The Last Day

Isaac:
Looking back on our two month trip through the continent of Europe, I have a list of the things I liked, disliked, hated, and loved for all the things that we did. I shall now show you that list.
Loved: Being with family in Tuscany, taking a gondola up to the top of Der Dachstein and having a snowball fight on the glacier in Austria, the hikes in the canyons and the underground city in Cappadoccia, the Greek island of Hydra, reading books on the Kindle.
Liked: Riding the ferry boat on Lake Constance, going to the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City and the Byzantium Cistern in Istanbul, the night train from Venice to Vienna with the sleeping car, Ephesus (because it was very interesting and historically significant), the Parthenon, the Pantheon, the Coliseum, Herculaneum
Disliked: Ephesus (because of the sun), the Blue Mosque
Hated: The time we walked all the way to the Tokapi palace in Istanbul only to find it was closed, Venice

Ezra: I think Isaac did a good idea. I think I'll be a copy cat.
Loved: when we had a huge feast in Tuscany, the cookies that Baba got for us that looked like mustaches, MEOWSERS (I mean the cats that we saw everywhere), riding the mechanical bull in Istanbul and swimming in the Aegean Sea.
Liked: the gelato they sold in Europe (Isaac was obsessed with Straciotella)-- I also liked their popsicles--, steering the motorboat on Lake Constance
Disliked: when we got lost in Venice, and also how there was so much smoking in Europe
Hated: Writing in my journal, when I saw a cat and I had to leave and the cat looked at me like, "Why are you going?"

Jacob:
We went on a big trip. We went to the mountains. I rode on an orca in the pool. I loved riding the gondola on the mountain. I also liked watching the water taxis in Venice. I loved doing a snowball fight. I loved having ice cream. The cookies didn't count as dessert. I didn't like going in interesting churches because it takes so long because everybody keeps going. I loooooved seeing Nana and G-pa. I loved seeing Uncle Dan and making fingerprints on his sunglasses. I loved seeing Uncle David and Aunt Carey and my cousins Henry and Johnny. I hated walking in the streets when they were hot. I liked trying to catch jellyfish but our sticks didn't catch them. I loved looking at the submarine but I didn't go on it. I liked resting my feet on the subway. I liked climbing the giantest mountain. I loved my stick Chickenfoot. I hated the anthill that was inside the house in Istanbul. I liked picking the ripe mulberries. I hated being in the Coliseum. I loved playing games on Mama's phone. I disliked getting sweaty.

Elizabeth: I'm sure I can't improve on the above lists, but I can say again how wonderful it was to see family and friends in new places, and how happy I was to be walking, biking, swimming, climbing, swinging, see-sawing and running (except when we were running for the train, which happened...a few times). I also LOVED ONEBAG.

The trip by the nouns and numbers, by Peter:

Things lost: blue food bag, Isaac's goggles, one deck of cards, at least one of Jacob's socks, Jacob's pajama top (he had some wild nights), a scarf

Planes flown: 9 (so far - excludes the 2 flights tomorrow)

Trains ridden in: 18 (so far -excludes metros -- 1 train tomorrow).

Cars rented: 4

Gondolas traveled in: 1 in Venice and 1 in Ramsau (both very well-suited for their specific terrains)

Boats/Ferries: 11

Hot-air balloons/Zeppelins: None! Are you crazy?! What a bad idea.

Other forms of transportation taken: metro, tram, bus, taxi, funicular, bicycles, vaporetto (water taxi), feet, Mama and Baba's shoulders.

Countries visited: 5 (or 6, if you count the 10 minutes we spent walking around on the platform in the Zurich train station)

Pictures, if you're interested: http://flickr.com/gp/stieplechang/09yx4k/

Frigid lake

Blogger of the day: Ezra The engine started and we sailed out to the middle of Lake Constance. My dad and brother and I were renting a motorboat for a few hours in the evening while my mom and Jacob stayed at the house and watched Kiki's Delivery Service. Our dad told us to put our bathing suits on under our shorts so Jacob wouldn't know we were going on a boat. We were going to jump off the motorboat and into the lake. We drove on and on -- too long! -- but our dad couldn't remember whether he was supposed to stay closer than 400 meters to  land or farther than 400 meters from land. So he stayed at exactly 400 meters. But when I was finally allowed to swim I swam.I jumped in FREEZINGLY COLD water!! I swam about in the cold, cold water (do you think I have stressed how cold the way was?!). Only staying in the water for 30 seconds, I reached out for help to get back in the boat. Now it was Isaac's turn. He made many excuses. He looked for any reason not to get in. He wanted to know if there were sharks. He wanted to confirm it was a fresh water lake. We made many videos of him asking many questions. No, Isaac, there are no alligators. No, Isaac, there are no sharks (we had to tell him this many times). So finally he ran out of excuses (even one where I had to go back in the water one more time and look under the boat with my goggles to assure him there were NO SHARKS!!!). He jumped in and popped right out as if he actually HAD seen a shark. We drove around for another while (we got to drive the boat - I made many turns -- circles and circles). As we drove back to the dock, I thought to myself that even though the water was frigid, it won't stop me from trying new things.

Meeting our friends

Blogger of the day: Isaac

Today we said hello to some new visitors in the house. Dan, Mai-Lin, and baby Milo. So accompanied by these new friends a walk was taken around the small town Wasserburg. At the end of the walk a playground break was organized. After that we came home and prepared to come to a swimming pool near the park. At the swimming pool the water was lovely and warm and so we swam for nearly 2 hours! After that we came home and rested before a steak and chicken dinner at the hands of my father. 

Exploring Wasserburg

Today we spent a low-key day touring Wasserburg, childhood home of super friend and colleague Johanna Kramer. Courtesy of Mr and Mrs Kramer's sightseeing tour, we found the best smoked fish, the oldest church, and the most beautiful views of Lake Constance. Of course the boys were also happy to discover a lakeside playground with a zip line, trampoline, and climbing tower. Ended the day looking across to the Swiss Alps with a spritz on the balcony. 

Note Zeppelin in background--it was invented nearby. 

Sorry we didn't save any spritz for you this time. 

Train ride west

Blogger of the day: Isaac

As I write this to all of you followers, the Changlemans are riding on a 5+ hour train ride to Wasserurg Germany. As I write this, I shall look back on what we have done in Vienna and Ramsau, Austria. When      We got off the night train a cab took us to the rental car place. After we got the car, a drive to Peter's second mother's (Gerlinde's) house was in order. Almost immediately after a comfortable settle down, it was up and at em' for a walk to the Belveder palaces. It wasn't remotely interesting considering we really only sat on a bench and looked at the palaces. The next day was much more exciting! A trip to the Hafsburg palace/museum, arms and armor museum, Ephesus museum, and the art museum. The next day we took a 4 hour drive to Ramsau. The next day it was a gondola ride to the top of Mt.  Dachstein that was in order. At the top we snowball fought, raced, and ... Just plain ran. Day two in Ramsau was spent hiking up to a restaurant and hiking back down. Also it was the day Peter celebrated turning 38 and the twelfth anniversary of my parents. The next day we drove home and slept. Afterwards the next day was used to head towards the music museum and explore (which you heard from Jacob) before today boarding the train. As I finish writing we are still speeding towards our destination to be there soon...

 

Ezra's catchup post: A Gondola to the top of the mountain

We traveled to Ramsau to stay in an apartment in the mountains for a few days from June 28-30. We decided to ride up the mountain in a gondola--not the gondola you take in the water. So we went inside the gondola. It was fairly small. There were big windows all around and when we went really high up we could look out the windows from all sides. We saw big mountains that were quite steep and snowy. The gondola finally got to its high station and I stepped out. Then I smelt the cold cold air. It was SO COLD. We walked out of the station and saw a bunch of snow. There were steps going down to the snow field and a steep moving sidewalk to bring you back up. So I knew when I was finished with down the mountain I'd have fun riding up again. Then we crossed the "road" where we had to watch out for skiers and snowboards coming up on the t-bar lift. We found a little hill to run up and down. We ran up and down a lot of times. On my last run my dad and my brother started shooting snowballs at me as I came down. Finally we rode back up the moving sidewalk. At the last part of the sidewalk I hid behind the corner with a snowball and popped out and got my dad and brother as they rode back up. It was a wonderful day at the top. 

