Our Thanksgiving meal at Maison d’Amer in Hofheim…

After four nights in Türkiye, I didn’t have turkey on Thanksgiving… This isn’t a new thing for Bill or me. Thanksgiving is not an official holiday in Germany, although some restaurants do offer Thanksgiving inspired options for the Americans. Even if I was a big fan of eating turkey, our oven is not really big enough to cook one properly. And since we’re just two people, it doesn’t make sense to cook turkey, anyway. Even if we just cooked a turkey breast, it would probably take us forever to eat it. I’m partial to darker meat, anyway.

Although we could have cooked a nice meal at home, we decided we’d rather go out to eat. Last year, we did the same thing in the same town– Hofheim– which is a really cute hamlet about 20 minutes from where we live. This year, we tried a new restaurant, Maison d’Amer. It was listed on OpenTable.de, and located in what used to be Ariston, a Greek restaurant that I think relocated to Frankfurt. We only got to eat in Ariston once, although we did get takeout from them a couple of times during the COVID era.

Bill was a little confused about Maison d’Amer, because it looked like it had been around since before 2022, and based on the reviews, it appeared to be the inside of another nearby restaurant called Schmiede. Schmiede is another restaurant we only got to try once. But as Bill was researching, it looked like the concept of Schmiede had changed. It was no longer offering dinner, only breakfast, lunch, and aperitivos. We were curious about what was up, especially since it’s been months since our previous visit to Hofheim. We’ve just been really busy this year, and haven’t had the chance to explore our local environs. After yesterday’s superb lunch, along with an explanation about things from our server, we will have to rectify that!

Getting to the restaurant turned out to be slightly challenging. Our usual Hofheim exit from the Autobahn was closed, so Bill went to a different one, which put us in a part of town with which we were unfamiliar. At one point, Bill almost rear ended some guy who didn’t quite make it through an intersection.

Soon enough, we recognized Hofheim’s familiar old town, and we lucked into a parking space very close to the restaurant. I did make a joke about the guy whose parking space we were taking. He was backing out extremely slowly… I said, “He has tortoise nervosa.” If you were around in the 1980s and watched Night Court on TV, you might remember that joke… but if you don’t, here it is.

I have a condition… LOL!!!! I used to love this show!

As Bill straightened out the Volvo in a parking spot, I noticed something strange hanging on a nearby tree…

*What the hell is this? Someone left their keys? And they’re a little rusty, too.*

We walked to the former Ariston Restaurant turned into Maison d’Amer. I got a few shots of the outside.

I was surprised to find the restaurant fairly empty. There was one table occupied by a couple of ladies, but the rest of the place was deserted, except for a friendly waitress who spoke excellent English. She invited us to sit anywhere we wanted, so we took a spot in a back corner on a banquette. I immediately noticed the excellent music that was playing– soulful music that I found myself repeatedly Shazaming. I was glad there were none of those weird Bossa Nova cover songs of 80s hits we were subjected to at the Hilton Istanbul Maslak at this place!

The waitress handed us a printed lunch menu, as well as the regular menu, and a wine list. We explained that yesterday was our Thanksgiving as we had a look at what was offered. I ended up selecting a pumpkin soup with a prawn as a starter, while Bill chose a salad. For our main courses, I ordered the tajine, which was chicken, potatoes, green olives, peas, and carrots. Bill had Shakshuka, an African dish that was bulked up a bit with mashed potatoes and sausages made with lamb and beef. He explained to me that he had encountered this dish on his business trips to Africa when we still lived near Stuttgart. We also enjoyed fresh bread with olive oil and rich balsamic vinegar.

Bill was able to finish his main course, but I had to take about half of mine home. That was because I wanted dessert! Last year, we didn’t get to have dessert, because we happened to finish lunch as the restaurant was closing for a pause. Maybe they would have let us order dessert, but they seemed eager for their break, so we skipped it and went to Hofheim’s little Christmas market, instead.

The waitress was not in a hurry to rush us out, and we ended up talking to her about what was going on with the restaurants. She explained that the guy who had opened Maison d’Amer was the former owner of Schmiede. He had sold it to an Italian guy, who had changed the concept, but not the name of the restaurant. She also told us that the place was always called Schmiede, except for a brief period of time in which a woman had opened a place called Blanca Bistro that sadly closed in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic.

Anyway, when Ariston closed in Hofheim, that was a chance for Schmiede’s previous owner to move to a new place, literally next door. Then, we found out that the waitress had worked at Die Scheuer, where we had Thanksgiving last year, and Easter lunch this year. I then remembered her. She had waited on us once, when we dropped in for lunch! And as were talking, I told her we had lived in Baden-Württemberg, and she said that she’s originally from Tübingen! That’s another city that is near and dear to us!

Our desserts were excellent, of course. I had a chocolate lava cake with berries. Bill had an almond parfait with persimmon sauce. I loved the plates they were served on! I don’t usually love lava cakes, but this one was done well.

