Gallipoli, back to Istanbul (this time with Topdeck) and into Bulgaria!!!

Before dawn service ANZAC Cove

Manda freezing!

 The morning alarm sounded at 1030pm (pm that was); sleep totaling 1.5 hours. Rucksacks packed and lodgings triple checked for the essentials (passport, money, airplane tickets) the Peregrine Tour squadron boarded the bus ready to do battle. Our ANZAC 'battle' however wasn't with the Ottoman Turks at Gallipoli, rather the Turkish police at the checkpoints (yes there were checkpoints much like the airports with metal detectors and frisking!) and the freezing weather that prevailed (worsened as the day progressed - coldest at Lone Pine service at 10am). Luckily, for the other Peregrine troopers sleeping bags were provided as they were the only way to defend against the cold. So after crossing the Turkish line at the security gates we bunked down for the night in the grandstand were sleep was allusive! Dawn service, and similarly the Lone Pine service were certainly memorable and emotional experiences. Watching the sunrise on the ice cold looking water from ANZAC cove really put it all in perspective. Visiting Nana's mothers brothers headstone at Shell Green another moving moment.

Shrapnel Valley

Headstone of Trooper A. B. Robins

From Gallipoli Peregrine took us back to incredible Istanbul where the 2 week tour terminated and saw Manda and I join a slightly younger and slightly more school like Topdeck tour. Average age 27 which surprises me as I can identify far more <27 than >27? Maybe they are including the guide and drivers age?!? Could be that the younger travelers are the more boisterous... Anyhow I'm sure it will be an incredible experience traveling through eastern Europe, with or without them! Today we arrive in Sofia, Bulgaria's capital.

Upon entering Bulgaria you can't help but feel sad for these people, they haven't had much 'luck' in the past having been under Turkish rule for 500 years, Russian fighting, and then most recently (until the1990's) under communist rule its not been easy or equitable for their people. Not a wonder they win olympic medals for weightlifting, skiing and shooting! I suspect if wood chopping was an Olympic sport they'd win this too!!! Believe it or not, bass opera singers are another common product of Bulgaria!?!
Reading their alphabet is another confusion as it's our usual alphabet scrambled with reverse N's and R's, O with a horizontal line through then and an assortment of other interesting hieroglyphics!! Apparently two brothers dreamt it up in 600ac odd to help protect them against enemies (amongst a few other things I suspect) - would have worked a treat as I couldn't decipher a bloody thing! Currency is the Bulgarian Lev (presently 1€ buys 1.90 lev, 1$AUD buys about 1.50 lev. Local beer 500ml bottle costs 1.50 lev. Imported beers 2 lev, and that was at the Chinese restaurant! These cheaper prices are commonplace with their economy struggling a touch!
Would love to spend more time here but tours being tours we only get 1 day so that will be it!

The nursing home

Pammukale
Northward bound on the road to Gallipoli, today we lobbed in to Pammukale; home of the old aged and place where people walk on the amazing calcium carbonate formations (you'll have to google image search Pammukale). The hillsides covered in the previously bright, now dulled, CaCO3 was quite amazing, sadly with the 1000's of tourists daily walking on the formations the area has/is being degraded significantly (now brown, green, yellow as opposed to the crisp snow white it should be). Thats just Turkey for you!!!

As mentioned before, Pammukale is also home of the elderly (purely my observation!). The thermal water that brings the CaCO3 to the surface is also believed to have healing properties, and where miracles occur you can be assured that there will be elderly sick people hoping for a miracle... This was most evident at our fancy hotel, heavens waiting room. It was just like a nursing home complete with large light switches, wide doors, wide corridors, power points well up the wall; everything geared up for the aged. This was not limited to the rooms/fixtures/fittings but extended to the dining room/hall; complete with lift, puréed food and watered down peanut butter to list a few! Terrible! Needless to say Manda and I were the youngest there and at a guess the average age may have been closer to 70.

On a more positive note, today we're off to Ephusis to see it's ruins which from all accounts is spectacular!

Have a beaut long long weekend and a happy Easter!



Hello all- Manda here! B makes the turkey trip sound very dismal! It's actually not at all, and it's been great to see a country in such detail. Turkey has so many faces and is so diverse- poor and wealthy, modern and old, etc etc. Fascinating really, and it's quite a massive country too. Given this and it's almost third world nature, doing a group tour here has been the best idea- too big and unorganized and even a little intimidating for us to have done on our own. Sometime the drives have  been 5 or so hours, so it takes the stress out of doing that travel ourselves. Having said that, tours and the people on them can be challenging.

Getting tired of Turkish buffets but the principles of the food are good. Have enjoyed turkish pide / pizza, lentil soups, chicken kebabs and fresh turkish delight. Not so good were the mackerel sandwiches, pickles in cabbage and vinegar and the noodle sugar dessert thing we don't know the name of! Desserts in general not great, but apple tea delicious!

