to this hostel they are my friends they will take care of you and I will join as soon as possible". So here I am walking in the busiest street of the country (6 million people/day!) : Istiklal Avenue. At the hostel I meet one australian whose is travelling a lot of course, one german and austrian guys who are writting an article about fashion and social inclusion in Istanbul. I feel really tired but great! 2 hours later, Ibo is out of the shower and taking me to his lovely 3 bedrooms appartement giving me indications on where to go for what as quickly as possible as he has to go work.
 I take a 2 hours nap, later I go for a walk here and there in the neighbourhood. It's really sunny and warm compared to the Georgia I left! There are also a lot of hills to climb up and down (worse than in Tbilisi) but I've had good practise. There is the Bosphorus really blue, and again all the mosquees. I walk also next to one University : all those who don't have the special card don't come in. Really different from mine in France!

Galata Tower

 Then I come back to the appartement - going around for 1 hour because of course I don't remember exactly how the entrance door looks like! - to find Mustafa (Ibo's roomate) who kindly cooks me a lunch (it's around 4pm... ). During the evening I will go out again in the busiest street - it's crazy, because it's a week day but there are already so many people, so I can't imagine what's it's like during the weekend!

The next morning I take my time to wake up, and go around the city again. Ibo shows me where to buy a scarf, and sunglasses (because of course mine just broke)... A little shopping. I'm discovering the small shops where you can buy ice cream (in the very special noisy way they are making it): 

(please don't mind the title of this video- which is not even mine) - but in general a very european way of life. I feel like a total stranger (and I already look like a hobo compared to other girls ^^) but very calm and charmed!

I took the tram to go Saint-Sophia mosque at the end of the afternoon. It was a bit too late to visit the citernes (apparently amazing but almost quite expensive entrance as I fixed a 50 turkish liras budget for those 2 days). I don't go inside the blue mosquee (just across the street from saint sophia) because I don't have the proper outfit, but from the outside it looks already amazing. Then I finish my walk in the park in front of Topkapi palace. Not many people (lovers mainly, on hidden up benches by some wooden structure), but nice atmosphere. And still in the air you can hear the monks singing, calling for prayer. I call it the sound of Istanbul, because it's very loud and it brings this special atmosphere (thanks to cheap speakers probably!) when you hear it.

http://www.partage-facile.com/PUDIV7MYH6/enregistrement__1_.mp3.html

http://www.partage-facile.com/9Y3CZYLZ8S/enregistrement__2_.mp3.html

I go to bed quite early since I have to get up early to take the plane to Malta. But my adventures in the city are not finished : I didn't check twice from where the plane leaves so I arrive in the wrong airport (Gokçen instead of Attaturk). I have 2 hours until my plane, but it's traffic jam time. I have to take a taxi. Finally I make it quite on time, but during taxi time I was really freaking out! I think I managed to limit the payment (already 65 euros) because one 'information' lady in first airport told me "you should paid this amount". So now I got the idea from Georgia to deal the price before going in. When I gave the money taxi didn't look so happy (I think on the counter it was 90euros), but hey that's what we said, and anyway I'm in such a rush that I don't wait for his answer. It's also good that during my stay in georgia I could manage to cumulate so many euros in cash. But this is a valuable lesson : I will always check 5 times from now on, and never assume something!

 To Be Continued...

PS : As I haven't recovered my pictures yet (and maybe I won't ever) I scanned some postcards I bought. Sound by my crapy phone, video found on youtube!

Ivan Kupala Day ( Noc Kupaly in Polish, Jaanipäev in Estonian, Jāņi in Latvian, Joninės in Lithuanian ...) !!!

Kupala Day is celebrated mainly in Northern and Eastern Europe, and this holiday, traditions and celebrations are pre-Christian in origin. This holiday is connected with special role of water and fire. There are many traditions related to Kupala Day. For example in Poland, unmerrried woman are making flower's wreaths and throw them into the water! If some bachelor catch it, it means that this girl will get merried very soon;) Because Georgia is still ocupated by European invaders, had to hear about this special day. This year we decided not to celebrate it in very traditional way. So there were no special activities like for example: i didnt make any flowers wreaths and i didnt throw it into the water, becouse i was afraid that nobody catch it (it means that i would become spinster;))) and we didnt make big fireplace, and we didnt jump through it, because we relized that we are not stretchy and flexible enough to do it;))) so we sacrificed our favourite activity: eating ;)))) and in this discipline we are better and better;)))

FOOD!!!! ;)))

Everybody had to prepare something spacial to eat!! French of course made great creps, and Marie's specialty - salat with pasta, i mean pasta with salad;))) Everybody was so proud of Liene, because she prepared traditional Latvian cottage cheese, delicious cherry pie and beans salad!!Really amazing dishes!!!!

I was preparing Russian salad, and the biggest applause for Estonians;)))) they made carmel and put it on the corn snacks;))) bravooo for original idea!!!!

Liene with Latvian cottage cheese!!!

Thanks guys for nice evening, I hope that we will meet each other more frequently at our large table!!!!

Irka   

Computers Problem

 

As soon as our personal computers are working again, we'll write some nice articles...

But for now ... LET'S PRAY (or drink, it's up to you!!)

Yours friendly,

Marie.

Orintas last and Yoann first chadi

We love when volunteers are coming but we are very sad when they have to leave us and to go back home. :(
This thurday evening was from one side sad (our sweet Lithuenian Kung fu Panda Ori finishing her EVS), but from other side happy - we said welcome to new EVS staff member Yoann from France.

We wishing for Orinta safe returning back home, not to forget us and to send us very often postcards. We again very often will bake chadi and will make tosts for her! Thank you Orint for your being with us for one year and for your smile everyday. We love you and see you very soon!

 But for Yoann we wishing to spend wonderful 1 year in our GYE family, to eat as much as possible chadi, sazamtro and to enjoy Georgia from the bottom till top. :)

GYE mamm and dad

A low-budget trip through Turkey

The financial income of a volunteer does not allow big expenses. Luckily, there are ways of cheap travelling – nowadays supported by internet communities such as the couchsurfing network.

Our trip from the Turkish border at a glance

Göreme cave city

Göreme cave city

Our trip starts in Tbilisi, where we catch the incredibly cheap night train to Batumi (5 GEL for more or less 300 km). If you think that the night train is uncomfortable and boring, then you are wrong. Uncomfortable – yes, especially if you are as tall as Villi. Boring – no f***ing way! We met some very nice Georgian people in the train and some of them were carrying 60 liters of home-made wine with them – which they wanted to share with us with pleasure. By the time we arrived in Batumi, I saw everything double, and the breakfast on the seaside was... lets say... interesting. We took a bus to the Turkish border and started hitch-hiking in pairs. We discovered that hitch-hiking in Turkey is very easy, mostly we caught a car or truck in no-time, and most of the drivers were very nice people.

Our trip has 2 big targets: Ötkür's place and Cappadocia. Ötkür is one incredible couchsurfer who hosted Irena while he was not at home and who was hosted by Irena while she was not at home. But on this historical day, they finally should meet.

Still Göreme, now there is one rock missing ^^

Castle of Uçisar (the rock on the right); on the left you see a typical "fairy chemney"

Villi and me are joining Ötkür and his friends to an Inna concert in Trabzon, and eventhough the performance of this singer was quite poor (she was on stage only for half an hour), we had much fun, which might be related to one bottle of Gomi we had earlier that evening. Inna was wearing only Kupalniki, and so her performance was more like a photo shooting than a concert. But I have to say that she is a real professional act, as she can improvise the lyrics (“fly like you do it like you're high like you DON'T TOUCH MY ASS!! like a woman”).

The next day on the road, we are hitch-hiking together with one friend we met in Trabzon to Samsun. There, we are hosted by some couchsurfers who are doing Erasmus in Samsun. They remind us very strong our own EVS family and they are very hospital. But the next morning already we are leaving and hitch-hiking to Nevshehir, the capital of the Cappadocia region. We stay there three nights and visit the nearby cave cities Göreme, Ürgüp, the castle of Uçisar and the underground city of Kaymakli. The region is just gorgeous, and none of us has ever seen something similar.

Ori hitch-hiking

After Cappodocia, the next stop is Sivas, a bigger city with a long shopping mile but as well a historic center. We are hosted by a young Turkish couple, and we have very nice talks with them about the political situation in Turkey.

The next day we hitch-hike on a mountain track to Trabzon and, after another stay at Ötkür's place, to the Georgian border. In Batumi, it seems impossible to catch a car to Tbilisi. When finally there are some guys who are ready to take us to the capital if we share the fuel, we agree. Big mistake. The track leads over some mountains and there are many trucks on the road. Our drivers seem in a rush and they pass some trucks in very risky places. In the end, we had three almost-accidents, which could have taken a bad end I guess.

Who is saying hitch-hiking is dangerous? The first ride we payed for on our trip (except for the night train of course) was the most dangerous ever! We were really glad when we got off that car, I tell you!

Joyku