As we were settling up, I had grappa, while Bill had an espresso. Then we made our way home. I took a few more photos. We had sunny weather on the way into the restaurant, but it got pretty cloudy on the way home! As you can see, Schmiede now has a new sign to go with a new concept and a new owner.

That meal at Maison d’Amer was substantial enough that we didn’t need anything else for the rest of the night, although we did sit around and drink beer while listening to music… same as we always do. We will definitely have to go back to that place another time. The waitress did warn that if we want to have dinner there, reservations are a must! But we’re lunch people, especially as we get older!

Unfortunately, our Thanksgiving holiday weekend is going to be cut short. Bill has to go to the US on business next week. But, on the bright side, it’ll give me time to make some music videos and do some shopping. So that’s a good thing, I guess. At least the Christmas stuff is put up.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, if you celebrated it! I feel grateful for a lot of things this year, in spite of the shitshow that has been going on since Trump came back to power.

adventure, Middle East, short breaks, Türkiye

Ten things I learned in Istanbul (this time)…

As my regular readers probably know, I like to sum up my travels with top ten lists of new things I learned. This was not my first trip to Istanbul, but it was my first trip there in 29 years. Times have changed a bit since my first visit to Istanbul in 1996, so I definitely learned new things on this brief jaunt back to the Middle East. So here goes with ten things I learned in Istanbul… this time!

10. Americans no longer have to buy a visa at the border!
Keep in mind, it’s been a long time since I was last in Türkiye, but there used to be a rule that for Americans to enter the country, one had to buy a visa. In the 90s, it was a sticker they put in your passport, and it cost about $20. I remember this, because I had to buy that thing twice in 1996! Then it went to an online system, I think. Anyway, as of 2024, US citizens can stay up to 90 days without a visa, as long as they have at least six months left on their passports.

9. Turkish Airlines is kind of hit and miss…
There were some things I really liked about flying Turkish Airlines, both down to Istanbul, and back up to Frankfurt. I thought the business class experience on my most recent flights was pretty good, except for the jerk flight attendant I wrote about yesterday. Having read up on Reddit, it does seem like a lot of people are fine with Turkish Airlines until a customer service issue arises. I don’t know if or when I’ll fly with them again, but I did mostly enjoy my most recent business class flights.

8. Maslak is very far away from the historic area of Istanbul, but there is a metro stop there.
I would have preferred to stay closer to the historic part of Istanbul, so I could have walked around more and seen and done more things. But I’m not sorry we stayed in Maslak this time, because now I know what part of Istanbul I should avoid if I’m in Istanbul for touristic purposes. For business, that’s another story!

7. Manspreading is not allowed on the Istanbul Metro!

*Need I say more? I think this is very civilized!*

6. You won’t find pork on most menus…
Actually, this doesn’t surprise me. Türkiye is an Islamic country, after all. Even secular Muslims don’t usually eat pork. But I was reminded of the fact when I came from pork loving Germany to beef eating Türkiye.

5. You also won’t find alcohol on many menus…
Türkiye is an Islamic country, so drinking alcohol is forbidden for a people who follow the Muslim religion. There certainly are bars in Istanbul, and you can find alcohol if you want or need it. However, in a lot of restaurants, there’s no booze. Instead, you get delightful fruit juices, coffee drinks, teas, soft drinks, and water.

4. But you will find prayer rooms in many places…
I was surprised to find prayer rooms in so many places. I could understand there being a prayer room at the hotel where we stayed, but I was shocked to find one at a restaurant.

*You can have a salad and then go pray…*

3. If you want to swim, even in a hotel pool, you may need a swimming cap.
I’ve actually been researching what it takes to go swimming in Türkiye. I was surprised to find out that it isn’t easy to go swimming there if you aren’t a local. I read some things about needing a doctor’s exam first. But I was especially annoyed and surprised to discover that apparently, swimming caps are necessary, even at hotel pools. I can understand that requirement at a public pool, but it seems strange at hotels, which serve people from all over the world. Anyway, just letting you know. Bring a swimming cap if you want to swim. I think it might even be the law in Türkiye.

2. Traffic in Istanbul is positively INSANE!
When I was in Istanbul in 1996, I didn’t remember it to be quite as gridlocked as it was last week. I noticed traffic at all hours, but it was especially bad during the traditional rush hour. We took a cab from the cruise port to Maslak. It was maybe 13 kilometers. It took an hour and cost Bill over 50 euros! The metro is definitely your friend, but it gets pretty crowded.

And 1. Turkish music is beautiful.
I heard a busker playing a unique instrument in the Taksim metro station and decided I needed to have a recording of it here. Off I went to my favorite music source to find some instrumental qanun (kanun) music for my next mood. I was reminded then that Turkish music is very beautiful. When Elaine and I went to Istanbul in 1996, we discovered an amazing band called Kizilirmak. I still have the album we both bought copies of. It’s aged beautifully…

My favorite track from the album I bought in 1996…

Qanun music

Honorable mention: Istanbul is TEEMING with stray cats who mostly seem to be well taken care of. There are also stray dogs, but I saw far fewer of them than the cats.

