Prince Islands: 29 August

On Friday we decided to take a ferry ride to the Prince Islands. A group of Islands about 20kM from Istanbul CBD. But first we had to take a tram ride to the terminal. Fortunately we were already familiar with buying tram Jeton (tokens) at 4 Turkish Lira each (AUD2), a 6 year old street hawker had shown us for 1TL commission. We then had to get the correct notes to buy the ferry Jeton from its vendering machine (Jetonmatik - what else?)

The ferry ride was nearly 2hours stopping at the first 3 Prince Islands before we reached Buyukada. A bargain for 5TL each, compared to the always crowded trams.

There are no cars on Buyukada, just a few

electric scooters and tricycles. The big thing for tourists, of which there are many mostly from Istanbul on day trips, is to hire a horse and cart! At the Phaeton Station (third photo) people line up like at a taxi rank. The ponies are a different breed to those we usually see in Oz, with a light body and high rump. You can also smell them at some distance!

The alternative to horse and cart is to hire a bike, but accidents do happen!

In the end we walked around, took a few photographs, had another beautiful fish meal with a view over the sea, an ice cream and caught the ferry back to the CBD.

 

Turkish Clay Pot cooking: 29 August

 

When in a different country, we try to sample local specialities. It usually turns out great. The rare exceptions are things like eating English kippers, or sampling Russian horse-radish Vodka. In Turkey we have had some great fish, and we tried the "clay pot" meal!

Meat and vegetables are sealed in a clay pot which is then cooked over a high heat. The waiter then brings the clay pot to your table, crack open the top and pours out delicious, tender meat with peppers, onions and a variety of natural juices. Very nice!

 

Istanbul: August 27-28:

Day one we were out early walking from our Hotel to Explore Topkapi Palace including Harim. Built as a palace, it has beautiful tiles on walls and ceilings/domes. It also gave Lenore a chance to look at local jewellery; up to 86 carat diamonds anyhow.

The Topkapı Palace (in Ottoman: طوپقپو سرايى) was the primary residence of the Ottoman sultans for approximately 400 years (1465–1856).

It is now a museum holding various artefacts from the Ottoman Empire; jewellery, clothing, books including Islamic texts. All very grand.

Istanbul is a city of 14million, but again we are spending almost all time in the historic centre, walking or using the regular and crowded tram service.

In the afternoon we visited Hagia Sophia (photo left top), which is just amazing for a building from 6th C; nothing approached its size anywhere in the world for many hundreds of years. In the upper level we viewed this 11th C mosaic of Jesus with the Byzantine emperor on the right and Princess Zoe on the left.

Follow this site we walked across a large plaza to the Blue Mosque for a private and most interesting tour. The guide was amazed when he asked the hight to the dome. Lenore said 44m! It is actually 43m.

 

 

 

Day 2 we visited the Grand Bazaar (one of its many enterances is shown in the photo on the right side) and the Basilica Cistern, a 6th Century water reserve (bottom left). Those who remember 007 From Russia with Love" will recall James travelling by row boat across the water. For those who saw "Skyfall", it was motor bikes on the roof of the Grand Bazaar.

Photo top left is the Blue Mosque, so named for the use of blue tiles.

 

 

 

 

Oranges and pomegranates are in season, and street vendors are selling freshly squeezed juice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Navigating in Moscow

We have had a few days of getting around Moscow on foot and by Metro. What is it like? Well the Russian alphabet (see below) does add some extra challenges.

The top pix is a 'simple' road sign. The second is an example of Metro interchange info board. A great deal of extra vigilance is necessary! The lines are colour coded and numbered - fortunately the friendly 0 to 9 numbers. But we found identifying stations and line directions difficult.

We did get lost on our first day out, and walked a long way in the rain. We were very thankful for our travel umbrellas that received a good work out in Moscow.

 

Baltic States Part 3:

 

We visited the KGB museum in Riga, located in the former KGB Building. Lenore is pictured emerging from the ancient lift in the building. They really did spy on (nearly) everyone!

