Hannah's Birthday!

Trip Start Aug 25, 2008
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Trip End Aug 25, 2009


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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

So today was the big day. Hannah was turning 25, and we were going to celebrate in style. We woke up and had a great breakfast, gathered up our belongings and said goodbye to Sophia. We walked for about 45 minutes and found out that we had missed the commuter train to Plovdiv by about 5 minutes. The next train, unfortunately, was not for a couple of hours so we decided to wait in a little cafe. Not the ideal way to spend a birthday, although, I told Hannah that we have spend other birthdays doing far less than waiting in a train station in Bulgaria. She soon agreed and we started to enjoy our cafe experience. Luckily, this cafe -as most places in Bulgaria- sold beer and spirits. I went to grab a couple of beers for Peter and I when I noticed a bottle of something called Black Ram whiskey. Now, Hannah and I both enjoy whiskey very much, and we have tried our fair share of brands, but nothing was going to prepare us for this stuff.
I watched the grouchy gentleman pour out what he considered to be a shot into a plastic cup. He was using a tumbler that looked like it was straight out of communist times, that is to say it was made of tin or aluminum and severely dented, well used, and generous. The fact that we each got a glass of three shots of this liquid for less than 3 leva total (about 1.75 U.S. Dollars) should have tipped us off. I think I would be correct in categorizing this as gasoline rather than spirits, although, it did the trick and much merriment ensued.
We grabbed our train soon after and unfortunately we all had to sit apart for most of the journey. Bulgaria seemed to be a very poor country with dilapidated housing surrounded by farmland. There were some beautiful mountains and landscape, but the people seem to be very poor. We arrived in Plovdiv and grabbed a cab to our hostel; the Plovdiv Guest house. This place was really cool. It was situated in old Plovdiv, a city center that can trace it's roots back 7,000 years. When we arrived we decided to check out some places for dinner, and Hannah wanted to check out this restaurant called the Art Gallery. It was authentic Bulgarian food and very delicious. Hannah and I both had a lamb dish with vegetables and a rich tomato sauce. The table split several bottles of wine and after dinner, we decided to walk downtown and check out some sights. We were able to see a roman amphitheater in near mint condition, in the middle of the town square. It is such a strange thought considering the U.S. is so lacking in historical relics. We wandered down the plaza and then headed back home for a good nights sleep.
The next couple of days were spent mostly shopping and seeing historical sights. We went to several museums and art gallery's and enjoyed many of the sights of Plovdiv. However, after being away from home for almost a week we were ready to start the 12 hour journey back. It was mostly uneventful. Hannah and I picked up a bottle of Kahlua and Rum at the duty free shop, and we had to do the same process of getting on and off the train to go through customs. Once back in Istanbul, we were able to see the city walls, which date back to 3,000 years ago. It was a really awe-inspiring sight. The walls were completely intact for a few miles and you could almost imagine MehmettII's army advancing with ladders and catapults nearly 700 years ago.
Back in Sariyer, Hannah and I grabbed a couple of chicken sandwitches, called "tavuk doners" and headed home to shower and catch up on some much needed sleep.
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