Dear Jacob requested to make this report from Haus Der Musik

I went on a great really great adventure. I saw musical things that were very interesting. This is the great end of the museum. We are going out to have our lunch. When we get there I will have a big surprise. I saw a giant drum in the museum that keeps making light. I don't see how the drum works because it was very giant. I said "mama, can we please turn."  But then, then, then. We turned on the path. We went on the path following my steps. The waltz was very nice and musical. 

A different gondola

Also had to add that we rode a gondola up to the top of Der Dachstein (3000m) which was very confusing to people who had just been in Venice. And on the way down, Isaac and Peter accidentally rode on the top--outside!!!😱😱😱😱

The mountains of Austria

And celebrating Peter's birthday with a very exciting candle!

Vienna and Der Dachstein

Taking advantage of wifi in the House of Music (where Isaac created a "Namadeus" -- musical composition based on his name) to show what we have been doing:

Hapsburg palace

St Stephens Cathedral

We survived the overnight train

And are now in Vienna. 

MadLibs-Inspired blog

Bloggers of the Day: Isaac, Ezra, and Jacob

Tonight’s theme is a MadLibs-themed blog entry. Below you will find the altered text, followed by the original text (changed text is underlined and bolded).

MADLIBS

Today, we decided to kiss past Parthenon Square and head to a slimy part of Venice. The doors played on a underwear for a while – each child mastering a particular area: Isaac enjoyed the beds, Ezra found it entertaining to play with the toilet, and Jacob sank up a rope to a deck only to smooch back down.

We made a lunch of raspberry muffin and spinach sandwiches in the Pennsylvania and walked to the Black Gates of Mordor.  We boarded a car and took a voyage through the main lightbulb. The dominoes on some of the villas can only be eaten from this vantage.

We got off near the fish museum, which we soon learned is closed on Mondays. Dreamily, we changed our plans and split the team up: Peter would take Dear Jacob back toward the hedgehog to play Plants Versus Zombies (the card game) and Elizabeth and the older boys would visit a nearby bottom to see pillows by Titian (and his underground city!).

We all met up back at the hotel, had some killing time (Dear Jacob even took a nap!), and then Elizabeth met our friend, Sandra, for drinks and dinner. The boys and I ate take-away and they watched a Ezra's guts while I packed for tomorrow’s night train to Baba's brain – yikes!

UNALTERED, ORIGINAL VERSION

Today, we decided to walk past San Marco Square and head to a quieter part of Venice. The boys played on a playground for a while – each child mastering a particular area: Isaac enjoyed the swings, Ezra found it entertaining to play with the water fountain, and Jacob climbed up a rope to a deck only to slide back down.

We made a lunch of turkey and cheese sandwiches in the park and walked to the pier.  We boarded a water shuttle and took a voyage through the main canal. The mosaics on some of the villas can only be seen from this vantage.

We got off near the natural history museum, which we soon learned is closed on Mondays. Disappointed, we changed our plans and split the team up: Peter would take Dear Jacob back toward the hotel to play War (the card game) and Elizabeth and the older boys would visit a nearby church to see paintings by Titian (and his grave!).

We all met up back at the hotel, had some resting time (Dear Jacob even took a nap!), and then Elizabeth met our friend, Sandra, for drinks and dinner. The boys and I ate take-away and they watched a movie while I packed for tomorrow’s night train to Vienna – yikes!

We hope you enjoyed this version of the blog – MadLibs themed!

Ciao, Tuscany e bonjourno, Venice!

Blogger of the Day: Peter

Last night we saw Venice. After a very satisfying meal of pizza and pasta, we made our way back to our hotel. We confidently strode through the many alleys and entrance ways until we paused for a moment and thought, "Where the heck are we?!" Even with our map, we found ourselves utterly lost. We'd still be walking from piazza to ponte if it hadn't been for Chang and her cool demeanor. I was ready to give ourselves up for dead. "Let's just sleep in this tethered gondola," I suggested. Chang would have none of it. With a sleeping Jacob in her arms, she led us home. Our hero, that Elizabeth Chang!

