(I immediatly started to think about myself now compared to now. Back in 2004 I thought was smarter, but now I know more than before. Back then I wanted to see tackle the world that I don't know about; today I want to improve the world that have in my hands by seeing the places I have not.)
Demirhan and I are both going through similar changes in our lives. He is about to quit his great engineering job and will be moving to Berlin in the fall to get his MBA; I quit my great journalism job in June and now head to law school in one week.
(Aegean Sea)
I think we both seemed much older than the last time, just as we did in 2005, when we compared ourselves to the day he left in 2001. And just like in 2005, I didn't cry like I did in 2001 but I know that we will see each other again. I hope to travel to Berlin next March over spring break and he has even talked about coming to the U.S. in a future summer to see all of his family and friends.
So our stay included him treating me out to some great Turkish cuisine, touring famous sites on both the Asia and Europe side of Istanbul and laughing endlessly. We visited the Bosphorous again on Sunday and the XXX Palace, which included seeing Moses' stick, Prophet David's sword, and Mohammed's footprint and beard. (Pretty Cool stuff. I don't think I have ever seen a man made object that is 4000 years old.)
I was going to stay another night, but he had to work all day on Monday and I didn't want to take a day train for 15 hours when I could take a night train for 12 and arrive to Thessalonki at 9 a.m. this morning. The train cost me 40 dollars despite having a rail pass through the Balkans, which kind of sucked. But it was good cause it would have cost 120 without the pass I had bought in June and I was lucky to get my own two bedroom cabin.
I had plenty to read and I bought both "Yes Man" "Vicky and Christy Barcelona" from a bootlegger in Istanbul and Demirhan gave me "The Reader." I figure I will watch them over the next few nights as I expect to take 1-3 more night trains back to Budapest.
Anyway, I wrote the first half of the post on the train right before I arrived the Greek Border. Here is the second half about my experiences in Thessalonki.
After watching Reader, sleeping for about eight hours and being woken up at both the Turkish and Greek border by passport people with masks (to prevent SARS, Swine Flu and whatever else), I finally arrived to Thessa around 10 a.m. local time and toured the city. IT is currently 4 p.m. local time and met with a pair of Turkish girls and a Greek guy after visiting the childhood home of Ataturk, the founder of Turkiye. We have been traveling throughout the city and are at a coffee shop drinking the Greek's national drink, a Frapp like a frappochino.
the masks are probably to prevent the passage of the dread cooties. Have you discovered the glaks yet?
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