*One of many cats I saw in Istanbul. I saw some eating cat food put out by locals.*

Well… it’s Thanksgiving, and we have lunch plans, so I’m going to wrap up this post and get on with the day. Unfortunately, I need to break out the vacuum cleaner, because it’s Thursday. I do hope you enjoyed my Turkish series. I also hope we can visit Turkey again… maybe stay in an area that is a little less chaotic than Istanbul is.

For now… Güle güle… (Pronounced “goo-lah goo-lah” Turkish for “bye-bye”, which I did learn back in 1996!)

adventure, Middle East, short breaks, Türkiye

A quick jaunt to Istanbul… (part three)

After we checked in at Hilton Istanbul Maslak, a porter helped us with our bags and showed us to room 1711. There was a bank of four elevators in the hotel lobby, and to call one, you must punch your floor number on a large keypad. But the keypad is only there on the lobby floor. All of the other floors just have the usual up and down buttons. I’m not sure why the fancy keypad was necessary. Maybe it was an attempt to make the hotel look more upscale.

Room 1711

The porter punched 17 on the keypad for us, and then showed us that we had to use our keycards to get the elevator to work. He explained the hotel’s services, which included a spa, a full scale restaurant, a lobby bar, 24 room service, and even a high end jewelry store. Bill shook his hand and palmed him a tip, and then we took a look at our room…

*I liked the rainfall shower. It was very nice!*

One thing this hotel room had, that none of the others I’ve ever stayed in have had, was a toilet that had a little spigot on the back of it. When you flush the toilet, the spigot squirts out cold water in a bidet fashion. The toilet also had a tap next to it that could turn on the spigot without flushing, causing it to shoot water at varying pressures. One thing the tap didn’t have was temperature control, which meant that sitting on the toilet while it flushed was going to result in cold water squirting in your asshole. It’s not possible to turn off the spigot– or, at least I never found a way to do that. Consequently, if you are not sitting on the commode as it flushes, water might splash out from the little spigot. I made a YouTube video to show my readers exactly what I mean…

Shrinkage city! Actually, I did use the bidet function once, and it wasn’t so bad, even with the chilly water. But then, I don’t have a dick.

The room also had a minibar, which had everything from overpriced liquor and snacks, to a pair of socks and a condom. I usually take a photo of the minibar, but didn’t bother to on this trip. Bill explored it and told me all about the contents. I actually liked the art in the room, which I thought was rather thought provoking, although the drab brown color scheme was a bit depressing.

The bed was basically okay, although the mattress was a bit firmer than I’m used to. We used the air conditioning at night, since it was rather warm in Istanbul while we were there. We never turned on the flatscreen TV. I meant to, just to see what was on the telly, but I decided I’d rather just use my computer for entertainment.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served in the hotel’s restaurant, Zaxi. It’s buffet style, and there is a guy there who makes eggs to order. I probably should have tried an omelet, but I never bothered. There were many choices in the buffet, although I didn’t think the food was especially tasty. It was certainly adequate, and even pleasing in some instances. I liked the halva they offered– a thick, satisfying sesame seed creation. They also had a huge range of Turkish cheeses, which Bill loved. There were plenty of vegetables, breads, and the usual chafing dishes with scrambled and boiled eggs, sausages, and other sides. Of course, there weren’t any pork products offered.

*Check out the generic World Market style art on the walls. We could have been anywhere besides Istanbul.*

The one thing that stuck out to me the most about eating in the restaurant was the weird music they played. I noticed they had a loop of bossa nova styled pop songs from the 1980s. Some of the retooled songs were truly strange, and they played them over and over throughout our stay. Are you seriously ready for a Bossa Nova rendition of “Like A Virgin” or “Beat It”?

I did like a few of the songs enough to Shazam them, but there were a few that were just ridiculous. I’m sure most people don’t pay attention to background music, but I am a musician, so I always notice it. I guess I’m just glad it wasn’t Muzak.

The spa

After breakfast, Bill went to his conference. The location was close enough that Bill and his buddies were able to walk there. I went back to bed, since I was a bit jet lagged. Then, at around 11:00 or so, I decided to go to the spa. I’ve heard that the spa at the Hilton Istanbul Maslak is not owned by the hotel. I’m not sure where the truth lies… but I have to say, it was a bit of a disappointment.

Years ago, I wrote a post about how, if you go to a pool in France, you have to wear Speedos and a swimming cap. I’ve since learned that this policy is in effect in some other European (or Asian) countries besides France. And, as it turns out, at least at this particular Turkish pool, you have to wear a swimming cap to use it. This is supposedly for hygiene reasons. They don’t want hair getting caught in the pool filters.

