Istanbul; The Gateway between East and West

There are some cities that are large to be impressive (i.e. New York with its ever increasingly tall skyscrapers), but Istanbul has to be measured on a much more gargantuan scale. The city stretches over two continents and is divided into three main hubs; all of which are connected by huge suspension bridges crossing the mighty Bosphorous river that powers through the city. No matter how much we'd read about the mammoth size, population and culture of the city as a whole, nothing could have properly prepared us, first hand, for the incredible few days that lay ahead. 

Everything about our stay seemed to be a new level of intensity when compared with our previous stopovers. The airport transfer, for example, bordered on near suicide as our driver seemed to fancy himself as some sort of stunt driver, descending boldly through the steep, confined streets that weaved unpredictably through urban Istanbul. Hairpin bends, blind corners and increasingly narrow gaps were only seen as greater challenges for our driver - who commanded the mini bus fearlessly to our hostel. Having evaded the clutches of the death mobile, a new apprehension took hold... We'd been dropped off, late at night, in the middle of Istanbul - only for our driver to be as lost as we were in regard to where our hostel was. We tried to decipher where we were but with no avail, so resorted to the 'oh sod it' strategy and chanced a small side street, only to find our hostel had been round the corner the entire time.

Our hostel was brilliant, Ali, the owner, was friendly and welcoming, with a sarcastic sense of humor that a Brit would be proud of. Whilst we were there, we befriended a fellow Englishman, whose journey of cycling from Kent to Australia was somewhat more ambitious than our relativity meagre one month, but equally as inspiring to throw more caution into the wind when next travelling.

Hagia Sophia

Inside the Blue Mosque

The main attractions of Istanbul are their Mosques. They dominated the skyline of the city in both their number and their size and was an unusual experience jumping from the home of the Catholic church to a predominantly Muslim city in just a flight. We visited a couple of mosques including the Blue Mosque, one of the biggest in the city. It was decorated beautifully on the inside, but with a surprising simplicity about it. There are no statues or altars or fresco's or paintings... just ornately painted walls and carpeted floors; it was in huge contrast to Christian places of worship, but just as impressive and sacred. One of the most unexpected surprises during our stay was enjoying the harmonious prayers that we're amplified by speakers from the mosques across the city.   

The climate there was incredibly hot and was only intensified by the sheer volume of people that over crowed the ascending narrow alleys and streets; with flows of people staggering along in each direction due to prospective customers stopping and surveying almost everything imaginable. At the summit of the old town lay the Grand Bazaar, an enormous indoor market place where haggling is expected and accepted and where a successfully negotiated chess board was purchased - a vital investment for our daunting 22 hour train journey to Bucharest to come.

The only reprieve from the furnace of the city's streets was the popular Bosphorous river tour that sailed the parts of the river that lined the city itself. At a decent pace it took an hour to travel just to one end, which illustrates further the vastness of the city's reach and gave us a true sense of how magnificent this place really was. 

A view to eat for

At night, we frequented the popular rooftop restaurants and sat on their terrace, with spectacular panoramic views of the city and the widening mouth of the Bosphorous in the background. Of course, no trip to Istanbul is complete without smoking some Shisha! (hookha/ waterpipe) 

Enjoying the hubbly bubbly

For us both, Istanbul was on a different level to anywhere we'd been before. We arrived with some trepidation, especially when being driven through the outskirts of the city, with the radio playing the type of music you'd associate with middle eastern set spy films! (Spy Game came straight to mind). We left, on the other hand, with our initial apprehensions extinguished by the charm and majesty that Istanbul exuded so naturally.  

At dusk

We went to Rome, but we didn't see the Pope

Rome got of to a fantastic start simply because we'd gotten into the main station (after visiting Florence) and met up with our Uni friend, Oliver. After a somewhat stressful journey for all of us, we headed straight for the closest bar showing England's opening game against France and nursed home the €5 pint throughout the whole match. We then ventured rather sporadically on the metro and buses towards the outskirts of the city, struggling with broken Italian to find where the hell we where staying. After a long day travelling, an early night was certainly required, especially in preparation for the Eternal city the following day.

As Rome was the only place either one of us had been too, it was a case of retracing the majority of my steps but with friends rather than family. Through map and memory, we managed to navigate Rome's winding intricate network of millennia old roads and pathways with relative ease - taking in all the major sites at a leisurely pace.
But this is as far as I write for one blog only. Oli has kindly taken over my blogging duty for Rome and the differences between a Science and Arts students writing is glaring...  If I had it my way he'd be writing the rest too!

