STEBO'S BLOG

Port of Hull I had slept on-and-off all night, feeling the waves and the boat rocking every which way. As I couldn't sleep in, I got up before 06:00 and started showering before the wake-up call, which was broadcast to every cabin. I just had a simple cappuccino and croissant, grabbed my bags, and waited to disembark. The Pride of Rotterdam I bumped into Andy and his wife again, but they decided to pull me aside and check my suitcases and seemed disappointed at only finding l

Rotterdam Centraal It started with just another workday, coffee at 07:00, and reading my mail. Today was a half day, so just a couple of emails to read and answer, and make plans for my return in the new year and final setup of "out-of-office." Christmas Bear Once back home, I had a luxurious lunch of fried eggs and toast with Kerrygold, along with orange juice. I still had some last-minute packing to do and some cleaning. The hoover tube fell all the way down the stairs and

Georgian salad Now we were back in Tbilisi, city 22 of 23, and preparing for our last night. We returned to our restaurant, which started feeling like our new local. We both had salad; Stanislav had a Greek salad, and mine was Georgian, which had spicy peppers in it. Wow, it was great. Beer for a change I washed it down with beer and finished off with mushroom khinkali, but I still much prefer the potato version! Pub 44 The rain had reached Tbilisi from the mountains, so I or

As you can see, I went from counting 20 cities to 21, 22, and now 23. Gudauri isn't exactly a city, but like other places, it is a bonus visit! Panorama Shortly after breakfast, our driver met us in the lobby of the hotel. He was very happy to discover that I spoke his language, and he could understand Stanislav speaking in Bosnian easily because of Russian. Shortly after leaving the clogged streets of Tbilisi, the roads got windier and steeper. Scenery The scenery got more a

Coffee mission On this morning, we woke up to a proper breakfast buffet with boiled eggs, vegetables, and olives, but again, only instant coffee. I still needed proper coffee! Language books We did some exploring, stopping in a coffee place along the way and speaking to a Brazilian with a girl from Kazakhstan. Random things you see in Tbilisi After coffee, we continued past lots of nice restaurants and cafés and an antique bookshop where I picked up some old language books fo

Batumi Station early in the morning Up bright and early at around 05:00, I had downloaded the taxi app "Bolt" and ordered us a cab to the railway station. The entire fare was about 3 euros. There was just a single platform at the station, and we had 90 minutes to go. Batumi Skyline A stray dog was being overly friendly while Stanislav was off buying food nearby. I went off to buy coffee, and when I returned, boarding had already started. They actually checked our passports be

Ali and Nino Statue It was raining again, and we subjected ourselves to the bad hotel breakfast, a sort of ravioli and cold eggs. I ate the cold eggs and nothing else. We entered the city for a walk towards the Ali and Nino moving statues, which were actually out of order as they are supposed to move towards each other and merge. We wandered around and dipped in and out of the tourist shops. Top of the alphabet tower What can you do on such a day? I decided we should go up th

Having real coffee Breakfast was actually in the building across the road. We went over at 09:45 and picked up a cold fried egg, rice, and some type of nuggets, and most of it went in the bin. They also only had cheap instant coffee, so we went to a literature café close to our hotel and had two wonderful cappuccinos. But where is the post office? Finding the post office should have been easy but turned into a mission; however, we did find it in the end. Adjara flag We decide

We were well-rested the next morning, as much as you can be at 06:30 in the morning. As we were just opposite the bus station, we left with 30 minutes to spare. The bus was late, and seats 2 and 3 were occupied when we got on; we had actually reserved the seats. The journey to the border took 2 hours, passing lots of soulless towns, but also past lots of tea plantations. The Georgian side of the border At the border, we had to take our bags off the bus, go upstairs to a kind

Trabzon in the morning In the morning, we both woke up suffering from the bad effects of the mold and stagnant water. I didn't even want to shower because it would create a swimming pool. Shopping street At 09:00, there was a knock on the door to tell us that breakfast was ready. I went upstairs to see a lady happily preparing two dishes containing bread, olives, boiled eggs, an omelette, tomatoes, and cucumber, and of course, tea as well. Stanislav didn't trust their hygiene

Early morning bus We got up really early, this time at 04:00, as our taxi was expected to arrive at 05:00. He didn't arrive, so I got the male receptionist to phone him using my own phone. He assured us he was on his way, and while we were waiting, the staff brought us Turkish tea and some bread rolls. Sunrise Yildiz, the friendly driver, came shortly and looked still half asleep as he drove us to the bus station. We waited in the dark of the early morning for our bus. Some h

The bus to Sivas Our bus to Sivas was scheduled for 08:00 from Ankara, and we were there an hour beforehand, skipping breakfast for it. When we arrived, our bus was canceled, just canceled. They told us to just book another bus with another company, and we would have to wait until 10:00. As we were one hour early, this meant we were basically hanging around the station for 3 hours. Destination Sivas The purchase didn't load in the app, so all I had was a screenshot of the boo

Swan statues Our usual hotel routine: turn up for breakfast—bread, cheese, olives, salad, eggs, and Turkish tea—and write the diary. Satisfied with breakfast, except for the lack of coffee, we went to the metro station and bought metro cards. I actually put too much money on them. The metro station It was just one stop by metro, and we exited, passing by lots of armed soldiers on the street. The city seemed highly militarized. We climbed upwards, following the instructions fr

Not far from the hotel We went down to the breakfast room. It had large windows overlooking the street, which was entertaining. However, coffee was a problem as they had cheap instant coffee sachets, which didn't really do it for me, but I drank the Turkish tea, which was in abundance. While sipping the tea, I realized just how close we were to Syria; it was just a two-hour drive away. Mosque We had a few hours after breakfast to tour the city by foot, buying local treats and

Kerrygold in Nicosia Airport After waking up and packing, we made our way to the bus station. Our bus was to leave at 10:45, so we had lots of time, and Stanislav picked up some water and supplies at the nearby supermarket. We were way too early at the airport and couldn't check in, so we grabbed a coffee until the 3-hour check-in time. The airport was by no means crowded, so check-in and security were very fast. In the duty-free, Stanislav bought me a bottle of Saperavi and

Close to the supermarket Once back in Nicosia, we bought food at the supermarket next to the bus station and walked back to our place. Ines again made lovely salads. The ingredients in Cyprus are fresh and full of flavour. A palm tree in the setting sun After food, I headed out to "Hoi Polloi" again and had some beers. This time, I could hear Greek being spoken at two adjacent tables. Fun at "Imagine" I moved on to another bar on the recommendation of my Dutch friend, "Imagin

Beautiful Mosque just outside Nicosia Today, the mission was to go to Girne, a town on the north coast of Cyprus. We made our way to the bus station, bought tickets, and waited for the bus. When it arrived, the small bus, not quite a minibus, looked like it had seen better days. Even the curtains inside were all ripped. It brought back memories of African road trips in the '90s. Similar to my road trips back then, we were the only non-locals on the bus, which hummed away with

Exploring North Nicosia We woke up and showered, then walked into the city. The mission, as usual, was to find postcards. We did find a post office, and they directed us to a bookshop where we picked up postcards. As we already had stamps, we just needed to write them. North Nicosia Another mission was to find adapters as we completely overlooked the fact that Cyprus actually uses UK-style sockets. Luckily, I had power banks so that I could keep both of our phones charged. Ch

Breakfast We woke up in our tiny hotel room, packed, showered, and then went back to the luxurious Agatha Christie hotel, but unfortunately, the prices were also luxurious for just a buffet. No matter how good the food claims to be, a buffet ruins it for me. We did find a nearby place which was small and cozy, and we had a nice breakfast which always includes tea, but ordered coffee too as I need coffee in the morning. Shopping at the airport We picked up our bags at the hote

Flatbrad Today's mission was to pick up the previous day's laundry. As we had a metro card for 3 days, we were planning to make good use of it that day. Breakfast time At 10:00, like good Dutch citizens, we turned up only to see the laundry place abandoned and no lights on at all. A guy in the restaurant next door called the lady, and we were told to return at 12:00. "Omelette" We had breakfast at a nearby place because the price looked good; however, we discovered all the hi