Update on me!

So,


I'm still alive and have been having a few adventures here and there....just been too busy to get on here lately!  After I returned from my Norway trip, I rolled right into Christmas vacation, which rolled right into my awesome, beautiful and amazing wife coming to visit for a few weeks, which ran right into me starting Turkish class and one of my Master's classes!


But, now that I'm in Oberammergau, Germany again (blog to follow:), I found some time to sit down and supply a few updates!  Work has been same 'ol same 'ol...not much going on there currently.  But last I left you, I had just finished my first Germany trip and was heading to Stavanger, Norway....Here is that story.

Our team in Stavanger, Norway....3 Americans, 2 Greeks,
2 Turks, 1 Italian, 1 Bulgarian...made for some
interesting conversations & sing-a-longs.

I met up with the rest of my nine-person team at Munich Airport, where our excitement began.  If you remember right before the holidays and the US Northeast getting slammed with snow...mainland Europe got dumped on.  This just happens to be when our trip to Norway began.  We flew into Frankfurt after a two-hour layover (pretty typical over here), but our next flight miraculously did not get delayed (in fact, they held the plane for the nine of us), so of course our bags did not make the flight.  We then arrived into Stavanger, Norway around midnight, where a nice Norwegian Navy cadet/recruit/youngster drove us to our barracks....yeah, barracks.  I've been a little spoiled staying in decent hotels everywhere I've gone lately, but they put us in 6-person basic training barracks...and mind you, this isn't US basic training barracks, but Norwegian Navy basic training barracks.  Luckily I only had a Bulgarian Captain and a Turkish Lt Colonel (my boss) in the room, neither of which were snorers (that would be me sans Sleep Apnea mask...I know mother, I know).  


Anyways, I was really looking forward to seeing Norway...I've heard it's beautiful.  From the VERY brief car rides in the dark, I can tell you that it's pretty at night.  Did I mention that the sun rose around 10:30 AM and set about 3:30 PM?  The sun basically is like a whale coming up for air over the horizon and then lowers back down for 19 hours.  Dumb.  We worked solid 12-hour shifts for 10 days (including weekends), and did a pretty good job I'm told.  We got coined by the Greek Brigadier General (1-star) and a Letter of Appreciation from the US Lieutenant General (3-star).

Almost-noon sunrise...Gorgeous but depressing at the same time.

Cloudberries! Whatever they are.

Let me tell you though, I could not WAIT to get home...But first we had to have some traditional Norwegian cuisine.  We had a five-course meal at one of the best restaurants in town on our final night, and this is where I ate Rudolph (or one of his cousins)...Reindeer sirloin is AMAZING. And the Cloudberry creme brulee was fantastic (whatever cloudberry is).  I don't think I mentioned it yet, but everything up there was CRAZY expensive.  To buy one standard Bud Light in the US at a restaurant costs what?  $3-5 maybe?  Yeah, for Norwegian (not imported) beer, it costs about $12.....for one....not a pitcher....one 12 ounce beer.  Maybe that's why they don't have a problem with drinking and driving.

Me and my gangsta cold-weather jacket they issued me.  Yeah,
it's got a fur-lined hood.

Not sure, but this store may possibly be
upset about something

Anyway, I'll save some time tonight for my next few blogs:  1) New Year's & Ephesus with the greatest woman in the world (in the non-mom category).  2) Salzburg, Austria & Oberammergau, Germany (Part Deux).


Hope everyone is doing well, and keep my wife in your prayers.


-ADD

My Week in Oberammergau & Munich

Greetings from Norway!  After spending a wonderful week in Germany, I’m now shacked up in Norway for two weeks working on some NATO stuff.  I found out that I’d be going to Norway about a month ago, but I didn’t realize that I’d be going to Germany for a week enroute to Norway…so that was a pleasant surprise.  While in the thriving village of 5,000 in Oberammergau, Germany, I attended the Expeditionary Logistics Course at the NATO School.  This was a pretty cool experience for a multitude of reasons: 

1. I've never been outside of an airport in Germany….or any other western/central European country for that matter.
2. The course was pretty good, as it dealt directly with my logistics career field…just with a MUCH broader/strategic level/international view of logistics.
3. Made really valuable connections with people from different military branches from all over the world.
4. Great per diem :-)
5. German food...i.e. PORK! (Not much pig in Turkey)

The town of Oberammergau is well-known for two primary things….The “Passion Play” and wood carvings. Passion Play is a huge production and is put on every ten years since 1634, with only two exceptions…once when the Roman Catholic Church outlawed it in 1770, and the one other cancellation was 1940 during WWII.  After speaking with a few owners, the income that the local businesses generate during the Passion Play keeps them in business for the next ten years.  Add in the NATO School population, which has ~500 students at a time, they do very well.  Each year that it is held, the Oberammergau Passion Play brings in about 500,000 attendees in 4 1/2 months.....into a town of only 5,000! (2,000 of which are actually participants in the play).

So after a week of some interesting learning material, and a LOT of good German food/beer, I headed up to Munich for the night with a few Canadian Naval officers.  This was much better than taking a train back (which is how I got to the school), as this is a two-hour ordeal involving a few transfers.  I then checked into a hotel right at the main train station (which I had to take the next day to get to the airport) and then hit the lovely town of München (which is what Munich is called in German, in case you were wondering).  This time of year is obviously cold, but they also have the Christmas Market spanning several city blocks in the heart of Munich.  The big item to buy here (for me) was the steaming cups of “Glühwein”, which is kind of like a mulled wine, which they then poured some Amaretto.  Absolutely one of the most delicious things ever created.  I was able to make my way to the Hofbrauhaus, which is one of the most famous brew pubs in the world.  This place has been around for years, and was actually so popular, that Hitler gave a huge speech...he proclaimed the "25-theses of the National Socialist Program" here in 1920.  Anyways, the Canadian Navy Lieutenant and I sat with random strangers (b/c that's what you do there) and had a really good time.  Apparently the guy that we took pictures with has his own beer stein locked up on the wall and we were at “his” table that he’d been sitting at for 60 years.  So by the looks of it, since he was 20 or 30.

Unfortunately I had to head up to Norway the next day, but München is definitely a city that I will visit again and again.  Hopefully my gorgeous wife and I will be stationed in Germany for our next assignment, so with a bit of luck we can visit soon.  Once I got to the airport in München, I met up with the rest of my NATO team and our "series of unfortunate events" began…but that will have to wait for my next blog, which will be about my two weeks in Norway.

Until next time….now for some pics!

Very cold in O'gau...but this was one of the few days with some blue skies!

"Downtown" Oberammergau....very quiet and quaint.  A little German
village like you'd see in the movies

Christmas Market in Marienplatz, Munich

Me at the Christmas Market in downtown Munich

The old-timer who "owns" the table at Hofbrauhaus...
and his hat on my head

Gluhwein!

Munich New Town Hall & Marienplatz

Istanbul Day 2 & 3

Happy Thanksgiving Day!


So this comes about a week after I got back from Istanbul, but I had some good pics/info to share and thought I should stop slacking and get my blog on.  We hit most of the big sightseeing spots on Day 1 (i.e. Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace), but day two and three had some really neat sights as well.


Day Two started with a quick stop at "Pierre Loti Cafe", which had some amazing views of Istanbul from atop a hill.  Pierre Loti was a famous French novelist and naval officer, and this was one of his favorite places to write...after seeing the amazing views, I can see why he liked this spot.  There was also a new(ish) cemetery on the spot as well, mostly from the last 100 years.  

After Pierre Loti's spot, we went on a half-day tour of the Bosphorus Strait by boat.  The weather was a little wet and windy, but overall it was a good way to see some of the sights.  We had excellent views of Dolmabahçe Palace and a few fortresses. 


*Learning Break:  In the Turkish language, if the "C" or the "S" have a goatee (i.e. ç or ş), then it makes a "ch" or "sh" sound.

After the Bosphorus cruise, Steve and I headed over to the Basilica Cistern, which was built to store water for the city in case of natural disaster or if the city was under siege.  This place was very eery and quite large, still with a few feet of water covering the floor.  Well worth the 10 Turkish Lira ($7) to visit though.

