The day after Christmas we flew to Prague, Czech Republic for a short 2 day visit
and then flew on to Istanbul, Turkey for another 5 days.
Prague
Shortly after getting settled into our hotel in Prague, we ventured out into the city. One of the first things we see are these cute missionaries singing at one of the street corners. Of course, we had to come over and introduce ourselves and say hello.
We found lots of food vendors and were intrigued by the different things they were selling.
These look like potato chips on a stick! It is called Bramborové Spirály.
Jaxon tried Langose (above) served with ketchup and grated cheese on top.
Wil has earned the award of best eater on this trip! There was a couple of times when he had ordered food off the menu and had no clue what he was ordering. So adventurous!
The food above is of mashed potatoes with cabbage.
Many of us ordered this big sausage on bread.
At first we were mesmorized by this display!
However, there must be a solid metal structure that they are sitting on.
Photo taken in the infamous Old Town Square of Prague.
These look good...must try!
They are called Trdlo. Yes, it is spelled correctly.
Beautiful gingerbread houses and cookies for sale in the Christmas Market.
The Tyn Church
This was the most fascinating feature of the Old Town Square- The Astronomical Clock.
It was first installed in 1410 and still works today. Some of the things that it can tell you is the time, day, zodiac, sun, moon and star position, and month. The clock chimes every 15 minutes but at the top of the hour the two little windows open up at the top and you can see statues of the apostles peek through and rotate around inside.
We walked to the top of a tower on one end of the Charles Bridge and this is the view from
that tower overlooking the river towards the Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral.
Melynn was met up with her old friend, Tereza, from SIS
who is now living in her home country.
who is now living in her home country.
The clock at night.
Goodbye Prague, it is off again to the airport we go!
Istanbul
Hagia Sophia
It was a Greek Orthodox church, then a mosque and now a museum.
back to street vendor food- a big cold cinnamon roll and a cheese skinny bagel.
the front of the Blue Mosque
Some of the seens from our boat tour along the Golden Horn and the
Bosphorus Strait that leads to the Black Sea.
The Rumeli Fortress- built in 1452.
After the boat tour we found this great restaurant and tried apple tea
which is a very popular drink in Istanbul.
We also discovered that many restaurants serve this poof bread before the main meal.
A meal is never complete without Baklava!
Every night we found ourselves gathered around for some card games.
So nice to just relax after a lot of walking and sight seeing!
The Basilica Cistern
This particular column also contained carvings to look like Medusa.
Dinner that day included a fun presentation when they brought out a dish that
Aaron and Wil decided to share. They ordered the Testi Kebab
which is basically a stew that is cooked in a clay pot.
Aaron and Wil decided to share. They ordered the Testi Kebab
which is basically a stew that is cooked in a clay pot.
Theodosius Obelisk-built over 3500 years ago. Came to Turkey around 400 AD.
We discovered a great dessert restaurant called Hafiz Mustafa.
Most of the menu is pre-made so you can get your food fairly quickly after ordering.
We all enjoyed our desserts with hot chocolate!
Most of the menu is pre-made so you can get your food fairly quickly after ordering.
We all enjoyed our desserts with hot chocolate!
Jaxon had chocolate Baclava.
The restaurant makes an assortment of Baclava and Turkish Delights.
Photo of our entire group in front of our hotel, Armagrandi Spina Hotel.
I would say that it is not the nicest hotel and we were not crazy about the morning breakfast but the location was amazing! We were right in the center of everything
and never had to take a taxi or any other transportation.
Standing in front of the Topkapi Palace-
the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for about 400 years of their 600 year rule.
The tile work in the Palace is common in the many churches and mosques in this area.
So beautiful!
Found another great Turkish restaurant...these women are rolling out the dough and cooking it on the spot after ordering (great appetizer). It can be filled with different ingredients. Jaxon only wanted cheese so he basically ate a quesadilla :)
Entering the Grand Bazaar. Feeling a little intimidated and holding on to our wallets! We visited the Spice Market a couple of days before coming here and at that market someone tried to pick pocket Aaron. Actually, they did pick pocket him but all they got was some local brochures :) ha ha!
Picture below is the girls standing in front of one of the hundreds of shops where you can by ceramic dishes and vases. So many different colors and shapes and sizes and varieties. It is difficult to choose which one you would like to take home but we managed to do it.
Our last night in Istanbul we had to hit our favorite dessert spot again!
Aaron ordered Kunefe, a cheese pastry which they make on demand so it is nice and warm.
We took some more treats back to enjoy while playing our nightly card games.
Good times were had by all!
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