Erasmus Traveling - Istanbul part 5

Ohh. :( The last day in Istanbul started with me going to Taksim square alone. My aim was to do some shopping on the last day, as I knew how much liras I had left. It was a good decision as the weather was very cold and gloomy, so it was nice to stay inside. I especially liked this candy store, tho I bought only Turkish coffee from there. I'm planning on bringing the coffee home, and letting my family try it out. I'm quite sure I know how to prepare it as well. 

My pen pal was going to message me after she was finished with her lessons for the day. I never received a message from her, which was weird as she did send one and on the same day I received a message from another person, so obviously my phone was working. It was like a miracle that she bombed into me on the street. haha. I'm glad she found me! We decided to head to an Irish bar - never been to an Irish one before, so why not. It was nice to be inside for a while as the weather outside wasn't very nice. 

The next idea was to go to the Galata Tower, but it seemed to be very pricey. Besides the weather was so gloomy that we wouldn't have been able to see much from there anyways. It's kinda funny I have been to Istanbul twice now, and still haven't been to the tower. haha.

Galata tower

A few postcards that I bought :)

Then it was time to do the last minute packing - I dislike packing so much! Already at 8 pm I felt so tired, so it was time to drink some more coffee. haha. At 10 pm it was time to leave Istanbul behind and sit another 10 hours in the bus. I had some snacks on the way, which can be seen on the picture above. It was sad to leave Istanbul, as I don't know if I can go there again, and if I can, when it would happen. It was also sad to leave my 'new' friends behind, as meeting them again might take a long time. Hopefully the next meeting happens sooner than we think! 

Now it's time to show some things that I bought. On the picture you can see my new black jeans and a cardigan (I actually bought another one as well, which is black). There are also some magnets, soap and socks, which I'm going to bring home. The other things are eatable, some of which I will eat at 'home' in Greece and others I'll take back to Finland as souvenirs. It's always interesting to try out things from a local grocery store. haha. 

THANK YOU very much for hosting me and for the gifts! I wouldn't have been able to travel there on my own, explore the city and try local things without you. I wish you have a chance to visit Finland one day, so I can return the favour! :) THANK YOU!!

Gifts from the lovely Turkish friends! :)

I absolutely love the bracelet! <3

To end this series of traveling in Turkey, I hope this wasn't my last trip to Turkey - I'd like to see more of it, maybe different cities next time. :)

Erasmus Traveling - Istanbul part 4

Dolmabahçe palace

The second last day in Istanbul started with a trip to the Dolmabahçe palace, which is famous among tourists and also worth visiting to the locals. It was a Sunday, so obviously it was packed with other people, so we had to wait in queues for a while. I gotta mention one a bit annoying thing, which is that the tickets are way more expensive for foreigners than they are for Turkish people, which is good for the Turks, of course.  

Inside of the place is full of beautiful rooms with decorations everywhere, To me this was the most beautiful palace, which I have visited in Istanbul. It looks beautiful inside and out. As it was forbidden to take pictures inside, I don't have any, though I saw many people taking pictures and then the guards yelled ''no foto''. haha. 

Next it was time to take a ferry to the other side, to the Asian side of Istanbul. I had been there only once before, approximately for an hour. This time we spent a bit longer there, which was nice, tho there weather wasn't perfect by no means. First we ended up eating at Mc. Donald's as we were hungry and it was close by. I can always be surprised how cheap it is in other countries, when comparing the prices to Finland. haha. 

We were planning on going to the Maiden's Tower, but the trip there was ridiculously expensive, especially because it's an island with one building. However, I'm sure the view would be nice from there, especially on a sunny summer day. The place seemed to be on married couple's favour, so if you are on your honey-moon, maybe it would be a good place to visit. 

The rest of the day was spent mainly on shopping, or rather visiting stores without buying anything. haha. Well, I did buy this cute owl mug. I don't know why I keep on buying mugs from the countries, which I visit, but then I don't use the mugs at home. That's why I decided to actually use this mug, when I get back to Finland. :)

The next post will be the last part of my journey in Istanbul, however, the memories will always stay in my mind. :)

Erasmus Traveling - Istanbul part 2

Going shopping...

The second day (Oct 24th) in Istanbul started with a nice breakfast with my pen pal's nice flat mate. It's always interesting what people normally eat for breakfast in different countries. I mean the breakfast in usually very similar, but still completely different. 

After breakfast it was time to check out a local bazaar. I find those places very fascinating even though I probably wouldn't buy anything from there. I find it difficult to find things from a place where I first need to negotiate about the price. I'd prefer to know the price that I need to pay for the product right away. That's one reason why we went to a shopping center next. I actually didn't buy anything for myself from there, but I found some souvenirs that I'll give to my granny and so. 

There were Turkish flags everywhere!

Later it was time to go to the Taksim square, where I got to taste this interesting tiny hamburger thingy. We also walked along the Istiklal Street, visiting some stores and churches. In Finland I'm not fond of visiting churches because they don't look any special. I mean the architecture in Finnish churches is kinda simple. Abroad churches are very decorated, which makes them more interesting to see. 

Loving the place!

On my last trip to Istanbul I didn't taste Turkish coffee at all, so now I had to do it. I was a bit skeptic about its taste, but it wasn't as bad as I though it might be. Not sure if is tasted like 'real' Turkish coffee, tho, as this coffee was served at a store selling Turkish sweets. When comparing it to Finnish coffee, this was stronger even though sugar was kinda one of the dominating flavors. 

We also visited a lovely chocolate store. I simply had to take pictures there, as the place was so small and cute! Of course, the chocolate itself was delicious as well. :)

Surprisingly they put on the lights on the Istiklal Street. To me these lights scream Christmas, so I was very happy to see them! I guess, the excitement can be read from my face also. I wish they had such lights already in Greece also. This specific street is perfect for shopping, not to mention all narrow streets around it. 

My dear pen pal and I

Before going to a Jazz concert, we had dinner at an interesting restaurant. I ate sort of a pancake filled with potatoes and something else. The taste was very good, and it was more filling than I originally thought. About the jazz concert.. Well, I knew it wasn't my cup of tea so to speak, but it was still a nice experience. I probably wouldn't have heard life-jazz if it wasn't for my pen pal and her friends. It was somehow nicer than I thought, but probably wouldn't go listen to jazz again. heh. The day was nice, and I had lots of fun!

Erasmus Traveling - Istanbul part 1

A few days back I wrote about my up-coming trip to Istanbul, Turkey, which I was very excited about. Unfortunately, the trip is already over and I have returned to my 'home' in Greece. The trip was amazing for sure, and it's all thanks to my dear Turkish pen pal and her nice flat mates. If you happen to read this; thank you so much for hosting me, it was a pleasure to get to know you all!! 

My trip started on Wednesday (Oct 22nd) by packing... I really dislike packing, tho it's even more annoying to unpack. heh. For going from Thessaloniki to Istanbul I used a company called 'Crazy Holidays' as it seemed like the easiest choice. If you are interested in getting to know more about the trips that they offer, feel free to check out their webpage here. 

Sultanahmet camii

The bus left a bit after 10 pm from Thessaloniki, Greece. I had  tiny problems finding the correct place, where the bus left. That's why I left home very early, in order not to miss the bus. I was a bit skeptic about the area as it was already so dark, but everything went well in the end. Luckily, the bus was rather empty, so there was lots of space for one person. Other vise ten hours in a bus would have killed me! I had never spent such a long time in a bus before - I think the longest used to be around 4 hours. There were some not-so-common things in this bus ride, when I compare it to Finland. First of all they don't serve coffee/tea in Finnish buses (or at least I haven't seen such a thing!). Then the other thing was the bus not having a toilet, which was weird for me. After thinking a bit I remembered the French bus not having a toilet either back in 2010 when I was on a language course.  Anyway, from my point of view the trip would be quicker if there was a toilet inside of a bus, however, it's nice to walk a bit during the breaks. 

Hagia Sofia

At around 8 am the bus arrived to the bus station in Istanbul, not that I would recognize it to be a bus station without the buses being there. haha. On the boarder between Greece and Turkey it was funny how people kept on wondering about my passport - why does a Finn travel by a bus from Greece to Turkey... I was happy when the bus was in its destination because sitting in a bus ain't that nice. I was tired, yet excited to meet my pen pal. It's always great to meet someone with whom you have been exchanging letters for years. Thank you for welcoming me, my friend!

After arriving to my pen pal's place, I relaxed after the not-so-nice night in a bus. Later it was time to eat lunch at a local university, which was an interesting experience for sure. Food served at Finnish universities is somewhat different and served in a different way. However, I'm always open to new tastes as long as it ain't too spicy. :)

On the first day we explored the city. I had already visited a few places (Sultanahmet camii, Yerebatan Sarayi and Topkapi palace) on my trip to Istanbul in 2010. I can recommend those places for everyone as well, tho! We went to Hagia Sofia, which is a famous old Mosque. I would recommend people to see it, it's worth the money so to speak. While walking around the mosque, I drank this weird drink made of milk, water and cinnamon (?). I believe it's good to try out all local dishes, drinks and so, of course, people should have some kind of a limit what to put into their mouth. haha. 

Turkish tea

Next step was to taste Turkish tea, which tasted nice - might have something to do with a lovely person putting so much sugar in my tea. heh. The place was amazing, as it was somewhat high, right next to the Topkapi Palace. Later I got to taste some famous 'dessert' thing, which was made of ice cream and topped with something warm. It was delicious! 

Some famous thingy with ice cream topped with something warm - delicious!

The first day in Istanbul was great! It's such a great city, which is nice to explore with lovely people! 

The weather was nice as well; sunny and warm. Who could ask for more? 

New Mosque