SUPing in Antalya

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Bryan Keith

Ferda and I first saw a stand up paddle board when we took a canoe out in Newport Bay on the day before Christmas in 2015. Just a few months after that, our friend Olaf brought a couple SUP to Çıralı. We paddled on them for the first time. Since then I had sort of forgotten about SUPs. As we pedaled through central Europe this summer, we starting seeing more and more SUPs, first on the Krka in Slovenia and later on lakes in Italy and Germany.

IMG_20220520_171508 by bryandkeith on flickr

Why don’t we see more of these in Antalya, we wondered? Well, sure enough, after we returned from Europe, I went to Konyaaltı Beach one morning, and I counted more than 15 SUPs on the water. Turns out plenty of entrepreneurs are trying their luck renting SUPs at Konyaaltı this summer. We found Ayşe. Like everyone else it seems, she only gave out her equipment as part of a tour. That might have changed by now. We went with her for a couple hours in August. It was a fun morning.

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Posted in Turkey | Tagged | 1 Comment

North Ridge on Sivri Dağı

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Bryan Keith

After having not been up Sivri Dağı in many years (five?), I went up two different routes last week. The first, shorter and less successful effort, was with Philipp. He had been up to the ridge a number of times but had never made it to the summit. I told him I knew a summit route that didn’t require a rope. Well, we’d only been on the trail about five minutes when Philipp said we were going the wrong way. I suggested we go on. Another five minutes — same thing, and five minutes later — the same thing again. Not being so sure that I was going the right way, I acquiesced. We walked back about 10 minutes and started up what Philipp thought was the correct route.

As we made our way up the wide ramp, I kept thinking we weren’t going the right way, but at the same time it seemed familiar to me. Indeed, all became clear later. We were on the Classic Route, but I had wanted to take Philipp up the Yusuf Yusuf Route. We got to the ridge where you get a nice view of Çalbalı:

WhatsApp%20Image%202022-11-12%20at%2017.19.22%20(3) by bryandkeith on flickr

Looking in the other direction, however, you see this:

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Posted in Trekking, Turkey | Tagged , | 1 Comment

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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Posted in Traveling, Turkey | Tagged | 2 Comments

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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Posted in Bicycle touring, Germany | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

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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Posted in Bicycle touring, Germany | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment