An Unexpected Long Weekend in Italy

At least it was Milan.   If anything could have improved my last minute disappointment at being barred from Turkey, it was being in Italy.   From the moment I stepped up to the window at customs and greeted the officer in easy Italian, my whole body relaxed.  This was familiar.  I could do this.   Even missing the validation box on the train platform didn't phase me.  (I had looked.   I later realized it was by the up ramp,  not the down.  Go figure)

I arrived late,  but could walk to the hotel from the train station.   In the morning (breakfast included!) I walked to the metro and set off for my first destination: Sforza Castle.  I knew exactly what I wanted to see in Milan, and top of the list was Michelagelo.  I'd stopped at Sforza castle seven years ago,  but didn't know the Rondinini Pieta was there!  Getting to go back and see it was a real treat, and checked one more statue off of my life list of Michelagelos.  Only two more to go.  Beyond that,  the castle was fun to explore,  with diverse displays and just knowing the famous people who roamed the halls made it exciting.    I'm sure Da Vince once looked out the same windows.  

Second on my list was the La Brera Pinacoteca, Milan's greatest art museum.   Their Mantegna collection was phenomenal.   I got the last audio guide and really enjoyed wandering through the paintings.  

After that,  I indulged in a delicious pizza and Pelligrino lunch,  then just wandered through the Brera neighborhood for the afternoon.   Before returning to the hotel,  I bought a train ticket for the next day.

Because Sunday,  folks.   Sunday was for Florence.  There was no way I was going to be that close and not go.   No way.   And it was worth every ridiculous penny I spent in the ticket. My dome welcomed me to the city I think of as a second home.

The new Museo della Opera del Duomo is spectacular.  I loved the layout,  the touch panels, the video interspersed with the exhibits.   It was closed two years ago and I am just so impressed with the renovation.   I walked from there to the Bargello, for a quick visit with a few masterpieces,  then ate lunch nearby.  Pizza and wine, yum.  It wss so nice to walk freely, no maps or directions, just memory.  I went to Piazza della Signoria, then got in line for the Uffizi.  Oh,  Uffizi.  I missed you.   The renovated Botticelli room was great,  though I miss the benches.   The 16th century rooms are wonderful,  and the da Vinci restoration was eye-opening.  I'm glad I could see the special exhibit.  

The only thing left was gelato (Neri!) and free time to wander.  From the Arno banks to the Leather Markets, the city had changed a little.   You couldn't sit on the steps of the Duomo any longer (so sad, it was my favorite way to spend an evening) and the big flower pots were lovely in the street, disguising ptotection from runaway trucks.  But it was still teeming with life and tourists and art everywhere.  Leaving was hard, but my energy had returned from a day in my favorite place.  On to Israel.

Uzbekistan 3: Samarkand

My fascination with Samarkand began the first time I heard of it.  I was in college,  studying ancient trade routes,  and it sounded like the most exotic place in the world.  As I got older and learned more,  through teaching the Mongols and Timur,  Samarkand jumped to the top of my "someday I'll go there" list.  I even looked up plane tickets a few times- very expensive and long layovers from Boston!

However,  if I had a year to travel,  I was gong to go there.  It was the last stop on the Uzbekistan tour and did not disappoint.  We arrived by van from Bukhara at sunset,  just able to see the dome of Timur's  mausoleum peeking above the trees.  The large statue of him sat regally nearby. After dinner we walked over to see it lit up at night.  It was magical!  Like something out of a fairy tale.  

In the morning we returned,  to visit the tombs inside and walk through the complex.  I couldn't believe I was seeing the cursed tomb I teach about every year.   The tiles were so beautiful on the gate and on the done.  Standing at the grave of such an influential world leader was humbling.   This man shaped the world in the 1300s. 

Next up was the famous Registan, where three huge tiled madrassas faced a massive  open square. Each had its own unique tile patterns, with fantastical animals and floral motifs.  I could have stared at the tile for hours.  I took a lot of photos.   From there we walked to the Bibi Khanym mosque which has-- wait for it-- more tiles and turquoise domes. You'd think I would be sick of it,  but it was just too pretty. Much of this site was still unrestored, but some parts were cry impressive,  especially the huge dome. 

