We're just back from Istanbul, but these pictures are going to be chronological, so today's blog entry won't quite get that far. We leave tomorrow morning for Nafplio, so the I'll start posting Istanbul pictures and info Monday evening.

Sorry to have such a hideous image as the first picture, but it's what struck me first. Look closely: the WC sign is appears to be pointing into the trash pile. It struck me as funny.

For our trip to Istanbul, we first took a train to Thessaloniki,

Greece's second largest city. We had a few hours to see some of the city. Kim bought a map at the train station, we left our bags in a locker at the station and off we went. The picture of all the trash piled, as well as the unique building are just a couple of the many varied views. There's no way to get to know a city in a few hours. I'll say the same for spending a few days in Istanbul, or a few months in Athens. What we really come away with are "snapshots."

The train ride to Thes. was something. We had chairs facing two other people, so less leg room than most of the other seats on the train. Across from us: grandparents taking a 2-3 year old for the weekend. He was fine, but didn't make it more spacious.

This major pedestrian promenade is lined with coffee shops (including Starbucks), restaurants (including TGIFriday) and shops, and runs all the way to the sea.

The Athens train station is much smaller than you'd expect for a city this size. What's more, when I tried buying the International Herald Tribune at 3 different kiosks around the train station, none of them had it. Clearly they don't get many English speakers buying papers there. The kiosk on my little suburban corner carries it but the ones near the train station don't.

Ever wonder about US cultural exports? How about this kids' ride.

We had dinner in Thes. at a restaurant on a quiet sidewalk. We noted that the cost was less than what we've paid for comparable food in Athens. Kim says it was one of the best meals we've had.

We got on our Turkish train to depart at 7:40, and it pulled out right on time. We had a private compartment with two seats. You fold down the
seats and they make a lower bunk. An upper bunk pulls down from above. The room locked and had a sink (non-potable water) and a mini-fridge. The toilet was down the hall. A guy came by and provided us with sheets and pillowcases. We made our own beds.

This is a tourist boat in Thess.

On the train were people from the US, Canada, Greece, Turkey and Romania. There were probably other countries represented - those are just the passports I saw.

This was the restaurant in Thess. where we ate. I was trying to get a shot of all the kitsch inside.

We spoke with a Greek woman on the train who makes the trip regularly. She said we were wise to book the Turkish train. Though she is Greek, she had to admit that theirs were the better trains (we were to find out for ourselves on Wednesday).

As we got on the train, a man showed us to our cabin and kept our tickets. He told us he would return them to us in the morning. It was OK, but I wished I would have separated the return tickets and kept those, just in case.

We were awakened (as we knew we would be) somewhere around 3 a.m. for the first of two passport checks - the first on the Greece side. The officer knocked on our door, asked for our passports, flipped them open to check the pictures, then looked at us to see if we "matched." Then he took our passports. Forget about having our tickets kept, this was more nerve-wracking. After about 30 minutes, he returned and gave us back our passports.

The train pulled out and about 30 minutes later we were stopped again, this time on the Turkey side. The difference this time was we would need to purchase a visitor's visa (as we knew we would). I went to a little shack of a place where a man straight out of central casting was seated in a small "office." He was unshaven and smoking a cigarette (Kim said he smelled of alcohol). The office had a small heater, a transistor radio and a single desk with a few chairs. He looked at our passports, asked me for 15 Euros each for the visa and told me to return to the train (again, he kept the passport).

A short time later back in the cabin, we were visited by "baggage check." A guy came buy asking to see what we had. He didn't really do much checking. I suspect smuggling was not an issue, or else Kim and I didn't match the profile. In any event, another half-hour or so passed, and our passports were returned to us, we closed our door and went back to bed for a few more hours.

According to what I'd read online, the train's scheduled arrival time was 8:05 a.m. but a great train travel website said that the train is regularly late, and not to schedule any appointments for 8:15.

We actually pulled into the station (picture on the left) at about 9:30. The Greek woman in the cabin next to us told us that was the "normal" time.

Now it's time for me to get to bed. I'll blog about Istanbul next week.