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36 Hours Later…

Saturday, October 21st, 2006

So we took the train from Istanbul to Athens… which normally wouldn’t take 36 hours but of course, we had another adventure. As we got off the train in Pythion (Border between Greece and Turkey), we had to change trains. But guess what? John dropped his camera on the train… now, if you were reading earlier, John’s camera is actually broken so it shouldn’t really matter right? Wrong, there’s probably over a gig of pictures in the card that is in his camera! Sooooo, we asked the people at this little train stop to see if there was anything they could do. At first they told John that this was an issue for the Police. Of course, you send a sweet little girl in like me and we can get different results :).
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So, I went in to ask if they could call the train and see if they could find it and sure enough, they found the camera and said that they could bring it back for us on the next train! Whew! There was only one catch… the next train didn’t come for another 12 hours… at 2am. SO, after the train that got us there left, all the people who worked in this little train stop also left… leaving John, me, a stray dog, and a bunch of frogs as the only living things in this little town. Tick tock tick tock… 12 hours is a long time where there is absolutely nothing to do. John and I passed the time by catching bugs and feeding them to the frogs… it was actually quite entertaining. It was actually really cold at night and John and I shivered ourselves to sleep on some benches.
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When 2am finally rolled around, the camera arrived safely and we were put on the sleeper train to Thesoloniki (Where we had to change trains for Athens). All in all, we made it here ok. It’s a lot warmer than Pythion and definitely less dodgy. Due to our little set back, I think we might need to take Venice out of our schedule… does anyone have any opinions on that? It’s just the furthest one out of the way but is it a MUST SEE destination?
I will try and do the picture thing when I have free internet again.

Canadian Adventures

Thursday, October 19th, 2006

We met a couple people from Canada at the hostel (one guy is from Edmonton!) as we all went to the spice market (small version of the grand bazaar but with more spices and foods and what not). We spent all day practicing our bartering, and we actually had people going down considerably on their prices! We didn’t actually buy much but it was still fun. I was also fun to have some different company all day.

After the market we went and checked out Agia Sophia Mosque today and checked that out for a while. It was a lot bigger than the Blue Mosque but there was a ton of scaffolding in the middle because they were restoring the ceiling.

John and I went down to check out the coast after… very very nice. There was a lady climbing on the rocks posing for a picture, which her husband was taking, and she fell in the water! She took it quite well but I felt so bad for her… that water isn’t exactly nice. Still it was quite a sight to see! ANNNYYYWWAAAYYY… we ended up going to dinner with the guy from Edmonton and then taking in some delicious Turkish desserts.
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It will be sad to leave Turkey tomorrow but the trip must go on!

I just tried uploading some pictures but I can’t figure out how the heck to make the appear… anyone use bootsnall before?

Enchantıng Whırlıng Dervıshes

Wednesday, October 18th, 2006
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Well, we just got back from the Whirling Dervishes Ceremony. The music and dancing was quite enchanting... almost hypnotizing. It was quite a sight to see and I'm glad I got a ... [Continue reading this entry]

Damnıt, I Jinxed It

Tuesday, October 17th, 2006
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Of course right after I mention that we've had enjoyable whether, John and I get a day of drizzle. To make matters worse, the train from Bucharest took a little longer than ... [Continue reading this entry]

The “People’s” Palace

Monday, October 16th, 2006
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So John and I went to the second biggest building in the world yesterday. The Parliament Palace in Bucharest is Ginormous! Very impressive, with marble everything, huge chandeliers, 1-tonne curtains, etc., etc. etc.... ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Fall of Communism

Saturday, October 14th, 2006
Hello all, We made our way to Bucharest today with a big group of backpackers. It was kind of funny though... we were going to catch the bus to the train station so we all went to the bus stop and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Dracula Dracula

Friday, October 13th, 2006
Hello all, We are now in a town called Brasov... it is a very nice town nestled between some reallllly nice mountains. The temperature is DEFINITELY colder here. It is a little more developed than any of the other places in ... [Continue reading this entry]

In Romania

Monday, October 9th, 2006
Well, I guess I couldn't get any time away from John since.. well, there isn't really a lot to see or many places to stay here. Satu Mare is pretty much a working town where people work to live and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Off to Romania

Thursday, October 5th, 2006
Well, the stay in Vienna was very short but when we found out the train ride to Satu Mare (Romania) is over 20 hours, we decided to get an early start. So, I'm guessing there won't be a post in ... [Continue reading this entry]

Vienna Vienna

Wednesday, October 4th, 2006
Well, we've made it to Vienna this morning at 6am... I guess there's not a lot open at that time but we found a nice little coffee shop called Andreas Blocher (sp??) and had a small breakfast and sat for ... [Continue reading this entry]