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The not Black Sea, the not blue Danube and Transylvania

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After leaving Turkey, we headed north along the Black Sea coast and quickly made a first observation: the Black Sea isn’t black!! So why is it called the Black Sea? There seem to be several hypotheses. One of them is that for the Turks, each cardinal point was associated with a color, and black represented the north. Since the sea is indeed located to the north of Turkey geographically, that explanation works fine for us, sold 馃憤. So we followed the coast toward the black/north, crossing Bulgaria fairly quickly. Not that there’s nothing to see there, but since it’s impossible to go everywhere, we chose to focus more on Romania. Shortly after crossing the border shortly after noon, we stopped to eat and had a feeling there was a good restaurant nearby. How did we know? By seeing families getting out of their cars with Granny and Grandpa. Some signs never lie, if you take your elderly parents out, surely it's in a good place 馃槀. And we were absolutely not disappointed by this HUGE r...
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Between East and West

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  This has been one of the main descriptions of Istanbul for centuries. Looking at the world map, it is easy to understand why. Located between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, straddling Europe and Asia, Istanbul has always been a crossroads of worlds, cultures, religions, and trade. The end of the Silk Road, the terminus of the Orient Express, the end of Europe and the beginning of Asia… the end or the beginning? Is 1453 the date of the fall of Constantinople or the conquest by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II? It depends on which side you stand on—and also on the journey 馃槉. For us, Istanbul marks an ending: the end of our Turkish and Asian chapter and our return to Europe. Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul—three names for the same city that say a lot about its history. First Byzantium, the Greek city; then Constantinople, renamed by the Roman emperor Constantine; and finally Istanbul, as named by the Ottomans. As one might imagine, its history is long, tumultuous, and sometim...
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Living Emotions in Cappadocia

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How do you describe Cappadocia in just a few lines? Honestly, it’s very difficult. Cappadocia isn’t something you describe — it’s something you discover, explore, and take in with both your eyes and your heart. It’s hard not to fall in love when you’re gifted with landscapes like these. Hot air balloons are without a doubt the number one tourist attraction in the area. Since we’re tourists too, we treated ourselves to a little flight 馃巿  For those who love sleeping in, you have to wake up early, very early for this adventure. We had to be ready at 5:50 a.m. to hop into the minibus that took us to our departure point. And we had it easy. In summer, the sun rises much earlier! But watching the sun come up over the valley while floating silently in the air, with nothing but the occasional “pschtt” of gas fired into the balloon, is an absolutely magical moment well worth the pre-dawn wake-up call. And we kept floating long after we had returned to solid ground… We chose to fly over t...
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