Bye Bye Istanbul ...

... and Bye Bye Erkan :) Thanks for a great class and see you at the 5 billion party ;)

Sleepless in Istanbul...

...because of mosquitos!
Grrrr!

http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito

Dolmabahçe-Palace

During the weekend we visited the Dolmabahçe-Palace, which is located on the Bosporus. From outside the palace is very impressive and the garden is beautiful. But you cannot visit the palace individual, you have to take part in guided tour. And that can be a little bit boring ... Of course you get enough information to everything, but because there are so many tours on a day, the guides are not that much motivated ... But maybe this is also caused by the hot weather ...?! The inner part of the palace is also nice, but the ceremonial hall is incredible. We were unfortunately not allowed to take pictures inside. Sorry! 

But one fact was really worse. We had to wear a kind of "plastic bag" over our shoes. And you can image how "comfortable" this felt by 35 degrees... 

Very turkish...

Sushi Bar in Nisantasi

Studying

Today, we are studying :) Doing our sport ethic presentation and all the other stuff that has to be done :)

Greetings from Istanbul

Over the roofs of Istanbul

We are having a nice evening with our friends Gabi and Julia over the roofs of Istanbul.
One week left...

New best friends

Because it was so hot in the last days, we had some problems with our sleep. There were two opportunities ... Closed windows: Silence, but too hot. Opened windows: Pleasent temperature, but too loud. But those problems are now really "yesterday", because we have got some new good friends: earplugs! Ok, they look a little bit different, but it works!

Quiz

How many heads do you see on the backseat? :)
 

Cheers

I love homemade lemonade and TheHouseCafé :)

Great Expectations...

10 Things I love more than going to the beach:

01. I Love M&A
02. I Love negotiation homework
03. I Love being hungry
04. I Love sweating
05. I Love Charlie (don't worry Chris)
06. I Love having no WLAN
07. I Love the desert
08. I Love the melon seller
09. I Love spinach
10. I Love ants

Find the irony...

30 minus 1 days and nights

Actually we have to redefine the title of our blog. Because we have changed our flight back, we "only" stay in Istanbul for "30 minus 1 days and nights". So today in two weeks we ware already back in Germany. Two weeks - it sounds very long, but in fact the last two weeks felt so short and I think that the time during the next two weeks is going to rush ... And there are many To Do's left: Buying some nice souvenirs and presents on Grand Bazar, Visiting Asia, the Topkaki-Palace and of course having some courses in "sports ethic" and "PR and communication" ... And many many more ...

Could be worse

http://www.istanbulbeach.com/solar-beach/

Bad News on Friday 13th

When we came back home today, there was a big surprise... Our kitchen was under water.

We are still searching for the reason!

Maybe the dishwasher?...

By the way, the little black things in the water are our friends the ants. They learned to swim today! ...Not :)

Tip: Cakes

Today we have bought some very delicious cookies in our street. The shop is called "Cake City" and they have amazing Cakes and Cookies. Some look like an artwork and it smells so delicious in the shop. When you are here, you have to try some cookies!
But another German recommendation are pretzel sticks with "nutella". Salty and sweet - perfect!

Museums

Today we visited the Pera Muesum. We were surprised how modern and big this private museum is. We had a tour given by the Manager of this museum and it was really nice. He told us many things about the museum and the exhibitions.
Ok, the Anatolian Weights and Measures were not so exciting, but the pictures were much more interesting.

The Pera Museum by Night 

Tomorrow we are going to visit the Salt Museum. We do not know what we are going to see there ... So let's wait for tomorrow !!

Day 13

Our daily plan?

First: Social Media Classes with Erkan Saka.
Then: Visiting the Pera Museum near Taksim. Hopefully the 35°C will be passable. ;)

wetter.com

Day 10

On sunday we went to a very nice restaurant called Teras6.

We had an amazing view over Istanbul. My Steak was great. And with the help of the other friendly guests, I got it medium :) Thanks for that!

A Short Conclusion After One Week

Now we have already stayed in Istanbul for one week and there are still so many things we would like to do. But we still have three weeks to do all those things.
Right now I just can say that I have never seen a city like Istanbul before. The way of living in this city is not comparable with the German way of living. On the one hand it is chaotic, loud and crowded, but on the other hand the people here are relaxed and very friendly. After one week we have accepted the "chaos" and we are already able to cross the street without fear. I can tell you: I did not know how "dangerous" it can be to cross a street ...
In this city the past meets the future: There are so many old and historical buildings (and by the way: They look great) and there are also many new and modern buildings rising up in the sky. It is nearly a perfect mix and we are looking forward to discover all those things in the next three weeks!

Day 9

Today we were happy to sleep a little bit longer.
Then we started with Kathrin, Julia and Gabi to Cevahir, a shopping mall near the Metro Station Sisli.

It is soooo hugh, and the best: The Big Mac at McDonalds tastes like in Germany :)

Tipp

We saw Dolphins on our tour from Kabatas to the Princess Islands. Beautiful animals!!!! :)
So maybe you are also lucky to see some on your trip to "Adalar" (turkish for the Princess Islands, meaning "Islands")

Sun

We had a great and sunny day !! But now we are quite "burned" ...

We were at the Ada Beach Club at Heybeliada. (20TL Entry including a beautiful boat trip to the Club.) For Ferry informations to the Princess Islands click here. Today there were quit empty. But at the weekends it should be very crowded. We didn't checked out yet. 

It is so warm ...

It is so warm in Istanbul ... I just want to jump in it ... But tomorrow we are going to the "Princes' Islands" and there we CAN swim ...

Teatime

May I introduce to you - Elma çay (Apple Tea). One of my favorites!

Visit Mimar Sinan Teras Cafe, you will have a beautiful view and of course Elma Tea!!! We loved it there:

If you want more information and know how to get there klick here.

Our Way to University

The daily walk up and down the "Kilimandscharo"....

Turkish Food is Great

I Ordered in turkish:) and got what i wanted!

Tipp

Our friends Gabi, Julia, Kathrin and Isa also write a blog about their experiences in Istanbul. Take a look :)

Happy to be here with you :)

Day 6

What an amazing place - Hagia Sophia! I think it is one of the best places in Istanbul. But I am excited to see more ...

Day 5

Social Media Class in the morning :)

Days 1-4

Hello Istanbul

-

We had a very warm WELCOME (30°C) :)

The first days were exiting. I Love the City, especially Grand Bazaar!

I'm exited to see more.

More pictures will follow :)