Had a day cruise in the Meditaranean sea on a little boat- swam but it was freezing! Went to see the underwater city but the water was too choppy. A lovely relaxing day though, one if my favourites. Not sure I'd like a cruise though, although i managed not to get sea sick.

Have visited lots of ancient ruins, including xanthos, aspendos,  Ephesus and the heirapolis of Pammukale. All fascinating and unique in their own way- amazing to see how advanced some civilisations were! They really thought in detail- even anti slip on the walkways in ephesus!

Getting close to the end if this tour but still have Anzac day in Gallipoli before we hop on our topdeck tour. A night camping out tomorrow so we can be there for the dawn service- cold cold cold but worth it I'm sure?! Will post the results.

Leaving you with a Turkish saying brad likes- one wife and you get a headache, two wives and your hair goes grey, three wives and your hair falls out, four wives better to die!

Love m xxx

Cappadocia: Turkey's tourism capital

Interestingly Turkey's top 3 ındustrıes are:

1. Automotıve constructıon (ıe Fıat, Renault, VW)
2. Textıles (sılk - quıte a fascınatıng process!!)
3. Tourısm!

Also ınterestıng ıs that the average Turkısh ıncome over a month ıs approx 1000 Turkısh Lıra (1 AUD=1.58TL at present). If you are a teacher or polıceman then your ıncome jumps to closer to 1500TL/month. Thıs ıs reflected ın prıces generally when you shop ın theır local shops; tourıst shops generally dont reflect thıs to the same extent and you wıll pay a sımılar amount for consumables.

In the last 3 days here ın Cappıdocıa (central Anatolıan Turkey) we have seen and explored the fascınatıng fairy chimies, had tradıtıonal Turkısh massages on hot marble (Chrıs and Manda dıd anyway), experıenced a mouth waterıng home cooked meal at a locals home, belly danced, made pottery on a kıck wheel gadget (badly), caught a horrıd vıral belly bug, walk walk walked and drank cup after cup of apple tea! The Turks, beıng the hospıtable people they are, gıve you apple tea or turkısh coffee at every oppertunıty possıble! Must loosen the purse strıngs?!?!

Another of Cappadocıa's specıalatıes/money spınners must be the hot aır balloon flıghts. From recollect the guıde saıd that there are over 30 companıes that fly ın Cappadocıa! Must be amazıngly profıtable when you consıder that each balloon can hold say 10 people and ıt costs €165 odd per person; thats €1650 per flıght. I counted 30 balloons up the fırst mornıng we were here and would guess they send up more than that! That would be €49500 per mornıng change hands (1 AUD = 0.70€)!!! Hard to belıeve that the average ıncome could be so low. Suppose that Turks dont own the balloons so the money doesnt stay here..... Incase you're wonderıng, we dıdnt take a rıde!

Leave here today and head toward the south west coast. Apparently we're vısıtıng an underground cıty whıch wıll be rıght up my alley!

Bored ın Cappadocıa

All the tour people are out gettıng a tradıtıonal Turkısh massage so I went for an hour plus run/explore! Fantastıc place Cappadocıa (Turkey); all these lıttle 'Faıry Chımneys' dug out of the softısh rock to make caves/shelters to lıve ın! Not sure I was meant to be there as I had dogs chase me and I dıd stumple across what appeared to be someones gear ın one of them but ıt was all part of the fun. No dog bıte so as yet no rabıes!!!

Brad ın gypsy hang out - quıte dark ın here and pıgeons lıve here also!?!

Wıll update on the massage when the women get back.

Ohş found thıs old local (ı guess local) woman carryıng her pıck and shovel.... I guess she'd been dıggıng her house out a bıt more??!! Couldn't help but to get a pıck of her... She also had a bıg angry dog...

Mad Ludwigs Castle!

Quick photo time! Manda's dream house, complete with CAVE! Yes, one room was made to look like exactly like a cave with staligtites/mites!
WOW! No wonder Disney modeled their palace off it!
From Germany, Munich, more precisely Fussen.

A word on jousting

Beware all who snore in youth hostels uncontrollably. You will be bed rail jousted. As this man found out. He received 2 sharp short blows-1 to the body and one to the head.
We have nicknamed him the Karate Kid....

Below is a reenactment the joust.
Alas, snoring only ceased for a few minutes.

Perhaps when the knight is jousted unconscious the noise would cease?!?!

Onto austria, namely Innsbruck!

Swiss Alps continue to follow, surround and intrigue me. Interlarken first and now Innsbruck and all the 4 hour train trip here! Not hard to see why looking at the maps at our 300 year old accommodation; hotel Gasthof Engl; our great dividing range is not a patch on these fellas!