I don’t own a swimming cap. I probably could have purchased one at the spa, but the lady who told me about the policy was not clear about it. She did say that I could use the Jacuzzi without a cap, and there appeared to be another warm shallow pool that I probably could have used. I didn’t bother, though. I was just there to give housekeeping a chance to clean the room. I also don’t know if the powers that be who run this pool also require men to wear Speedos, like they do in France and apparently other countries in Europe.

I sat down on one of the loungers in the spa, which was mostly vacant the whole time I was there. I was a bit dismayed by how worn and stained the cushions were on the loungers. One of them had broken strings at the end of the cushion, so when I sat on it, the cushion shifted. I moved to a different lounger because of that.

And there were also no towels put out for guest use. So, the spa was a bust, which was a real bummer. Yeah, I could have bought a swimming cap, but I didn’t want to go swimming badly enough to try to stuff my hair into one.

After a couple of dry hours at the pool, I went back to the room, and was happy to see it had been cleaned. I decided to do some writing and wait for Bill to come back from his first day at his conference. I know I could have gone out and walked around the neighborhood, but I correctly assumed there wasn’t a lot for tourists to see there. There’s a mosque nearby, and I think an art gallery, but there weren’t really any decent sidewalks. The area is very crowded and not particularly interesting, unless you want to look at skyscrapers and dodge other people. So I stayed in the hotel and waited… and I took a few photos of the sunset… Too bad the windows were a little dirty.

Dinner at Zaxi

And then, for dinner, we tried the hotel restaurant, which was still playing that weird Bossa Nova music from the 80s. I had a beef rib, while Bill had roasted salmon with cauliflower puree. For a starter, we shared shrimps with a dip that I can no longer identify… I remember thinking the food was pretty good. We both enjoyed Bomonte lagers, a Turkish beer that was light and refreshing. And we also had dessert– profiteroles for me, and a warm lemon pistachio tart for Bill.

After dinner, we tried the lobby bar. I think the manager was trying to make small talk, because Bill told me that when I went to the restroom, the guy asked Bill if I was his wife. I’m sure he sees a lot of men in the bar either alone, or with female colleagues. It’s not so common to bring a spouse. I can kind of understand why…

We tried a Turkish red wine. The one we originally ordered wasn’t in stock, which was kind of a blessing, because it was priced at over $100 (in Turkish lira). What we had was much cheaper, and not too bad… although after we enjoyed it, I wondered what the more expensive one was like.

*This wasn’t bad once it opened up a little…*

That about does it for Tuesday in Maslak. Stay tuned for the next post!

Middle East, short breaks, Türkiye

A quick jaunt to Istanbul… (part two)

Featured photo is of a skyscraper near our hotel.

Once Bill got final approval to go to Istanbul, he arranged to put Noyzi and Charlie in our usual “Hunde Pension”. Then we had to pick a flight. Ordinarily, I try to fly on Lufthansa, because I’m collecting points that I’ll probably never get a chance to use. But again, Bill had to use the cheapest option to get to Istanbul, and I wanted to be on the same flight with him, albeit in business class. 😉

Lufthansa or Turkish Airlines?

Originally, the company travel agent wanted to put him on a flight that would make it impossible to get the dogs to the Hunde Pension before he needed to be on the plane. I thought we might end up on an early evening Lufthansa flight that would get us to Istanbul at 11:00 PM, since Istanbul is two hours ahead of Frankfurt. We finally settled on a Turkish Airlines flight leaving Frankfurt on Monday, November 17th at 2:45 PM. It was more expensive than the Lufthansa flight would have been, and cost twenty euros more than the mid morning Turkish Airlines flight the travel agent had suggested.

I like to fly business class on flights within Europe, and probably will fly business next time we go to the USA, too, if we can afford it. I earn more points on those flights, and they offer some convenient perks, like lounge access, free checked bags, and higher weight limits for bags. I mainly like business class because it’s less cramped. I don’t mind flying economy if I sit next to Bill, but since he was flying the cheapest fare in economy and it was a separate booking, there was no guarantee we’d be sitting together. So, since we have the means, I fly business. It gives me a chance to write reviews, too. I think it’s funny that they call it “business class”, when so many businesses require their employees to fly as cheaply as possible!

The least expensive Lufthansa business class ticket I had been looking at would have been about $800. But, since we flew Turkish Airlines, which had more convenient times, it ended up costing me about $1500. Bill’s economy round trip ticket on Turkish Airlines was in line with what a Lufthansa ticket would have been– about $300.

I remembered flying on Turkish Airlines once, back in 1996, with my friend, Elaine. We flew from Izmir to Ankara, but were not able to find any other flights heading east toward Armenia. I remembered liking Turkish Airlines then, but I didn’t have especially high expectations when I was a broke Peace Corps Volunteer in my 20s. I also didn’t get the greatest initial impression of Turkish Airlines by their rather wonky Web site, which keeps sending me ads, but wouldn’t recognize my new Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles ID number. But, I resigned myself to knowing that at least I’d get the chance to experience an airline other than my usual and trusty Lufthansa.

