Istanbul for Christmas

As my time in Germany dwindles, my urgency in attacking the travel bucket-list redoubles. The result: Istanbul for Christmas. Lots of history, friendly people, and delicious food.

I celebrated Christmas early with Mom thanks to a conveniently scheduled short course on Operational Law in DC. It was a great trip with Tex-Mex, bowling, Christmas shopping, Chipotle, and the Original Pancake House--twice.

The day after arriving back to Germany, Quentin (an Army friend from Wiesbaden) and I departed early in the morning to Istanbul -- 330am wakeup. Unfortunately, we didn't quite leave the cold winter rain of continental Europe behind. After arriving, we took the metro to the tram and navigated through the rain to our hotel. We lucked out with the small place I booked online -- it had a view from its rooftop breakfast terrace of both the Blue Mosque and Sea of Marmara / Bosphorous River. Due to the rain and wind, we settled for an afternoon in and out of shops and restaurants, drinking cay (Turkish chai), Efes (Turkish Beer), and Raki (Turkish grape liquor); eating donor, lamb, olives, hummus, pita, baklava, and Turkish delight; and smoking a little nargileh (a Turkish tobacco water pipe -- the apple flavored tobacco was my favorite).

Thankfully the weather improved as our weekend progressed. On day two we tackled a few of the tourist highlights in the Sultanhament area near our hotel: Aya Sofia, the Blue Mosque, and the Topkapi Palace.

The Aya (Hagia) Sofia, rebuilt in the 6th century after its predecessor was destroyed by fire, was once one of the greatest churches in Christendom. With its massive dome, it was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly 1000 years. During the reign of the Ottomans it was converted to a mosque. In the 1930s, Ataturk secularized the building into a museum. It still bears the remnants of its former lives -- minarets now surround the former Orthodox basilica and Arabic script is found all over the inside, hung on the same walls as magnificent Christian mosaics -- truly incredible to behold. Unfortunately, the grounds which surround the building were being renovated/landscaped -- but that didn't take away from the magnificence of the building itself or its interior.




From the windows along the south side of the Aya Sofia, you can see the Blue Mosque. The Mosque is actively used for worship and closed to visitors during traditional prayer hours. When it's open, it's shoes off for all who enter.


After waiting for the lunchtime prayer hour to end, we took a brief walk through the mosque -- the first I've ever visited. Like most cathedrals, entry for tourists is free (though also like most cathedrals, a donation is requested to pay for the upkeep).


Here's a photo of the mosque's namesake:


The difference in architecture from the neighboring Aya Sofia is striking -- the Byzantines who built the Aya Sofia were more skilled (or perhaps simply confident) builders of domes, as you can see from the massive columns which support the weight of the Mosque's ceiling.


On the other side of the Aya Sofia from the Blue Mosque is the old palace of the Ottoman sultans: Topkapi Palace. The palace is massive with four courtyards of ascending prominence and privacy. The second through fourth courtyards of the Palace are now a museum, housing many artifacts of the Ottomans (clothes and jewels mostly) and relics from the prophets of Islam. Between the third and fourth courtyards is the Harem -- essentially the quarters for the sultans' concubines and sons, as well as the sultan's own private chambers. Here's a sample: beautifully adorned and opulent in every regard.


On Saturday evening we headed to Beyagolu, across the Goldern Horn (a small inlet off the Bosphorous River) from Sultanhamet. We quickly discovered why the bars and restaurants near our hotel were never too crowded -- all of Istanbul were instead in this massive main shopping district which runs from Taksim Square to Tunel. As much as Sultanhament truly is the Old City, Beyagolu is the bustling heart of modern Istanbul -- and it made for a fun night. We had dinner and drinks in a nightclub called "360" which had an incredible view of Istanbul from its penthouse location.

The next day we set out to conquer Asia, only a short and very cheap ferry ride away (only 2 Turkish lira -- a little more than one dollar).


Once there, we explored the market area of Uskudar and dipped in and out of restaurants and shops for more cay (chai). In the evening, we met up with a few Turks we had met the night before. They took us to a restaurant which overlooked the Bosphorous from north of the city. Here we enjoyed more Turkish cay, nargileh, and backgammon -- not to mention the panoramic view of Istanbul (my pictures from here unfortunately didn't come out well).