After leaving Riga we checked out a Baltic beach resort. Gold Coast, you have nothing to worry about!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tallinn is a busy tourist centre. Located a 2 hour ferry trip from Helsinki, the 2 way flow is constant. Many Finns come to shop, enjoying the lower prices in Estonia. (Beer is significantly cheaper.)

The people of the Baltic love flowers; many of which are flown in from Amsterdam, and sell at remarkably low prices. Tourists visiting the old town are entertained by dancers and musician displaying their cultural heritage.

Restaurant meals appeared to be quite reasonable. We had a beautiful rack of lamb! When we enquired we found the lamb was from NZ. I bought a pair of sox and found they were made from NZ merino wool!

In contrast when buying cheap pine DAR from Bunnings, I found it was sourced from Estonia!

 

The monument (far left) on the Baltic Sea, is popular with Russian speaking (Estonian) wedding parties.

There are many opportunities for tourists in the old town including taking a carriage ride.

We took a Viking Line ferry to Helsinki; large, efficient mass transport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Estonian's are very proud of their folk music. This large out door music bowl is the site of a national competition every couple of years. In the later stages of the Soviet era, folk singing became a forum for nationalistic expression.

We also visited (another) palace and garden on the Baltic. Built by Peter 1 (the Great) as a summer home, before/as he started work on building St Petersburg!

With a history of being twice absorbed by Russia, you do not have to scratch very deep to expose the deep felt resentment and concern. Our guide said that feelings about Russia could be expressed in generation's memories; her grandmother speaks of fear, her mother of the queues and shortages, and herself, cheap ice cream and a lack of personal expression.

 

Baltic States Part 2:

 

Latvia's capital Riga is a gem! It has an historic old town, an interest art-nouveau area (top and bottom right), and a great depth of culture.

These 2 girls were busking, and displaying great talent, near the Lutherian Catherdral where we also attended a pipe organ and coral concert.

Latvia and Estonia are both majority Lutheran, but not with the same activity as Lithuanian Catholics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baltic States Part 1: So similar, they have to argue about their differences!

We flew from Paris to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. A flight of about 2 1/2 hours.

The 3 countries (see map below) share the common history of being occupied by Sweden, Germany, and Russia at various times. Broadly they obtained independence after WW1, and were invaded by Germany and then 'liberated' by Russia in WW2. With the collapse of the Soviet Union they regained independence in the early 1990's. All are now members of the EU, and since 2004 also members of NATO.

Latvia introduced the Euro this year, Lithuania will next year, and Estonia has had it for some years. Each country has its own language. Latvian and Lituanian are similar 'Baltic languages' while Estonian is very different and we are told it has similarities to Finnish and Hungarian! Each capital city has an historic old city centre, and it was in these areas that we spent the majority of our time.

We arrived in Vilnius on a Friday and spent Saturday wondering around on our own. We hear that Lithuania is a very strong Catholic country. Saturday afternoon the city church's, of which there are many, had queues of weddings. Pope John Paul 2 visited in 1993, and clearly had a huge influence as indicated by the many photographs and signs to mark the visit.

We also saw quite a few people begging, busking or both in the streets, including this old gentleman who was dancing and singing to the music of a friend on piano accordian.

It appeared to us that the Lithuanians are very proud of their heritage, language, and independence. However we were left wondering what the future will hold. Apart from selling amber jewellery to tourists what do they have? There are large rural tracks with the old communist collective building deserted with the return of land to private ownership. However many other EU countries have more productive land with a kinder climate. Vilnius gets down to -35C; children do not have to go to school when the temperature is below -25C. Vilnius has a prestigious University, but we suspect that many graduates quickly move away.

In WW2, the Germans crowded Jews into 2 small inner-Vilinus ghetto areas. Most did not survive the war and there are few Jews today in the Baltic States. The statue (photo, left) is of a Jewish doctor remembered for his work in WW2. In Lithuania we visited 'The Hill of Crosses' (bottom right). The crosses have been placed here for hundreds of years. During the Soviet years they were often removed over night, but they were always replaced. They received a big jump in numbers before and after Pope JP2's visit for a mass! There are thought to now be over a million! We added one. There are many Russian speaking immigrants in all 3 Baltic States, brought to establish industries during the Soviet Communist era! In Latvia they are 45% of the population.

Shortly after entering Latvia we visited Rundāle Palace, is one of the two major baroque palaces built for the Dukes of Courland, before the territory was absorbed into the Russian Empire. It was an impressive palace and garden considering it was for an 18th C Duke. We found ourselves gate crashing a wedding reception complete with attendants in period customs.

Chartres

 

Chartres Cathedral is about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of Paris. We travelled by French regional rail taking approx. 1 hour from Montpanasse, Paris. It is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1250, is the last of at least five which have occupied the site since the 4th century.

The cathedral is in an exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century.

The west end (the 2 pix to the left) is dominated by two contrasting spires – a 105-metre (349 ft) plain pyramid completed around 1160 and a 113-metre (377 ft) early 16th-century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower.

Equally notable are the three great façades, each adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives.

 

Similarly the choir screen contains hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives. They are a work of a number of sculptors working under the direction of a single architect, after he completed the 16th C tower.

It also contains a clock that has not worked since the French Revolution.

 

 

 

Paris: Always a good idea!

...... And what the heck, it is only money!

Paris has a certain charm, atmosphere, and yes a buzz!

You feel it in the sidewalk cafés, the little gardens that they integrate everywhere, the art that hits you in the eye at every turn and then, the language... So easy to pick up, but so hard to master.

 

Art, architecture, beauty and the language.

 

We spent a sunny afternoon travelling through leafy suburbs by boat including passing throughout four double locks that climb 24 metres. The St Denis canal takes you from the Seine in Central Paris, to the boundary of Paris, and beyond if you have time.

Another afternoon we walked thru the Luxemburg Gardens, and stoped to watch a game of Pétanque, while consuming a couple of pastries. Pétanque is a form of boules where players throw hollow metal balls. We have watched it a number of times over the years and the passion for the game shows no signs of diminishing.

The French once fretted that Amercian culture and the English language would weeken them, but things French remain strong.

 

In addition to the visible good including this water-fountain in a park, there are the strong and weak minorities. The little patisserie in the 1st arrondissement "Jewish area" was overtly Jewish. The old lady sleeping and begging with her dog reminded me of Ralph McTell's classic; "The Streets of London"...

" Have you seen the old girl ....

Dirt in her hair and her clothes in rags?

.... She just keeps right on walking

Carrying her home in two carrier bags."

We have seen many people begging in the streets of Lisbon, Madrid, Bordeaux, Paris and Vilinus.

 

We found a new gem close to our hotel in Paris; Saint-Eustache. A chapel has been on the site since Les Halles was a walled town close to Paris, but the cathedral didn't appear until the 16th Century; photo left top. (The famous Basilica of the Sacré Cœur from Museum d'Orsay is left bottom.)

The church has a Gothic structure with Renaissance detail. The church follows a ground plan similar to that of the Notre-Dame Cathedral with a nave of five bays and a choir aisle with 24 chapels. It is somewhat shorter and narrower, which highlights the similar height of the nave. (length at 105m, but its interior is 33.45m high to the vaulting). From the outside the flying buttresses are prominent features.

The organ in the sanctuary is the largest pipe organ in France, boasting some 8,000 pipes. We were fortunate that a young and obviously very talented organist was practicing with a tutor when we visited. The sound is immense! I believe that there are frequent organ and choral recitals and concerts.

A number of areas show the need for maintenance. After a day of showers the north aisle had water on the floor and signs of a leaking ceiling. Maybe this cathedral will have to await completion of the significant work we saw at Saint Chapelle and at Chartres.

The most impressive chapel in the cathedral contains the tomb of a politician, not a religious figure. A tomb designed by Le Brun holds the body of Jean Baptiste Colbert, French minister of Finance to King Louis XIV in the 16th century.

