bolu

time to leave istanbul behind. on hitchwiki, i had heard of a great hitchhiking spot where people would offer to take you to basically anywhere in turkey in a matter of minutes. because i myself couldn't really decide where to go next, i figured i'd just stick the thumb out and see where it takes me.

by the time my clothes were dry and i was ready to go, it was already 3pm. just getting to the rest stop in the first place would take almost 2 hours, by which time the sun would almost be down already. ipek invited me to just stay another night and go early the next day, so i did.

i had a great view over all of istanbul crossing the bridge to the asian side for the final time, leaving europe behind for good now. i arrived ar the alledged super rest stop just to find the gas station closed. there were just a couple of truckers taking a break there. i decided to give it a shot anyways and was picked up after about 20 minutes by a truck driver.

he spoke just enough english and german to understand that i was trying to reach a big city. he said he would take me to a good spot where it would be super easy to catch a ride. i climbed up into the cabin and we drove for 15 minutes. then all of a sudden, he just pulled over to the emergency lane and stopped. in the middle of nowhere.

i explained that it would be dangerous here and that nobody would stop, so he drove me a couple of metres more to a toll station. i had to cross the highway to get to the right side, but luckily the police and toll units didn't mind. hitchhiking really seems to be hassle free in turkey. i got a lot of smiles and greetings from the personnel there.

even here, there were almost exclusively trucks coming through. i started waiting. an hour went by, nothing happened. , one of the toll station staff came up to me and handed me a bag with water, cookies and fruit. he made my day. i hadn't packed any food at all, so the guy really saved me. spirits went from low to high again. after a bit more waiting, finally a car with swiss license plates stopped. it was going to istanbul, i declined and mentally prepared to spend the night somewhere in the nearby woods.

finally, just minutes before sunset, a pretty young truck driver picked me up. he was going to düzce, halfway in the direction of ankara. i jumped in and he gave me wifi and dj privileges. the drive was way more scenic than expected. after two hours, we stopped at a rest station and he invited me to join him in the truck driver cantine. i was very much out of place, but finally got some real food in me.

shortly before eight, we arrived and he dropped me off in düzce. i had no idea what to do here and just decided to check the bus terminal for any rides to bigger cities. here, google maps and other travel apps aren't reliable anymore, so you actually have to go there and ask around.

after some complications and with a lot of help from google translate, for a couple of euros, the lady behind the counter sold me a ticket to bolu. waiting for the bus, i met a man that had lived in germany for a couple of years, who had somehow managed to figure out my nationality just by looks and started speaking to me in german, helping me with the boarding.

arrived in bolu pretty late when shit went sideways. getting off the city bus from the bus station to the center, i noticed that my credit card was missing. checked my pockets multiple times, nothing. froze it via the app and already contemplated what my next steps would be. turns out it had slid into my passport, huge relieve.

still no idea where i'd sleep that night, so i just went to the cheapest accomodation i could find. neither was it a hotel, nor a hostel, nor an apartment building. more like an actual old-fashioned guesthouse. i had to knock on the wooden door of an old house with one of those metal door rings. didn't have much confidence that the place would still be open, but then a tiny, old babushka opened the door and welcomed me in.

she didn't speak much english, so i spoke to her daughter over the phone. just 5 minutes later, i was already in my room, more specifically the toilet of narnia.

for 16 euros, i had not only a three person room to myself, but also a breakfast included. i was served a huge platter with vegetables, bread, cheese, honey and more. the old lady even made eggs and çaj for me. 10/10 recommend.

the only problem was the weather. it was already rainy and almost freezing. also, i had been warned that there would basically be snow storm that week, with temperatures dropping below -15°C. i wasn't really up for that, so i started looking up bus connections. when i found out that i could take a night bus southwest to izmir for a couple of euros, i couldn't withstand.

now i just had to spend the day somehow. went to the grocery store, where a group of kids were very interested in me and my backpack, then checked the iranian embassy website to find that i was finally online again. filled in my visa application right then and there, agreeing to go to the embassy in ankara sometime soon to get the paperwork done.

then, i decided it was finally time to get all my flag patches onto my backpack. managed to find a couple ladies in some basement that agreed to sew them on there. now, i really, really stand out. i no longer look homeless, but like an actual traveller, and the staring from others went crazy from that point on.

many tried to start a conversation, i got two fee çajs in a matter of minutes and a shop owner dragged me into his kebab place to make me a free dürüm. these turks man, i love them. then finally, i met some turkish rapper and his mates, i was with them for a good hour. i was taught various turkish slurs and we even took shots from my leftover jäger. very halal. but all good things come to and end, it was time to head off to izmir.Read more