Istanbul'dayim

Translation: I am in Istanbul. I wasn't so sure I was going to make it here after all because the staff of Turkish Airlines decided to have a strike the day I was scheduled to fly out. I made more than a few friends in the airport waiting area as we talked about if and when this flight was ever going to leave. Apparently, per contract, Turkish Airlines is supposed to cancel the flight and offer hotel accommodations to its guests once the flight has been delayed for five plus hours, but no, we waited eleven hours. They refused to cancel that flight. An 11:45am flight ended up actually being an 11pm flight...but I made it at last! Arriving at Anneliese and Marc's doorstep two shuttles and a taxi later with the sunrise. Praise the Lord. I have been pleasantly surprised to find that so MUCH of my Turkish language flooding back to me. It was as if a light switch went on. I'm still pretty terrible at communicating with Turks, but I understand a lot of the things I am hearing and reading. It's been quite the sensation.

My time here has been so nice. Anneliese is doing a great job with new baby Rahel, and Rahel is a very good little baby. Perfect combo really. She doesn't cry or fuss much at all, and her temperment is pretty darn easy going, I'd say. Easiest baby of the year award goes to...Rahel Madrigal!! We are trying to be a support to Anneliese in whatever ways we can be....I hope it's working. But honestly, she doesn't need a lot of support. She's a really good mommy already.

Today we had an outing with baby and visited a small island just off the coast of Istanbul called Büyükada. (It means big island.) Charlotte and I rented bikes and road up and down Büyükada's many hills. It felt good to do something active. I hadn't really done anything active (aside from walking the city) since the aggressive adult hike last weekend in Switzerland. The scenery was beautiful. Only emergency vehicles are permitted on the island, so everybody else must get around the island by horse and carriage or bicycle. Charlotte and I had to dodge some stray horses and cows on the bike pathway...kind of funny. 

We will say goodbye to Anneliese and Baby Rahel this Thursday and travel down the coast of Turkey a bit. Chelsea will visit with some friends in Izmir, and then the three of us will stay one night in Selcük, which is the town nearest to Ephesus. We will walk around the ruins during the day and then have dinner nearby in Şirince. The next day we will travel on to Kuşadası, where we hope/expect to find a Turkish bath. Charlotte and I will catch a ferry out of Kuşadası for our nine day "Mama Mia tour" in Greece. (We're not really taking a Mama Mia tour, we're not even really sure which islands that movie was filmed on, but we would be pleased if the islands we visit are just like the ones in the movie.) I will then return to Germany on June 18th where I will stay a while. Anyway, that's the general itinerary. When I get back to Germany, Brad and I are going to sit down and talk more in depth about expectations and what my time will look like while I am there. I'm looking forward to this conversation.

I'd better get back to the girls. Tonight is our last night altogether, which is hard to believe. It has totally flown by. Is anyone reading this thing? Show some love and leave a comment, people!