Back to the Western World

I have spent the last week bouncing between the beautiful cities of Central Europe. Budapest, Hungary and Vienna, Austria were fantastic sights. Im sure there were plenty of museums and tourist attractions but I could'nt have cared less. I have seen so many on this trip that they have started to blur together in a single, musty smelling memory. The people made the cities worthwhile. Going out to the pubs with the locals and sipping hot wine was probably the best part. They like to heat up red wine when its hot outside and add rum and spices. Its quite tasty. 

I hitched my way all the way to Innsbruck, Austria. I came here for one reason only: to get some snowboarding in. I borrowed my very generous host's equipment and headed out to a nearby glacier skiing area. The alps were absolutely amazing. Rocky white peaks as far as I could see in all directions. The area I was snowboarding had all the space any skiier or snowboarder could ever want. If only there were better snow. Everywhere there was the packed powder that had become a icey substance. It was still worth the view.

Now Im off to Munich and then who know.

My White Jacket in Serbia

Im sure when I get back to the U.S. and I tell people they traveled in Serbia many will ask "what the heck is there to do in Serbia?" Well not much really. I saw the city, tasted traditional Serbian food... practiced medicine.

My couchsurfing host, Milosh, is a fifth year medical student at the local medical school here in Belgrade. After trying to plan a meeting spot after his morning clinical we decided it would be easier if I just posed as a medical student and tagged along to the hospital. We high-tailed it so we wouldn't be late and I slipped into his friends extra white coat. The Doctor that would be instructing us was the Serbian equivalent of Dr. Cox on Scrubs. Her stern tone and dislike for interns didnt get lost in the language barrier.

During a long speech in Serbian without translation (Melosh could blow my cover), I tried to look intrigued and attentive giving the occasional head nod and looking to my colleagues for their approval. I must have done well because the Doctor never caught on that I had no idea what the heck she was saying all day.

We quickly exited the office where we were and into an examination room. I just followed everbody else. The patient talked with the doctor for a brief moment, climbed up on a special table then dropped his draws. The topic of the day, which was a mystery to me until that point, was rectum and colon examinations. We were going to observe a colonoscopy. After the viewing tube thingy was in place all us med students had to lean in and take a good look. I had to maintain my character and look like I was learning, that meant taking a good look, give an approving nod and hold in my laughing. This particular chap was suffering from hemroids.

After two of those and nobody finding out that I was just a tourist we moved back into the office to learn how to suture. We put down two big pieces of gauze together and the doctor and nurse supervised us as we stitched them together with large, hook shaped needles. The nurse had a problem with my technique and kept saying something to me. Mine came out pretty good in the end.

After the day was over I had my stitched up souvenir and was ready to play the back nine. I like Serbia. In Serbia, I'm a doctor.

Turkey and I get Hitched

I hopped another expensive bus from Adana out to the beautiful beach town of Antalya. It was more of the Turkey I thought I was going to find. There were endless pebble beaches flanked by mountains complete with full sun and weather fitting for late Spring. A few castles from the Ottoman Empire dotted the horizon and the beachfront.

My hosts in this city were avid hitchhikers and we had a long discussion on how to go about doing it. We planned out a day trip so I could give it a whirl. The next day I was out on the side of the road, thumb out and waiting for a ride. Not to much later I found a ride up the coast. The ride was a rickety old work van. The road reminded me all about Highway 1 back in California. The winding highway stayed along the blue Mediterranean Sea the whole time and we rocked out to Turkish music the whole way. The whole day went well and I got all the way back with time to spare. I met truck drivers a construction worker and an agricultural engineer. I was hooked.

I said goodbye to the warm sun and headed north, all by thumb. In Ankara I took a day to rest and hung out with some very cool couchsurfers. Then I pressed on to Istanbul.

My rides to Istanbul were very fun. I started jumping up and down and pointing to one car with my other hand when I saw it rolling down the highway. The 1970's classic Camero painted with the Turkish flag colors swerved across three lanes to pick me up. Some sort of business man took me for almost 300km and was a fantastic doodler. With his sketches I learned he used to be in the military, had a family and I even learned all of their names, ages and what sports the kids did. I was lucky to get picked up by the next car. He took me all the way to Istanbul and he was even going to the same neighborhood as me. He helped me find my way through the massive maze that is Istanbul which involved a boat and three subway transfers.

Istanbul is one of the oldest cities in the world. Formerly known as Constantinople, its old town was especially fun. I went and wandered the maze of cobblestone streets and visited the famous mosques blaring the 'call to prayer' over its loudspeakers atop the steeples. The hospitality of the Turks is fantastic. They keep giving me things. The guy that helped me get to my hosts neighborhood wouldn't let me pay for any of my subway tokens. Others gave me gifts such as a Turkish pendant that is supposed to keep away the bad spirits and prayer beads that are supposed to calm you down when something is ailing you. My host keeps feeding me! Its fantastic but as a proud American I like to pay my own way or at least help out a little. These Turks wont have it

Back on U.S. Soil... in Turkey

I decided that it was a good idea to get out to the U.S. Air Force base in Turkey for New Years Eve. What could be better than getting out of Central Asia and partying like back home surrounded by corn? Turns out I have a neice in the Air Force and I also thought it would be good to bond with some more family on this trip.

Getting to the base was pretty easy, I just had to sit on a single bus for 24 hours, breaking my previous record of 16 hours. After another hour of wandering and fighting the language barrier with sketches to find the base, I arrived at the front gate, guarded by mean looking Turks with a reputation for being trigger happy. Once I got past them I was greeted by two things that I hadn't seen since the USA: Family and a black person... it was a sight for sore eyes.

I had never actually met my neice before, just a few emails. She is actually my step-neice, but that didn't stop her from always calling me Uncle Gavin. She is 4 feet and 11 inches of U.S.A.F police force fury. We bonded over Turkish food and cheesy movies. It was a good vacation from my journey.

The new years party made me feel like I was back home at one of the bars at my University. Lots of drunk young people, cheap beer and lots of country music that I hate. We had a great time and I feel like I have gotten a good rest from foreign culture and language barriers, its time to tackle the rest of Turkey