Another week in İstanbul

Posted on November 25, 2022 by Bryan Keith

This is what? my 6th visit to İstanbul? Ferda and I started by staying a few nights in Kadıköy, the first time I’ve stayed on the Asian (Anadolu) side of the Bosporus. With the exception of the beautiful Rüstem Paşa Camii, we spent the week visiting sights that we hadn’t seen before. It’d be easy to go back to İstanbul and spend another week seeing all new (for us) attractions again. We’re already talking about it!

We started our first full day with a walk from Kadıköy to Üsküdar. The courtyard of the 18th century Ottoman Ahmediye Medresesi:

IMG_20220929_132051 by bryandkeith on flickr

looks a lot like the courtyard of the nearby, also 18th century, Yeni Valide Camii:

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The end again, in Munich

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Bryan Keith

Wow, four months pedaling from Corfu to Munich. That’s my longest bicycle tour in a decade. By the time we arrived in Munich, Corfu and Greece certainly seemed like a long ways away. The last couple days of riding from Füssen to Munich were flat. It’s easy to remember the few flat sections of whole tour — the Dukagjin Plain, the SW edge of the large Hungarian plain, and the Friuli Plain. That’s it — perhaps about 10 days of flat riding in four months.

IMG_20220729_113324 by bryandkeith on flickr

Every time I go to Germany, I am more and more impressed with the cities and the sights. This was my first time in Bavaria, and, well, the scenery’s pretty good as well.

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Welcome to Bavaria: Füssen and Neuschwanstein Castle

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Bryan Keith

On last year’s Gökova Bicycle Tour we met Sven from Bavaria. If you’re anywhere near it, he said, make the effort to visit Neuschwanstein Castle. So we did.

We crossed the border, crossed the river, and entered the historic center of Füssen. Dang, how does Germany manage to do these historic centers so well? Why is Ptuj dead and Füssen so lively?

IMG_20220726_164624 by bryandkeith on flickr
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Bicycle touring Austria: from the Dolomites to Bavaria

Posted on October 26, 2022 by Bryan Keith

Ferda and I planned this tour as far as the Dolomites. Then we started looking at tickets back to Antalya — from Venice, from Milan, from Innsbruck. Turns out Munich was a lot closer than we realized, and the tickets were the best deal with frequent non-stop flights to Antalya. I still had about three weeks left in my Schengen permission so we had time to enjoy the ride.

We started with a long downhill from Colfosco.

IMG_20220721_112715 by bryandkeith on flickr
Colfosco

We descended into a busy highway corridor and took over an hour that evening to find a place to camp. This castle:

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5 days in Colfosco: the end of the Dolomites

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Bryan Keith

Ferda and I ended up spending about three and a half weeks in the Dolomites. The last five days were in Colfosco in Alta Badia on the other side of Passo Gardena from Ortisei. My parents took a taxi to get there. We took advantage and loaded them up with most of our luggage. Wow, what easy riding when your bicycle is so light!

IMG_20220716_121916 by bryandkeith on flickr
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