Just as we were waiting at the airport to fly to Istanbul we read that the Australian Government’s advice was to reconsider travel to Turkey. Too late, our luggage was already checked in!
At Istanbul we were met by online friend Heather. It was terrific to meet her and find out about her interesting life in Istanbul. She showed us around a little.
Over the next few days we explored all of the sights. There were so few tourists around that our hotel was almost empty, there were no queues or crowds, and we had our pick of tables at empty restaurants for each meal. It was actually quite sad. These people don’t deserve to suffer in this way.
Our Bendigo friend Heather joined us whilst we were there. We were so lucky with the weather which was mild and sunny.
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Well our trip so far seems to have gone like a whirlwind. We have been away for three weeks and I have not yet managed to post on the blog
We spent the first few days in Vienna. After travelling for about 34 hours in cars and airports and planes it was amazing to board the train for the trip into the city and see the countryside go by. There was a feeling of "OMG, we're FINALLY here!"
We stayed about 10 minutes walk from the old city and were able to walk in to explore each day. We were surprised at how sunny it was. Perhaps the Viennese were as well because although most of them were still walking around in puffer jackets they were enjoying icecreams and lying on deckchairs on fake beaches (sand pits) along the banks of the canal!!
On the second day (after a long sleep!) we met Elisabeth - an online friend of mine - and her husband. They were incredibly kind to show us around their city for two days. It made our visit very special.
We were struck by the number of very large impressive buildings but also by the amount of damage the Allies had done to much of the city during the war. We so rarely hear about the terrible things our own side inflicts on the "enemy", and it now seems so absurd that the "enemy" should include the Viennese.
We were also struck by how well the city prioritises tram and bike transport. There are specific and very safe bike lanes that are on separately paved areas from the road and have their own traffic lights. We could learn a lot from these people!
I still have not had time to thoroughly label and edit my photos so here are just a few.
(If there are no pics below, view my flickr gallery)
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* click the expander button in the thumbnail bar 