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TA HAL Oosterdam 2023TA HAL Oosterdam 2023
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TA HAL Oosterdam 2023

October - November 2023
Another westbound TransAtlantic to return us home from our annual trip to Türkiye ... with sightseeing along the way. Read more
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  • TA HAL Oosterdam 2023
    Day 1

    ... Another Door Opens

    October 21, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    The “door” in this case is a trip.

    We are still in İzmir, awaiting our flight to İstanbul in order to embark Oosterdam this afternoon for the cruise back home. That said, our annual trip to visit family is over.

    We had some Turkish Airlines (THY) Miles & Smiles points that were due to expire at the end of the year. So, we splurged and bought business-class tickets for the short hop to IST.

    Thus we begin our next trip in style ... waiting in the THY Business Lounge for TK 2313 to be called. Even better, we entered the airport through the VIP lounge ... thus avoiding the first of two layers of security that passengers have to go through at the main terminal.    Read more

  • TA HAL Oosterdam 2023
    Day 1

    Aboard TK2313

    October 21, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    A comfortable airport bus brought us from the THY Lounge directly to the gate where our air chariot — a wide-body B777-300 — was waiting for us.

    We’ve flown this aircraft many times … both internationally as well as domestically. Being familiar with the layout, we quickly found our seats — 2J and 2K — easily enough.

    The welcome aboard drinks have been served … fresh squeezed OJ was our choice. Now we await take-off!    Read more

  • TA HAL Oosterdam 2023
    1
    1
    Day 1

    Embarked Oosterdam

    October 21, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    TK2313 landed at IST at noon.

    It took us another hour to taxi to the terminal, get bussed to baggage claim, collect our bags, walk to the metro station, and hop on the next train traveling from the airport in the direction of Gayrettepe. Since the metro line has not been completed to the last station yet, we hopped off at Kağıthane and hailed a cab to Galataport. By 3:00p, we were at the cruise terminal … glimpsing Oosterdam on approach, maneuvering to squeeze into its berth between two other cruise vessels.

    We had a bit of a wait while the ship completed clearance formalities and disembarked passengers for their shore excursions. Shortly after 4:00p, we were on our way to the ship.

    Since we would become “transit passengers” once we embarked Oosterdam, first we had to go through immigration formalities to exit Türkiye. Then onto the ship, where we went through the check-in formalities and received our keycards for the cabin. Yay!

    We had no trouble finding SS6052, our suite on deck 6 … our bags standing outside the door. In a previous footprint, explained why we are in a signature suite on this cruise, so I won’t go into that again. Suffice to say that our corner suite is quite spacious … and even better, has an oversized veranda. The decor is dated, however, and the wear and tear wrought by the passage of time since we were last on Oosterdam in 2018 is quite apparent. No matter. We will enjoy the extra space for the next 24 days.

    We did not dally in the cabin to settle in. Instead, once we had the luggage inside, we headed right back out to enjoy a bit of sightseeing and food.    Read more

  • TA HAL Oosterdam 2023
    Day 1

    Europe to Asia to Europe

    October 21, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ 🌙 72 °F

    Having recently spent a few days in İstanbul with his friends, Mui had our evening in İstanbul all planned out.

    We were to take a cruise across the Bosphorus to Üsküdar; take another cruise to Aşiyan for sightseeing; make our way to Kadıköy for dinner; return to Karaköy … traveling thus from Europe to Asia and back to Europe in the span of a couple of hours … using public transportation to get us there and back.

    We started out by taking the metro from the station near Galataport to the ferry terminal. A lovely sunset cruise to the Asian side of the Bosphorus. So far, so good. A few minutes later, however, we were jiggling our plans. No cruises to Aşiyan this evening. So, we hopped on a bus to go straight to Kadıköy instead.

    Hamsi Pub, the place Mui had in mind for dinner, is located in the historic shopping district. There are still lots of shops where one can spend money galore, but restaurants and cafes line the streets as well … the tables filled with patrons enjoying a night out on the town … music blaring from loudspeakers.

    I wasn’t sure we’d be able to get a table on a Saturday night without reservations. But our timing worked in our favor as 7:00p is still fairly early by Turkish dining standards. From the tray of mezes (Turkish tapas) we selected a couple of dishes … supplementing them with a shrimp casserole and fried calamari. We wrapped up our delicious meal with a very tasty semolina halva stuffed with vanilla ice cream. Can you say yummy?

    The return ferry ride to Karaköy gave us a scenic nighttime cruise that we enjoyed from the back deck of the ferry. The ferry landing wasn’t too far from Galataport, so we got some steps in on the way back to the ship.

    It was 9:30p by the time we were back in the cabin. It was very tempting to just go to bed and leave the unpacking until tomorrow. With a short day in port, however, we decided to forego a bit of sleep tonight instead of losing sightseeing time in İstanbul tomorrow.

    Oh! I almost forgot. On the way back to Oosterdam, we detoured into Mui’s favorite shop in İstanbul — Hafız Mustafa. Conveniently, there is a branch at Galataport. A box of baklava, thus made it onto the ship with us 😉    Read more

  • TA HAL Oosterdam 2023
    Day 2

    Breakfast & Karaköy Stroll

    October 22, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

    Our second day in İstanbul didn’t start as early as we thought it would. No surprise I guess. It was well past midnight when we finally got to bed after settling into the cabin last night. Anyway, by 8:30a, we were off the ship to make the most of what time we had remaining in İstanbul.