So today, we awoke  refreshed and ready for the day. Our family split into two groups. I took the two older boys to the Jewish Ghetto (who knew that the word ghetto actually originated here in Venice? -- it goes with our family's trips to towns of origin - Geyser in Iceland and our upcoming trip to Volcano in Hawaii). The boys had to endure my reminding them of how Jews have been treated throughout history and how in many places (Venice, included), the swastikas on the walls remind us that people are ignorant and hateful. I'm glad I bought them sunglasses on our way to the ghetto because it likely shielded the rolling of their eyes. We headed back to the hotel (first stopping for gelato at Grom -- yum!) and met back up with Jacob and Elizabeth.

After some resting, we caught a gondola taxi across the canal and Elizabeth took the older boys to see Renaissance paintings at the Gallerie dell'Accademia. Jacob and I waited at a cafe right outside the entrance where I had a Spritz (Aperol, prosecco, and seltzer) and Jacob had a croissant.

Last night, we were exhausted by our extensive tour of the city. Tonight, we are resting nicely after a lovely meal and an equally tranquil return to the hotel. While all of this paints a scene of serenity, please know that in the back of my mind, I am biting my fingers and quietly panicking because on Tuesday night, we are taking an overnight train to Vienna. The Stang Family Adventure will attempt a night in a sleeper car. Wish us luck!!

Night.

Photos below:

A view from the Accademia Bridge on the way TO dinner. The long march came afterwards!

Holocaust Memorial in the Jewish Ghetto.

Showing off their new sunglasses and admiring the WWII-inspired sign.

Dear Jacob posing for a photo on the way to dinner. He was an absolute delight tonight. A moment to cherish!!

Still in Tuscany

Sorry for the radio silence-- it's family time with grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins right now. Doing our best to avoid being trapped in an Etruscan funerary urn!

Back in Italy

Hey! We're in Tuscany. And if you think there is food on the Alitalia flight from Istanbul to Rome, or that there is time to get food while walking the mile from the airport train to platform 1 Est in the Rome train station, or that there is food or water on the 1 and 1/2 hour regional train from Rome to Chiusi, you would be mistaken. In related news, a lot of people were cranky yesterday. 

Appearances can be deceiving. 

The City Walls

Dear Jacob

We had an amazing day. This is the start off. I woke up and I saw little rain drops coming out from the sky. How many raindrops?!? Then we went on a beautiful walk. We climbed a mountain wall that was a city that had fallen down. [Ed. note-- old city walls of Constantinople]. When we were on top of the wall we saw tons of cities and mountains. I felt very safe but kind of mysterious. I was a little afraid about falling. Baba helped me stay on the stairs. We saw three cats. Count the cats! We saw a lady feeding the cats. The cats did not like the lightbulb she fed them. [Ed. note-- I think the lightbulb was already there before she put down the food]. Then we saw another cat that was so cute. It was a kitten in a graveyard. 

Today is our last day in Turkey. I will remember the man with the store with sharp glass who gave us cookies. I will remember seeing too much dogs. I will remember the hot city that was burning. [Ed. note-- Ephesus]. I remember us getting wet in the beach and caves. I remember riding on two ferries that were big boats. I will remember walking up steep hills. 

Rahmi M Koc Museum of Transportation

Blogger of the Day: Elizabeth

Being the cautious people that we are , we have been giving Taksim Square a generous berth during our time in Istanbul. Maybe this explains why we came to spend a full afternoon at the Rehmi Koc Museum of Transportation. And yet, if you must visit an exercise in self-promotion  by Turkey's wealthiest industrialist, this was not a bad way to do it. The older boys were fascinated and confused by Koc's massive collection of cars, boats, trains, and even planes of all eras, displayed in a huge dockyard on the opposite side of the Golden Horn. (Why would you need so many cars when you couldn't even drive most of them?) Jacob was peeved he could not climb into any of the vintage Fords and Fiats. Once he discovered the roomful of trolley and tram cars open for exploration, however, nothing could stop him, even the two sets of brides and grooms posing for wedding photographs alongside. 

Isaac, Ezra and I also got an excellent tour of a Turkish submarine given by an enthusiastic 30year veteran of the Turkish navy. After seeing the tiny narrow tube where 84 sailors slept and lived, Isaac and I agreed that a life on a submarine was not for us. We did happily accept our certificates of completion for our submarine tour, however. 

Can you spot Jacob?

This model is only a few years older than the one my grandfather drove across country. (Camping in a canvas tent along the way!)

The museums of Istanbul

Blogger of the day: Isaac

Today was an up and a down. What we did was walk for nearly one hour to the palace... and then find out it was closed! So after some grumbling, debating and the playing of Martian Fluxx (a card game) we decided to take a trip to the three museums. Archaeological, tile, and near east museums. The archaeological museum had all the sarcophagi of ancient Mesopotamian people including the great Alexander family. The people had really completely decayed. Their organs were all dried out and many of the bones were missing. It was gross. Luckily as we turned the corner we saw a chain. It was the chain that the Byzantines used to keep out ships. They used it by placing the chain low enough so that when enemy ships came knocking, the chain would destroy the rudder. The other museum, the tile museum, was entered only by my mom and I. There were plates, glasses, cups, jugs, jars all made of white and blue decoration. The coolest was the old fireplace. After the tile museum, my mom and I walked into the near east museum. Not as much interesting stuff in there as in the tile museum though. After the museum it was a long enjoyable walk home. I can wait to leave Istanbul.

[P.S. from Elizabeth: if you wanted to comment before (Mom) and could not, I think I've changed the settings so that you now can.]

Hello from Istanbul

Flew back from the coast to Istanbul today, uneventfully. Needed one gummy peach each to make it up the thirty minutes of steep hill walking back to the apartment. Thank you, Haribo store in the Izmir airport! The neighborhood is quiet and we are happy to do laundry again but we will miss those ocean views!

Dilek National Park (or, Another Day at the Beach)

Blogger of the day: Ezra

The car doors opened and I was ready for the beach. (Yes, I rented a car.). It had been a long drive to the beach but we had finally got there. Me and Isaac complained it was too rocky. There were also a couple of wild boars roaming around looking for food with their babies. (So cute!) Mama and Baba said we could go to a different beach because of the complaining. 

The second beach was still rocky but this time we couldn't change. Luckily the water was very good for swimming. The name of the water is the Aegean Sea. Me and Jacob wanted to go swimming right away but we had to get our bathing suits on. We got in the water. Perfect! Well, it was a little cold but once I got it over with it was fine. There were some sharp rocks -- me, Isaac and Baba all got cut. Then we played a couple of rounds of Mille Bornes and Martian Flux. I kept switching back and forth between swimming and cards all day. Also I munched on cashews too. I felt great about swimming in the ocean even though I got dunked a couple of times. Finally we headed for the hotel in our rented car. We ate dinner on our balcony and watched the big cruise ship leave the harbor and the mother cat nurse her kittens on the roof below us. It was a very perfect day. 

Kusadasi

[sorry for the delay on this post from yesterday! No wifi at the hotel last night or this morning]

Kusadasy

Blogger of the day: Peter

After flying from Kayseri to Istanbul, we quickly boarded new planes and headed down to Kusadasy, a small metropolis of 25,000 on the shores of the Aegean Sea. Other than being a good port for cruise ships, it’s a good jumping off point for people who want to visit the ancient city of Ephesus. That’s why we’re here.

 We arrived late last night in the town and promptly got lost in our Europcar rental. It was midnight, 2/3 of the boys were asleep (Ezra was quite chipper), and the street signs provided little help in terms of offering any clues as to where our hotel might be. I called the hotel (praise the heavens that we had purchased a Turkey SIM card for our phone) and the owner drove out to meet us and guided us safely. Just a quick note, there is NO way we would have found this place. Google Maps doesn’t say things like: You will need to drive through an active bazaar. Enjoy samples of Turkish delight and consider buying a rug while you attempt to arrive unscathed.

 And so today, we got up, had breakfast and headed to Ephesus. I don’t think I really ever comprehended the importance of this city. At one point, there were 250,000 residents living at what amounted to be the center of the world. The fact that more  than 80% is still unearthed makes me excited for a return trip some time in the future. What an amazing experience. If you were to ask Ezra about it,  he was very enthusiastic about a cat giving her newborn kittens a wash in the ancient library that once held one of the more important collections of Greek and Roman scrolls.

Following the visit, we returned to the hotel and went swimming in their frigid pool. The boys were so excited to go swimming, though. It was pretty cute to see them in their goggles.