This was my forth visit to the Louvre spread over a 40 year period. As an attraction it has evolved over time, and any art lover will have an enjoyable day, or more! However as a top attraction it must accommodate more than art lovers. So here are my tips for first timers.

We made the mistake of not booking on line in advance, so although we arrived 45min after opening, we had a 2hr queue in the rain. (Pre-booked including package tours have a priority line; they probably have another 4 attractions to 'tick off' in the day.)

At lunch we had a 50min queue to buy lunch; at Museum d'Orsay on a "free day" a meals was quickly obtained.

We didn't expect to get close to the Mona Lisa, or Venus; they have become a cult thing.. But there is so much quality art to see, it doesn't matter.

We visited the Islamic art section. It is a newer section, top class and was not as crowded.

 

Venus de Milo; not too bad for a girl who needs a hand! The outdoor statue gallery (left, top) and a collection of French imperial clocks.

 

 

The Musée d'Orsay (our favourite Paris museum) is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay (railway station) and opened as a museum in 1986. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin and Van Gogh.

The first time I visited Paris (1974), this collection was held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume.

The station is a riveted steel beam structure; the rivets blend beautifully into the new structure.

 

The Sainte-Chapelle or 'Holy Chapel', in the courtyard of the royal palace on the Île de la Cité (now part of a later administrative complex known as La Conciergerie), was built to house Louis IX's collection of relics of Christ, which included the Crown of Thorns, the Image of Edessa and some thirty other items. Louis purchased his Passion relics from Baldwin II, the Latin emperor at Constantinople, for the sum of 135,000 livres, though this money was actually paid to the Venetians, to whom the relics had been pawned. The relics arrived in Paris in August 1239 from Venice.

The relics were stored in a large and elaborate silver chest, the Grand-Chasse, on which Louis spent a further 100,000 livres. The entire chapel, by contrast, cost 40,000 livres to build and glaze.

In 1246, fragments of the True Cross and the Holy Lance were added to Louis' collection, along with other relics. The chapel was consecrated on 26 April 1248 and Louis' relics were moved to their new home with great ceremony.

Unfortunately many of the relics were destroyed during the French Revilution.

 

Bordeaux (27 July - 2 August)

 

In the St Emilion area Chateaus put a great deal of labour intensive effort into care of vines.

They keep the vines trimmed close to the trellis, weeds around the roots are mechanically cleared, vines are sprayed and leaves cleared from around the fruit which is only allowed to develop low downand below the leaves.

Much of this is to manage mildew and other diseases with only limited use of chemicals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wines of Chateau Valandraud, the Chateau where we stayed (top right photo), are accredited at the highest level for French wines. They owners are always analysing results in an effort to improve. For example they have found that use of concrete and wood vats in the initial fermentation stage has no relative advantage over stainless steel. For aging the red wines they only use new French oak.

Staff use small seats on wheels when trimming leaves away from the developing fruit.

 

 

 

 

 

We have experienced the magic of French cuisine again. I marvel at their ability to complement and contrast flavours, or to turn a simple peach into an unbelievable desert. A couple we meet at Chateau V invited us to their restaurant for lunch. A 9 course blind degustation menu, served in a peaceful formal garden. Creme de la creme!

 

 

 

The city of Bordeaux has experienced a revival over the past couple of decades. The signs are everywhere; the crowded streets and cafés, the cleaned stone buildings, and the delays on the surrounding major routes.

The historic cathedral dates from the XIII Century, with linkages back to the VIII Century! The famous Eleanor of Aquitaine was married here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bordeaux also has it's equivalent of a "Gold Coast"- there are no waves as it is in a river basin off the Atlantic. The Brits appear to love it and flood in by car ferry or Easyjet flight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Sunday morning down by the Seine!"

Sainte Chapelle was open; Sundays. What an amazing XIII Century chapel for the King. Stain glass on all sides!

The bird and flower market was also open.