Monday afternoon we had to fly home -- but before we did, we made it to the Grand Bazaar near Sultanhamet. This area is home to some 2000 small shops and vendors which aggressively sell absolutely everything you can imagine. My goal was to purchase a rug. The first few hours, I educated myself the best I could about my prospective purchase. I moved from vendor to vendor discussing rugs and carpets, how to assess quality, and gauging where initial sales offers stood -- I ended up making my purchase from the salesman who, at least ostensibly, was the most knowledgeable on the subject and certainly the most persistent. The haggling and bargaining was quite entertaining, though I'm still not certain if I got a good deal. The rug I purchased was initially offered to me for $765 but I bought it for the equivalent of $130 in Turkish Lira.

After the Bazaar, we took the tram to the metro to the airport, then back home to Wiesbaden. Christmas in Istanbul -- I love Europe.

Roma

Taking full advantage of the long weekend, I took a flight to Rome after spending a busy week of training in the States. The stars aligned for me beginning on the flight over -- United let me upgrade to business class using some of the many frequent flyer miles I have accumulated since moving to Germany. A short 8.5 hour flight after leaving Dulles (thanks to a couple glasses of red wine), I landed at Fiumicino airport. I hopped a train into the city, checked in early at my hotel near Stazione Termini, showered, and I was quickly on the 64 bus headed to the Vatican. This was the only time during the week that I used any sort of mass transit -- Rome is a very walkable city.

With only a quick weekend in Rome, I knew I needed to prioritize. St. Peter's Bascilica and the Vatican museums did not disappoint their elevated status on my itinerary. The view from the top of the Cupola set the scene for the rest of the weekend. And no matter how many people pack into the Sistine Chapel, there really is no bad perspective to take in Michelangelo's masterpiece (although it was quite entertaining to have the Vatican museum personnel constantly shushing people, yelling not to take pictures, and then catching people breaking those two rules and escorting them quickly out of the museum).


After leaving the museums, I turned back toward Termini and set my sights on walking through as many piazzas and by (or in) as many landmarks on my way. Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon with a couple stops in cafes, pizzarias, and ristorantes, highlighted this walk. Along the way I met a few people from Czech (a great part about traveling alone is how quickly you meet new people) who I joined for dinner and drinks -- and toured with the next day).

Sunday was filled with Ancient Rome -- the Colleseo, Palatino, Roman Forum, Circus Massimo, Tiber River. With the aid of an active imagination, the collective ruins recreates the Rome of Caeser. "Oh my God, I'm in Rome," moments punctuated this stroll around the ancient quarter -- every corner turned reveals columns, facades, and monuments echoing a life I studied in high school Ancient Civ. An amazing trip from start to finish -- I threw a coin in the Trevi -- I hope the myth proves true.

Snowboarding in the Alps

Ski trips to the Alps occupied a few of my recent weekends. In early December a few friends from work and I went to the Arlsberg Pass area of Austria. Over New Year's I went with my good friend (and boss) Murph to Chamonix-Mont Blanc. I spent MLK weekend in Kitzbuehl with another friend from work. The video above and pictures below will give you a taste (all from Kitz). Epic views.

Work is keeping me pretty busy when I'm not snowboarding. I did (finally) start taking a German class at University of Maryland (just like Mom did) on post. It meets a couple nights a week for 2.5 hours -- but I think it will definitely pay off in the long run.

I'm looking forward to seeing Charlie, Erin, and Pepe in February and a big trip to the UK in May with Grandma & Gramps and Mom to see the English rels. Another ski trip probably in February and March.

Hitch and Amy's Big Fat Amazing Greek Wedding

Santorini is well known for its dramatic views and breathtaking sunsets and did not disappoint in the least. While it's more typically a romantic getaway, there was plenty for a single guy to see and do.

I arrived very early on Sunday morning -- found the cheapest flight I could -- I left Saturday evening at 9pm and arrived in Athens a little after 1am local time. I spent a few hours sleeping in the Athens airport before hopping the short 45 minute flight to the island of Santorini and its capital Thira (or Fira). Spotty landing in Thira notwithstanding (we'll blame that on the wind), the flights were easy and uneventful.


Knowing no one else from the wedding group was to arrive until around lunch time, I rented a car for the day and began exploring what I could. It was an unusually humid day on the island, Santorini being one of only two bona fide desert climates in all of Europe. With a layer of low-lying clouds blowing around, much of the high ground on the island was socked in. While the island was larger than expected, I managed to drive most of the main roads and explore a few of the villages by car (think extremely narrow one-way streets!) by lunchtime. For breakfast I wandered into a seaside cafe for a traditional Greek pastry, coffee, and a fresh fruit salad. This was the start of the incredible meals we would enjoy for the week.