This was a last minute trip, though, and if I’m honest, neither Bill nor I were feeling particularly excited about it. He had spent more than half of October away, and likely has to go away again in early December. Then when he comes back, there’s another conference at Ramstein, which is about an hour away from where we live. After awhile, all the “TDY” stuff gets pretty tiresome. It would have been nice to do a celebratory trip for our anniversary, rather than travel on business. But, at least Bill still has a good job, and this was a great chance for me to see more of the world.

As the days got closer to departure, I started reading up on Maslak. I knew it was far from Taksim, the area where Elaine and I had mostly been in 1996, but I read there was a metro nearby. And I remembered visiting Armenia two years ago, which has really come up in the world since I left in 1997. Surely it would be okay in Maslak… Well, as I found out, sometimes ancient cities are slow to modernize. This is not to say that Maslak is “third world”, but it was not the most tourist friendly or pedestrian accessible area. I’ll elaborate on that later.

Frankfurt Airport

On Monday, November 17th, the day after our 23rd wedding anniversary, we took a taxi to Frankfurt Airport. We weren’t even a mile from our house before we almost had an accident at the roundabout near our neighborhood. The cab driver, who happened to be Turkish, almost hit someone who violated German traffic law. Fortunately, he had good brakes and fast reflexes.

When we got to the airport, we had to search for the Turkish Airlines baggage drop. I was the first person in the business class line, and was literally standing on a red carpet as I waited for the desk to open. A very officious lady invited me to drop my bag. She asked me if I was traveling alone. I said that my husband was traveling in economy. She invited him to drop his bag with mine, which was really nice of her. I was impressed. She even put a priority sticker on his bag.

Because I was traveling with Bill, I decided not to use the business class lounge. It would have been the Lufthansa lounge, which I’ve used a bunch of times, anyway. Bill and I made our way to the gate and looked around for something to eat. I would have waited for the flight, but I get really cranky when my blood sugar tanks.

After finding the proper gate, we walked back the way we’d come and ended up having sandwiches at a cafe in the middle of the airport. As I ate my overpriced tuna sandwich, I couldn’t help but miss the restaurants in other airports. For some reason, Frankfurt Airport doesn’t have the greatest selection of eateries. But then, I could have gone alone into the lounge and had whatever Lufthansa was offering. The beer was good, at least!

*Bill had a chicken sandwich and I had tuna with avocado.*

Our flight to Istanbul ended up being about 20 minutes delayed before we could board. I thought it was because of the weather, but my German friend later told me there was also a lot of traffic at the Istanbul airport that affected the flight to Frankfurt. She explained that Istanbul has the second busiest airport in Europe, and is the largest privately owned airport in the world. Having now seen the new airport, which was opened in April 2019, I can understand why traffic might have been an issue! I’ve also just learned that the airport isn’t even fully built yet. That will happen in 2027.

Turkish Airlines flight from FRA to IST…

Once we got on the plane, I was legitimately impressed. On short to medium haul Lufthansa business class flights, you get a seat that is just like the seats in economy class, but the middle seat is empty. On my Turkish Airlines flight, I had a bigger seat with a console between me and the guy in the aisle seat. The leg room was very generous. I probably could have extended my legs without touching the seat in front of me. I actually did do that on yesterday’s flight. The seat had an extra pillow and was well padded and generously appointed. I didn’t test out the seat’s adjustability, but on yesterday’s flight back to Frankfurt, I noticed the lady sitting next to me was using the leg rest that made the seat look like an honest to God recliner! It was just way better than what I’ve typically gotten on Lufthansa in business class.

Below are a couple of pictures that show how much space I had between my knees and the seat in front of me. Granted, I’m short, and I have short legs, but this was the most generous leg room I’ve seen on an airplane in many years.

A flight attendant came around with pre flight drinks. She had lemonade, still water, orange juice, or strawberry juice (or raspberry– can’t remember now). I opted for the orange juice, and it was delicious! She’d even put a slice of fresh orange in it. It tasted like it was freshly squeezed. I think on Lufthansa, they give you bottled water.

Once we were in the air, the flight attendants brought out menus. On that flight, we had a choice of kebab or roasted salmon. But the meal started with Turkish appetizers which, frankly, I couldn’t easily identify. There was also salad, cheese, warm bread, and a double chocolate cake. I enjoyed some Turkish white wine, as well. The salmon was surprisingly delicious. It was not dried out or overcooked, as I would have expected it to be. I really enjoyed the Turkish styling with tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, potatoes, and spinach.

Our seats didn’t have screens on the seatbacks, which was fine with me. I was enjoying taking photos from the window, as you can see below… A lot of people were watching videos on their personal iPads.

As we got closer to our destination, we were even further delayed. At one point, the pilot was going to land, but then abruptly aborted. I thought it was because of high winds, but my German friend had been tracking the flight and said it was likely due to aviation traffic. We ended up being almost an hour late landing. But the service on the flight was excellent.

