Day 5

Travel to Istanbul

Used my Eurail pass today for the first leg of the Istanbul journey, Wels to the Vienna International Airport. The trains are very clean, punctual, and transferring to the next platform involves a bit of jogging to get there before the next train departs.

A young man and female colleague from Pegasus kindly escorted me around the passport area and into the baggage collection section where a money exchange booth was converting currency. I was able to pay the visa fee, get back in the long queue and this time I got through with no problem.

The next challenge was finding the right bus to get me close to the city center. It’s been raining pretty hard and traffic was very backed up, taking nearly 2 hours to go 30 km. Disembarking from the bus I needed to find the metro (subway) in the pouring rain with clear directions like: “take a right.” I waded through a substantial amount of water running over the cobblestone sidewalks, got down to subway level and learned I was on the wrong side and should be going in the other direction. I could not find the other side in this weather! I saw a taxi stand and found a driver to take me to the hotel where I have a reserved room. I fondly refer to my taxi driver as “James Bond” if that gives you any idea of the twists, turns and hand-wringing that went on during this leg of the trip. 

The flight was smooth but not the entry into Istanbul. I had my passport and covid card, but missed that I also needed a visa with my US passport. I found this out only after I made it all the way to the passport clerk after a long queue. Going to the visa window, I learned that the fee is 25 euros or 30 US dollars. From there I was directed toward an ATM machine in the terminal. I tried one credit card and the machine asked for a pin number, which I do not have. I then tried the other credit card I carry, with the same result. I then went to a bank machine next to the ATM and had the same negative result there as well. Desperate, I went back to the visa window and the clerk suggested I find a staff person from Pegasus airline to help with a currency exchange. I am only carrying a small amount of Canadian currency since that is where this trip began.

I am now comfortably settled in my room, modest yet sufficient and very affordable. My first Turkish food is a dish called potato borek which I purchased from a small shop just before the metro. My shoes and socks are drying, my coat is hung up to dry, my papers are spread out to dry from the saturated backpack, my cousin called to check in on me and breakfast is included tomorrow morning, so things are looking up!

P.S. I forgot to mention that on the bus ride from the airport a young gentleman sat next to me and we had a lovely conversation. Besides my cousin, he is the first person on my journey to whom I offered the question: “If you knew you only had one month to live, what would be most important?” His answer: a special trip for most of that month, returning home for some wonderful food for the remaining days.