It's 530am, Tuesday morning. I'm awake. It's the jetlag. And I'm already asking myself, "how the fuck do I get out of this madhouse?"

I think this will be the hardest lesson of all.

Lunch yesterday in Houston was dreadful. The food tasted like processed cheese. Everyone is

From the travel journal:

Budapest to Berlin Train: River metaphors seem appropriate right now. Crossed the Danube. Leaving Hungary. Was it from Priene where Heraclitus looked out on the Meander and asked if we can ever really cross the same river twice?

Last night I began

When it's good, it's just good.

So, I'm sitting in a cafe, having a coffee, reading Magris' book Danube. I usually start books at the beginning but I decided yesterday to read his thoughts on Budapest. Mind you, Magris' travel book really isn't a travel book in

From the travel journal:

Some Euros seem to have this conceit stuck in their head that Hungary is the gateway to the East, although admittedly not as bad as the 'Wogs begin at Calais' sort. I imagine if I was heading

Travel journal, undiluted:

One pleasant surprise is the significant amount of urban renewal going on in throughout Bucharest. There is a lot more happening here than in say, Moscow. The streets are filled with new buses, not the old East-bloc types. New model Skoda's, Benz's, BMWs,

^{our educational system tells us/that we can all be/big-ass winners}

^{it hasn't told us/about the gutters/or the suicides.}

^{or the terror of one person/aching in one place/alone ~Charles Bukowski}

I think this paragraph gets to the nub of why people in the West, most especially the UK and

I was on a mission yesterday when I walked down to the Radisson SAS Hotel for breakfast. (A meal there is probably as much as my hotel was, near the train station. Bucharest photos can be found here, by the way.)

"What would you like for breakfast,

The train pulled out of Sirkeci Station at 10pm sharp, bound for Bucharest. Within an hour the slow rocking of the train put me to sleep. Sometime around 300am the train stopped, the conductor rapped on the door, shouting "immigration" and the passengers filed out in a stupor.

It took a while for me to figure out why everything so was so calm and peaceful. (Mind you, this is very relative.) But as I was walking down the very European streets of Bucharest this afternoon (and very communist city planning it is) it came to me:

Took the train from Istanbul to Bucharest last night. It was a fun train ride. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

I knew tearing myself away from this city was going to be difficult, but I had no idea I would spend my last full afternoon in a terrible state of what the Turks might call, "hüzün." If I did not have to be in Denmark in mid-June I

From my travel journal:

May 26, 2009: We left Istanbul at noon. Navigating Istanbul traffic from Sultanhamet to the Yenikapi ferry port wasn't too hard. Getting the ferry ticket and embarking was a cinch. The ferry to Yalova took about an hour. Amanda and I listened

As promised, here are the photos from Ephesus and Priene. A big shout-out to MJSteckel, for the suggestion to visit Priene.

Ephesus was a great site. And very big. But Priene, well, the view was fantastic. And the site, because it's less curated, let my imagination run

As is plainly obvious by now I am back in Istanbul for a brief stop-over before I head for points south west, maybe Konya, maybe Seljuk, Priene and Ephesus. We'll see what happens. The lease in my flat was up on the first of May, so I have

My friend Kipouros lives here in Istanbul and wrote one of the best descriptions of why this place is so wonderful, why it has such an amazing and captivating spirit:

But why does it draw people in so? It’s not necessarily physical beauty, though Istanbul has

“So, where you from?” the bartender asked me.

“Texas, Austin, actually,” I replied.

“Welcome to Bursa,” he said, “call me Nick, it’s easier to pronounce than my Turkish name.”

“Pleasure meeting you, Nick,” I said.

“Wh

I arrived in Istanbul a few hours ago, via a ferry across the Marble Sea. The weather is wonderful. About 80*-85* with patches of clouds. It was a much shorter journey from YeÅŸil Bursa, or “Green Bursa,” as they call it, to Istanbul–and compared to Anatolia, it

The last several days have been busy, but not a job-minded busy, just an interesting, parapatetic busy. My days seem to be growing more and more interesting and I already know I will miss Turkey when I leave on June 1. But, by then it will be time

Kind of says it all:

People photos from Sivas start around here.

Enjoy the rest from Bursa.

Drove to Divrigi today, the ancient Tiphrik. About 400 kilometers round trip. Rented a car. Splendid. The day was as close to perfect as could be asked. I took some rural photos for Don, and also I stopped at a place where they breed those Anatolian Shepherd

Another big photo dump (about 120 photos), as promised.

Photos can be found here.