Holidaying with the refugees in the Dodecanese

In the summer of 2015, Greece made it to headlines either for financial ruin or for refugees crisis. In the Dodecanese islands off the Turkish coast, you see less of the first and plenty of the second. After all, the Syrian war is not ending despite four years of devastating warfare and it is now the middle classes' turn to leave the country. As entering Europe is allowed only illegally, they therefore land in the closest Dodecanese Islands like Lesvos, Chios, Kos, Leros off the Turkish coast. Usually they loom at the harbour either waiting for ferries to take them to mainland Greece and beyond or at police stations on the side of the road while lining up for registration.

Hora on the top of Patmos island, Greece.

Travelmind is a family enterprise: my sister is posing in Hora.

Hora has many nice shops overlooking Patmos island.

One of the furthest islands off the Turkish coast, Patmos did not change much since I saw it ten years ago. Given the distance, it is not receiving refugees but many pilgrims that arrive by huge cruise lines on a daily basis. Indeed, Patmos' Hora is called the Jerusalem of the Aegean. It has been declared a UNESCO site as well as a "holy island" by the Greek Parliament for its religious significance. If you want a little peace and quiet in Hora, you should pick a day where a cruise won't be coming. After a tour at the top with excellent views, have dinner at Jimmy's with the best view of Skala and beyond. If it is a cruise day, just skip dinner in Hora and head down to Skala. Dinner either at Pandelis or Tsipouradikos by the sea are excellent options.

View from Jimmy's in Hora, Patmos.

A view of Skala from Jimmy's Balcony in Hora at Patmos island.

The best sunset in Patmos is on the road to Kampos.

At Tsipouradikos, the tables are set by the sea.

Patmos is a small island and transportation is easy with taxis but renting a car is also an option. We stayed to the north of Skala in Kampos. Although the Kampos beach can be crowded, it does not have that many buildings as other popular hotel areas like Grikos or Skala. Its village square up the road is very nice. Across the church, Aroma is a nice place to enjoy island food like goat and lamb, deliciously cooked. Other beautiful beaches include Agrio Livadi; Livadi Kalgiron (a must if you like the atmosphere of a fishermen's refuge); Lampi (another must) and Livadi Gerano.

At Kampos beach, enjoy Taverna Agnadi.

A farmer in Kampos, Patmos island.

Kampos beach, Patmos island.

Lampi beach on Patmos island.

While Patmos is relatively far from Turkey, Leros is much closer. It is also much bigger than Patmos and there is a lot to see. As we got off the ferry in Lakki, the refugees were hiding from the sun in the shadow of empty buildings and a park. It is indeed a sorry feeling to pass them by and head to your hotel. We stayed in Aya Marina at La Maison des Couleurs, a beautiful mansion with few rooms. When staying there, swimming in Panteli beach is an option but it can get crowded in its narrow strip. If you walk down to Aya Marina, dinner options at Taverna Bratsera or Mylos are highly recommended. In fact, the whole Aya Marina Bay is quite nice with cafes. Walking by the refugees filling the patio of the police station there in full evening do is an embaressment, at the same time, it is an opportunity to see their situation and face the consequences and delusions of European political decision making. An example is a restaurant owner's accussatory tone who said that they were coming to Leros from "us" ignoring the fact that "we" already had two millions of them in Turkey.

Vromolithos beach in Leros island.

Breakfast table at La Maison des Couleurs at Leros.

View from Mylos Restaurant towards Aya Marina, Leros island.

The famous wind mill at Mylos, Leros island.

In our short stay, we loved the Vromolithos beach. It was like Bodrum in the 1980s which gave us a sad feeling. In fact, walking by the beautiful summer houses in Leros, most of which are either for sale or empty and crumbling, one also sees opportunity in the economic crisis: it is possible to run away from the calamities across the border to here, not only for the refugees but also for us. Unlike them, I would rather stay, rent a place in a totally serene world, with pristine waters and an unspoilt coast. In fact, we are so lucky to have Greece to have in our immediate reach. All you have to do is to go to Bodrum and take the ferry.

The Lime Bar at Merikia, perfect spot to end the day.

The French playing petanque in Merikia Leros
right in front of the War Museum.

Italian architecture in Lakki, Leros island.

As with many of the Dodecanese Islands, Leros has an interesting history. Italy's occupation of the Islands left its mark not only in terms of Italian identity cards (see picture) but there is Italian architecture to be seen around especially in Lakki. In Merikia, close to Lakki, there is an interesting  museum from the Second World War that we could only see from the outside due to being open only half a day. Ironically for the European venture though, the French were playing petanque in its very vicinity.

Pressed between history and culture, Germany is underrated

Hofkirche at Dresden on the left.

Dresden Opera building, Semper Oper.