    The plan was to have breakfast on the waterfront in Karaköy before doing a bit of museum-seeing.

    As we did yesterday, we took the metro from the station near Galataport to the Galata Bridge … just one stop. From there we walked to the waterfront where locals had mentioned that we could find a couple of places to have breakfast. We did. But not the kind of breakfast we were hoping for. In hindsight, grabbing breakfast at Galataport might have been a better idea. On the other hand, a quick breakfast saved us from dallying over our food and gave us time for a stroll.

    We ate our our simple morning repast as we watched anglers fishing from the Galata Bridge … ferries flitting here and there across the Bosphorus … seagulls looking for handouts. At that early hour on a Sunday morning, it was rather peaceful … which we enjoyed after the hubbub of İstanbul yesterday.

    From the Karaköy ferry landing, from where we walked to Galataport last night, we retraced our steps. After all, we had time before the art museum we planned to visit opened for the day. And, as it was a comfortably warm morning, getting some extra steps logged in did not go amiss. We meandered on to a few side streets to check them out along the way. Mui, of course, had to peek into the baklava shops along the way. But this time his wallet stayed in his pocket.    Read more

  • TA HAL Oosterdam 2023
    Day 2

    İstanbul Modern @ Galataport

    October 22, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    Located in its purpose-built new home, İstanbul Modern — an art museum that sits on the waterfront — is part of the Galataport complex.

    It had not yet opened to visitors when we stopped in İstanbul on our Insignia cruise in April 2022. The museum’s proximity to the cruise terminal made it an excellent choice for us today since Oosterdam’s scheduled 3:00p departure meant that we had a short day in port.

    We arrived at the museum five minutes before it’s scheduled opening at 10:00a and were amongst the few to enter at that early hour. A quick stop to purchase tickets — ₺120/person for 65+ ($4.25 at today’s exchange rate) — and soon we were making our way up to the first floor to begin wandering through the various halls hosting exhibits.

    Admittedly, modern art is not really our cup of tea. But the museum is very well done. And we did find a number of pieces that made sense to us. The interpretation of some of the others left us befuddled and scratching our heads. Nonetheless, the museum was worth the price of admission … more so when converted to USD.

    Our tickets also gave us access to the observation deck on the top floor … with a reflecting pool doubling our pleasure in the scenery around us.    Read more

  • TA HAL Oosterdam 2023
    Day 2

    Lunch @ Hafız Mustafa @ Galataport

    October 22, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    It was almost noon when we left İstanbul Modern. Our tummies were starting to growl.

    We briefly debated leaving the Galataport secure zone to get ourselves some lunch at a less touristy place. But then decided to do what we did in Dubai earlier this year … go to Hafız Mustafa for su böreği (a savory pastry with a cheese filling) and künefe (a sweet made from layers of shredded pastry [kadayıf] with cheese in the middle) … accompanied by Turkish tea.

    Our timing was perfect. No sooner were we seated at a table for two that the entire place filled up. We enjoyed our meal … taking time afterwards to share photos with friends and family while we still have our T-Mobile data. (On this cruise, we will only have internet when we are ashore in a port of call.)

    Mui’s craving for all-things Hafız Mustafa has now been sated … until next time 😄    Read more

  • TA HAL Oosterdam 2023
    1
    Day 2

    Bye Bye İstanbul

    October 22, 2023 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    After lunch, we did a bit of shopping at Macro Center … a supermarket just outside the secure zone for Galataport and the cruise terminal. Then it was time to embark Oosterdam and prepare for the sail away from İstanbul.

    The bowlines were let go a little after 3:00p … the delay due to late arriving ship’s tours. Mui and I went up to the Observation Deck for the sail away so that we could move from port to starboard and back as warranted by the scenery.

    The Bosphorus provides a scenic backdrop for cruise departures from İstanbul. I just wish the smog/marine layer didn’t detract so much from the beauty of the landscape. Of course, the harsh mid-afternoon light did not help matters either. I clicked off a few shots nonetheless … just to have a few photos for this footprint.

    We’re now headed to the Sea of Marmara … and from there we will transit the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea. It will be nightfall by then, so I don’t expect to see much. No worries. We’ve done the transit through the strait before and know well what we will be missing tonight.    Read more

  • TA HAL Oosterdam 2023
    Day 3

    Welcome to Mykonos

    October 23, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    “A first for me,” said Captain Rena van Eerten in his welcome announcement for the Greek island of Mykonos when we arrived mid-morning. He was referring to the wind-free conditions of today. Indeed unusual for an island that is dotted with windmills.

    Our itinerary had us tendering into Mykonos Town. But we learned last night that we would be docking instead … at the new port … about a mile from town. That brought up the question of how to make our way to the town center. Though the distance is walkable, the narrow, curvy, busy road has no sidewalks. Thus walking was out. Would there be a shuttle service … like the one we used when we called on Mykonos in 2013? Yes, there would. But there was a better alternative this time … water taxis … for €2/person each way. Excellent.

    Disembarking Oosterdam, we walked across the way to the small boat harbor from which the water taxis depart. Within minutes we had round trip tickets in our pocket and were getting on the next departure to Mykonos Town.

    The 10-minute ride was pleasant … the shade on the aft deck where we stood welcome as it was a sunny blue-sky day and unseasonably hot … with no wind to mitigate the heat. Shortly after 11:00a, we were walking off the gangway and making our way into town.    Read more

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