The last full day of our Istanbul trip, Steve and I walked around Taksim Square (right outside our hotel) and followed that by a trip inside Dolmabahçe Palace (see pic above for view from Bosphorus Strait).  If you're thinking that Taksim Square sounds familiar, it's probably because it was in international news a few weeks ago when a suicide bomber detonated in a crowd (injuring 32....15 were police officers).  If you didn't know to look for the exact spot, you wouldn't have been able to tell though, as it was bustling per usual. This place is crazy busy, and Steve and I spent a lot of time here when not seeing the other sites.

30M from the explosion, but a very neat monument.

Dolmabahçe Palace is an absolutely gorgeous place, located right on the Bosphorus.  This is where Sultans lived during the time of the Ottoman Empire and where Ataturk (the revered founder of the current Turkish government) lived and passed away.  Unfortunately, we could not take pictures inside the actual main area of the palace, but we took some of the grounds inside the walls.  I definitely would recommend this place to anyone going to Istanbul....just get there early, because once they hit capacity they'll close the ticket office for an hour or so.  I waited in line for a good hour before getting in.

They had a guard in front of the palace at all times...
Never moved a muscle, and had a knife so he could cut
you if you touch him :)

Guard in front of one of the many waterfront entrances to the palace

Clock Tower right outside the gate to Dolmabahçe

So that pretty much concludes our trip, and we learned so much.  Istanbul is a great city to visit all of the historical places, and make sure to hit up Taksim at night. They have a lot of cool bars, many of which play American music....Plus, they have about 63 Starbucks' within walking distance.

So again, Happy Thanksgiving to all and my next post will likely be from Oberagammerau, Germany, where I'll be for a week attending the Expeditionary Logistics Course...I will have a day in Munich after the class, then I will travel directly from there to Norway, where I'll be staying in barracks for two weeks.  My only consolation?  Wi-Fi in the barracks...hooray.  

Miss you all, happy holidays.

Istanbul Day 1

Steve and I flew into Istanbul last night, and I decided that there will likely be too much to put in one post...So this will be a two-, perhaps three-part Istanbul mini-blog series.

When we landed, we decided that a 50 Turkish Lira (TL) cab ride would be too much, so we'd take a chance and see if we could figure out the metro.  After about 90 minutes, we successfully found our way to the hotel on Taksim Square, only shelling out 5.25 TL apiece.  Steve and I then ventured out to explore the area, finally finding a cafe/bookstore, and later a pub called "Paralel" (spelling here doesn't always match up w/ English)....here we met up with Roger who works with us at NATO, who introduced us to his girlfriend, Eda, and a few other Izmirites/Izmirians (whatever they call themselves), Meltem and Dylan.  We learned about Turkish culture (mostly about Efes Pilsen and Gusta...an amazing Turkish wheat beer) while listening to American rock blasting in every bar.

This morning we had to get up early to get picked up by the tour bus for our full-day tour.  Apparently because of the holiday, the tourist sites were more packed than normal, but we managed to not get separated/left behind until the very end of the day.  We begun our day at the Byzantine Hippodrome, which was the social/sporting center of Constantinople beginning around 325 A.D.  There's not much left at the Hippodrome today, but the oldest monument in all of Istanbul is still there.  The "Obelisk of Theodosius" was erected in 390 A.D., yet was originally crafted in 1490 B.C. in Egypt...which is amazing considering it's still in excellent shape.  What you see in the pic below is only the top 1/3 as the other 2/3 did not survive the trip from Egypt.

Hippodrome's most prominent feature - The "Obelisk of Theodosius" - 1490 B.C.

Closeup view of "Obelisk of Theodosius"
Erected in Constantinople - 390 A.D.

Next we walked to the "Blue Mosque", which isn't all that blue on the outside...and is still used for prayer, so we took off our shoes when we entered.  I really wish they didn't have all of the cables/wires running from the ceiling, as it takes away from the gorgeous view inside.  Built 400 years ago, this mosque holds about 10,000 people.

Blue Mosque at dusk

Blue mosque

Inside the Blue Mosque

Next, we went to one of my favorite sites here...The Hagia Sophia.  The current structure is the third Hagia Sophia built because the past two were burnt down.  The one that we enjoyed today was built almost 1500 years ago and was a Catholic cathedral for over 1,000 years, then a Muslim mosque for nearly 500 years, and was converted into a museum in 1934 when Turkey became a "secular" country.

Hagia Sophia

Inside the Hagia Sophia....very beautiful and huge inside.

Like the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia also had wires/cables
to hang chandeliers from the ceiling....

Mosaic from 10th Century A.D. - Virgin Mary with Justinian and Constantine on either side

Topkapi Palace was our next/final stop for the day....well we were supposed to see one more mosque, but we missed the tour bus because we spent too much time in the ancient harem.

Topkapi Palace...So enormous I can't even fit the miniature model in one picture. 

I can see why they built the palace here.....gorgeous views from all sides. 

The aforementioned harem...This is the "Favorites' Courtyard", where
the best of the best concubines could chill.

Tomorrow we'll be spending the day on a Bosphorus Strait boat cruise, and I'm sure that I'll have more to tell/show.

-ADD 

My Update

Hey everyone, it's been just over a week since my last post so I thought I'd update ya'll on what's going on over here.  The weather is finally cooling down (it's 70 degrees at 530pm....pretty nice day actually), therefore people are now using coal to heat their homes.....thus entering the slightly smoggy/smoky months.  Last week I also bought a leather jacket made from extremely soft lamb skin from Mustafa, where all NATO members get at least one jacket.  He gives a 50% discount to us, so I got mine for ~$200. I found a VERY similar jacket online (wilsonsleather.com) for about $600, so I think I got a pretty good deal.

For those who haven't heard, the Denver Broncos cheerleaders were here a few days ago as part of their USAFE (US Air Forces Europe) tour.  Because we have such a small US contingent here, the 3-star "highly recommended" that he see us at the event.  They had free food and I was at the BX shopping for dish towels and candles anyway, so how could I resist?

Some good news and bad news for me:  Bad news is that the Istanbul trip in 1 1/2 weeks got cancelled b/c some people backed out and they didn't have enough people to get us the good prices. Boo.  I'll probably try and take Carissa up there (maybe for New Years?) when she comes out here in December/January.  The good(ish) news is that I found out yesterday that I'm going to Stavanger, Norway for 2 weeks for a NATO exercise.  It will be a little cold up north, but should be a really interesting experience.  I really don't know anything about the job yet, so the reason that their bringing me along is to "learn" (and because they lost one of the 2 other English-first speakers of the group, so they needed another).

Lastly...I finally got AFN (Armed Forces Network), which has some sports and regular TV shows...most importantly, they play most NFL games on Sunday (yay), so I can watch the Seahawks get spanked by the likes of the Raiders (boo).  I also finally got my internet connection, which is surprisingly fast here.

FYI...I updated my blog so that you don't have to be logged into Google to post comments (I think)... Here are some pics that I recently took (There are more pics on my most recent album posted to FB).

Here is the bay near the Kordon, where a lot of the nice restaurants and cafes are....I only have to walk about 150 yards to get to the water...Very pretty, just don't swim in or eat fish from it.

Right down the street from my apartment.  The smoky air sucks,
but creates absolutely gorgeous sunsets 

Couldn't leave a pic of this out...The PA guy here took a pic of me,
but I haven't gotten it from him yet.

Ciao!

My New Digs: Pre-Feng Shui

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I've been busy apartment hunting for the last week.  Today marks the end of my 2nd week in Izmir, and I may actually go into work Wednesday or Thursday....not to actually work, mind you, but rather to do yet more in-processing.


So, this is a 3-day weekend due to the Turkish Republic Day, and we have an entire week off the 16-19th of November due to one of the two annual "Bayram" Festivals.  When people had warned me beforehand that working with NATO meant working little, it seems they were on to something.  I'm not even counting Veterans Day or Thanksgiving....so in the next month, I'll get at least seven vacation days off (possibly eight if given Friday after Thanksgiving).


Speaking of the Bayram Festival next month, during that week I'll be going on a trip with our travel office to Istanbul for five days.  There will surely be an extensive post w/ pics after that trip.  But in the meantime, I'll be attempting to move into my new apartment.


Here are the basic specs of the new digs:
1300 Sq Ft
3 Bedrooms
1 1/2 Bath
3 Balconies


The main reason for choosing this place is the location, which is right in the heart of the downtown Alsancak, within 100 meters of Starbucks and Steve's (the other Lieutenant) apartment, and only a few blocks from the water.  There are hundreds of cafes/restaurants/shops and it is only a few blocks from the fresh produce market.  


Here are a few pics before I do anything to the apartment...I'll post pics once I get my feng shui on.  What you see in the apartment now is the loaner furniture from the government.

Small kitchen...and no the water in Izmir is not safe to
drink, hence the jugs of water.  Apparently I can cook
and shower with the tap water, but not drink...
Also, the stove runs off of a propane tank
under the cabinet....like a BBQ grill.

Living room w/ aforementioned loaner furniture
(and my MacBook of course)....

Other side of the living room, where the dining room table
and desk are....Also, where the balcony that
I'll primarily be using as it has the best
view of all three balconies.

Small bathroom, but bigger than
my last one in California...I need to hit Ikea for
shelves, luckily they have one just a few miles from here.

View from my balcony of the major commercial district, only a block or two from the bay....plus, Steve lives in the apartments to the left, which is convenient
since he has a TV and PS3, and right now I only have my MacBook.
Oh, and since he's been reading my blog...
he's also great company as well :)

Same view, but at night...

View looking left from the balcony....the yellow building is an
elementary school by day, and a parking lot by night.  Also, my sponsor/
supervisor lives on the street lined with palm trees, also visible from my balcony....
this is the quieter side, since the street directly below my apartment is pedestrian-only.

Same view, but at night...

I hope everyone is doing well, and if you haven't heard, I have a Skype phone number that you can call and leave a voice message if I'm not logged into Skype at the time....I can also call US numbers for only a few bucks a month.  The number is (765) 356-0125...feel free to call, just remember that I'm 10 hours ahead of Pacific and 7 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Güle Güle

3 Pearls of the Aegean - Priene, Miletos and Didyma

As promised, a post about my first trip outside of Izmir...


The local "Information, Tickets and Travel" (ITT) office in conjunction with the chapel put on a trip to three ancient sites in the area.  The locations we hit were Priene, Miletos and Didyma.  One of the main reasons that I went on this trip is because I'm extremely interested in the ancient history of the area, but also because I had heard that 30ish people were going on this trip, so it seemed like a great way to meet new people since I had only met one person thus far (my sponsor/supervisor).


It didn't take long to meet the only other Lieutenant in Izmir, Steve, who works Protocol at NATO (SO glad that's not my job).  He, along with a few others, took me in instantly and now I actually have people to hang out with, which is kind of nice in a foreign country.  The apartment that I am 90% sure of getting is right across the street from Steve's, so we can set up string and cups in order to cut down on the cell phone bill.


I also had my first fish dinner in Turkey, which is quite an experience, and much more expensive than you would think being in a coastal city.


Here is a picture of a HUGE shrimp and what was left of my sea bass after I took all the meat off the bones:

Anyway, back to the trip.  Here are a few pics of the places that we visited on Saturday.  Priene and Miletos used to be coastal cities, but are now inland due to geographical changes over the last several thousand years as seen on the map below:

First, we went to Priene....A small former coastal city, settled about 1000 BC.  At one time was home to Alexander the Great (for just a few months). 

Temple of Athena in Priene...very well preserved columns (and random pieces of columns littering the ground around the temple).

Theater at Priene...pretty good size for a smaller city.

VIP seating even back then.  They didn't do much gladiator/animal fighting here...otherwise these seats might be a little dangerous.

Meander River somewhere between Priene and Miletos in what was once the ocean a few thousand years ago.

Main attraction in Miletos, the theater that held ~15,000 people.  Apostle Paul supposedly came here a few times.

Backside of the theater w/ the Turkish flag flying.  It's been under Turkish/Ottoman/Byzantine control for about 700 years.

Ruins of Didyma...The most prevalent/well-known structure seen is the Temple/Oracle of Apollo.

Amazing columns in the temple.  The Temple of Apollo is probably the second most famous Oracle of the Hellenistic world (second only to the Oracle at Delphi).

Couldn't help but take a picture of the sun being blocked out by the Temple of Apollo....ironic, right?