Kunstakademie at Dresden right next to Elbe river.
"The country that does not protect foreigners goes fast under".

It's Pegida up, Pegida down these days in German politics. Given its tragic history and the ongoing trial of the NSU members who managed to kill ten foreigners without being detected for so long, the German edgyness about the subject is understandable. The birth place of Pegida, Dresden, was therefore a must see. Located by the Elbe river ("Florence of the Elbe") and heavily bombed months before the end of the Second World War, how to explain the fact that Dresden started this anti Islam movement with only 2% of its population being Muslim? When one looks at the rebuilding and hope going on in the city and the elegance, manifested by the opera building of the city and the Zwinger Palace, it is incomprehensible. However, when considering that even its landmark Frauenkirche remained in ruins for decades, one is inclined to think that it maybe be an obsession with conservation and purity.

A view from Zwinger Palace, Versailles a la Dresden.
Photo: Esra Turam.

Photo: Esra Turam.

The Semper Oper in Dresden.

The black stones are the remainders from the original
bombed Fraunkirche in Dresden with
Martin Luther statute in front.

Leaving Dresden with these questions, we visited the Buchenwald concentration camp. I was heartened by the fact that it was the 1st of May (Labor Day holiday) and despite that, the place was packed with so many Germans who came to visit with their families. In a room that contained a plan of the camp, our guide explained what building stood where, who lived in villas (the SS) and who died in what condition. Facts about the camp so spoke themselves, the guide did not have to make any conclusions after explaining anything. We were all left thinking how we might have survived in a climate of fear or what we would have done to save our children from politics of destruction or what ideals were worth to die or fight for. 

The entrance of Buchenwald
concentration camp.

The Nazis had an inscription at the entrance of each camp.
At Buchenwald it was: "Everyone to himself".

The barbed wire at Buchenwald once had
380 voltage to prevent people from escaping.

Prisoners of War were brought into this room thinking
they were undergoing medical examination.
Instead, they were shot dead.

We were at times devastated by the cruelty and the deep thinking that went into making people suffer. Similarly, tricks were used to create consent and compliance. For instance, prisoners of war were deceived with the appearance of a medical examination room. When they thought they were being measured, they were shot dead. At the entrance door of the camp, it read: "jedem das seine" (to each his own). A line that in religious thinking was supposed to be positive was turned upside down because every person in the camp was just a number. They were not to be called by their names. In a way, the slogan manifested to their loneliness and god forgottenness. In sum, what is left from the American bombing of Buchenwald is still enough to shake you especially with the crematorium and the ovens inside it. Apparently, once they have arrived in the area, the American army took the people living close to Buchenwald in order to confront them with what was happening there. 

Goethe and Schiller in Weimar.

A blast from the past: the Trabant of DDR.

Having drawn our lessons about political suppression, we then headed to Weimar, located next to the concentration camp. It is probably an irony of history that it was the Weimar constitution that got Germany into all of this to begin with. Walking in the structural birth place of the Nazi disaster, on the other hand, felt very poetic. Amid a flea market and Schiller's poems written in unexpected corners, we saw a statute of Schiller and Göethe and ended up at Frauentor, a very nice cafe and restaurant on Schillerstrasse across Göethehaus. Once we sat down, we realized one more time how pure the people in Eastern Germany really remained. Almost everybody was blonde. Maybe this is what makes them to fear the unknown? But why when your history is full of  things you can be proud of? 

Bach's statute in front of Thomas Kirche in Leipzig
where he composed and belonged.

Bach's graveyard inside Thomas Church in Leipzig.

German bakery at its best in Kandler, Leipzig.

Leipzig is the place of so many German things. Bach and Wagner lived and composed here as well as the Schumann couple and Mendelssohn. Today, at Thomas Kirche, one can visit Bach's grave and listen to an orgue concert during mass. Leipzig was also the birth place of German Reformation. At the same time, in 1989 churches turned out to be the place of refuge against the communist rule. Maybe this is why they are weary of non-Christians? In fact, a grandiose feeling surrounds the city with its buildings and huge train station, attesting to its once central location. The restaurant Auerbachskeller from 16th century that Göethe frequented still offers amazing food which really makes one think that why the German food, cakes and bread are so underrated.

Nikolaikirche in Leipzig, the place where
resistance to communist rule started in 1989, is 850 years old.

Spinnerei in Plagwitz, Leipzig.

Stolpersteine on the ground in Leipzig commemorate the Holocaust
survivors just like in other parts of the country.

In addition, Leipzig has an up and coming artsy neighborhood like Plagwitz with places like the Spinnerei, the cotton spinning mill turned into cultural center or restaurants such as Chinabrenner. Given all this heritage, it must have been such a destitute feeling for Germans until 1989 that all their cultural riches were left on the wrong side of the border. Those in the East, on the other hand, must have been left to take pride with cultural treasures that did not feed them. Maybe this explains their reluctance to embrace foreign "things". A desire to hold on to what they have for the future may be uncertain. A pity, when in their humble civility Germans have found so much courage to make good for the past.

San Francisco: living in a bubble amid conservatism in America

You heard all about it....it's the gay city. It's the mecca of internet. It's pretty. It's liberal. Indeed, the Bay Area has been attracting dreamers, nonconformists and inventors for decades. Many brands we know today were founded here ranging from North Face to Levi's to Google and Apple. Therefore, one probably shouldn't be surprised by the progressiveness of the city. At the end of the day, these are the grand children of those who pursued the "go west" motto. What does not get as often mentioned is the fact that the United Nations was founded after a conference in San Francisco. Here is to one of the most international cities in the U.S!

Although less famous than the Golden Gate, Bay Bridge in San Francisco is as nice.

A view from famous hills of San Francisco in Castro neighborhood.

At San Francisco MOMA, Mexican artists Kahlo and Rivera are together again.

The best way to explore the city is by walking although bus service is also pretty good. Everyone loves the street cars but it charges a rip off fee of $6, so beware! Market Street is in the heart of the city. A good way to walk the city is to start on it until you hit Embarcadero and watch the ferries and the Bay Bridge. Walking along the shore towards North, you can see the old terminals transformed into tourist attractions, such as cafes and restaurants. One of them is the Fisherman's Wharf with its extortionate prices and terrible crowds. Nevertheless, it has a good view to the notorious Alcatraz Island which used to be a terrible corrections institution, closed today. It also allows you to see the sea lions of the Bay along with a view to the Golden Gate Bridge. You could now go to North Beach, a lovely neighborhood away from the crowds of the wharf. There are many Italian restaurants here as well as a nice local flair: street bands play music, people walk by and it has almost a Mediterranean feel. The more privileged are up on the Russian Hill which looks like the Bebek neighborhood in Istanbul.

First place for espresso in the West Coast back in 50s,
Cafe Trieste in North Beach, San Francisco.

A fire in the pier of San Francisco.

A view from Fishermen"s Wharf to the Bay.

Fishermen"s Wharf attraction sea lions in San Francisco.

If you happen to be in the city during weekend, the mass at the Glide Memorial Church in the rough Tenderloin district is a cultural experience that shouldn't be missed especially if you are not Christian or are Catholic/Orthodox. On Fathers' Day there I was, at a church as welcoming as no place I have seen including of homeless and gays. Their greetings started in many languages. There was an orchestra that played jazz, a power point presentation on screen in the back while an auction took place (of a cake) proceeds of which went to the church. The church encouraged you to take out your phone and text your friends about your experience but you could also use it to make a donation by cellular phone. The church wanted followers on Twitter. It had a hashtag too! At some point, I had to hold hands with the people (which was nice) and hug someone (nice too). It was religion American style so to say which at some point turned it into an entertainment. In a way, it shows you that creating a community does not have to be all boring and serious and in IT land California even churches are using social media. 

The notorious Alcatraz island in San Francisco.

Community service at Glide Memorial Church,
in Tenderloin San Francisco.

Chinese musicians at work in San Francisco for the community.

A view from Russian Hill to the city, San Francisco.

San Francisco has the largest Chinatown in America and you can find here wonderful bargains be it teapots, woks, umbrellas even kites for kids. There is also great food here. I am on the look out for places that are filled with Chinese or where there are lines in front, especially bakeries. Many dum sum places had huge lines in front of them. Lee's Restaurant was full of Chinese and did not disappoint.

Entry into America's largest Chinatown, San Francisco.

Artefacts for cheap in Chinatown, San Francisco.

Lee's Restaurant at Chinatown, San Francisco.

Another not to be missed district in San Francisco is Castro where some cafes do not provide you any WIFI connection (Samovar) because we should not always be connected. Indeed, this new agey, capitalism bashing but capitalism benefiting hypocracy is everyhwhere in the city. There is all this yoga, tea and natural life people: mountain biking was also invented in San Francisco. It is said that the least number of Starbucks in an urban area are located in San Francisco because people value local business over chains. In fact, some millionaires are said to dress in downtrodden hippi clothing rather than posh suites. To me this seemed more like an illusion of escaping capitalism while everyone played with their latest ipod or iphone. What is really sad is the number of homeless people in San Francisco. After the hype of the de-institutionalization that was supposed to bring them back to community, many now live on the streets amid all the wealth in one of the largest economies of the world (California) and the richest country in the world. If you do not really care about all this though, Union Square shops would be an option where you can shop until you drop.

True to the spirit:
yoga room at San Francisco airport.

The famous Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco.