Haggerty In The Hague

In mid-November we joined four of our friends to explore the city of Istanbul!  We were very excited about this trip as we had heard such great things about the city and its culture.  We arrived on a Friday evening after a long day of traveling and decided to explore the city by foot before we grabbed dinner.  We were able to get some great pictures of the major sites at night, and it was a good primer since we were going to tour many of these sites during our trip.

Blue Mosque at Night

After sightseeing we got to have one of our many delicious meals during our trip.  Mediterranean influences meant we had lots of stuffed grape leaves, lamb, hummus, and other amazing things.  The first night we had food that came in clay pots which were broken to reveal the meal.  Its was SO good (although you did have to watch out for the bits of clay!).

Our food came out in these clay pots. They broke open the pot to serve us the meal

We went out for a few drinks after our meal and then went to bed to prepare for our first day of real touring.

On Saturday morning we arranged a boat cruise along the Bosphorus Strait.  We began by taking a bus up to Pierre Loti, which was a lookout point that was name after a French novelist who used to write there.  We had great views of the city, although it was very foggy so it could have been better.  Definitely unique to have Turkish coffee atop the hill though (little known fact:  if you can read the pattern leftover from your grinds in your coffee to tell your fortune)!

Matt and Jeff having Turkish coffee atop Pierre Loti

After taking in the view we began our boat tour.  We started by touring the European side of Istanbul and then turned around and made our way down the Asian side (first picture in the post is from this tour). This was really neat because we got to see a lot of the city that we wouldn’t have gone too except for this cruise.

In the afternoon we made our way to the Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar.  The spice market was incredible-  so many colors and so many different spices!  We ended up getting some Iranian saffron and some Turkish Delights there.

Spices in the Spice Market

In both the Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar the shop owners constantly stopped you and asked you “You want to spend your money?  Come into my shop.  I can help you.”  Haha  This was a bit annoying, but it was worth it to be in that atmosphere for a bit.  In the Grand Bazaar we did a bit of rug browsing-  we saw some absolutely beautiful rugs there, but did not end up buying one (although we probably should have).

Later that afternoon we decided to try some Hookah at the local bar.  No worries- only smoking dried fruits but it was a great experience.  That night we ventured to Taksim Square which was the center of much of the nightlife in Istanbul.  We had fun exploring some of the different bars and restaurants in the area (one in particular had a drag queen singer!).

The next day was our final day of sightseeing and we went out in full force.  We hired a tour guide who provided us all of the history and interesting details of each of the sights.  We saw the inside of the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome area, Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, and the Cistern.  So many places and so much history!  Out of all of these I think Hagia Sophia (or the Eye of Sophia) was the most interesting.  It was originally a Christian church, but when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople, it was converted into a Mosque and most of the beautiful mosaics were plastered over.  This plaster is now coming off today and revealing many of these mosaics.  It was fascinating!  We took many pictures at each of the sites and all can be found here.

Egyptian Obelisk

Inside the Blue Mosque

This is an example of the christian art in the Hagia Sophia- it was all gold crusted mosaics covered over by plaster from the Ottoman Turks

That night we had another delicious dinner down by the harbor.  It was incredibly fun and seemed very traditional.  We were served Raki (a digestif/appertif very popular in Turkey) and had musicians playing for us in the restaurant.  We then went to our favorite bar right near our hotel (the bartender/owner was actually from Richmond!).  A great way to end our trip!

Overall I think Turkey was one of the most interesting trips that we have done so far due to the cultural differences that we experienced.  The call to prayers went off every day, five times a day which was something most of us had not heard before.  The food was very different but extremely delicious!  And the city was beautiful.  What more can we say-  we need to go back to Turkey another time!

View atop Topkapi Palace

The whole group - Jeff, Matt, Lindsey, Erik, Katie, and Chris - outside of the Hagia Sophia

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Ad for Altenahr Wine Festival

In October, as the leaves started turning from green to brown in the Netherlands, we decided to leave the country to find some good old fashion fall colors.  We took the train from Den Haag to Cologne, and from there took the regional train down to the Ahr Valley.  The Ahr Valley’s main attraction is the wonderful “Rotweinwanderweg”, or the Red Wine Hiking Trail.  This 35 kilometer (21 mile) long path winds through the vineyard terraces and connects the winegrower’s villages in the “Valley of the Red Grape”.  The plan was to start in Altenahr, at the westernmost point of the trail, then hike our way eastward until we reached the town of Ahrweiler.

Lindsey looking at the trail map for the Red Wine Hiking Trail

We found a hotel in the town of Mayschoss, which happened to be having a wine festival that weekend.  This small town, with a population of 1000, must have tripled in size that weekend for the numerous tourists coming to taste the wine.  They had plenty of wine caves and tasting rooms to accommodate the wine purchasers.

One of the many wine cellars around the region

Upon arriving late Friday night we headed out to grab dinner at a local restaurant, but forgot to bring our German dictionary.  The menu was entirely in German and the waiter didn’t speak any English, which made the experience that much more interesting.  The next morning we got an early start in the town of Altenahr, then began hiking eastward.

A typical view in one of the many small villages we explored. This one is Altenahr.

The trail took us high up on the ridge lines, down to the local towns, right through the middle of the vineyards, and through wooded forests.  Every turn surprised us with another fantastic view of a little town.

Many of the villages we passed through were small, picturesque villages. This one is Mayschoss.

We stopped plenty of times to take scenic pictures.  Working on my modeling career here.

Posing, amongst the vines

There were plenty of stops along the trail, with the local wineries offering tastings for cheap prices.  We often stopped to try out the Spatburgunder and Fruhburgunder wines.  They always asked if you wanted the trocken, halbtrocken, or suss wein - translation: dry, half dry, or sweet wines.

They had wine tastings set up along the trail, and let you buy the bottles directly from them.

We found the quality of wines in the region to be fantastic, especially the slightly older and more expensive wines.  We ended up buying (and hiking with) 6 bottles, most of them Spatburgunder trocken wines.

This wine is called "Spatburgunder", which basically means a late harvested burgundy grape. Delicious!

The colors throughout the hikes were gorgeous.  The red grape leaves had started turning color to red, while the white grape leaves had started turning color to yellow.

The colorful changing leaves and delicious grapes

We ended our trip by hiking into the beautiful walled city, Ahrweiler.  This town had plenty of areas to explore with numerous restaurants and shops.

We ended our trip by hiking into the town of Ahrweiler, an old walled city.

This was a fantastic trip, there might need to be a repeat next fall!  Click here to see the entire album of pictures!

Fall, Germany, Travel, Wine