Istanbul, April 24, 2024 🇹🇷
It seems like these UNESCO World Heritage sites are following us around, because today we’ve “ended up” at yet another one. The town of Cumalıkızık, a few kilometers outside of Bursa, looks back on more than 700 years of history. Strolling through the narrow alleys is really fun, though the souvenir shops—as is usually the case in places like this—don’t quite measure up. Most tourists could certainly buy these little souvenirs for less back home… But the gözleme is the real deal and really good. We’re really enjoying our time here in other ways, too. Still, we decide to drive straight to Istanbul that afternoon, since we want to quickly stop by a repair shop to show them the crack in our windshield. We find the repair shop, but windshields for newer Sprinter models seem to be hard to come by, so we decide to replace the windshield later. We quickly find today’s parking spot; it’s in a good location, and tomorrow we can take public transportation into Istanbul.
Istanbul, April 25, 2025 🇹🇷
On a sightseeing tour through Istanbul—in the end, we walk well over 10 km again and consume quite a bit of caffeine. This massive city is absolutely fascinating and incredibly diverse. It’s hard to describe… especially since with many of the sights, we don’t even know what they actually are.
But before we leave our parking spot and head out on the metro, we get a “visit” from the parking lot manager! The cat doesn’t just inspect us from the outside—in one leap, she jumps into our Joey and makes herself comfortable. After about 30 minutes, though, she gets bored and disappears just as quickly as she arrived.
The train ride from Idealtepe to the city center takes just under 30 minutes—without traffic or the hustle and bustle—and we dive right into the “crowd.”
The warm, humid climate turns the sometimes quite steep streets into a sweaty climb, so staying well-hydrated is a must.
All the new experiences and the warm weather really wear us out, so we need to rest up a bit after we get back. In the evening, we head to EspressoLab, a great coffee shop just around the corner, where we wind down the day.
Istanbul, April 26, 2024 🇹🇷
Today, tourist attractions are on the agenda. So, back into Istanbul and straight to the Hagia Sophia. But it seems we’re not the only ones with this idea…… The mosques are incredibly impressive, but we’re even more struck by the endlessly long lines of visitors in front of all the sights! And the admission prices are the last straw… we take a look at everything from the outside, walk around each attraction once, and that’s enough. Afterward, we stroll through the bazaar. It’s unbelievable what’s for sale there—and everything’s authentic, of course! There’s Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and much more—all very affordable and always negotiable.
We decide to have a nice lunch and then head back to the campsite a little early. Our Joey has a lovely spot near the sea and right in the middle of a great park. We want to get to know it a little better today, too.
Istanbul, April 28, 2024 🇹🇷
Our story from the last two days is short… lots of walking, lots of sightseeing. What a fascinating city Istanbul is! Every day we discover something new. Long walks along the sea, old neighborhoods with modern cafés, and much more. However, today, for the first time, the weather is throwing a wrench in our plans. It’s pouring rain, and we really don’t feel like leaving the cozy Joey. In the afternoon, we set out anyway with the goal of exploring the Asian side of Istanbul. We do make it to the Asian side, but we only make it as far as the next café, since the weather shows no sign of improving. The view is fantastic, and we enjoy it even in this weather. The bill for the coffee, however, doesn’t take the weather into account—the view is what counts…… It was still nice, though, and after an hour we’re already heading back, with a stop at a huge shopping center—the things we do when the weather’s bad… Afterward, we head “home,” have a nice dinner, and then take care of some chores. We let the water run, empty the toilet, fill bottles with water at the nearest mosque, and refill our water tank… Of course, we don’t actually get 160 liters, but it’s enough for the next two days. As a reward, we take a short walk to the nearest café and, of course, enjoy a good espresso.
In the meantime, Carglass has even found a new windshield for our Joey, which we’ll receive on Tuesday. Hopefully everything works out so we can continue our journey from Istanbul toward Greece.
Istanbul, April 29, 2024 🇹🇷
Today we’re heading back into Istanbul. By now, we’re pretty used to the metro, and the ride to the city center flies by. We want to visit the obelisk at the tourist hotspot “Hagia Sophia” once more. But that’s it for today, and we try—as much as possible in Istanbul—to avoid the tourist crowds. From the old part of Istanbul, we head to the new city, where we’re surprised by very modern neighborhoods. Of course, there are tons of tourists here too, so we just go with the flow. We wrap up the day with a visit to Güllüoglu, the famous pastry shop, where we sample various sweets. Tired and definitely not hungry, we head back to our parking spot in Idealtepe. This was our last visit to Istanbul, as tomorrow we’re heading on toward Greece.
Istanbul, April 30, 2024 🇹🇷
Today’s highlight takes place at Carglass, where our Joey gets a new windshield. After a two-hour wait, it’s done—the crack is gone, and we have a complete windshield again. Now we’re ready to leave the Asian side with our camper. Around 4:00 p.m., we cross the Bosphorus via the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and, after almost 7 months, set foot on the European continent again. Our destination for today is the city of Tekirdag, a little over 100 km from the border. Tomorrow we’ll head over to Greece—on May 1… I’m curious to see if that goes smoothly.
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