One of the flight attendants was especially service oriented. I got up to use the lavatory and hadn’t noticed it was occupied. I stood in the aisle, and the man who was ahead of me was in there for a long time. When he finally emerged, the flight attendant asked me to wait a moment. I soon got a fetid whiff of why she’d asked me to wait! She went in there quickly cleaned the commode, sprayed air freshener, and even put down a seat cover for me. WOW!! That was impressive, and much appreciated! She really took one for the team!

We finally landed almost an hour later than expected. Bill and I were both pretty tired once we got on the ground. We had to go through passport control and wait for our bags, which took awhile… but at least they came out together.

Then we found a cab to Maslak, which was driven by a very friendly local who drove like a madman. He commented that our hotel wasn’t the best for tourism. He was so right about that. I was a bit alarmed as he pulled up and a Hilton staffer came out and swept the car for explosive devices! But for better or worse, there we were in Istanbul, in an area full of skyscrapers and bright lights. It was definitely urban.

*Hilton Istanbul Maslak… official Hilton photo.*

Checking in at the Hilton…

A friendly Hilton staffer invited us into the hotel, and I put my purse and computer on an x-ray scanner. Bill and I walked through a metal detector, which really took me aback. I guess they’ve had some trouble recently. We checked in, and were assigned room 1711. More on that in the next post…

*You might call this an artsy impression of our entrance to Istanbul… It’s not easy taking photos at night from an airplane!*

adventure, Middle East, short breaks, Türkiye

A quick jaunt to Istanbul… (part one)

About. two weeks ago, Bill came home from work looking a bit flustered. You see, he was supposed to go to Bavaria last week, for yet another business trip. But then, at the very last minute, the trip went from four nights in Bavaria to four nights in Istanbul, Turkey (or Türkiye). And since Bill is a super good guy who knows I’d been wanting to go back to Istanbul again after a 29 year absence, he invited me to go along with him.

There was, of course, the usual catch. Since his company was paying for the hotel, we had to stay at one within a certain price range. We also had to be at a place that was in the area where Bill was going to be working, which was in the financial district of Istanbul called Maslak.

We had a choice of a few hotels and ended up at the Hilton Istanbul Maslak, which is a lot more comfortable than where I stayed the first time I went to Istanbul. However, it’s a good 13 kilometers from the old town, and the traffic in Istanbul is absolutely horrifying. They do have buses and a metro, but they’re pretty crowded. On the other hand, taking public transportation might be more expeditious than using a cab. The traffic is stupidly bad in Istanbul!

I went to Istanbul in 1996, when I had just turned 24 years old. My friend Elaine and I, having finished our first years as Peace Corps Volunteers in the Republic of Armenia, decided to visit Turkey and Bulgaria by bus. It was quite an adventure. I’ve written about that trip on more than one occasion. It was not an easy vacation, but I learned and grew a lot from it. Just getting to Istanbul by bus took three days straight, with no breaks! We had to go through Georgia to get there, and spent a very long time sitting at the Turkish border.

This trip to Istanbul, by contrast, was much easier and more luxurious. I flew business class on Turkish Airlines, while Bill was in economy (company rules). I’ve got to say, having flown Lufthansa business class a bunch of times, Turkish Airlines has got it all over Lufthansa. I’ll write more about that in the coming days.

Perhaps this visit to Türkiye didn’t require me to stretch quite as much as my trip in 1996 did! Nevertheless, I did learn some new things. So, although this series is not likely to be as full of photos as my series usually are, I think I’ve got some new things to share. I hope you’ll join me as I write up our quick jaunt to Istanbul. I didn’t do as much as I would have wanted to do, but I think now that he’s been to Turkey and seen it for himself, Bill can be persuaded to go back. I hope I can get him to visit Cappadocia. We’ll see…

Anyway, I’ll probably get cranked up with this series tomorrow. Tonight, I’ve got some chores to get done. See you then!

Hessen

Anniversary #23 at Villa im Tal…

A whole lot has gone on since I last posted in this blog. The biggest thing is that my husband’s fifth grandchild was born on Monday. She’s tiny, but feisty, and very beautiful. The next biggest thing, of course, is that we’re celebrating anniversary number 23 today. And to be honest, we were kind of “meh” about it, mainly because there’s so much happening right now.

My husband’s new granddaughter is a big thing, but so is everything in the news… and the fact that tomorrow, Bill and I are both flying to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. He’s going there to work, and I’m tagging along. I’ve been to Istanbul before. It was about 30 years ago! But even the idea of going to to Istanbul is kind of overshadowed by everything else right now! You’d think I’d be excited about visiting Turkey again, so many years later. To be honest, though, I’m thinking about how it’s time to put up the Christmas shit and hunker down for the holidays.

