The tube that stopped the travel plans

Well, it wasn't the tube, but what they found out today in this magnetic thingy. So my shoulder is broken a teeny-weeny bit, not much, but enough to be stuck in Stuttgart some more. No moomin party in Riga with Elsis and our friends for me then. Not fair. :(
But I am able to chat again, and to meet my friends there again, and they had missed me. Nice. Gru told me to not listen to the doctors and just go on travelling. As long as I found nice males to carry my light weight backpack. Jejeje.
Not many more news from here, besdies this. Went to the new James Bond movie last sunday, Anna and Alex and Volker and me. Anna wanted us to go. Surprise, surprise.
Felix the cat is getting better by the hour. Me mostly as well. Volker has moved to his new flat. We found some great decorations for it at IKEA. Of course. And some pictures at the local museums and at ALDI, of all places. Since 2003 they sell art for 12,99 € the pic. Great stuff. We chose "Sonne" by Michael Fischer for his kitchen.
Oh, and the Xmas markets open up all over Germany today. In Vaihingen the local market will be open the weekend. The weather feels more like spring, though. Trees start blooming again. Weird weather.

Violence against women: Not a minute more!

November 25th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. In Germany, it's been thirty years now since the first women's house was opened to give shelter and safety to misused women in Berlin. Up to now there's more than 400 of those places all over Germany, the first opened by autonomous organisations, later by churches and townships as well. I helped a bit by giving clothes, furniture and more whenever I could.
Nicole Kidman helps - she's goodwill ambassador of UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women. (Yes, that's her in the pic.)
You can help, too, either call your local women's house (find them through this website)or check here!

Good news?

One week since those sad news about my arm and shoulder passed fast, and today I went to see my doctor again. It still hurts too much, and now I'll have to go to this other doctor who does Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Sounds awful! I only hope it will help to find I do not have to be cut and sliced!
So another week in Stuttgart, and another week of being a lefthander. Even chat is too hard now. Arrrrgh!
Anything nice to tell you? Hmmm.
Volker is moving out and found a flat of his own in the middle of Stuttgart after not even one week of searching. (Is this good news or bad news?)
Felix the cat is having tummy problems and is on Bach flowers medication now. Getting better.
The beaujolais nouveau is out in the shops since the third thursday of november (like every year), and I only found out today. (Good news?)
Oh, and on Wednesday Anna and I laughed out loud when watching "Men in Coats" on tv. Yesterday I found some websites with their award winning program. You can see for yourself here, and laugh your head off as well! Now this is good news for sure! :)

Sofia - Zagreb - Salzburg - Stuttgart

What a week! Great time in Sofia, then on tuesday on my way to the station I fell and hurt my shoulder and right arm badly (sigh), took the train to Zagreb, didn't feel better yet, so went straight on through the wonderful autumn mountains to Salzburg and Stuttgart.
The kids were slightly surprised to see their mother again, but welcomed me with hugs and kisses and helped me set up my bed - my arm still hurting like mad I couldn't well do it alone.
So now my travel plans are changed a lot, and I'm just staying at home to get well, as the doctor told me to. If my shoulder isn't any better by next friday, we'll have to check for worse and maybe operate some. Naaaa, I don't think so.
So it's quite some quiet time in Vaihingen now, reading and stuff, cos typing with one hand feels kind of weird. I'll have to work on my weblog later, then. Wish me luck and cross your fingers and toes I can still make it to Estonia on November 27th! :)

Crossing the Balkans

Another one of those nice sunny mornings with great views from Al's flat onto town and lake. Tume and I decided to ride through the autumn mountains to Skopje, do some sightseeing there, and then on to Ljubljana (she) and Sofia (me). My host Rositsa would meet me at 5 am in the morning, poor her.
The mountains were awesome, lots of snow at the bus stop half way to the capital. We arrived at Skopje coach station shortly before 4 pm, and then found the next minibus to Sofia would leave ten minutes later. So another change of plan and off at once in a hurry! Last hugs and invitations to California resp Berlin, and off I was!
So all I saw of famous Skopje was the stone bridge and the castle. :(
The ride through the dark landscapes in the evening was weird, empty highways with a few sheep or goats passing. I had no money at all left, but a few euros which of course nobody would accept. So I was invited to a coffee and even payed for when going to the toilet! My first word of bulgarian: "Mersi!"
At Sofia coach station Rositsa was waiting already (I had texted her about coming earlier), we took the taxi to her flat, and then had a wonderful evening, though I was rather tired after seven hours of travelling by bus. Nice hot soup and small salads kept me alive for some time, and then I slept safe and sound underneath the woollen blanket my host's grandmother had woven herself.
Today it's cold again, with quite a few sunny spells, and we're walking around Sofia center and admiring all the wonderful buildings, and the not yet great areas waiting for better times hopefully coming with the EU next year.
My cough is slowly getting better, but I decided to head westwards to sunny and warm Croatia soon. Tomorrow, maybe.

Lake, mountains, more views

Ohhhh, what a lovely day! We walked up and down the old roads of Ohrid from one spectacular place to an other. The lake was glittering in the sunlight, the air was brisk but not cold - just great!
In the evening we went to the second best restaurant (no table to be had at the best) and I treated us to some tasty macedonian dishes. Rakija (similiar to brandy) with tomato-cucumber-feta salad for starters, as is the custom.
Oh, got to go - the bus to Skopje will leave soon. :)

Ohrid with a view

Strolling around the cobbled streets of Ohrid yesterday was fun, inspite of the grey sky. The area north of the castle hill had this turkish feel about it, and no wonder with 500 years of turkish people living there. I really loved hearing the muezzin call for prayer around 2 pm close to the big bazaar.
My host Huriser was born and raised in Ohrid, she told me all about the best places to go.
Which I managed for some time, and then the rain started and it got really cold (next time I will not forget my gloves) and I went back to Al's flat for some catching up on the latest news on tv and some reading on Macedonia.
This morning Tume from Mongolia came by bus from Sofia, she will stay the weekend, so we can walk around some together and catch a taxi to Struga and/or St. Naums. A pretty little jewel of a place, this Ohrid. I wonder what investors will manage to make out of it...

Istanbul - Thessaloniki - Demir Kapija - Ohrid

Soooo many days without internetconnection :(
I hope you missed me.
Just a short note now to tell you I left beautiful Istanbul by night train on Sunday - last time hearing the muezzin calling for prayer, last view on the Istanbul skyline and coasts in sunset, last time enjoying the delicious food, and the warm hugs of Huriser and Selahattin.
Harisin met me at Thessaloniki station and showed me around his wonderful town and the world heritage sites. The weather was warm and sunny like springtime, so we sat outside the cafes at the seaside. Then a last tasty dinner and retsina, and off to Macedonia.
My host Davis joined me in the train and offered me his hospitality in the small, but lovely village of Demir Kapija. He's a Peace Corps volunteer and let me share his daily life with his ever so kind friends and neighbours.
It was a pity I had caught this awful cold which got really bad. I had to stay in bed when the festivities were going on to celebrate the liberation of Demir Kapija from the Nazis in 1944. Home made tea and honey helped me recover a bit just in time for David's birthday and the evening party. I missed the walk through the spectacular, natural heritage gorge, though.
Thursday my host accompanied me to the bus going from Negotino to Bitula, where I missed to visit Heraclea, but took another bus to Ohrid, the ancient town at the famous lake (world heritage). The landscapes I passed on the way were just amazing! Macedonia is a jewel of a country, and definitely worth another travel, preferably in spring or autumn.
My host here, Al, is a Peace Corps volunteer, as well. His flat is situated in the old town, high above the shore, beneath Samuel's castle. The view onto the town, lake, and mountains is sooooo lovely!
So a few days here, and then on to Skopje and a third host from Peace Corps and Hospitality Club. Or to the Croatian coast through Albania, as Al suggested? We'll see...

200 postings! Time to celebrate :)

My weblog ıs growing fast. Already 200 postings. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Mostly. Sometimes I'd rather go out and stroll around the places I travelled to than write about them. ;)
So thank you for being here with me! Hoops and Yoyo wıll help me thanking - click here!

Snow in Istanbul

Real snow! I looked out the window yesterday morning and - joy! - snow! :)
No trip by boat along the Bosphorus then. :(
So off to Kadikoy - by boat :) - to look for a jacket. (Again. I never give up.) No jacket on the anatolean side. Huriser found some nice trousers, though. So back to the european side and Eminönü, close to the Galata bridge. By boat. Always sitting in the small bar having a coffee warming up the tummıes and the freezing cold fingers. :)
From one shopowner ın Karakoy sent with best greetings to the other until finally I found my jacket! Red. Goretex (they say). A nice brand name on the front (which they say is just to show off). I bargained a bit and got it cheaper (still too much, I guess). But now Huriser got the coat back she had lent me all these cold and wet days, and I'm wearing my own. :) :)
The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the proof of the rain jacket in keeping the rain off. It did. So far.
Talking about puddıng: Being in Karakoy anyway we decided to have some börek and baklava in THE place to go and have them: 'Güllüoglu'. Ahhhh! Delicious!
So now you know what to do when in Istanbul. No, don't buy a jacket if you don't need one. (Well, I saw some lovely ones! Maybe you should buy one after all!) No, go to Karaköy and have some baklava! Or two! And bring some back to Germany and me, wıll you! :)

Too much rain to go out

>Except for a brisk walk to Akmerkez Mall - the best shopping center of europe in 1995 - and back, to look for a coat. I never give up hope. But didn't find one. Of course.
I rather stayed ın the warm and cozy flat, cuddled up on the couch reading in my hosts' guide on Istanbul. Such a wonderful book written by Çelik Gülersoy with love and enthusiasm. Thirty years ago, but history so far hasn't changed since, has it.
I got many answers to puzzling questions. For instance about the close relations between Turkey and France. I had wondered about some words like 'otobüsü' (guess what that might be), 'kuaför', 'sosıs' and 'şarkuteri'. Nice, hein! :)
Interested to know more about Istanbul? Check Wikipedia here! And envy me!

Riding along the coast

Sun, sun, sun again after so many grey days! Nergis texted me and offered to spend the afternoon together. She couldn't host me because her flat was being renovated. We met at the big Akmerkez Mall and decided to drive in her car up north along the shores of the Bosphorus. It was a wonderful idea!
First she took me to a restaurant at the university campus. From here we had the most splendid view across the green sea enjoying some tasty dısh she had chosen for us.
Then on for an hour along the coast up north towards the Black Sea, passing palaces and beautiful houses facing the Marmara Sea.
In the Sadberk museum, a private collection of turkish pottery, we spent more than an hour admiring the beautiful pieces. My wish to travel around all those ancient places and see the archeological sıtes grew a lot. I have to come back and do this trip around world heritage places ın Turkey and hopefully all along the mediterranean!
In the evening we called Huriser to tell her I would not be back for dinner, and went to Arnavutkoy to have some delicious fish dishes in one of the most famous restaurants of Istanbul: Adem Baba. Small place, but great kitchen!
Nergis invited me to come with her and visit some friends, but I had agreed on with Huriser to be back in the evening, and didn't want to stay in another part of the city for the night. So a taxi took me back to Ulus, just in time to help my hosts carrying in all the Thursday afternoon shopping.
Then a lazy evening at home talking about ways of life and raizing chidren in Germany and Turkey until after midnight. Today the sky ıs dark, there's quite some rain, and the temeperature dropped almost 10 degrees. A bit of an ugly time to go out to do sightseeing, but I would hate to leave Istanbul without having seen the Hagia Sophia from inside. So that's the first task of the day.
The second is to buy tickets for the Sunday night train from Istanbul to Thessaloniki. The week passed so fast! :(
But for now I still enjoy this great city. If you want to as well, click here!

Shopping centres

Cold outside, but no rain. Another perfect day to discover Istanbul strolling around the streets. The topic of the day were markets and shoppıng centres, starting from Akmerkez Mall close to my hosts' place through the busy streets of Taksim and Galata across the brıdge to the Grand Bazaar. Amazing!
Little delicacies at small streetshops and a coffee or tea from time to time helped us make it. The view onto Istanbul from the Galata tower was simply gorgeous! TV thought so as well and did a documentary when we were there.
And the labyrinth of more than 4000 shops in the covered market with all its colours, smells and hustle and bustle easy to get lost in. Don't worry: we didn't.
Considering all the food stores I was wondering how McDonald's had survived those last 20 years it's establishd ın Turkey.
Back home to a great meal of the fish we had bought at the Yenı Galata Brıdge and to rest our somewhat achy feet.
Now the sun is shining brightly agaın, and I'm off to the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophıa. They say the views inside are to die for at sunny days. :)

Rain and clouds on the Bosphorus

Just a short note to tell you I enjoyed my day in this wonderful city inspite of the heavy rain! Especially the trıps by boat to the Anatolian side. And the tasty food in the shops and streetmarkets, f. e. at 'Kadiköy Saray'. Even though I only saw others eating it, and had a coffee myself.
The streets were still decorated with lots and lots of flags and huge adverts from October 29th, a natıonal holiday in memory of the declaration of the republic in 1923.
More on the history of Turkey and national hero Atatürk you'll fınd here.