Istanbulians are very friendly people.  That is the first thing I noticed when I got off the tram from the airport.  People were stopping me in the street and asking me where I am from and how am I today.  Very different from the western culture I grew up in.  It resembles more closely the central asain cities I visited at the begining of my trip this summer.  The city itself is full of trees and seaside views.  It is a large city divided by the Bosphorus Sea which leads to the Black Sea.  On either side of the sea is the "European Side" and the "Asian Side".  Parts of the old city walls left from the times of the Byzantine Empire still dot the center of the city, and most of the popular tourist destinataions are located inside these remnents.  My favorite excusion so far had been a ferry ride up the Bosphorus Sea.  There is so much more to see here in Turkey, apart from Istanbul itself.  I hope to come back to Turky another time and see other Turkish tresures such as the Kapidokia caves, which are old caves carved into calcium rock formatins which Greek Christians used to live in. 

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Somewhere over the rainbow...

Somewhere over the rainbow...

A communist arch

A communist arch

Holodmore monument

Holodmore monument

My four days in Kiev have been fun and interesting so far.  I am able to practice my Russian now since Ukrainians seem to understand Russian, and the two languages are not terribly different.  The hostel I am living at is a short walk from a little theme park along the Volga river complete with communist arch and sculptures.  People here in Kiev seem to be fassionable and friendly, and love to chat.  One of my favorite things is to walk underneath the roads where there are all types of resturants and people selling wears, candy, flowers and various things.  It's like every major street has its own little bazar underneath, and they can be quite colorful.  I have discovered that some of the outwardly hiddious looking communist era apartment buildings are actually quite nice inside.  There arn't allot of museums here, but just walking around the city is interesting enough.  It is not as much of a touristy place as the other cities I have been to.

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The Volga

The Volga

First king of Croatia Tomislav

First king of Croatia Tomislav

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Yagreb is nice city.  It has a very zoung feeling to it.  That is because it has had to be rebuilt after the last war with Serbia and Yugoslavia.  There is allot to learn here walking around and visiting various museums.  The hostel is right next to the main square where sits a sculpture of the national hero Josip Jelačić.  He was a general who united Dalmatia and Slavonia (parts of Croatia) with the rest of Croatia.  He opposed the Hungarian revolution, so he has a mixed reputation with people.  Yesterdaz I walked around the upper city, and today I will tour the lower city.  There was a time when the two cities were actuaklly at war with eachother. 

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My last daz in Budapest has been beautiful.  I spent almost the entire day at the public bath house.  There are dozens of bathes there and several saunas as well.  It is really an amazing place.  Full of people smiling and having a good time.  The city has been real pleasant.  I went to the Museum of Terror which is a museum based in a building that was occupied subsequently by the natzies and then the AVO (the Hungarian KGB), and was used as a prison and executin chamber for both these asociations.  Now it is converted into a modern educational art museum with several floors of gruesumming horror.  I also went to the Hungarian zoo which was quite big and an interesting place to wander around in alone.  Much of the city itself is a UNESCO heritage site because of its unique and old architecture.  the hostel I am staying at is itself a protected UNESCO site!  The funest thing to do here is to rent a bike and go around the city, and especially veiwing the Danube at night.  It is interesting to think of all the tribes of peoples that migrated through this region: Celts, Romans, Magars... It is really an amazing place.  the hungarian language itself dervies from a language distantly related to Turkish, Estonain and finish.  The Magyars were a Central Asian people who migrated to this region and that is where the language suposidly originated. 

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The Danube River

The Danube River

The Duna river

The Duna river

Most old Synagogs here in Pecs Hungary h

Most old Synagogs here in Pecs Hungary have been converted into cristian churches

My time in Prague has been nice.  I like the atmosphere of the city, and this is the most English friendly city I have been in so far.  Some of the highlights for me were a big toy museum featuring a barbie doll 50 year birthday exhibit, and a really nice museum about the history of the Prague castle.  I learned how Prague used to be part of the Roman Empire, and that the castle's location has existed here for many thousands of years  before the C.E.  Although the Check people are a Slavic people their contact with the west has been going on for a long time.  After the fall of Rome, western contact continued through France.  Other highlights have been the quiet tram rides and nice people here at Sir Toby's hostel.  It is a very welcoming city. 

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The neo-baroche style cathedral of St We

The neo-baroche style cathedral of St Wenceslaus

Oloumuc is a city in the Chezch Republic.  It is a quiet, nice college town with an old history.  The Chezch Republic used to be part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire.  After WWI it gained independance and was called "Chezchoslovakia".  After it was liberated from Germany by the Red Army, the communist party won popularity and it became communisat rulled.  There was dissillusionment with communist rule.  Attempts made at reforming the communistv party led to an event called the "Prague Spring".  In 1968 countires of the Warsaw pact invaded Chezchoslovakia.  It wasn't untill the 1989 "Velvet Revolution" that the country became the republic it is today, the Chezch Republic. 

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