Back in Istanbul After a Seven Day Raid on Greece, Part I

Some people decided to go to London, others wanted to go to Egypt, and still others wanted to go to India. I forgot that I wanted and previously mused about going to Greece. After a bit of research, however, Greece was back on the menu. I'm not sure who planned it or how it really came about, but I was headed the next day to the train station to catch the night train from Istanbul to the city of Thessaloniki. The ride was 12 hours from Istanbul heading west and another 7 hours south to Athens. The times given are for rail travel, but let it be said that all trains are not created equal - some are better, some are worse, and some are far worse.

Although there are two trains a day and nobody to ride from Istanbul to Thessaloniki purchasing tickets was a greater ordeal than expected. Our first attempt in getting information and tickets ended in failure when we were unable to acquire even a glance from the workers in the office. They huddled around a desk drinking tea in the dark as if we couldn't see them. Must be tea time? Or maybe some damn union. We went for lunch.

The second attempt was more fruitful, they gave us some attention and our tickets were being processed. What a process it was! After 10 minutes and just as many stamps, staples, and pieces of carbon paper one ticket was slid through the opening. No computers here folks, but anyhow, I left holding my one way tickets in hand. Yes, one ticket was comprised of four pieces of paper in two stapled packets. We later surmised that one packet was a ticket to the boarder, and the other packet got us the rest of the way there. Who knows if we were right or not but it seems like a logical explanation.

For most of us traveling by train was a first, I had taken a train to New Orleans from Birmingham before... so that of course makes me an expert in the field of locomotive traversal of the Earth's crust. Never been in a sleeper car though.

Stepping aboard the musty smell of worn metal and oil was instant and saturating. It reminded me of my tour on the USS Alabama stationed in Mobile - it's a museum now, so I mean tour when I say tour. This was an WWII era battleship that fought bravely in the Pacific and is now permanently moored to a dock in Mobile, Alabama. The train looked as if it shared much of the same story; old and full of character, I just hoped it was more rail-worthy than the USS Alabama was sea-worthy.

We snuggled into our respective cabins, I was rooming with chis and somehow our cabin was larger than the two on either side. So naturally ours was the hangout spot. As the train sounded its whistle and lurched forward a chill of nervousness and excitement came over me. The nervousness was from the fact that nothing is for certain in a new experience in a new country, and the excitement from the certainty that this will be a new experience in a new country.

The five of us - Cameron, Chris, Daniel, and Jamie - hadn't seen Walker and Sarah since the ride began. We sat in our car and passed the time, hoping to stay up for customs so that our sleep is not disturbed. Luckily for me some of our heads were in the right place while preparing for the trip; we had two bottles of wine and an assortment of liquor minis from the mini bar on the train. I, however, got a large tea and a snack before the train left and did not even think of grabbing a bottle of wine - foolish! That is why we are a team though, to pick up slack when others slack. I know that on the ride back we will be more prepared. Bedtime, back to your cabins! The weather is chilly and wet and I know this because the cabin is hot and the window is down. The rhythmic beat of the train rolling down the tracks is almost soothing if it weren't broken by horrible SCREEEEEECHs and the vulgar stench of sewage seeping out of the WC at the front of the car. I think it better to minimize the opening to a crack.

It's nearly midnight and hard as ever to write on this swaying beast tearing through the countryside. The occasional blast of the horn is a familiar sound, and I welcome it even as I think of sleep. The boarder police will be here soon checking passports, I'll nap until then.



*Sorry about the lapse in posts. Been gone and lazy. and yes i know that i must have changed tenses 10 times but i dont care and i dont think you do either. If it is present tense, most likely it was taken strait out of my notes and not from memory.