Sunday, May 1, 2011
Overnight train through Bulgaria to Istanbul, Turkey
This is the morning of May the first, though it still seems like a continuation of last night and our long rail journey.
we exited the train sometime between 10:30am and 11:00am and said goodbye to a family that we had met on the train. Walking down the track to the front of the Sirkecki train station we passed a fancy restaurant called 'The Orient Express', so named as this Istanbul train station was the legendary terminus of the old time steam locomotive train with its luxury coaches that comprised 'The Orient Express' and represented the leading edge of elegant travel from Paris to Istanbul, Turkey. The stuff of legends, and famous novels, outmoded for years now since the '30s by aircraft. We took a picture as a tribute to our journey that traced the route of the trains of that bygone era.
Knowing that businesses in general and taxis in particular do not accept Euros as monetary unification with the Eurozone is still several years away, we stopped at an ATM in the train station to get some Turkish Lira. A Cab driver grabbed us, rather than us grabbing a cab, (our first taste of the aggressive business style of Istanbul) and we were off to our hotel about 10 kms outside of the city core where we arrived. The hotel has a shuttle that we will use each day, so it will be no inconvenience. Driving at a relatively sedate pace, we arrived easily at our hotel after a fare and tip of 30TL.
Checked in with Ibis' customary efficiency then had lunch at the hotel. Over lunch, Jan and I looked at each other and said 'You look like how I feel', and it was true. Exhausted, we went back to the room and rested until dinner. Then, after a light dinner, back to bed and a good sleep until morning. No touring or exploring today, we needed the rest.