Around lunchtime, I followed the instructions provided by our hosts to the villa in Firostefani. Actually, we had two connected villas -- one with a pool, the other with a jacuzzi. And both had plenty of outdoor space, seating, and dramatic views. As people trickled in throughout the afternoon, we all got to know each other (only one other law school friend other than the groom came, the rest were friends from the law firm, high school, and college) over some local Santorini white wine. The night culminated with a traditional Mediteranean dinner -- lamb, feta, pita, olives, etc.

The next day a few of my new friends invited me to join them on a wine tour of the island. We visited three wineries and learned a considerable amount of the history of wine on Santorini (and a little bit about the history of wine generally). We took this opportunity to stock up for the week on a few we liked. The vineyards on Santorini are not aesthetically impressive -- the grapes are not strung along vines, but rather are wrapped in circles on the ground to avoid the effect of the heat and wind. The grapes grow the the middle of the wrapped circle, shielded by their leaves. Combined with the loose, rocky soil, it makes the vineyard look like a shrub-filled desert wasteland. Regardless, the wines were a delicious and welcome addition to this trip.



We returned to the villa and gathered the rest of our friends, welcoming those who arrived on Monday. Again, a nice traditional Greek dinner with plenty of wine capped the evening.


For Tuesday, the bride's family treated all 27 wedding guests (that includes the bride and groom) to a cruise around the island. The Aegean's reputation for the bluest water in the world didn't disappoint. Amazingly, a combination of the volcanic rock, lack of sea life (sadly due to overfishing), and a lack of any tides (not sure what causes this, I need to do some research) create a purity of color beyond words. On the cruise, we visited the volcanic island which Santorini's Caldera (cliffs) overlooks. We took a dip in hot springs just off that volcanic island. And we anchored for a bountiful Mediterranean lunch on the cliffs below the picturesque town of Oia. After the cruise, the groom's family gathered everyone for the rehearsal dinner on the beach in a restaurant which was entirely built from small rocks found on the beach. Again, a great spread of food including fava beans, traditional greek meatballs, fried locally grown tomatoes, olives, feta, fried sardines, etc.

Wednesday was the wedding day, scheduled for around sunset. Most of us spent a lazy day at the villa, enjoying the beautiful weather and a book with brief excursions into the main island town of Fira for a gyro. The wedding was storybook. Just before sunset, the bride and groom arrived riding up the cliffs through the town of Fira on donkeys with a Greek band and small procession behind. Their vows were exchanged in a secular service at sunset with the bride's mother as officiant. The food was incredible and the company even better. And then we all danced the night away.


Thursday morning was spent recovering. In my vacation tradition, I woke up well before the rest of the group and spent the remainder of the morning reading/napping with a view overlooking the cliffs, volcano, and Aegean. Once a quorum was gathered, I had an amazing waffle breakfast (somehow the invention of the waffle is related to Greece, but I forget how) with strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream (okay, more like dessert than breakfast). A few of us including the bride and groom rented ATVs for a trip to the red sand beach of Kamari (more like black, but the sand wasn't as black as the black-sand beach of Perissa also on the island, so they got creative with the name). After a few hours on the beach and a few dips in the Aegean, we took the ATVs for a cruise around the island, through the lowlands, wrapping to the cliffs above. After a brief sojourn into the town of Oia, we cruised the high cliffs, arriving back to the villa in time for one last spectacular sunset. A dramatic conclusion to an incredible vacation.

Copenhagen and Majorca

I haven't posted in quite a while, and for that I apologize -- work has kept me quite busy, and a few other things have dominated my free time. I have, however, had the opportunity for a couple trips recently. While I've worked many weekends recently, I have taken the past two 4-day weekends provided by the Army for a couple trips.

First, I went to Copenhagen to visit a friend from undergrad. Her family moved to Copenhagen a year or so ago, and she was in town visiting for the summer. I hopped a quick flight up, connecting in Amsterdam, and spent the weekend with her. We did the touristy stuff that Copenhagen has to offer -- although the mermaid was in Shanghai and we did not make it to Legoland. Below the post are a few highlights for the curious. We watched a couple World Cup games together, and just generally caught up -- a great weekend with an old friend.

This past weekend, a few friends of mine from work (who are actually my bosses) took a weekend trip to Majorca. The island is apparently a hot-spot for British hooligans, so after lounging on the beach during the day, we did our best to fit in with our new hooligan friends at night. It was a great trip, highlighted by a bet between the three of us not to talk one word of work which to everyone's surprise and benefit no one lost. Sorry, no pictures from Majorca -- I didn't bring my camera out once (although the scenery was beautiful and the weather even better).

