Europe 2014: Sofia #1

A short blog post because I can't sleep and I miss my family:

Our travel from Plovdiv to Sofia, I can happily say, was uneventful! Finally!!!!!! We checked into our 3 bedroom apartment in the center of the city and settled in. This apartment is really nice. Gramma totally scored with this one! It is a ton of space and is beautiful inside, minus the bunker- look to the outside of the apartment complex. Jan and Ralph will be here 3 nights and Gramma and I will be staying 4. We will then overnight in Berlin before heading back to America. I say "America" because when most people ask where we are from we say "U.S.A" and they look puzzled until we say...."America" and then they get it!

Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria and is much larger than Plovdiv. It is approximately a 2 hour bus ride from Plovdiv. We are located in the middle of a beautiful central area with historic monuments, churches, and many lovely restaurants. Our first night we enjoyed dinner at a local cafe called Cafe Wien. It was decorated in a venician style and was small and quaint. I had a salty pancake (crepe) with steamed vegetables and herbs. It was to die for. I ate every bite and still had room for dessert! We shared a piece of divine chocolate cake between the 4 of us and I had a perfect Mojito. Their Mojitos are wonderful here....fresh and not too sweet! Very refreshing as the day was quite hot and humid....perfect combination!

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Note: Adam is at "home" and has been visiting my family at the farm. My sister and her family are visiting and it was GREAT to FaceTime them and see everyone......it has been 2 months since I have talked or seen them ---- that is a long time. We've had a chance to FaceTime Adam's side because they all have iPhones, but my family, minus me, are android users .......so it was great to see them when Adam was up there.

I love traveling, but always miss my family. It always tugs at my heart when I miss out on family get together so and celebrations. An early shout-out to my sister and her husband who are about to celebrate 1 year of marriage on June 15th. Last year at this time we were all up at the farm getting ready for their big day. It was a perfect day! I am so happy for them and wish I could help them celebrate in person.....but I hear they are saving me a slice of cake ;) Here are a few shots from their special day!

And a couple of my cute nephew...just because I think he is the cutest ever! Aunt Kristin loves nephew Trent SOOOOOOOOO much:).........he had me at hello! Stole my heart!

Can you tell I miss my family?

Love,

Kristin Noel

 

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Europe 2014: Plovdiv

Plovdiv, the oldest consistently inhabited city in Europe! It is beautiful and a breath of fresh air after the busyness of Istanbul. Plovdiv is a quaint city at the center and the people are delightful. It has been subject to a number of disputes over it's many years, but still maintains a strong sense of pride. It has a lovely walking street that stretches many blocks with a variety of restaurants and local street food, ice cream vendors, and all manner of clothing and artistry shops.

Fountain built when Bulgaria became par of the European Union to symbolize unity.....known to locals as the macaroni fountain!

Bulgarian crest

Milo the Crazy - famous local

Whisper your dreams into his ear and they will come true!

Our entrance to Plovdiv, as you read in our last blog, was quite an adventure. Luckily, we made it safe and sound and with the majority of our sanity still intact. After our very eventful and very late night, we all slept in our first day to recoup from the stress of our travel the day before. We did have lunch-ish at a local cafeteria and I had something called vegetable marrow, which was a cross between a vegetable soufflé and vegetable lasagna. It was lovely. I also tried a unique beverage....a cherry soda. It doesn't sound very unique but let me explain........fresh cherries are abundant in this area of Europe so the cherry flavor was fresh. It was basically carbonated fresh cherry juice. It was really good!

Famous intellectual who was killed during the socialist regime....

Old town!

Later that day, Gramma and I went on a free walking tour lead by volunteers in the city. It was extremely interesting and took us through all the nice gardens, local monuments, and in the heart of Plovdiv (the old town). We ended our tour at a fortress on 1 of the 7 hills of Plovdiv right as the sun was beginning to set. The view was incredible!

Day 2 I got up and had an itch to run. The rest of the clan went in search of breakfast and I laced up grabbed my passport, phone, and a map. I ran through the center of town, down the walking street to the largest garden with the "singing fountains," ran to the clock tower on a hill, and then to the statue on the highest point in Plovdiv. It was utter bliss. Those of you who run know the bliss I am referring to. I think they call it runner's high, but this was almost euphoric. Climbing the hills and seeing the city on my own two feet was incredible and certainly a memory I will never forget. I was out for over 2 hours and got lost a few times, but it was adventure and it was fun! I spent some time up at the highest point in utter awe of the experience of the trip, the present moment, and the true awareness of the blessings that surround me here in Europe and back home in America.

After I came back down from my euphoric high, I cleaned up, did my last bit of laundry in the sink, and painted my nails. The majority of this trip I have been in, what I like to refer to as "travel garb." You know what I'm talking about...the travel pants and shirts, the scarf, the well worn and comfortable, but not always stylish shoes that are now well worn in and beginning to fall apart. The ones people look at first before actually looking at you...yea those shoes. You know, the clothing you wear for comfort, not fashion. Yea...I've been in that for 2 months. I wanted to feel pretty....so I painted my fingers and toes "summer-red!" I love the new look and I feel pretty :).

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at a local bar and grill and spent the rest of the day relaxing, reading, writing, and walking up and down the center street enjoying the culture of Plovdiv.....o and enjoying local ice cream while sitting on the well known button chairs! It was the perfect way to end a lovely day, our last full day in Plovdiv. Tomorrow we travel to Sofia.....our last stop!

 

"Plovdiv, I thank you for being calm, your kind people, your fabulous running trails, and your history. I have enjoyed my brief time in your lovely city and hope to return someday."

Blessings,

Kristin Noel

 

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Europe 2014: Istanbul #2

Our last 2 full days in Istanbul were great! We toured Hagia Sofia and the Topkapi Palace.

Hagia Sofia was incredible. Built in 537, it was originally a Greek Orthodox Church and later converted into a mosque. Hagia Sofia is now a museum and a main attraction when visiting Istanbul. It is full of so much history that as I was standing in the middle of the dome I looked up, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath in and effort to solidify this moment in my memory forever. It was breathtaking. There was quite a bit of restoration being done in the inside.

This historical site is now used as a museum and exhibits the general splendor of the building, but also wall mosaics and beautiful calligraphy. I have never seen so many beautiful and ornate pieces of calligraphy in my life. They are beautiful and unique at first glance, but the closer you get you realize they are extremely detailed. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting this ancient building.

After enjoying roasted chestnuts and fresh squeezed orange juice we visited the Topkapi Palace, the main residence of the Ottoman Sultans for 400 years of their reign. This is an extremely ornate palace with beautiful gardens. We were able to see examples of royal garments and the treasury, along with a variety of rooms and fountain areas. We enjoyed a lovely bowl of lentil soup at the restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus. The pictures don't do it justice, but they tell the story better than my words ever could.

As we were exiting the palace I saw an art demonstration going on and thought I'd take a look. I'm always into art. So I ended up trying it myself! It is called marble art and involved putting paint in a bath of vegetable oil and designing different figures using the viscosity of the paint and the oil and transferring it to paper. It was incredibly interesting and a blast to experience. Good day!!!!

Our last full day we went on an afternoon cruise along the Bosphorous. The Bosphorus is the area in Istanbul that separates Europe and Asia. This is a good time to tell you I added one more continent to my list of 'places I've been.' We travelled Europe and Asia this trip.

We saw dolphins :)

 

We couldn't have picked a better day, it was absolutely fantastic. It started with a lovely lunch and then a tour along the Bosphorous to the Black Sea. This area connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. I swam for a full 30 minutes or more in the beautiful, yet chilly, Black Sea! It was incredible and one of the highlights of my trip thus far. I spent the rest of the cruise on the very top deck gazing out over the Bosphorous in utter bliss. It was quiet....it was peaceful...it was truly a beautiful day. At the end of the cruise I felt a great sense of relaxation and true joy over the experience.

Note: I finally got up enough nerve to go running on my own in the morning and did our last 2 mornings in Istanbul. I ran along the edge of the water to the lighthouse on the southeastern corner of Istanbul. Both runs were incredible. My mom will probably freak knowing I was out running alone in the biggest city in Turkey, as was Gramma, but I felt safe and enjoyed them both. It was a great way to end my time in Istanbul.

Side note.....it will be nice to be back in a country where I blend in and don't get whistled at every time I go out or stared at as I walk by. Our hotel host mentioned as soon as we arrived in the city "don't worry about my people staring at you, you are different and they think you are interesting." I'm flattered, but it will be nice to blend in again.

As nice as the culture was in Istanbul, I am ready to leave. Istanbul....it's been great!

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"The Tale"

My moto from the great Allin Sorenson (Drury singers director in college)...."traveling is an adventure"..................I will never forget his moto and this is why:

{ After a great morning run and workout we packed and headed to the bus station.....destination: Plovdiv, Bulgaria. We arrived at the station early and they checked our bags, gave us tickets for each bag, and then, when it was time, we loaded the bus. The trip was fairly easy aside from an extremely long passport control at the border.

We finally arrive in Plovdiv...on the side of the road (the bus station...haha) and realized.......our bags didn't make it on the bus. Istanbul is easily 6 or more hours away. What do we do, where is our luggage? So after much difficulty with communicating.......I felt like we were playing a very complicated game of charades, we were told we were all going to have to go back to Istanbul to get our bags and pay for the tickets...each way.....AWESOME!!!! So after the kindness of the folks at the station they agreed to put our luggage on the next bus and we could grab them off when it goes through Plovdiv on its way to Sofia,...........IF our bags pass baggage control which means they can't contain drugs, alcohols, bombs (we were honestly warned for each of those)............o yea.....medications count as drugs.

So I stupidly packed my birth control pills in my big bag that morning so they might have confiscated them in their check..o great!!! Here's to family planning. After an hour of waiting to hear if we passed control they said "ok" and supposedly sent all 5 bags on the 8:30pm bus from Istanbul which arrives in Plovdiv around 3am. Yes, we took a cat nap, woke up to *hopefuly* get our bags off the bus with or without our medications.

1:40 comes and we pile in a taxi..the bus was to arrive at 2:20am. We waited.....and waited....and waited....and finally, 30 minutes after their expected time, they arrived! We were all tired, anxious, and just plain fed up with the day and the situation. So the extra wait time increased our anxiety even more. What if they don't stop? What if the bags aren't there? What if some bags arrive and the others don't? What if they confiscated my medications? What if? What if? What if?............

So the bus DID arrive and it DID have all bags and ............my medication was still in my bag!!!!! Hurray........I just lost 100lbs of weight I've been carrying since we found out our bags didn't make it on the bus the first time. After searching to find out what "pills" didn't make it......they confiscated Gramma's unlabeled vitamins, Jan's labelled Pepto Bismol and Imodium......and NOT my labeled birth control!!!! Yay!!!!

Note to self: "always keep your prescriptions on person...just in case!"

So we came back and crashed. It is now about 1:30 in the afternoon and Ralph is just now getting up for his coffee. We are happy to have mostly all our belongings and a good sleep under our belt and most importantly that day behind us.}

Now......ready to enjoy the beautiful city of Plovdiv.

 

Blessings,

Kristin Noel

 

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