Monday, November 17, 2008

Re-doing my tourist visa

This morning I returned from my little weekend trip to Yunanistan (Greece). I left friday evening, after my sociology mid-term test (only one question: 'was Durkheim a male chauvinist pig?', unbelievable!). I was not too enthusiastic at first because I was going all by myself, so I brought some books, but I immediately met a nice girl who was also going to Thessaloniki, to re-do her visa. The bus dropped us of early in the morning, luckily not too far from the city centre. Linn, the girl I met, had the address of a guy that lived in town and we ended up couch-surfing that evening at his place (see picture). He was very nice and took us around town the first day. It was nice to walk next to the sea. We saw the big statue of Alexander the Great and many, many Orthodox Churches, in which people were very actively praying and kissing the icons. Also in neighborhoods were you in the Netherlands would see a mosque (more newly build houses) or completely no religious buildings, there were now newly erected churches (see picture). But there were also very old churches, old city walls and towers and a very nice ethnological museum that we visited the next day. Sunday evening we left in the sleepers-train, which was very comfortable. At 3 o'clock we had to get out and show are passport and buy the visa we had undertaken all of this for. This morning I arrived in the middle of Istanbul with the train, it was very interesting to see the city just all of a sudden begin in the middle of grasslands and than slowly evolve into this massive colossal metropolis at the end of the train-line.
Well, that was my little visa-adventure. Not too much of an adventure, but I liked it. 
The winter has really started here, or at least, it is very gray, but still not cold. Hope you are hanging in there at home. Enjoy Sinterklaas's company!
xxx sacha 

No comments: