Thing #4

     
Thing #4: Do something offbeat and/or New York-y.

Did it seem like I had forgotten about my New York list? Nah. Other things just got in the way. We went out of town, we socialized, we took Nils to the playground. Etc.

We had time a couple weeks ago to tick off another item from the list, and we did so by going to see a movie. Wait, it gets more interesting! It was a rooftop showing of Detropia (the New York premier, no less) at the old American Can Factory. The factory itself has been converted to artists' studios - very cool. And did I mention that one of the film's directors was there for a post-film Q & A?

Number 4: check! This also happened to be our first date night since, um, February? Sad. This needs work.
    

This way! 

The setup, pre crowd 

Ghosts in the yard

         

About a month and a half ago we went to Upper Michigan with family. Specifically, we went to the farm. My dad's childhood home (the home in which his own father was literally born), and the 99 acres that come with it.  My grandparents have not been with us for many years, and my dad and a couple of his brothers currently own the farm. None of them live there, but they all go up there from time to time to see old friends, fish, chop wood, and do other things that let them know that they can still call Tapiola, and more specifically that 99 acres, home. 

This trip had been in the works for a year or so. It was my idea, actually - I wanted Oliver to see where the other half of my extended family comes from (more or less), and I wanted my dad to show Nils the U.P. The U.P. and the farm mean more to my dad than, say, Kenosha and my parents' house mean to me. Some people are "of a place", and my dad is of those.

I hadn't been to the farm in nearly 10 years - the last time was for my grandma's funeral. Seeing it again after so long was wonderful. I have a lot of good memories: running around with cousins, playing with animals (back when there were still animals), walking through the woods by myself and finding a secret place to read. It was a bit sad, too. I looked out at the grass and saw myself and my cousins running around. I saw my aunts, uncles, and grandparents drinking beers and chatting. There were always so many people... and now it was quiet.

My dad told stories from his childhood, and I could tell that he was also watching people run around in the grass. There was the summer that his mother's sister and her (5?) children came to live with them. 10 kids, three adults, a steady stream of visitors. Mayhem. There was no room in the house, so my dad slept in the hayloft of the barn all summer - he said it was the best summer of his life.

Things we loved: Turkey post #2

Tea gardens

Every town had at least one. You could sit, half indoors and half out, and sip cup after cup of Turkish tea. Sugar was the only optional addition - no cream, lemon, etc. You stirred the sugar cubes with a tiny metal spoon and watched the men at the tables near you. A lot of farmers, I think. Absolutely no women present. Ever. Except for me. That was a little weird sometimes. I ended up putting on a sweatshirt one day - it was 90 degrees outside.

Minarets

Neither Oliver nor I had ever been to a Muslim country. We weren't quite sure what to expect. I packed a scarf and Oliver made sure to bring socks (Were bare feet in a mosque offensive?) Within an hour of landing in Istanbul we were on the road, off to see the rest of the country. The first thing that struck me as we drove out of the city: minarets. Everywhere. On every hill, sometimes multiple minarets to a mosque. These tall, sleek towers contrasting so beautifully with the domes they were paired with. 

Pinara

Down in Mediterranean Turkey, things could get a little touristy. It took work to escape the hordes of British and German tourists. Sometimes entire towns had to be avoided; no pizza, please. Or apple pie, or knockoff designer bags. When we got off the beaten path though, things got good fast. Pinara, for example. Pinara was a kingdom of ancient Lycia, built up on a mountain with the tombs of its rulers carved into the rock. The ruins of Pinara today are visited by few, on account of them being pretty difficult to get to. We had the place to ourselves. We scrambled over boulders, climbed into empty tombs, and walked until the sun beat us back to the shade of the exit. We could see the snows of Baba Dag in the distance when the clouds around it cleared.  

The Aya Sofia

It has many different names. Aya Sofia, Hagha Sofia, Haghia Sofia, Sancta Sophia. Whatever. I had heard of it, and knew that it was generally thought to be one of the world's most beautiful buildings. I had no idea. Seeing its exterior for the first time, not expecting it... it took my breath away. I can't explain what it was that made it so beautiful, though I suspect there is some sort of mathematical, architectural explanation. And the inside! A perfect symbol of Istanbul, with marks left by different conquerors. Byzantine Christian mosaics, 19th century Muslim caligraphy. At this moment, sitting in my living room and typing up this blog entry... I wish I could somehow get there again. Today. 

Istanbul

I generally prefer small towns and countryside while I travel. You can't go to Turkey and NOT go to Istanbul though, so we made space in our itinerary for a few days in the city. I wish we had made more. I could have spent a week there, maybe two. It's difficult to explain; if you have the chance, please go there and see for yourself. You won't be disappointed. When I close my eyes I can still see it - the hills, each crowned with a mosque. The seagulls. All those cargo ships on the Bosphorus.

