Istanbul, where to begin, what to say? A fascinating city, yet I am quite lost for words when it comes to expressing my appreciation and impressions. Guidebooks and bloggers alike tend to describe Istanbul as an eclectic mix of east meets west (whatever that's supposed to mean).
I’m not sure if I suffered a slight culture shock. Istanbul is really unlike every other city I’ve ever been to. But weirdly enough at times every corner, every turn seemed to hold some kind of similarity to another place. Sometimes it’s narrow streets reminded me of Paris, the architecture of Budapest, some areas had a slight flair of KL, the Grand Bazaar took me back to Jerusalem’s old town, the bridge spanning the Bosporus vaguely reminded me of Basel’s Mittlere Brücke.
Everything I read beforehand did not do the city justice, in fact it just served to confuse me on arrival. Nonetheless, the city is definitely worth a trip, especially in the summer months!
October 24, 2005
October 23, 2005
October 09, 2005
a new home
That brother of mine can’t go on holiday without catching some disease! He suffered a severe attack of bronchitis, besides being extremely dehydrated. Just back from Cyprus, this coming Tuesday he has to undergo the ordeal of having a wisdom tooth extracted. Talk about having a rough time!
Anyway, my news:
As of last Sunday I am now officially a Zürritussi (chick living in Zürich). My nice little flat is 5 minutes walk from the lake, has a yellow kitchen (I always wanted a room with a little colour to it) and is littered with bags and bags of clothes. It never occurred to me that a girl could have too many clothes until I moved!
On Saturday I dragged myself to IKEA, which turned out to be a horrific experience: screaming children running all over the place, harassed parents trying to keep an eye on their brat and simultaneously finding the furniture of their dreams, girlfriends dreamily contemplating which bathmat would bring out the colour of their lover’s eyes (I ask you – what rubbish!), grandmothers blocking the queue with their dithering.. battling through that crowd to find a cheap cupboard and sofa left me completely shattered. But at least I was successful, even if it did take me two (!) trips.
Last Wednesday I had a girl’s night in with two colleagues: we dyed our hair, gorged ourselves on sushi (healthy), drank plum wine (appropriate) and feasted our eyes on soap operas. Truly girly, what bliss.
Friday was my boyfriend’s birthday so I decided to treat him to a special night out. As I hardly know Zürich I asked around at work for some tips. Our education manager came up trumps: a friend of hers booked me a table at a private club. The place was at the top of a high riser, with glass windows all around providing a spectacular view of the city and the lake. We dined in leather couch seats and the food was imaginative and delicious. Needless to say, my boyfriend was impressed. Mission accomplished!
Today a friend held her goodbye party as she is leaving for India next Thursday. It’s kind of strange to think that she will be gone for two whole years. She’s off to teach the Indians how to do business with the Germans. All those intercultural competence classes are paying off after all!
Anyway, my news:
As of last Sunday I am now officially a Zürritussi (chick living in Zürich). My nice little flat is 5 minutes walk from the lake, has a yellow kitchen (I always wanted a room with a little colour to it) and is littered with bags and bags of clothes. It never occurred to me that a girl could have too many clothes until I moved!
On Saturday I dragged myself to IKEA, which turned out to be a horrific experience: screaming children running all over the place, harassed parents trying to keep an eye on their brat and simultaneously finding the furniture of their dreams, girlfriends dreamily contemplating which bathmat would bring out the colour of their lover’s eyes (I ask you – what rubbish!), grandmothers blocking the queue with their dithering.. battling through that crowd to find a cheap cupboard and sofa left me completely shattered. But at least I was successful, even if it did take me two (!) trips.
Last Wednesday I had a girl’s night in with two colleagues: we dyed our hair, gorged ourselves on sushi (healthy), drank plum wine (appropriate) and feasted our eyes on soap operas. Truly girly, what bliss.
Friday was my boyfriend’s birthday so I decided to treat him to a special night out. As I hardly know Zürich I asked around at work for some tips. Our education manager came up trumps: a friend of hers booked me a table at a private club. The place was at the top of a high riser, with glass windows all around providing a spectacular view of the city and the lake. We dined in leather couch seats and the food was imaginative and delicious. Needless to say, my boyfriend was impressed. Mission accomplished!
Today a friend held her goodbye party as she is leaving for India next Thursday. It’s kind of strange to think that she will be gone for two whole years. She’s off to teach the Indians how to do business with the Germans. All those intercultural competence classes are paying off after all!
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