I’ll end with what might have been one of the best experiences in personal grooming. As I went out to buy dinner for us, I stopped by an out of the way barber shop and asked for a haircut. To fully explain the experience would take a long time, but there was a authentic straight-edge blade for my shave, a massage immediately following my haircut, a flame that was put in both my ears to  eliminate ear hair,  and two apprentices running around the shop fetching me tea and cold water. I got a haircut and a shave plus lemon cologne and some other splash for my forehead for $15. I want to go back tomorrow – I know the two older boys are desperate to go back tomorrow. We’ll see. What I will say, though, was that if 9^th Street Tiger Barbershop did any one of these things, they’d be so incredibly popular!

Night

On the coast

Another travel day and no regular blogger yet--we have adjusted our schedule a bit to take a side trip to the coast and Ephesus. Staying in Kusadasi, a major cruise port. More updates soon.

Around Cappadocia

Dear Jacob:

When we got up we had breakfast that so good I just had to taste it. Then we rode on a bus. Then we went to an underground city that was so cool. We saw one big stone roller blocking the door. There was a trap to trap bad guys from getting in. The leader told us that the stairs were very steep. The stairs led to a very dark tunnel. Everybody was too tall for the tunnel except me. Then we followed the leader to a big tunnel. The tunnel also led to a very light place but it was a little bit dark and light in there. But the goodest thing in the underground city was that it was very interesting except for the stairs. But on the stairs something black was on it. It was bubble gum. Also it had so much bubble gum you didn't want to lick it right now. 

We also went outside but we couldn't believe that. We went in a light forest and saw ducks in the river.  How many ducks were there!?! The ducks said quack quack. There were tables and chairs in the river. The chairs could not sink because they had big wooden legs that the ducks might eat. 

Then we got ice cream. The ice cream was just too cold. The end. 

Goreme, Cappadoccia

Arrived today in beautiful Cappadoccia -- hiking through the canyons at sunset was completely magical and serene. 

The relaxing day

Blogger of the day: Isaac

Today was a relaxing day for our family. We were playing cards, reading and just hanging around. Even though I said today was a relaxing day that doesn't mean that we just sat around like lazy bugs. We walked to the park near the coastline of the Golden Horn. As we were walking there the person who helped us settle down in the apartment offered us tea, cookies and Turkish Mallomars. After that we walked on to the coastline. There we (Ezra and Jacob) watched jellyfish floating around. We also poked them (Ezra and Jacob again) and tried to bring them out of the water and kill them [Parents ensured this did not suceed --Ed.] After we played with the jellyfish we walked to a playground and played on it (obviously). It wasn't  really a normal park because everything was an exercise equipment to "play" on. After we visited the park we started to walk back home. The walk was pretty uneventful but when we got to our street our dad bought us ice cream (that's the deal - we walk up the steep street and earn ourselves an ice cream)! I bought vanilla again. The more and more I stay here, the more and more I start to like it. Tomorrow Elizabeth will tell you about a very intriguing and interesting experience. [Geez, no pressure! -- Ed.]

Our street

Full Bosphorus Cruise

Blogger of the day: Ezra

Today we went to the continent of Asia. It only took 3 hours (So soon? I thought it would take longer!) we took a ferry boat. We saw a lot of water and the wake looked like soap. There were houses, trees, fishing boats and the Turkish flag along the Bosphorus. Then we got off the ferry at a fishing village in Asia. We walked through the village and came to a steep hill. When we were halfway up we went in a graveyard. At the beginning of the graveyard there were little puppies. So cute! When we went past the puppies there were still more graves. A little too much. The farther we went up, the closer we got to the top. When we were finally at the top, we came to a castle. Mama and Baba wouldn't let us climb it.  But, I guess it was against the rules to climb it. [as evidenced by the plentiful barbed wire and "forbidden" signs --Ed.]. Then we turned around and saw a very beautiful sight. It was the Black Sea. We saw some people climbing the castle. They did a lot of things against the rules. We came back down the hill and this time there was only one puppy to see. Finally we made it to the dock. A man let us fish with a net in his small tank and then drop the fish back in. At last it was time to get back on the boat and return to Istanbul. 

Dancing in Asia in front of our ferry: