Break in Istanbul

We just returned from a great week-long break in Istanbul. Below is a link to photos for those interested.

Istanbul is a fabulous city with a great deal to do. We spent most days wandering the streets checking out the many mosques. It seems that there is a minaret for each person in the city. We visited some cisterns and used the public ferries to catch the view from the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. We also spent time hopping between Asia and Europe.

When not getting our daily 10,000 steps, we lounged at too many local tea and Turkish coffee shops to count. We really enjoyed the Turkish coffee, at least once we learned not to drink the fine grounds at the bottom of the cup. Our gastronomic adventure also included eating some of the best food we've had since our trip to Peru. While kebabs are VERY popular (we even ate some, gasp!), being a vegetarian was extremely easy. Some of the best eggplant dishes we've ever had. And last but not least, Turkish red wines are yummy! We were introduced to some new types of grapes, our favorite being Okozguzu which means large bull eye (or bullseye) in Turkish. While not giving away exactly how much we drank, let's just say that our red wine fix was met.

Now it's 8 more weeks of work. Then we are off to Prague, Austria and Munich for winter break to do some cross-country skiing and more red wine drinking, of course!

https://picasaweb.google.com/coffren19/Istanbul2011?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Upgrading to Business Class--Uzbek Air Style

You're on your way to the airport, dreading the flight back home in economy class. No leg room, no food, and someone in front of you who MUST recline for the entire trip. "None of that for me this trip," you say to yourself. So, you decide to ask about upgrading to business class. You approach the ticket counter and ask for an amount. After consulting with the computer and his fellow ticket takers, he replies. Alas, the cost ($800) is well outside your alloted budget and you resign yourself to the fact that it's going to be another long trip home.

But wait! This is Uzbekistan Airlines and anything is possible. You decide to speak to the flight attendents as you board. "Is there a way to upgrade to business class?" you inqure. "Follow me sir!" she replies. And off you go to see the Business Class attendent who informs you that it is indeed possible, even at this very late stage, to upgrade to the land of luxury. "Take a seat!" she says with a smile, so you find a comfortable place in the empty cabin.

As you get comfortable and buckle your seat belt, the attendent arrives with the emergency landing "folder". She leans in close and whispers "100 dollars. Put it in here!". You extract the bribe, nay upgrade surcharge, from your pocket and do as you are told. The next time she returns, you wave the folder and offer your best thank you in Russian (Spasibo) and off she goes. Pillow, blanket, drinks and a hot meal of salmon, potatoes and green beans follow. Well worth the $100, you think, and enjoy the flight home.

But as you wait to depart, a little surprise awaits. As your fellow passengers depart on the right hand side, you are whisked out the other side with a special escort. You have no idea where you are in the airport but follow anyway. Your colleague, and fellow business class "upgrader", begins to worry, but you assure him that this must be part of the upgrade package. Then your escort takes your through security, the wrong way, and the metal detector dings and beeps. Now even you begin to consider that something not so benign may be happening. But the optimist in you wins out and you assure your friend that all is well.

"Down this hall," your escort informs you and you follow. "Now down those stairs," and again you go. "Now open those doors!" she says. You pull, but the door is locked. So you try the other, again locked. It seems that your friend is right and the next stop is the room with two chairs, a table and a naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling. But then, like magic, someone opens the doors from the other side. "Come!" he says and you go. As you go through the door, you breathe a sigh of relief as you are now first in line at the Tashkent passport control and customs line well before the other passengers on your flight arrive. And this alone, as anyone who has been through the Tashkent airport knows, is worth every cent of your 100 dollars