After lunch we went to the market, to see the dried fruit,  nuts,  cheese,  candy,  and fresh produce available.   It was fun to walk around.   Our last stop of the day was a necropolis, the Shah-i-Zinda.  The guide promised the ultimate example of tiles,  and he was not wrong.  Huge mausoleums lined the street up the hill in dazzling walls of blue and teal.  Every time you thought you had  seen the best,  another corner led to more beauty.  In the late afternoon sun,  it was spectacular. 

That evening,  we walked up to see the Registan at night.  It was lit beautifully.  They also had a short light show about the history of the region.  It was really well done,  Disney quality!  It highlighted a lot of the themes I teach. 

Our last day in Samarkand we saw some smaller sites.   We visited the history museum with incredible frescoes showing foreign visitors to the city.   We walked up to the old city,  now a deserted field since the Mongol invasions.   We went to the site of the astrological observatory and saw the small museum there.   After lunch,  it was just shopping and then boarding the train back to Tashkent.

Overall I loved my time in Uzbekistan.  I had a great group and guide,  which helped,  but everywhere people were friendly and helpful.  The food was delicious,  the sites powerful and pretty,  and the accommodations much better than expected.  It was a dream come true to go, and my trip will be a treasured memory forever. 

Uzbekistan 2: Bukhara

We arrived late in Bukhara and checked into this old palace hjotel.  The rooms were decorated like a 19th century Ottoman home, full of fancy plaster and carving.  The beds were so comfortable!  The next day we set out early to see the sites.  Bukhara has preserved or restored much of its trading history.  We entered the city through a trade gate, walking past caravan sarais that onced houses horses and camela.  The domed trade gates are still trader centers but now thwy sell souvenirs. 

We saw some of the madrasses on that end of town, then rode across town ro one of the oldeat buildings, a place with simple terra cotta decor, no color.  It was a mausoleum from the 11th century.  Then we walked across a park to a mosque and the old palace.  This was once the capital of the city.  It's now mostly a museum.   Only part of the palace is restored from the Bolshevik era destruction.  I loved seeing the old clothing on display there, and the photos of what it looked like with a  huge market outside in the past.  We heard a lot about early European contacts that occurred here.  

Next we walked to the grand madrassas nearby.  They faced each other  imposingly, with the towering minaret in between.   It was breathtaking.  Inside the tiles just kept getting more and more beautiful.  I leaned about the different Arabic scripts used and started being able to spot the difference.   I can inky read two words in Arabic-Muhammad and Allah- so finding them in the decor made a fun game.   Inside there was still an active school,  which was pretty cool.  I want to go to school in a half millenia old building!

After a lunch of shashik (meat on skewers), we went to another trade dome to see local crafts in a historical setting.  The embroidered fabrics were beautiful, as were the scissors that looked like storks.  In the afternoon we saw the Jewish synagogue near our hotel,  a reminder of the city's diverse past.  In the evening we saw some traditional dancing.  

Day two began at the Chor Minor mosque (the cover of Lonely Planet Central Asia) and continued to the Summer Palace, a 19th century residence of the Khan. It was still being restored but the plasterwork was beautifully detailed.  They used mirrors to reflect light in the rooms.  

That was the end of our time in Bukhara.  Off to Samarkand!

Uzbekistan 1: Tashkent and Khiva

I don't evenknow where to begin.  I'm wiring this on a bullet train,  racing from Samarkand to Tashkent at the end of the most amazing week.  It's always been a dream to see the cities of the Silk Road.  This week had seen that dream come true.

I decided to use Advantour for this journey, because l  knew this was not a trip to take alone. I couldn't have been happier with my small tour (5-7) total, amazing guide, easy transit, lovely accommodations,  and a superb office staff who made the entire trip so smooth. 

I arrived in the evening on Thursday,  and was met by a tour rep.  He helped with customs,  and then the driver stopped at the bank so I could get local currency.  Last month the government devalued the money to match the black market rate,  stabilizing the economy.  I checked into the hotel,  which was basic but fine.   The next day I'd planned to exile in my own a bit,  but it rained.  A lot.  So I caught I up on work instead.

I met the tour on Saturday morning,  and we set off around Tashkent.  The city was nothing like what I'd expected.  Wide boulevards stretched through the city,  connecting a mix of Soviet era brutalist style buildings with modern ones.   There were shiny monuments to the 1991 independence of Uzbekistan, commanding to Timur, and somber memorials to those lost in war.  Their tomb of the unknown soldier has a statue of a grieving mother rather than a symbol of war.   I find it very powerful.  We also got our first taste of Timurid tile work and saw the oldest Qu'ran in existence.  Lunch was a traditional meal of plov, a mix between stew and fried rice.  I feel in love,  it was so good and filling.   I can't wait to make it at home.   Our last stop was a museum of applied crafts where we learned about making traditional embroidered fabric called suzani.  It is really cool to see how a people who had been forced to give up their traditions while under Soviet rule are now making efforts to revive and celebrate those crafts. 

We took and evening flight to Urgench and then drove through the night to Kiva.  The hotel was just outside the city wall, a cute little inn with a central dining room. 

In the morning,  we started our tour at the gate.   There's so much more from this area than I realized! Many of the scientists from the Golden Age of Islam were from this part of the world.  It was so surprising to see statues and pictures of them in museums! Kiva is a small city,  still wrapped in is city walls.  It was not raised by the Mongols so many old buildings remain.   The palace looks like simple mud brick,  but when you turn the corner you are in a courtyard decorated with the most beautiful blue and aqua tile.  Kiva tile is majolica, different colors applied with glaze.   I could have stared for hours and still not seen all of the details.   We walked from site to site,  from the half finished but fully decorated minaret to the old mosque with wooden columns to the mausoleum across town.   For lunch I had gumma, a kind of fried dumpling, and pumpkin soup.  In the afternoon we had free time to climb the city walls.  Scary! Crumbly mud walls, no railing, no hope of you lose your balance. But,  man,  the views! We ended the day by climbing the tower to see  whole city bathed in golden sunset.   Then it was a race to the airport for a night flight to Bhukara.

The long story

So,  last week while having a fantastic time in Uzbekistan, my cousin texted me a link to a BBC article about the US and Turkey suspending visa support for each other.  "How does this affect you?" She asked.  She knew that I was flying back to Istanbul on Friday. I thought it didn't.  I already had a visa. 

But the more I read, I started seeing phrases like "essentially suspends all travel" in other articles.  There was nothing on the state department site, nothing on the embassy site, just a lot of unclear speculation in the news and a refund announcement from Turkish Airlines.  I started to think that I might NOT be ok to return to Turkey.

I thought I'd just extend my time in Tashkent, but my visa was expiring.  I thought I'd just go to Tel Aviv early, but the price of that started with $2000 and went scary high from there.  I realized there was going to be a big change of plans in order, and started looking at options.  There were basically three possibilities out of Tashkent on Friday to places I could go without a visa: Paris, Milan, and New York.  Milan was cheapest, and closest, so I booked that.   Then I found a flight from Milan to Tel Aviv.   That one was more expensive.... but necessary.  

I managed to get a hotel through my sister's  connection,  and then set about canceling Turkey.  Some was easy.  Some required having my very wonderful cousin in the US call pretending to be me to cancel flights since I couldn't do it online and I didn't have a phone.   Some was refundable.   Some wasn't.  Nothing was covered by travel insurance.  

So I flew to Milan instead of Istanbul, and saw Renaissance art instead of Roman ruins.  I'll get to Ephesus someday.   In the meantime,  I'm trying not to think about how much this unexpected adventure cost and just enjoy it.  It's better than being stick in limbo at the Istanbul airport. 

And that's the long version of why I'm in Italy today.  

Delphi

One thing I got in Greece was a terrible cold.  It knocked me out for a day mid week.  So I figured a three hour ride to Delphi would be a good excuse for an easy day,  and still check off one of the big sites.

Delphi was awesome. I loved being able to walk up the hill in the path of so many poodle before me- the ancients and the tourists.  :)  the site was well preserved and arranged did you could feel a bit of how it was.  Pictures in the museum helped imagine it even more.   There was the "navel" stone,  the serpentine column,  the impressive columns,  and above it all,  the stadium.  I'm so glad I climbed all the way up! Nearby was the picturesque temple to Athena and Olympic training grounds.  It was a beautiful day,  though windy,  perfect for walking in the mountains.  This might have been my favorite stop in Greece.

On the way home I had a delightful conversation with a man from Michigan who was in Greece on holiday.  It was so nice to have someone to talk to! It does get lonely on the road. 

Athens

Athens is not an easy city.  All of the smooth connections and quick settling in ended here.  Athens is crowded,  with lots of graffiti and little personal space.  It's loud and confusing,  easy to get lost in.   My apartment was much further away than I'd anticipated,  creating an extra expense in transit.

Still,  Athens was worth the trouble. From the pretty churches to the awe inspiring ruins to the impressive museums,  Athens had everything I'd expected and more.  The good was cheap and delicious.  I loved the chicken souvlaki at Thasonos, and the gyros from just about everywhere.   I loved finding ruins around the corner, just little preserved pieces of the past.  I loved climbing to the Acropolis- twice!- because of that sense of amazement upon arrival at the gate.  

I was incredibly impressed with the Acropolis museum.  It had some great uses of technology along with artifacts to bring them to life, some wonderful examples of polychrome statutes,  and such a huge collection of art.   I was giddy too see Kritios   Boy, the work we compare to Michelangelo's when studying the Renaissance.   And yes,  the selection of Parthenon marbles was stunning.  The Elgin marbles belong here,  hands down,  no question.   England needs to send them home.  

The museum of archeology was a great contrast to the Acropolis museum.  It was far more stodgy,  but equally interesting because of the depth of its collection.  I've never seen such great Greek statutes.  I hadn't realized how much funeral stones told about daily life.   I was blown away by the bronzes.  I would have bought the replicas in the gift shop if I had infinite space and money. 

I haven't studied much ancient Greece before,  not since Mr. Smelstor's 9th grade ancient civ  class.   I'm a little hooked now though!

Budapest

I feel like I'm playing a game of "No, I love YOU more with European cities.  Copenhagen was great, loved Prague, rocked Salzburg, was ready to move to Vienna, and then I got to Budapest.  The bus ride from the train station showed me a worn city, a little gritty, a little tired, a little pretty under the grime.  That matched what I'd heard about it.

But the next day, with the sun shining, I started walkikng around, and oh, Budapest.  You are none of those things. You're amazing.

Most of the buildings here are a style called historicism, aka, neo-everything.  Mix up all the fancy stuff and make it look pretty. It worked.  A little Baroque, a little Gothic, a little Rococo... even a little Moorish. I really liked it! It was just pretty.  The city underwent a major revival in 1896, their millennium,  so it is highly influenced by Hapsburg Vienna.   It was, after all, a capital of the Austro- Hungarian empire!

The city is full of art, modern statues and fountains.  Some are memorials,  some are just for fun.   It made walking around always interesting.   I loved the fountain of the book turning a page! 

I did the Rick Steve's walking tours of Leopold town and Old City of Pest on the first day.  I was fascinated by the controversy of the monuments to communism and related to Hungarian activity during WWII.  It's not a topic I've studied much about but there is so much there to examine.   I think there are some great lessons using these examples,  especially given the flare up on controversy about Confederate monuments in the US this summer.  

In day 2, I went to the Jewish quarter and toured the Great Synagogue.  I've purposefully avoided holocaust sites because I find them really upsetting,  but there was so much other history here,  and I didn't realize how much horror was here too.  It was moving,  shocking,  painful, and I think necessary to understanding the city.   After,  I went through the Jewish quarter,  seeing the other synagogues,  art,  and ruin bars.  It led back to Deak Ferenc Ter, from where I walked down the broad street past the opera house and theaters to the Museum of Terror.  It's a retelling of the horrors of 20th century life in Hungary under the Double Occupation of the Nazis and the Soviets.  I found it informative and a little bizarre.  It was definitely terrifying. 
Day 2 ended at heroes square, with the Hungarian history in statues leading into city park.  

Day 3 I was ready for something different,  so I went to the baths to experience a unique part of life in Budapest. It was heavenly.   Hot water,  lounging, quiet mediation... I loved it!   After a leisurely day,  I took the bus to Castle Hill to see the sites in Buda.  The cathedral was beautiful. 

After three days in the city,  I ventured a bit north by train to Szentendre, the beginning of a region called the Danube Bend.  Full of Serbian Orthodox influences,  it was a little touristy but had an inviting row of restaurants by the river that proved to be the perfect place to send the lunch hour.  Lunch on the Danube,  pretty awesome.

I ended up spending the rest of my time just wandering around the city.   Really, Budapest was just a delight to visit,  so much life,  so much controversy.   I'm so happy I came. 

Vienna

I could live in Vienna. Hands down,  no question.  Clean,  easy to get around, full of history and culture- what isn't there to love? I learned so much about the Hapsburg Empire and their influence from the Middle Ages through World War I.  I soaked in the music, the art, and the coffee culture.  I'd go back in a heartbeat.

The Kunsthistories museum quickly became one of my favorite in the world.  The collection was vast and well annotated.  I had been looking forward to their Bruegel works, but there was so much more.  There was a room of Titan- a whole room!! I just sank into the plush benches in the middle of the room in wonder. Portraits, goddesses, Venetian masterpieces- it was so much! And add in Raphael, Surer, Tintoretto, and Bruegel- my Renaissance junkie was in heaven.  I spent hours there.  Oh, and Cellini's salt cellar! The gold statue I've read about for over a decade. 

But even beyond my Renaissance addiction, there was the impressive ancient collection.   The Egypt rooms were so well done with painted ceilings.  The main staircase had original works by Klimt on the walls.  The building itself was art.  I stayed for hours- it honestly could have been days.

And that was just one.  The Albertina was a bit of a disappointment because they have an amazing drawing collection- Durer's Young Hare and Tuft of Grass included,  but none were on display, only copies.  

The Imperial Apartments were lavish and, well, another palace. The CiCi museum,  focusing on the wife of one of the last emperors, was an interesting look at one of the last big Hapsburg personalities.  I like the "case study" approach, but she seemed an extreme case.  I much more enjoyed the parts about Maria Theresa.   There was a lot about her at the Schronbrun Palace just outside of the city.  

Further north was Melk Abbey, with its gorgeous library and fancy Baroque church.   That and the state library in the city were giving me seriously Beauty and the Beast feeloings... and life goals for my own house once I get home.  

My favorite thing about Vienna,  though was the Opera.  For only a few Euro you could get standing room tickets for the Opera,  which opened the week I was there.   I saw Marriage of Figaro and Barber of Seville and they were just phenomenal.  The music,  the setting, the performers... it was just perfect.   The city's commitment to affordable music is so commendable.  I toured the Opera house one day as well to learn more of the history and behind the scenes happenings. 

Overall Vienna was just fantastic.   It's rare I feel so at home in a foreign place and I really home to return someday. 

Munich

Munich and I are going to have to give things another shot sometime, cause this didn't work out so well.  I want to love Munich. There is so much potential there, this just wasn't the right time. 

First, the city is under massive construction.  I believe they are adding transit lines.  It made walking around challenging.  Sometimes you had to detour blocks out of the way to find a crosswalk.  The art museum was half closed, and of course it was the half I wanted

Second, it rained.  A lot.  There were showers every day, and one day was a total washout. That made it hard to really enjoy my time there.  It also closed the beer gardens. 

Third, I wasn't feeling great and had to force myself out, in the rain, to see things.  Overall these combined to a fairly unpleasant three days. 

So I need to return to Munich, especially once the AltePinakoteca is complete.  They had some of their Renaissance works on display including a da Vinci, but there was no Botticelli. Tons of Reubens , though.  Nothing against the guy, but every museum has rooms of his work.  It's not that special.  It's like the IKEA of art- anywhere in the world you can find it and it looks the same. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself.   I started Munich wth a delicious döner kebab dinner and grocery shopping at Aldi.  The next  morning started sunny,  so I got a multi day tram ticket and set off exploring.  I followed the Rick Steves's walking tour in the morning sun, soaking up the history at the town hall and old churches.   Most of Munich was bombed and rebuilt after WWII so it seemed sort of like fake history in many ways.   Especially the "medieval" quarter. It was interesting to see all the places where the Nazi party got started.  Scary interesting, honestly. 

It started to rain just as I finished the walking tour,  so I caught a bus to the art museum, with its half closed galleries. I was so disappointed because I've read about this museum for years of Renaissance research.  Oh well. I'll just have to return. 

Day two was a washout.

Day three it was still raining.  However,  I couldn't spend another day just sitting around.  I went to the Egypt museum first. It was incredible.  Museums are really evolving into wonderful learning spaces.  Interactive displays,  pull out drawers of textiles, mixed in recreated art to bring artifacts to life.... I love it.  This was a great museum.   I strongly recommend it. 

Then it was off to lunch and an afternoon at the Residenz, the local palace.  The crown jewels were lovely, the state rooms endless, and the audio guide very detailed.  It was a good rainy day distraction but not as exquisite as some other palaces I've seen. If I could redo, I'd go to the Deutches museum instead. 

At night I visited a beer hall, since the beer gardens were closed by rain, then packed up for the next destination.