Istanbul, Turkey

After 7 days here in Istanbul (not including the 2 we had before we went to Olympos) we figure its time to share some of our experiences of the city so far. Since our first day we arrived and had our coffees paid for by a random old man in a little coffee house, we have been overwhelmed by the beauty and kindness of the Turkish people. Istanbul is a massive city with 13.5 million people (there is 22 million in all of Australia!) so there is always something going on. The city is spread over 2 continents, Europe and Asia, and most of our time has been spent on the Europe side.
We have enjoyed the change in culture, from waking up at 5.30am to the first light call to prayer from the Mosque next door to haggling with vendors everywhere, but especially the change in food. We have made good use of the street side food venders enjoying bagels, fresh squeezed orange and pomegranate juice, rice, honey churos, corn and doner kebabs all for 1 or 2 lira (50c-$1). I have loved the tea culture and the beautiful rituals of drinking tea throughout the day, once even served tea in the park. Morgan's mustache is always a favourite with the men on the streets who stop to comment or laugh and point as we walk on past. Today the men yelled out "famous man" as we passed a shop near our hotel which we pass most days.
We have explored the bazaar's and flea markets, rode the ferry to the princes' islands, admired the beautiful tiles and architecture, and taken so many photos on film.
-kim

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Our time here in Bulgaria has been a very different journey than we are used to. We have had a few extra days in both Sofia and here in Plovdiv than we usually allow in a city and these places are very small in comparison to other cities. Plovdiv has a rich history as a passage for the Ottoman and Roman Empires. In the middle of the Main Street there is ancient roman amphitheater ruins and amazing old building facades. We have had a kebab a day in preparation for Turkey and enjoyed taking our time exploring both the new and old city. The weather has warmed up, we have gone out without scarves for the first time in 2 months and are very excited to get to Turkey tomorrow after a long evening bus trip.
- morgan

Sofia, Bulgaria

Who would have thought that Bulgaria would be the country where we meet the most Australians around the world. We have had a lovely time meeting new people (most of who are Australian) here in Sofia and exploring the city with them. We are staying at a great hostel which is super cheap and gives us breakfast and dinner so our days cost about $10 for the two of us. Most people at the hostel are either going to or coming from Istanbul, so we have been getting very excited about Turkey. Most people are also only staying 1 or 2 days so our 5 days here has enabled us to catch up on skype chats and take it slow.
This city is nice and compact, so it is super easy to get around on foot, although the crazy footpaths can make it an adventure. We have had some amazing dirt cheap food, and are making up for all the meat and carbs we have had elsewhere, with some decent vegetables.
The markets here are fun to explore. One find, which you camera buffs might enjoy, was a special Nazi edition Gold Leica camera. We nearly bought a mini accordion for $20, but decided we didnt want to carry it. Our bags are bulging enough as it is. Tomorrow we head to a smaller town 2 hours from here called Plovdiv.
-kim

Belgrade, Serbia

Well once again we are down to our last 24 hours in a city. Tomorrow night we catch another night train to Sofia, Bulgaria. Our last night train was pretty good, we got a whole compartment to ourselves and were able to sleep a little too. Arriving in a city at 6am is always a strange first impression, but since that first walk across town to find our airbnb apartment, to now, we have enjoyed exploring Belgrade. It isn't the most beautiful city, but there is so much to been seen in the grey communist style buildings with beautiful architecture spattered in between.
Things here are cheap (for us) and we have appreciated the large meals and low costs. We even went to the cinemas the other night to see Argo (great film!) and it only cost us $2.50. The Danube river continues through Belgrade and we are fortunate our place is realy close to the Kalamegdan Park and Belgrade Fortress, which has a great view of the river. There are plenty of street vendors selling a little bit of everything. We picked up a 500 billion Yugoslav dinar from the hyper inflation of 1994. The sweet old lady who sold us this said "Makes super souvenir. Easy to carry and very cool", and upon purchase said "thankyou very much Mr Bill Gates". Amazing.
-Kim