As I said before, work has been keeping me quite busy. I have my first contested trial in a couple weeks, and the pace of Soldiers in the area finding themselves in trouble has not slowed. For those who are interested, I can talk a bit more about cases on the phone, but it's best if I leave out any discussion on these internet posts.

Upcoming, I have a few trips planned -- actually 4 weddings upcoming -- one at Notre Dame in August, one in Santorini, Greece at the end of August, one in Chicago end of September, and one in Ohio beginning of October -- lucky for me one of those stateside trips is paid for by the Army as I'm coming back to CVille for a conference in the middle of September.

Sorry for the quick post (and the long time since the last one). Love you all.

The Learning Curve

With the start of my military justice career, I feel like I'm constantly running as fast as I can. There's so much for me to learn, both about the area of practice and the individual cases on which I am now the responsible attorney.

The first three weeks have flown by. I have been trying to soak up absolutely as much as I can from the other attorneys with whom I work; we're losing our two most experienced trial counsels and our designated senior trial counsel in the next two months. Then there will be three brand new trial counsels running the show -- kind of a scary thought for my boss, I'm sure.

I advise seven commanders -- most of whom are captains, but also one major, one lieutenant colonel, and one colonel. Each has a different style, different expectations, and different priorities. Time management and dynamic work flow will be very important to my success.

I had my first arraignment last Friday and I did the sentencing argument in my first court martial yesterday -- lots to learn here as well. It's one thing to read court procedure, and another thing to do things properly all the time on the spot. But there is only one way to learn. Both proceedings went well enough; in the Army it's all about trying to meet the commander's intent when you can, and trying to manage expectations when you can't. For the sentencing, we met their intent for the Soldier so that's good.

I've played golf each of the last two weekends, and I plan to play again tomorrow if the weather holds. There's a pretty decent Army course just a little outside Heidelberg. I expect before I leave I'll know every hole and green just like I did the one at UVA.

After a short week of work, I'm leaving on Friday to visit Mom.

Constanta

My "business trip" to Romania resulted in a few minor legal issues resolved, a few tax returns prepared, quite a few pages read, and fingers dipped in the Black Sea.



After taking a train down to the Stuttgart Flughaffe, I boarded the first of three Carpat Air flights on the way to Constanta. Carpat Air has a small fleet of prop planes, but despite being glorified crop-dusters they got the job done. I cleared customs in Timisoara on the western border of Romania, then connected in a small town in central Romania, before landing at the Mihail Kogalnicenau air strip about thirty minutes drive from Constanta. The base of Task Force East (a joint training mission between Americans, Romanians, and Bulgarians), and my temporary home, was directly adjacent to the air strip.

I was picked up at the airport by a few of the Department of the Army (DA) civilian employees I was there to assist. They showed my to the barracks room where I would stay and delivered me to the dining facility so I could eat quickly before it closed. From there, I headed to the "cantina" for a beer before heading to bed.

The Cantina.

Over the next two days, I managed to scrape out a little legal assistance for some of the deployed population; I think next time the "need" arises, it could be accomplished remotely with email and phone.

My office building.

My office.


On both Thursday and Friday night I found chaperones for a visit to Constanta. The city houses a large seaport on the Black Sea and supports a summer resort community just to the north. The "landmarks" of the city are the old closed down casino on the "boardwalk," and the headquarters of the Romanian Navy (a fleet of six ships I think). Just inland from those landmarks is a run-down area of town where the old communist regime had quarantined the large gypsy population -- what would otherwise have been the best real estate was the gypsy "dumping ground." Real estate developers have apparently noticed this, and the area is slowly gentrifying. Watch your wallets...
Romanian Navy headquarters.

The Casino on the Black Sea.
Thursday night featured dinner at "Beirut," a fantastic Lebanese restaurant, followed by drinks at a Dutch Pub. Friday night saw the deployed DAs weekly circuit: dinner and drinks at the Irish Pub (which was neither Irish nor a pub), karaoke at a Turkish-owned hole-in-the-wall, and salsa dancing late night. It was a fun couple of nights, and with Romania not yet on the Euro it was pretty darn inexpensive too.

Overall conclusions: (1) Romania is worth a visit, if only because it is so cheap (although I hear northern Romania has some worthwhile cultural attractions -- Transylvania and all that); (2) you can get by in Romania speaking English supplemented with any romance languange -- Romanian is like a poor-man's Italian; (3) when you go on a business trip to do legal assistance, bring a couple good books just in case.

Orthodox Church with adjacent Roman ruins.
Roman ruins -- a brief description in Romanian.