These events happened on the 5th and 21st of November 2021. Jonas and I visited the Ayasofya (aka Hagia Sophia) on a rather spontaneous basis. This was my second visit to the Ayasofya and my first visit since it became a mosque in July 2020. Click here to read about my Istanbul and Hagia Sophia experiences from March/April 2013. There’s also a breakdown of Hagia Sophia as a ‘wonder’ in the videogame Age of Empires II down below. Contents1 A Change of Plans2 Our Experience Visiting the Ayasofya as a Mosque in 20212.1 Can non-Muslims still enter the Hagia Sophia/AyasofyaContinue reading
Europe
Here you’ll find lots of articles about my hitchhiking and kayaking travels in Europe. As you may know, Europe is my ‘homing’ continent where I’ll – like a stinky pigeon – always return to even if I’m trying to stay away from it. And to be honest, it’s not bad; there’s always more to explore.
I undertook many of my trips around Europe while at university in Maastricht (the Netherlands) and Aarhus (Denmark). That’s why I dropped out. I honed my hitchhiking skills here and set the most personal records and firsts such as:
- First solo hitch: from Kirkenes Airport in Norway to Kirkenes town with a military guy with his son
- Longest distance hitched in 24 hours: ~1200 kilometers from Maastricht (the Netherlands) to somewhere east of Lubljana (Slovenia)
- Most hours in one ride: 3 days with one British driver with a rental car in southern Spain and Portugal (his contract said he couldn’t take the car across the border)
- First plane hitch: over Malta (A to A)
- Longest sailing yacht hitch: from Corfu (Greece) to Malta, which was 340 nautical miles over 2.5 days. Here’s my CrewBay profile
Besides hitchhiking, I also kayaked a long distance in Europe down the Danube river in an inflatable canoe named Zucchini. But before I did that trip with my partner Jonas, I returned to university to finish my degree to erase my student debt. Thesis here.
As you can see, it’s not always a fun continent for me; it’s also the locus of worry about the people and pets I’m close to, of bureaucratic fuckery, and of most of my childhood memories. For most of my life, Europe has tied me down. Now I’m trying to experience it from a place of choice and freedom.
If you are not interested in the Danube trip, you can click this link to not show the Danube posts.
Hitchhiking Greece: The Adventurous Side of Losing a Phone
Our Phone is Gone We wave at the car until he drives out of our sight, looking at each other and smiling, grateful for this nice ride. We are enjoying the Greek climate somewhere out in nowhere. I see him touching his pockets nervously. “Flow…do you have it?” “I’ve got my wallet, yes, but… fuck! Where is my phone?” We check everywhere in our backpacks, our jackets, our pants, our bags and again in our backpacks, our jackets, our pants and our bags… but nothing. I ring Flow’s phone obsessively, without any answer. “It must have fallen somewhere under theContinue reading
How to Get a Turkish SIM Card (In the Small and Non-Touristic Towns of Turkey)
We bought our Turkish SIM cards on Monday the 25th of October, one day after arriving in Karasu. Karasu is a port town on the Black Sea coast and we’d arrived by ferry. It’s relatively small and getting a Turkish SIM card wasn’t straightforward. This post is supposed to help people who are also arriving in Turkey by land or sea and in a smaller town away from places geared toward foreigners. Contents1 Our Experience Buying a Turkish SIM Card in Karasu2 FAQ Turkish SIM Card + Internet Freedom in Turkey2.1 Which provider should I choose?2.2 Should I buy theContinue reading
Ukraine to Turkey by Boat: Booking a Black Sea Ferry from Chornomorsk to Karasu
26 February 2022 update: originally published on the 19th of October, 2021. I moved this post to 2022 so this info about the Black Sea ferry from Chornomorsk shows up on the homepage of my blog. Do I recommend taking this boat from Odesa, Ukraine to anywhere else right now? No, I wouldn’t want to be on a ship that says UKRFERRY on the side right now. As far as I know, the ships named Greifswald (link leads to current location of ship), Kaunas, and Vilnius aren’t leaving the port of Chornomorsk at all right now. You can follow theContinue reading
Apps in Ukraine: 10 Apps to Download Before Your Trip
We spent 89 days in Ukraine in 2021. These are the apps that proved most useful in Ukraine and helped us navigate the country. Click here to read which and how to get a SIM card in Ukraine. Contents1 1. Google Translate with Downloaded Ukrainian + Russian2 2. Open Street Maps (OSM)3 Communication Apps in Ukraine: 3. Telegram + 4. WhatsApp4 Taxi Apps in Ukraine: 5. Uklon + 6. Bolt (and Maybe Uber)5 7. Food Delivery Apps in Ukraine: Glovo, not Bolt!6 Accommodation Apps in Ukraine: 8. Airbnb + 9. Booking7 10. A VPN (Such as ExpressVPN)8 App Screenshots9 BonusContinue reading
Odesa Cable Car: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Experience a Bit of Horror” (Ukraine)
When joining a beer sampling in Kharkiv with Eugene and his friends, we mentioned we’re also going to Odesa during our trip through Ukraine. He opened his phone to show photos from beautiful spots in Odesa, such as the swamp tram (video link) that goes to Khadzhibey Estuary. We’d shared our experiences in the Kharkiv cable car with him. We thought it was hilariously unsafe for something that’s painted in primary colors. He then mentioned there’s another such cable car in Odesa, and oh boy, that one hasn’t seen a renovation. Eugene showed some pictures from inside the cable carContinue reading
Hitchhiking from Heniches’k to Kherson: Familiar Road, New Surface
Things described in this piece happened on Tuesday the 5th of October, 2021. Jonas and I hitchhiked from Heniches’k at the Sea of Azov to Kherson. Kherson is the capital of Kherson Oblast, which hosts both towns. The city of Kherson is located on the Dnieper River close to its mouth in the Black Sea. Contents1 Preparations to Hitchhike to Kherson2 Young People Don’t Know What Hitchhiking Is3 Heniches’k to Novotroits’ke with a Couple of Stops4 Wind, Dust, and Losing Time in Novotroits’ke5 Huh? Now Older People Also Don’t Know What Hitchhiking Is?6 Ckhalove to the M14 at NovaContinue reading
Arabat Spit: A Day Trip to Ukrainian-Controlled Crimea with Hot Spring + Pink Lake
These events happened on October 3rd, 2021. Our Booking host in Heniches’k named Yuri offered to do a day trip with us down the Arabat Spit to visit some hot springs and a pink lake. This eventually turned into a little adventure with even more spontaneous stops and detours along the way. The Arabat Spit is geographically part of the Crimean Peninsula, but administratively it’s Kherson Oblast. Russia didn’t annex this part of Crimea back in 2014. Contents1 Ukrainian-Controlled Crimea: Is it Safe?2 Taking a Bus Down the Arabat Spit?3 Driving Down the Arabat Spit (Арабатська Стрілка) with Yuri4 Heniches’kContinue reading
Biryuchiy to Heniches’k: A Hitchhiking Detour to the Watermelon State (Ukraine)
After seven days on Biryuchiy Island (actually a peninsula), we left for Heniches’k. Both of these towns are in Kherson Oblast, but to get from one to the other, one must travel through Zaporizhzhia Oblast around the Utlyutsky estuary. The whole route is quite a detour as you can see on the map below. This happened on Thursday the 30th of September, 2021. Contents1 Preparations to Travel to Heniches’k2 The Neighbor Drives us from Biryuchiy Kyrylivka3 Kyrylivka to the Deer Statue4 This Never Rarely Happens5 Tire Change6 The Last Ride to Heniches’k7 Heading into Heniches’k8 Thanks for reading! A share meansContinue reading