Sleepless in Amsterdam

After a long hiatus and after much cajoling from the ladies of Montello Park Christian Reformed Church (Here’s looking at you Judy Achterhof) I am returning to the blogosphere to update you on my Istanbul adventures thus far. I have only been here a few days, most of which I spent sleeping so I have very little to report. That said this post will probably be long. I am not really sure what day it is, It’s light outside so I assume that means its day. Jet lag has wrecked the last couple days of my life. At the ripe old age of 25 I should know that by body can’t jet set around the world like its 2009 anymore. Anyway, I rolled into Washington (actually Baltimore) at some unfortunate hour of Saturday morning only to find out that the public bus that connects BWI airport to civilization doesn’t start running for two and half hours. I found myself stranded with two cranky and rotund aspiring retirees and a taxi driver who told me I was an idiot for not reading the cryptic bus schedule correctly. Returning to 712 (My D.C. residence) I set about watching numerous episodes of Parks and Recreation with my roommate and rearranging things in my suitcases. At 2pm on Sunday we left for the airport and I caught my 6pm to Amsterdam on KLM. Despite being an overnight flight, I made good use of my time watching three bad movies in succession and failing to sleep at all. By the time we landed at 7:30 AM in Amsterdam I was quite tired. However it was morning and this was my once chance to see Amsterdam. I threw my baggage in a locker and took the commuter train with a bunch of politically savvy English adolescent boys who spent the entire ride talking about how the Dutch government was trying to make being a Muslim illegal. I had no expectations for Amsterdam. I only realized that I would have a 12 hour layover in the city last week when I finally sorted my flight itinerary out of the junkmail in my inbox. The more I wandered around the leafy streets and canals of Amsterdam’s old city, the more upset I became with my great-great-grandparents for leaving. Maybe it was the fact that that I was running on two airport coffees and a Redbull, but Amsterdam seemed like a dream. It is an idyllic shady city where everyone gets around on artsy bikes and there is an overwhelming sense of calm that pervades the streets. The offices, homes, and coffee shops are all piled on top of one another in a chaos of mixed zoning that works perfectly. If paradise were a city, it would be Amsterdam in the spring. I found myself having a cheese sandwich in a park café watching the ducks circle around the willow trees for hours. I didn’t go into any museums because it seemed like such a waste to go indoors when it was so nice and beautiful outdoors. By 5pm I was returning to the airport because I was finding it hard to stay awake when I sat down. My flight to Istanbul took off at 8:20 PM, at least I think it did, I wasn’t awake for it. I missed dinner on the plane and woke up three and a half hours later to see my fellow passengers clearing their dinners away and putting up their tray tables for landing. We cruised into Ataturk airport at midnight. In baggage claim, I befriended a Turkish man named Tahsin who had endured the same sleepless Amsterdam layover and offered to help me catch the bus to Taxim. This was a fortunate turn of events in a morning that would prove to be very very unfortunate. The bus to Taxim was no longer in service and my new friend offered to split a cab with me into the city. I agreed and we took off towards the address that my internet roommate had given me. It was a bad sign when I tried to call my future roommates on the phone number they gave me and there was no response. As we neared the address I called again, still no response. After 13 missed calls we arrived at the designated address with no clear indication which rise of apartments was the one I should be looking for. It was now 2:00 AM, I was lost on the street with no place to stay and all of my luggage. I had no way to contact my roommates as my phone had no service and there was no wifi to speak of. Tahsin took pity on me and helped me find a hotel which I could afford nearby so I could set down for the night. What I could afford was “The Star Hotel” located conveniently next to a busy road and a club that plays melancholy foreign (not Turkish) music until wee hours of the morning. I am convinced they built my room around the bed because there is no physical way to explain its presence in the tiny closet I had the privilege of renting for the morning. I fell asleep at 5 AM or so. The desk woke me up with a phone call at 1:45 PM and curtly informed me in Turkish that I needed to be checked out by 2 PM lest I be their guest for another evening. Repulsed by that possibility, I quickly checked my email and thankfully found a very apologetic email from Ece, my roommate, who explained she had mixed up the dates when she expected me to arrive. Much relieved, I met Ece in the lobby 20 minutes later and we took a cab to my new Istanbul home where I would spend the next five hours unconscious in my bed with a strange cat. I awoke to find myself in what I can only describe as a little bohemian palace. Perched on the 5th floor of a quiet apartment building that is maybe 100 years old, Ece’s place has high ornate ceilings and is covered with evidence that the house is well-lived in. The floors creak, there are countless layers of paint on everything, and there are big cracks in the thick walls. None of the furniture matches but it seems to fit perfectly in this place none the less. On the bookshelf there is a massive vintage 1950’s radio next to an old-school voice recorder and a record player. The view out the window is massive and much of my waking hours thus far have been spent with my feet up on my computer watching the seagulls twirl around the minarets over the endless cityscape. Ece’s two cats also like the view and like to sleep in the sun by the window when they are not prancing around the room. Each evening this AAAND I haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet and I am out of room on this post. Figures.