Anyway, because it’s our anniversary, we decided we should go out. And because Villa Im Tal always offers us excellent service, great food, and a relaxed atmosphere in a beautiful area, we decided that’s where we’d go. And they didn’t disappoint today. As usual, we had wonderful, warm, friendly service, and we spent a luxurious afternoon enjoying delicious food in a gorgeous setting. In fact, they even gave us the prized table in the corner turret…

Right now, it’s goose season. Christmas is just around the corner, and Wiesbaden has already put up decorations. Since the menu had a lot of items that had mushrooms and truffles in them, Bill and I both decided to have the special goose menu, which offered delights that featured goose. Below are some photos from our amazing repast…

*Champagne for me, and a non-alcoholic house cocktail for Bill.*

I didn’t ask how much Bill spent on lunch, but I feel sure it wasn’t as much as what he spent on dinner at Pizarro Fine Dining last weekend! And this time, their credit card machine was working, so we won’t get a bill.

The very cool wine decanter that looks like a snake…

Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll board a flight from Frankfurt to Istanbul. It will take about three hours, and we’ll debark at about 8 PM Turkey time (two hours ahead of us in Germany). Then we’ll spend four nights in Istanbul. I’ll do my best to get some good photos, and Bill will work… and maybe we’ll do some shopping. It’ll be good to see Istanbul again since 1996. And I’m glad I’ll be there with Bill, who can share the memories. Today, more than most days, I’m reminded that we must enjoy the time we have together and never take it for granted. You never know when it will all be over on Earth.

Watch this space for my reports on Istanbul! Here’s to 23 more wonderful years with my Bill.

Hessen

Wine week in Wiesbaden… one last hurrah, and two rip offs!

Bill and I were trying to decide what we wanted to do today… when we were younger and less cranky, we might have decided to go to a place further afield, like Bad Homberg, or maybe Rüdesheim, which was having a wine fest this weekend. I’ve actually been wanting to go back to Rüdesheim myself, because I want to ride the Seilbahn. I’ve never done it before, and now is a good time to try it, before the weather turns to shit, as it usually does in September. But we didn’t feel like risking a Stau, and weren’t wanting to go far, so we decided to go back to the Wiesbaden Wine Fest, which ends tonight.

Overall, we had a good time. I drank lots of wine, and teased Bill, who didn’t drink nearly as much, since he had to drive. We ate good food and enjoyed the agreeable temperatures, which aren’t as bad as they have been lately, even if my house is still hot. We need rain very badly. But I know it’s coming, because the seasons are going to change soon. And, in my experience, they will change quickly.

We sat in a different part of the festival this time, and tried wines from three different Weinguts. We had different food, and I enjoyed a different public toilet. Sadly, Bill and I BOTH got ripped off.

It started with Bill. As it was mid afternoon, we required some food. He went off and came back with a fruit/cheese platter that was plenty of food, but not enough of what I wanted to eat. Bill had been talking about Langos, which is a popular Hungarian street food, that consists of fried dough topped with savory treats. Before today, I had never heard of them, but Bill talked them up. Then we saw someone with one that looked really good. So I told Bill I wanted to try one.

He went to the stand, very close to where we were sitting, and ordered me an Italian Langos– fried dough, tomatoes, mozzarella, balsamic vinegar, and paprika spread. It was actually delicious, but the guy who made it, ripped off about 15 euros from Bill by shortchanging him. Bill was pissed about it, but didn’t want to confront the guy. So I dispensed a piece of wisdom, which was “You don’t always need to be driving the karma bus.”

It’s true. When it counts, Bill stands up for his rights. He did sue our ex landlady, after all. This was a minimal loss, and we were having a good time… and that guy is going to be caught eventually. Last night, we booked five nights at the very nice Bareiss Hotel in the Black Forest, a place that guy will probably never get to experience. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal. I empathize with Bill being pissed, though. I just don’t think it needs to ruin the day, especially if it’s not enough of a big deal to say something about it.

Then I got up to pee. I paid the 80 cents with a two euro coin… I got change. Guess what? The “one euro” coin I got, came from Argentina. Yep… I got ripped off, too. I guess he saw me coming. Oh well. I took the coin and put it in my special foreign coin purse, which I bought in Istanbul, Turkey in 1996. It has coins from all over the world, as well as US coins that date back to 1880. No, a coin from Argentina doesn’t have monetary value in Germany, but having it provides me with a good story, which, to some people, is probably worth more than a euro. And I’ve never been to Argentina, so now I have a reason to go there, right? To spend my almost worthless two pesos, exchanged for a euro. The two peso coin is currently worth about .01 euro cent.

Anyway, we still had a good afternoon. This time, we had wines from three different wineries in the Rheingau. When we left, a lovely lesbian couple had taken over the table. They were doing what Bill and I always do when we buy wines to taste– trading the glasses. What a love language. The wine week ends tonight, so next weekend, I hope to have different photos. But for now, here’s what I have…

All in all, it was a nice afternoon, in spite of being ripped off. We learned new things. And, in the grand scheme of things, being ripped off twice isn’t a big deal. Because eventually, those guys will likely get busted, and we don’t miss the money, anyway. Next month, I will be writing about a legendary Black Forest hotel, after I get dental care. If you ask me, we are pretty blessed… as I write this, Elton John’s “Blessed” is even playing.

But I understand why Bill was pissed. No one likes to be a chump. At least he wasn’t alone today. 😉

anecdotes, Middle East, Türkiye

Blast from the past…

My body language says it all…

Yesterday was Throwback Thursday on Facebook. One of my friends wanted to see a photo of me when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer. A lot of my photos from that time period are in storage in Texas. However, I do have some pictures from a trip I took in June and July 1996. My friend Elaine and I went by bus from Yerevan, Armenia to Turkey and Bulgaria. Our first stop on our trip was in Istanbul. Even though Armenia borders Turkey, we couldn’t go there directly because Armenia and Turkey had no diplomatic relations. We had to access Turkey via Georgia, which was in itself its own adventure.

Northeastern Turkey is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever seen in my lifetime. It seriously looks like a fairyland. The above photo was taken not long after an arduous ordeal at the Georgia/Turkey border, just a couple of days after my 24th birthday. We were stuck at the border for most of the day and had spent a lot of time drinking vodka and waiting for the customs people and border guards to let us through. We’d been sitting in a big field near the border that was filled with wildflowers… and little piles of human excrement. Unfortunately, there were no bathrooms at the border, so many people had just copped a squat behind bushes.

Maybe an hour or two after the border crossing, we stopped for watermelon and more vodka. At this point in the trip, we had been traveling for maybe 24 hours. I was tired because I can’t sleep on buses… or at least I couldn’t in those days. It took another two days to get to Istanbul.

Our bus from Yerevan to Istanbul. About half of the seats were taken out to accommodate goods. This bus went from Yerevan to Istanbul every week and was mostly used by people buying stuff in Turkey to sell in Armenia. It was mostly empty on the way to Turkey, but was probably loaded to the gills on the way back.

The man in the first photo was an obnoxious Armenian guy who would not leave me alone. He kept grabbing me and talking to me. At one point, he commented on how fat I am. When this picture was taken, he was trying to bond with me. Just imagine… we’d been on a hot bus for more than a day. He hadn’t bathed, brushed his teeth, or used deodorant in some time (if ever). He was sweaty and reeking of cigarettes and vodka. In the photo, I’m cringing, yet still somehow able to smile.

Another shot of our watermelon break. Notice how the guys are squatting. I always called that the “Armenian squat”. You’d see men squatting like that all over the place. I’m sure people around the world squat like that, but I never noticed it as much as when I lived in Armenia. These folks were pretty nice to Elaine and me. We were the only Americans on the bus, so we were invited to the party.

Back when I was there, Armenians loved having their picture taken. When the guy in the photo saw me pull out my 35 millimeter camera with actual film in it, he insisted on striking a pose with me. I don’t remember the guy’s name or even if he told me what it was, but he was just one in a string of males on that journey who offered unwanted attention to Elaine and me. The funny thing is, we were both looking a bit scruffy during that trip.

Those were the days when I earned $5 a day as a Peace Corps Volunteer, so there was no money for anything other than the necessary and the practical. Moreover, Elaine actually loaned me $500 so I could go with her to Turkey and Bulgaria. After a year spent in 90s era Armenia, Turkey was like a modern wonderland. Aside from the sexual harassment, we had a fabulous time.

You might notice the raw spots on my legs. I think the wound on my left leg was caused by a shaving mishap. I was trying to shave in the dark (had no electricity in my apartment) and I accidentally skinned my shin. Both of my legs were also horribly chafed because a couple of days before we took off for Turkey, we attended a fundraiser for hungry horses at the Yerevan Hippodrome. The organizers let us ride some of the horses. I made the mistake of wearing shorts (which I NEVER did when I rode horses all the time). While in the saddle, I rubbed some of the flesh off my legs. Despite the injuries, that remains a great memory for me, because it was the first time I’d been on a horse since 1990 and I found I could still ride with relative ease.

I have wonderful memories of cantering effortlessly around the ring on a stallion, the very first one I ever got to ride in my lifetime. That experience was well worth getting chafed legs. I remember the guy asking me twice if I knew how to ride. I have never been obviously athletic. I promised him that I did know how to ride a horse, so he let me go. People were surprised by my skills; most of them didn’t know I practically grew up in a barn. Sadly, since that day, I have not been riding. I have also not done any other three day bus trips on no frills transportation. I can’t say that is my favorite way to travel, but it was definitely memorable and special. I’m glad I had the opportunity. I’d love to go back to Turkey now that I’m married. 😉

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: Turkey

Our Thanksgiving meal at Maison d’Amer in Hofheim…

Ten things I learned in Istanbul (this time)…

A quick jaunt to Istanbul… (part three)

A quick jaunt to Istanbul… (part two)

A quick jaunt to Istanbul… (part one)

Anniversary #23 at Villa im Tal…

Wine week in Wiesbaden… one last hurrah, and two rip offs!

Blast from the past…