Innsbruck has thrown everything it's got at Manda and I, hot sunny weather for a day, freezing cloudy weather the next (later clearing cloud revealed crisp new snow) and today rain and very low cloud (altitude here a mere 500m, hills within kooee 2500m+++).

vıew over Innsbruck frım Skı Jump

Did the equivalent of a Maori hungi experience here in Innsbruck less the food (as we are getting tight). The otherwise helpful man at the info centre told us the venue was walking distance from our accommodation, and I guess it was; considering this, Our next destination Salzburg could well be within walking distance! It took an hour to get there! Lucky I moved Manda out the door early!

Tradıtıonal tırol evenıng

The delightfully traditional Tirol highland folk did a bit of yodeling, dancing/jigging, played their local instruments and fed us up one free beer so we were suitably impressed. Nearly as impressive was the beer carrying waitress-30 pints on a tray above the shoulder no worries! Wow!

More of a concern was the so called Swarovski Crystal tour. Put simply we were fleeced. I've been on the lookout for people looking to scam us since the day we arrived but this time we were caught! The tour man in a bus picked us and some lovely Indian smelling folk up and took us 35 min out of Innsbruck and dropped us off at this elaborate joint bearing all the normal, and then some, features of a tourist destination. Once inside we learned that the bus wouldn't take us home for 2 hours! There was no informative talk on their crystal, no free sample (which we were promised) and a really overpriced showroom and cafe! What there was was unimaginable, indescribable and completely insane! The nest description I can give is to compare it to some kind of Willy Wanka experiment gone terribly wrong. I'd have sooner given my 20€ to the statue impressionist outside the information centre. Nonetheless another tick in a box on our checklist! Incase you're now wondering the bus did eventually come and get us and take us back to Innsbruck and no, nothing was purchased after we complete the 10 minute tour. You have now been warned!
Off to Salzburg today, still havent seen Lord of the Rings or the movie that was made there but assume I will before the tour....

Lovely little lucerne

Hello all. Another train ride, another email! You won't get as many when we have a hire car I suspect!

Today we are leaving Switzerland and moving into Austria! Leaving lucerne and taking a long train ride of four and a half hours into Innsbruck. As we had to get rid of our last Swiss cash we hAd a feast of cream puffs and croissants and chocolate for breakfast. Then we had five cents left and I was busting to go the loo, but could only find one which cost two use francs,and so I had to wait!!!!

Lucerne was a pretty little place- a bit like Geneva but much sweeter. We walked the chapel bridge a few times, saw the lion monument, wandered the old town, and spent a lovely afternoon doing nothing- just sitting in a park eating toblerone mousse and raspberry pastries! That was quite special- stunning view of the alps over the lake and a cloudless blue sky. Nice to get something for nothing too- everything costs money!! Went to a pub on the river got dinner and a glass of wine. Asked for a house white and was horrified to later find out it was Jacobs creek semillion. A glass costing about the same as an entire bottle in aus. Bugger. Tasted familiar but crap.

Also had a beautiful picnic lunch by the lake with fresh local produce we picked up at the little markets. Had swiss cheese, including a green pesto cheese, and unpastuerised soft cheese, baby vine tomatoes, local salami, water cress and fetta on fresh baguette and then an apple strudel as well. Not as cheap as buying lunch in a shop but infinitely nicer and fun. Markets were the perfect way to waste away a spring morning and brad particularly enjoys checking out all the odd fruit and veg at the stalls.

Had a close call on the train today. When we arrived at the station a bit early a train was on our platform. Assuming it was ours, we got on and got comfy, then a minute before departure listened to the announcement, which advised us it was going the wrong way. Horror all over our faces!! I said to brad, wrong train, move now- we moved like lightning and just as we jumped off it pulled away from the platform. Shit! Lesson learned- check it's your train! Very apprehensive to get on when our train did eventually pull up!! Trains run to the minute so we should have known it wasn't ours!!

Last youth hostel seemed to be a dodgy add on to the Indian restaurant, but we were in a dorm room which we had all to ourselves, so that was something at least. BrAd sure the beds had scabies and refused to use the pillow or doona, but I protected myself with the sheets and appear scabie and lice free at this point. Terribly noisy street too but employed the use of Valium and some ear plugs and slept ok after that.

Into innsbruck today- again have no accommodation booked but appeared to be lots available online so should be right I hope. Really looking forward to Salzburg too, which is next! Plenty of things we want to see there so that will be great. From the train Austria looks like it will still have beautiful mountain views and the spring weather here in switzerland has just been beaut. Almost 20* and sunny sunny sunny!!

Love getting emails from home, so keep writing!!

Lots of love, M&b.