Return to Istanbul

Midi and I were returning to Istanbul, we had

both been here a few times though never together.

I  was so excited to introduce my kids to this vibrant

 city for the first time.  When you exit the metro from

the airport at Aksaray, you are nearly blown over by the

fact that you are in a new and different place.  The flags

and banners are waving, the warm air smacks your face,

the foreign music that is blasted from speakers is so 

unusual, the delicious aromas from the food vendors

on the street, it is all a reminder of being in a faraway

land and you are still in Europe, at least in this part of

the city.

We took a short rest and freshened up and then it

was time to get out on the streets, we would only

be here for a short time and we had a lot to see.

We took the tram down Divan Yolu to the

 Sultanamhet district and walked around a bit to

see the Hagia Sofia...

...and the Blue Mosque.

Then we took a short stroll up Yerebatan to 

find one of my favorite little restaurants in

Istanbul.  I told the man at the door that I

had been there a few times before but it was the

first time for my family.  He asked if I had ever 

been to the roof garden ~ well, no,  hadn't.

And he led us up a winding stairway to this

funky, folky roof garden painted like a gypsy

caravan.  I could move in!  

We were only here for drinks and an appetizer

since we had so little time and so many places 

we wanted to go.  The appetizer was a fabulous

cheese plate with cheeses and turkish cucumbers

and tomatoes and dried fruits and nuts.  It was

delicious!  We watched the sky turn dark blue as

the sun set and then it was time to move on to 

our next stop.

On my very first night in Istanbul I passed this 

restaurant and said I wanted to eat here and I

had never gotten around to it.   So tonight was

a first for me too.

In this type of restaurant the food is already

prepared and you point to what you want.

Honestly, the salad plate had filled us up so we 

just shared one plate between the four of us.  

Since it was such a lovely night we decided

to eat outside, there are tables set up along

the side street.  This is a great spot for people

watching as it is in the historic district and it

is always crowded.  After dinner we were 

exhausted so we jammed ourselves into the 

packed metro and headed home to sleep.

Going Old World in Prague ~ Cafe Slavia

We were exhausted after returning by train from a 

day spent out of the city in Kutna Hora.   Though we

all could have fallen into bed for a nap we also realized

we were running out of time in Prague.  The next day 

we were traveling to Istanbul so if we wanted to see 

everything on our list, we had to slap ourselves awake 

and get to Cafe Slavia.

Cafe Slavia opened in 1881 and has been the place to 

meet for writers, artists, poets and performers.  It is

located along the river right across the street from the

National Theatre.  It is the type of place to gather and

discuss and debate politics, art and the latest projects

of the movers and shakers in the art world. Vaclav Havel

 used to hang out here.

As we were enjoying our hot drinks, Midi nodded to a 

nearby table and said, "Check out this guy, looks like a

truck driver, sounds like an opera singer".  Yeah, it's 

that kind of place, a few tables away a beautiful woman 

was being interviewed by a nervous guy.  The woman's

cute cocker spaniel ended up jumping up on the guy 

for a taste of his dessert and that broke the ice and 

allowed the guy to relax and get on with it.

As you enter the main door be sure to check out the

sweets case and remember the number of the item 

you want to order.

Try to get a table along the river for great views 

of Prague Castle.  It is lovely to sit and watch the 

boats on the river and the people walking by.

It is nice to go late in the afternoon for a

snack and coffee.  A piano player performs 

late in the day and it is a perfect place to relax 

and soak in a bit of Prague history.

For us, the guys headed home afterwards but Kate

and I took one final stroll over the Charles Bridge

to say goodbye to Prague.

Where in the World is Elena Maria?

A Traveler's Reality Check

For those of you that follow my blog, you may be 

asking, "Is she still in Prague?" since that is the only

place I have posted from so far.  The answer is ~ far 

from it ~ literally,  We are on the other side of the

world in Japan right now.  I have not been blogging

much because I have been having a wonderful time

on my trip.  I learned a big lesson on my last round

the world journey, it all goes by so fast and you should

enjoy every minute.  So that means I have not posted 

everyday as we have been traveling.  On the last trip

I often missed dinner or another fun thing to do so

I could edit photos and write the blog so I could get 

up to the minute reports out.  I learned that was foolish,

there will be plenty of time to blog once I'm back home.

I'm imagining sitting in the gazebo with an iced coffee

and a cute doggie at my feet.  So stay tuned, more photos

and info of the sights, the food and the adventures are

to come.  Including bumping into a friend in Turkey,

riding elephants up to the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India

and getting assaulted on the street in New Zealand.

But now it's time for a nap...

Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

As a day trip from Prague we decided to head

out to a lovely village called Kutna Hora.  We 

left early in the morning and took the tram to 

the main train station in Prague.  From there 

we took the fast train for about an hour to the

main train station at Kutna Hora.

There is a Visitors Center at the station that

can give you maps and advise you as to what 

you can see in the time you have.  We took a

short walk to the Cathedral of Assumption of 

Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist at Sedlec,

This is a Unesco World Heritage Site and has a 

very interesting history.  

  The city was prosperous due to silver mines and the 

area reflects the wealth of times gone by.  The town 

was the cultural center of Bohemia and became a royal 

city.  The cathedral was built in the late 13th century

 and was burned in the 15th century, it was a ruin for 

over 300 years.  When the church was restored it was

 done in the style called Baroque Gothic.

Then it was a short walk up the road to the

Sedlec Ossuary.  The ossuary is said to contain

the skeletons of 40,000 to 70,000 people.

The bones are artistically arranged into swags 

and a chandelier.  I confess I found it to be a

bit creepy and hightailed it out of there pretty

quickly.

We then took a short bus ride to the town center

of Kutna Hora.  While we were on the bus we 

stood up to get off at one point and an older gentleman

in the back of the bus motioned for us to sit down, it 

wasn't time to get off.  When it was the correct stop, 

he motioned for us to get up.  He also told us through

hand signals where to walk and to not turn at the 

crossroads but to continue walking.  We shook hands

 and thanked him and thought we were following his

 directions but we turned at the wrong street and a lady

who was also on the bus yelled to us to keep going

straight.  Now, of course, neither of these people spoke

English but they were happy to assist us through hand

movements.  We find this all over the world, so many

lovely people who help us find our way in remote cities

and villages.  This is often our best memory of a place.

The churches and museums can all blend into one but 

we always remember the people we meet.

We did find the beautiful Cathedral of Saint

Barbara.  This is one of the most famous gothic

churches in central Europe.  Saint Barbara is the

patron saint of miners which is appropriate since

this is a former silver mining town.

The glass windows in the cathedral are stunning.

The color and design are so vibrant.

Within the town you can enjoy a wine garden

right along side the vines.  The views of the 

valley are lovely.

We found a restaurant with a garden terrace 

and enjoyed a lovely lunch.  The Czech Republic

is known for their beer and I have been told it is

very delicious if that is something you might like.

Personally, you couldn't pay me to drink beer, I

have never liked the taste.

Be sure to stroll through the town and look at

the pretty buildings.  Then it was time to get to

the train station to head back to Prague.

Prague Castle

On our first full day in Prague we decided

to tour Prague Castle.  The castle sits high 

on a hill and is visible from many parts of 

the city with a particularly good view from

Charles Bridge.

We got our jet lagged bodies moving amd took

a taxi up to the castle.  At the entrance to the

castle we were greeted by this lovely sculpture.

Not the most welcoming...

,,,and only to be outdone by the brawny guy

with the club.  I guess it sent a message in 

days of old saying don't mess with us.

Much of the castle facade is under 

construction so I tried to crop the ugly 

blue plastic out of the photos.  Due to 

all of the wrapping we weren't able to

get the full view of what this looks like.

Prague Castle is considered the largest

ancient castle in the world and dates

back to the ninth century.

The reality of Prague today is it is no longer

an eastern European outpost visited by few

travelers.  Nowadays it is packed!  We found

this at the castle, throngs of tour groups are

weaving their ways behind a leader holding a 

ratty old umbrella with a scarf tied on to it.

We saw the long line at the church and all 

decided we had no interest in waiting.

So, instead we wandered around and

enjoyed the architecture.  The kids 

found a tower they wanted to climb.

Meanwhile, Midi and I followed our

noses.  Someone was cooking something

that smelled delicious ~ like something 

that would come from Grandma Kosty's

kitchen.  We ended up in a cafe, watching

the world walk by, admiring the view and

dreaming of what we would have for lunch.

I would say the best part of the castle

is the view.

Eats ~ Istanbul

I am editing food photos in the middle of the night and

it made me so hungry I had to nip into the Turkish Delight.

The foods of Turkey are delicious!