Istanbul was the perfect end to our trip. It took every experience from the previous two weeks and magnified them. The best way to illustrate this: every city, town and village we stayed in had a mosque. We heard the calls to prayer several times each day. The calls to prayer never failed to give me a little thrill; I sat perfectly still each time I heard one and listened. In Istanbul, where there are something like 3,000 mosques, the calls to prayer overlapped. From our hotel we could hear a dozen of them, bouncing off each other and echoing against the hill behind us.

Turkey post #1

We were proud of ourselves for taking this trip. I think that's the first thing I have to say. Turkey with a 16 month old? Who does that? Fools. People who don't think things through.

Oliver and I though, we aren't fools. In planning this trip, we thought of ourselves as bold, limitless parents. We could do this, and not only would we have fun but we would accomplish something. Two and a half weeks travelling around Turkey with a toddler. That's an accomplishment.

I will readily admit that some things were hard. The flights, for example :

Nils slept the whole way over, and was awake the whole way back. A sleepless night for Oliver and I one way, most of it spent frozen in place while he slept across our laps. A curious little boy on the way back, determined not to spend any time sitting down.

Sitting anywhere turned out to be difficult. While Oliver and I wanted nothing more than to relax and enjoy a nice dinner :

Nils wanted to run around - pet the stray dogs and cats that were everywhere, dash into the street, touch breakables, etc. Meals were rarely leisurely.

(This little fit was very short lived - he was all smiles the moment he was off Oliver's lap and onto the floor.)

Sometimes we got frustrated, but we reminded ourselves that Nils hadn't asked to come on this vacation. He would probably be happier playing with his toys and buddies back home. We had to be understanding, and try to find ways to make things fun for him.

That turned out to be pretty easy. All he wanted was to run around. So we made sure he had plenty of opportunities for that :

 Up in the hills of Bozcaada, a beautiful island in the Aegean...

 At the ruins of Behramkale, from where you could see Greece...

In downtown Fethiye...

In the main church of Karakoy, a town forcibly abandoned in the 1920s when Greece and Turkey exchanged Greek Muslims for Turkish Christians...

On the boardwalk of Patara Beach...

 In Antalya's main park...

 In the courtyard of Istanbul's Blue Mosque...

In Istanbul's Hippodrome.

Bottom line: we had to be flexible. Flexible not only in our itinerary (i.e. frequent stops to run around in circles), but in how we handled everything. There were many snacks on the go...

Naps on Oliver's shoulder...

And naps in unusual places.

And you know what, it all worked. Oliver and I high fived at the end of the trip. We did it! And it was amazing! Gol, it was amazing. I want to write one more post on the trip, one in which Nils is not the centerpiece. Because Turkey deserves some more of my attention. It was that good.

Turkey

       

We've been back home for two days now. Sort of. My body is here, but the rest of me is still in Turkey, sipping tea and listening to the calls to prayer. More soon.

Clouds at the beach / sun at the park

   
I've said it before: I'm not a beach person. I've been thinking recently that maybe I should change the tense on that statement: I wasn't a beach person. I still hate the heat and the sun, but there's something primally good about sand, wind and water. I have found myself, in recent weeks, plotting beach Saturdays for this summer. We're going on vacation soon, and it will involve some beach time.

I would ask myself "why this change of heart, why this sudden appreciation of sand and wind and blah blah blah..." but the answer is just so obvious:
 

I love helping him discover all these simple, natural things. What a kick to watch him sift sand through his fingers. There is nothing cuter than holding him back from running headlong into the water, then standing back as he points at the waves. "Da!"

This was our "dry run" today - a trip to Coney Island. It was cloudy and cool by the water, so we kept our jackets on and enjoyed having the beach practically to ourselves.

In the afternoon the clouds cleared, and by early evening it was absolutely perfect outside. Sunny and cool. We had leftovers in the fridge and a strong desire to be outside, so we grabbed the necessities for a picnic. Dinner out in Prospect Park, another highly anticipated summer activity! Potato salad, radishes on bread, kefir, and the chance to run around in the grass.

Our crocodile pull toy came along for the fun. And when the crocodile got old, there was a ball to practice throwing. A perfect evening. Made me look forward to summer.

A conversation not too long ago

(Anything pop out at you in this photo?)

O: When we have a second baby, that one can be yours.

A: Huh?

O: Nils will be mine. You can have the other baby.

A: Huh?

O: I get Nils.

A: Okay, I don't even know where to start with that.

O: And when he's 16, we'll bike from Germany to China. All the way across Eurasia.

A: That sounds really cool, but it might be a bit too much for me.

O: You're not invited.

A: Wha??

O: You can stay home with the other one. This will be a trip for Nils and I.

A: Wait a second...

O: And then once he's old enough, he and I will start our robot-making business.

A: Oh good lord, don't rope him into that. What makes you think he'll even want to be an engineer?

O: Please, it's so obvious. You've seen how he plays with his stacking cups and gears.

A: Suuure. Can you see me rolling my eyes?

O: You're just jealous because he's not going to be a librarian.

A: Still rolling my eyes. (Turns away to hide smile)

(Do you notice it now?)