For me, arriving in Rome was more a 'Trial by sweaty Italian' rather than one of fire, but pulling into the Termini stop and seeing two familiar faces made this experience much more soothing. It was, however, a hectic experience. One quickly learns that the etiquette of the Roman roads is more of a dog-eat-dog inclination, or perhaps more aptly 'Bus-eat-car-eat-moped-eat-pedestrian'. Crossing a semi-busy road was somewhat of an achievement, one that was regularly rewarded with a coffee, some form of pastry or delicious gelato, whilst the thrill of dodging an on-coming bus added greatly to this sense of accomplishment.

Pantheon; Rome's oldest church

The sights of Rome almost speak for themselves: the grandiose, and aptly named, Colosseum, the surprisingly vast yet intricate Vatican, and the superstitious beauty of the Trevi Fountain. The most astounding aspect of Rome was the somewhat contradictory nature of having vast amount of hidden gems. Around every corner and up each set of marble stairs there would be a decadent church, monastery, cafe, building, sculpture, obelisk, fountain and the like. 

Italy's most modern 'old' monument

Discovering these treasures gave Rome a greater element of surprise and etched these 'new' (yet vastly old) places into our collective memory, providing us with some of the most memorable moments of our trip; such as the almost gory sounding church-on-a-church-on-a-church that was the Basilica di San Clemente. Seeing such well known pieces of art and paintings also made this Roman adventure even more memorable. Seeing first hand the work of Raphael and his School of Athens or a genuine Da Vinci enabled each of us three to tick some goals off of our life lists.

Besides the actual experience of attending these galleries and churches, the main pastime we undertook was the necessary mode of transport that any aspiring young Ranulph Fiennes must do, walking. Rome is quite noticeably small compared to other cities which gave us the gusto to say that we could conquer her length and breadth. And to a degree we did, as we would walk some 7 hours per day until our feet had literally bled. It was only then that we would be defeated by the narrow, winding roads of this ancient religious city.

But take this with a pinch of salt, we took our fair share of rest stops; sitting on the steps of a newly discovered basilica, iced teas at hand, drinking in the beauty that Rome offered so readily. It was here where I have some of my fondest memories of the trip as they gave us time to talk, reflect upon what we'd seen, share even more stories and plan the remainder of the day (often trying to find a course of action that saved our feet from even more agony). Of course we could also do our fair share of people watching, trying to decipher the accents of many other site see'ers (many of which turned out to be Australian) and observing the near misses that many a moped would encounter in front of our eyes. 

Fozzy bear is hiding somewhere in there

Perhaps my favourite comedy moment of the entire trip was the stalking of a man and his family around the ancient Colosseum who sounded remarkably like Fozzy Bear from the Muppets; a short reprieve from the osmotic effect of soaking up some of the worlds greatest culture. (If you're unfamiliar with Fozzy, imagine a man talking like this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P6ds11QzWA) 


The coffee was incredible, the wine was cheap and our accommodation was a community of like-minded, sweaty people. Apart from Key gaining 20 stone in the space of 30 seconds and managing to break his steel framed bead, the Rastafarian's talking in their booming voices at 1 o'clock or eating some local salami that smelled like warm prawns, the accommodation was amazing. Our tent was quaint, the facilities were clean and the football was on a flatscreen television outside, what more could three students ask for?

When in Rome... they form a 90's boy band

We met some friends in the last few days but they became fleeting acquaintances where names were rarely exchanged and contact information was never mentioned. But there were always a few laughs to be had and stories to be swapped of home, Rome and the world.
The goodbye between myself and Key/Tom was emotional as it brought back our earlier departure from university life. Yet their adventure was nearing it's rotund middle section whilst life back home was grasping at my proverbial cuff. I saw them off on their adventure to Istanbul before waiting for 5 hours for my flight, LOOOOOOONG!

Just a quick update on our progress in 'real time'... We've spent the last couple of days in Istanbul and are heading up to Bucharest tomorrow evening (via a 21 hour train journey!). Keep checking the blog for Istanbul... it should be a good one! 

Forza Italia!

The day we traveled from Ljubljana to Venice perfectly illustrates how stressful backpacking can be. In spite of the hours spent on the two trains and bus to Venice, we ended up waiting for transport almost as long as we were on it because of late trains, ridiculously infrequent bus schedules and an obnoxious Italian bus driver! Finally, after almost ten hours on the road, we arrived at the campsite we would call home for the next two nights. And with that, our first pieces of good fortune for the day; football on the tv, fresh pizzas cooking in the oven and ice cold Perroni on tap behind the bar.

Although it was forecast downpours all weekend, only during the first morning did a typically British drizzle enforce itself. It meant that, when we took the water bus down Venice's winding Grand Canal, we couldn't help but feel a small sense of disappointment. The buildings looked dreary and unkept and the water murky - even St. Mark’s square left us slightly underwhelmed. When the sunshine broke through, however, the whole city was illuminated in glorious daylight and we soaked up the legendary city as it was meant to be seen. 

St. Mark's square

We then revisited the now sensational St. Mark’s, we mocked the cost of a Cappuccino on the square (€9!) and meandered through the narrow alleys that were littered with tourist shops, cafes and churches.

The most uniquely frustrating thing about Venice is when you do get lost, it’s extremely difficult to escape the labyrinth of the criss crossing streets and countless bridges that connect everything together. After going round in circles for a good hour, passing the same shops and no doubt amusing the locals that kept spotting us; we appeared on the north side of the island and sailed over to Murano and the island's world renowned glass workshops. 

The atmosphere is much more relaxed on the outlying islands as they’re less well known and so consequently less busy. Whilst we were there, we saw a fascinating demonstration of folding and sculpting glass, including the making of an ornate glass horse in a matter of seconds.

Waiting for the bus (Venetian style) 

Grand canal

We continued to discover the city as slowly and leisurely as we could and managed to get a nice feel for it despite only being there for two days. The evenings at the campsite were comfortable enough too. We watched some of the Euro’s football on a big outdoor screen and befriended a monotonic, intoxicated Scotsman, along with some lovely fellow backpackers from America and Germany.

After our short stay in Venice, we left for the eternal city to meet our friend Oli from Uni in the evening. On the way, we decided to stop over in Florence (Firenze) for the afternoon. After another hectic start, including lots of queuing and timetabling frustration, we were beginning to regret not going directly to Rome; but once we'd ventured into the city itself we were so thankful we'd decided to stop.

Il Duomo

Although we only wandered the city for about three hours, Florence instantly became one of our favourite places - largely down to the incredibly beautiful ‘Il Domo’, which towers over the city with its sensational dome. We made a beeline from the train station to Florence's main attraction and we were soon standing at the top, surveying the stunning Tuscan landscape bathed in sunshine below. Yet as wonderful as the view was; the climb was an experience that will never be forgotten. 

You climb up steep and spiraling staircases for what seems like an eternity, only to find yourself at the base of the enormous dome structure. From here you gain an incredibly unique perspective of the inside of the dome where every inch is illustrated with an enormous scene painted directly on the ceiling (in a similar style to the Sistine chapel).  From there we ascended into the dome. The dome is actually two domes, an inner and outer one with a small gap in between acting as the passage to the summit. Climbing through, you get a first hand view of the phenomenal skill that must have been needed to construct such a giant and complex piece of architecture. 

At the top of the Dome

And inside of it...

After we spent some time at the top, we climbed down, had a quick bite to eat and ambled away our last half hour at Ponte Vecchio; a strange and cosy little bridge that crosses the Arno River to south of Florence. It has several little houses that clutch precariously over its edge and a once bustling market place is now monopolised by high end jewelry stores.

Albeit rushed, Florence was a wonderfully serendipitous stop on our trip. Although our stay was criminally short, ancient Rome awaited along with our friend, Oli.

Plitvice Lakes and the Slovenian Capital

Our final day in Zagreb required an early start uncustomary to our recently surrendered student lifestyle. We boarded a two and a half hour bus from Zagreb at the crack of dawn to venture deep into rural Croatia, with our destination to be the country’s largest and most impressive national park, Plitvice Lakes. With over 20 separate bodies of water, filled with crystal clear water and all falling through one spectacular waterfall after another, Plitvice was quite simply spectacular. We made sure we were well equipped for the day ahead, donning our comfortable shoes and bringing along our packed lunches we had constructed from a local market in Zagreb. 

After an exhausting day, the early starts continued to plague us – this time it was leaving Zagreb and heading in the direction of Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana. For a relatively short distance, we were kept tentatively on our toes for long portions; courtesy of the frequent border checks we encountered. The fact that this was our maiden voyage using our rail pass certainly didn't help and every causal glance from a border guard we would then see as being a mistrusting and suspicious glare. Despite this, we crossed the border without fuss, and the route became much more relaxing and picturesque as the train snaked through beautiful green valleys and clung to the side of Slovenia's striking mountains. 

Ljubljana has a wonderfully quaint yet lively atmosphere, with its streets and buildings kept in pristine condition alongside the beautiful river Ljubljanica running through the heart of it. The ‘triple bridge’ serves as its main attraction, joining the central town square to the rest of the city. Then there is the unmissable castle district, a looming fortress that still watches over the capital atop its lofty hilltop perch.

Ljubljana's castle

University of Ljubljana

The lasting memory we will probably take from Ljubljana is the charming, relaxed nature of the people and the streets that we wondered through. All along the river there were cafés, bars and restaurants, all alive with a whole host of young travelers and locals – we even stumbled across the city’s university, which looked more suited to a president than the country's latest batch of young and talented student population.

'Triple bridge' at night

In the beginning there was Zagreb

We arrived in Zagreb, Croatia's capital, with virtually no preconceptions of this beautiful country. Initial pre - trip jitters had sustained themselves with the morose view of derelict high rises accompanying the journey through the capital's suburbs. Relics of Zagreb's not - so - ancient communist past. However, such trepidations were well quashed as we stepped into the beautiful old (upper) town with vibrant high streets, magnificent churches and a relaxed, genial atmosphere that the city's residents seemed to emanate.

Our hostel was in the heart of the old town on Tkalcica street. This popular area hosted a number of small, cosy cafes and bars bustling with Croatians and tourists alike.  Visiting a place that lay so quietly away from the modern day inter-railer’s beaten track did come at a cost. The slight deficiency in must see attractions morphed our usually spritely approach to new places into a slow paced amble that reflected the more laid back nature of Zagreb. Kuna is the local currency and, thanks to a self inflicted haphazard conversion miscalculation, our three day budget was stretched threadbare. Dining came cheap and it needed to be. Soon we had grown accustomed to a pizza counter selling huge quarter slices for 10 Kuna (around £1).

The small collection of sights on offer were an eclectic bunch. The enormous structure of Zagreb’s Cathedral, built around 800 years ago, has endured earthquakes, invasions and communist neglect during its tenure. In the two and a half decades since democracy was restored, the literal brick - by - brick renovations of its twin spires continue to edge arduously towards completion.

Rebuilding: Each spire takes 10 years to renovate

The second church mentioned, St. Marks, was completely different from anything we'd ever seen or expected. It's roof and tower are draped in an ornate patriotic mosaic with thick, bold colours occupying each tile and brick. If this show of national pride wasn't conspicuous enough, the building is situated in the middle of an open square, flanked by the Croatian parliament on one side and the Presidential palace on the other.

St. Marks

One evening, an invading thunderstorm quickly established itself over the city. This is where we encountered, by chance, 'The Museum of Broken Relationships'. It is a thoroughly unique exhibition, constructed from a random assortment of everyday objects (watches, teddy bears, letters) valued, not in money, but in sentiment. To their previous owners then, each piece was priceless. Donated to the museum, each object had a story associated with a failed relationship. It was certainly powerful stuff and, reading each accompanying passage, your emotions roller coastered from the hilarious to the immensely sorrowful and all that comes in between. If nothing else, it was a very peculiar way to keep dry for a few hours...

One of the exhibits 

At Gatwick Airport

Helloooooo!


Just checked in at the airport! Had a great evening with Stu! Great send off rissoto after a nightmare tour round London (including an imposter Queen). Made it to the airport with no problems this morning, typical jubilee weather though! Looking forward to the flight and the forcast thunderstorms in Zagreb...


Will check back in over the next few days!


Tom and Key x

One Month Interrailing

If you haven't already heard, Tom and myself are heading around Europe for a month this coming Monday. We plan to journey from Zagreb to Ljubljana and then down the spine of Italy for over a week. From there we fly to Istanbul and take the slow and scenic route through Bulgaria and Romania, stopping in Bucharest and the Transylvanian town of Brasov on the way. We then arrive in Budapest, the first of the final four Capital cities on our journey, before moving to Bratislava, Vienna and finishing in Prague.

As internet access is virtually universal round Europe, we've decided to write a 'blog' of our travels as we go, basically to act as a virtual postcard for our friends and family (and to make you all a little jealous too!). Its just a nice way for you to experience our trip along with us, especially if we can illustrate our descriptions by uploading some photos as we go...

So if you are interested, just keep checking this site every few days and with a bit of luck it should keep updating itself with the latest part of our trip!

Thanks
Kieran & Tom