War and Peace

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At over 1700 pages including the two epilogues, War and Peace can seem like an insurmountable read.  It took me four months of on and off reading through Russia, Turkey, Greece, and finally the United States to finish it.  I'm sure everyone knows the title, but I'm sure not everyone knows the story.  It's a sweeping epic that takes place during the Napoleonic Wars.  War and Peace mainly follows the Rostov family and their acquaintances from prior to the war, through the war, and then into the aftermath.  The bulk of the book is like a serial soap opera.  There is love, betrayal, political intrigue, war, and passion.  The only parts I could imagine someone getting bogged down in are the very technical military parts (which I enjoyed) and the parts where Tolstoy starts self-aggrandizing his views and why they are right and why other historians are wrong (which I found tedious).  Overall, it is a pretty good read.  It just takes a lot of time and patience to get through.

Phidias Hotel - Athens

The Phidias Hotel is nicely located right near the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora. It is very close to Thission subway station, which is a nice bonus (despite the fact that they are doing construction on the subway system). The area around Thission Station is home to quite a number of outdoor cafes, which are extremely busy midday, but the crowd tapers off at night.

The hotel itself is nothing too amazing. It is a budget hotel in every sense of the word. The rooms are clean, but you can tell they are very old. They don't hold heat well, and the walls could use some new paint to liven them up a bit. The bathroom is pretty small, but we're used to that by now. They do offer breakfast, but the highlight for me was the elevator. The elevator was absolutely ancient. It was about one step away from the lever operated ones from the 30s. You press the up button hard in the lobby, then you wait to see the small window in the door light up, you get in, close the door (there is no safety gate), and it goes up.

Other than that, there is nothing spectacular or horrible about the Phidias Hotel. It was one of the easiest for us to find this trip (bonus!). We want to stay in the Plaka (the old part of Athens) when we go back, but there was nothing wrong with the Phidias. I would stay there again.

Kelebek Hotel and Pension - Goreme,Cappadocia

We took an overnight bus, so we got into Goreme around 8AM. That is well in advance of a normal hotel check-in time. When we got to the Kelebek Hotel, they were serving breakfast. They let us store our luggage for a couple hours, have breakfast, and relax. They didn't even charge us for the breakfast (which may have been the best we had in Turkey) even though we weren't technically guests yet. That was very generous, and I am really grateful for their hospitality. Especially after a bus ride that included a minor car accident.

Regular Room

The regular rooms are all in varying degrees of closeness to the reception office. They are 50 Euro a night and offer a double bed, en suite bathroom, and breakfast. The price may sound high, but the rooms are very well-kept and the hotel services (free tea and coffee all day, breakfast, connections with travel agencies) make up for a slightly higher price. Our room was easily the warmest we had in all of Turkey. There were pipes connected to our radiator that ran through our room to other radiators. They were so warm that we were able to keep our heater off the entire time. The shower was a little small and it leaked, but neither one of us cared. The bathroom was toasty warm and stepping out of the shower in the morning was pleasant. In other words, you didn't freeze the second you stepped out. The regular rooms were as nice as any hotel we stayed in, and we would highly recommend them.

Junior Suite

This was one of our splurges in Cappadocia (95 Euro for the room). It is our honeymoon after all. The room is absolutely beautiful. Luckily, we decided to take the balloon ride early morning and then relax in our suite all day. It has a sitting room with a television and a working fireplace (which they supplied with wood), a king sized bed, and a jacuzzi. Plus, they left some Turkish Delight for us to munch on. After dinner we let Amanda and Dennis check out the suite, because they were thinking about getting one their last night in Cappadocia. After they left, we took a bath in the jacuzzi and then made a fire and sat around until we decided to go to bed. This room was one of the best we had all trip. It's right up there with the hotel we stayed at in Nizhny Novgorod.

Villa Tulipan Hotel - Antalya

The Villa Tulipan was a bit difficult to find, but it was a great little hotel. It is very close to the harbor and a small beach that is through a restaurant. It is also close to a very helpful merchant that will point you in the right direction and then try to sell things to you later.

You ring the bell and when the owner opens the door, you are greeted by him, his assistant, and a very friendly dog. The rooms are all upstairs. There is no elevator here, so it might be difficult for some older people or people with really heavy baggage. Our room was cozy without being tiny. The view was very nice as well. The bathroom might be a problem for some people. It is one of the smallest we have encountered, and we used to live in Korea. It isn't a big deal as long as you aren't picky.

The breakfast is a standard Turkish breakfast. They don't have boiled eggs, but they will fry some up for you. They will also hold baggage all day, which they did for us. A transfer to the bus station only costs 25 lira. It's a nice luxury to treat yourself to if your bus leaves at night the way ours did. The Villa Tuilpan is a nice place for those who aren't picky. It isn't really a true budget hotel, but it is only a step or two above one.

Kayahan Hotel - Kas

Kas is a beautiful town, and as such has attracted a multitude of visitors. Many visitors means many hotels and pensions, and boy does Kas have them by the dozens. Some of them were closed or operating at half-staff while we were there (low season and all). But I can imagine how full every room is and how busy the streets are in the middle of summer. The Kayahan Hotel is located on a street that has many other hotels and pensions; it's actually called “Hotel and Pension Street”.

We booked Kayahan on booking.com because they had a special rate for the winter season. We spent a little extra and got a sea view room. It was amazing and totally worth the price! The room had a balcony that overlooked the town and the harbor and the sea. The bed was soft and had extra blankets for the cold night. Most of the hotels in this area of Turkey have air-conditioner units that turn into heating units instead of a radiator; Kayahan is no different. The bathroom had a shower stall and everything else. It took about 5 minutes to get hot water, but had no problem once it got going.

The hotel had a fantastic terrace on the top floor where they served a typical Turkish breakfast. It also overlooked the sea and town. There were small openings above the windows where little birds would squeeze through and come into the room to try and eat some bread. They never disturbed people eating, only when people left. The staff had to be quick about cleaning up, otherwise the birds would attack the bread basket if there was any bread left over! But like I said, they never disturbed us otherwise.

They have a pool but we did not partake. They also offered laundry service which was nice. On your way to the hotel from the bus station or city center, you have to walk up a slight hill, but it's not terrible and every hotel is on a hill. Overall, we recommend the Kayahan and especially the sea view rooms!

Alis Hotel - Fethiye, Turkey

We booked this hotel on booking.com because they had a great deal on a double room. It advertises as being close to a small beach, but we didn't see it. It's also not very close to the marina nor bus station in town (about 1.5 km). So when we arrived, we took a taxi that cost about $6.50 (expensive!). The hotel is situated near the boardwalk along the seaside, which is very nice. They also have a pool out front which would be nice if it were really warm.

The reception lady is a very sweet British woman who was very understanding when we discovered we selected the wrong date of our arrival. We still got a room, though (thankfully it's low season!). We ended up with and older room with two twin beds that had been pushed together, and another twin bed in the room. The ensuite bathroom was reminiscent of Korea – the shower wasn't separate, just a shower head over an empty space in the bathroom. There was also a balcony with two comfy chairs that had a small view of the ocean. For what we paid (50 lira/$30 / night), it was perfectly fine.

They added this cute little touch as well.

Breakfast was a typical Turkish breakfast: cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, bread, butter, cheese, jams, coffee or tea, and eggs. Our second morning they served potatoes, fried bread, and sausages in addition to the regular breakfast. The hotel is definitely more of a budget hotel than a mid- or high-end place. But the service was excellent and the breakfast was great. It's a great walk along the boardwalk from the hotel to the center of the city. If you want a cheap place to stay that still provides service and breakfast, choose this hotel. If you want something more central or more recently renovated, then choose a hotel in the center.

Artemis Yoruk Hotel - Pamukkale

The Artemis Yoruk is the very definition of a budget hotel. It isn't the cleanest, and it isn't the most well-kept, but it has a roof, four walls, and a bed. Each room even has its own bathroom. They also have an outdoor pool, a warm indoor pool, a sauna, a Turkish bath (that costs extra), and a place to get massages if you so choose (also extra). The breakfast is quite good. It was much better than the previous hotel we stayed in.

The beauty of the Artemis Yoruk is in its location. You can walk there from the exit of the travertines in less than ten minutes. The street it is on is lined with restaurants and bars. A surprising majority of them offered Korean food. We decided it was best not to give that a shot after our experience in Russia.

The only glaring point against the hotel is the fact that the city's mosque seems to be located in its backyard. Not that I have anything against mosques in general, but remember that Muslims pray five times a day. The first call to prayer is at 5:45AM. Neither of us knew that until we stayed at this hotel. It's actually a lovely sound any other time of day, but as a wake-up call, it would be much better around 8.

There is nothing terrible about the hotel, and there is nothing great about it. As long as you don't enter the hotel expecting a Hilton, you should be just fine.

Pine Marina Hotel - Kusadasi

Kusadasi the city is usually a nice summer resort town. It is November, so it's low season and not too many people are around town. Our hotel is situated on the side of a hill, so there is a nice view of the marina from most of the rooms. Our first hotel room was a double bed/twin bed combo (again!), with a balcony and small view of the water. However, we only stayed there one night as our toilet was leaking into the room below. So we were moved to the 5^th floor, to a double room, with a balcony that also looked over the marina, but without a house in the way. The decorations were nicer, the rug was nicer, in all it was newly renovated whereas our first room looked rather drab (it had a big yellow design on the rug that at first glance looked like spilled food or drink, or a stain). Lucky for us, the weather during the day got up to 60, so we could open our balcony door and let in some nice air.

The hotel itself looks like it was built in the 70s and is slowly renovating. The reception area has mirrors everywhere and ugly, shiny purple mosaics on the plant vases. But the cocktail area is very nice with couches and chairs, and the dining room looks like any normal hotel dining room.

This hotel also offers free breakfast AND free dinner with your stay. The breakfast is fine: eggs, cheese, veggies, meat, bread, tea or coffee. The dinner is actually quite good; usually a soup, a salad bar, a cold plate bar (mezes/tapas-style), five hot dishes (rice, potato, veggies, and two meats), bread bar, and an assortment of dessert. Drinks are extra. One night we were here, there weren't enough guests to warrant a buffet dinner, so it was served to us in courses by the waiter.

We don't know if there is a beach nearby. We went wandering one night but only found cafes on the sea-front. There is a pool but it's only open during the summer months. In all, it's a fine hotel, especially if you get one of their newer rooms.

View from our window - sunset and at night

Anzac Hotel - Canakkale

We were only at the Anzac Hotel for a very short time. It is a very standard tourist or business hotel with minimal amenities. It gives you a nice, clean place to sleep, an en-suite bathroom, and a television if you can find anything that interests you. They also offer a pretty decent buffet breakfast in the morning. They are also located right next to the ferry port and in the center of the old part of town, so it's easy to find.

The bed was nice and firm, but the pillows (especially Emily's) were hard as rocks. They were also oversized, which made sleeping a little awkward. It was booked as part of our tour though, so it isn't like we had much of a choice. If we were booking on our own, we would have likely booked elsewhere. Canakkale seems like a very nice small city, so we would like to go back. Like I said though, we'll try a different hotel.

Metin Han Hotel - Istanbul

The Metin Han is in the middle of the old part of Istanbul. It is a ten minute walk from the Blue Mosque which was the first in a string of other sights. It is surrounded by shoe stores and factories, which can be a little loud in the morning. If you have lived in a large city at all, they won't bother you though. At night, the street is dark and quiet. To some people it might seem a little unsafe (we heard an argument about that), but it seemed perfectly fine to us. When we'd walk home at night after things closed, nobody bothered us.

There is no elevator, which could be a problem for older people as the steps are a little narrow. A buffet breakfast is included though, and the rooms are very nice. They are larger than we expected for the cost. Each room has a television, a table with two chairs, and a bathroom. Our room even had two beds. One was a double and one was a twin. We aren't sure why. The hotel manager (possibly owner), Zeki, is extremely helpful. He has been a tour guide before, and he used to work at one of the hostels near the Blue Mosque, so he is very knowledgeable. He also has a lot of contacts in the tour industry. The hotel is in a great location, and we would stay there again. I would definitely suggest the airport pickup option though. The narrow streets of Istanbul could be difficult to navigate on your own if it is your first time.

Babushka House - St. Petersburg

This is a very large hostel located near the train station and an easy walk to all the big sites of the city. The reception and common area are very large, and the kitchen is large and open for guest use. They provide a small breakfast of coffee/tea, yogurt, cheese bread, and cornflakes. However if you wake up late, like Richard and I did once or twice, there is only cereal and tea. They have wifi available throughout the hostel and also a laptop for hire if you so desire.

As for the room itself, we had a double bed that was very comfortable. The room was large enough for our two bags and then some. All the rooms share a bathroom that has four shower stalls and three toilets. When we were here the hostel was half-occupied, and so there were always toilets and showers available. We ran into only one problem with the bathroom; sometimes hot water was not available or spotty if we took showers directly after everyone else.

The theme of the hostel is great – it takes after the hand-painted housewares souvenirs you see all over the country. Gold, red, brown and white floral patterns are painted on the doors and hung as decorations, and the linens, chairs, and other accents follow the same color pattern.

Overall this is a nice place to stay for any length of time. It's clean, centrally located (maybe 15 min walk to the Hermitage and 10 min walk from the train station), secure, and large. Perhaps in the busy summer months it would get very crowded, especially in the bathrooms, but during this time it was great.

Galina's Flat - Moscow

Galina's Flat is located near Chistye Prudy. That means, it is only a 20 minute walk from the Kremlin and Red Sqaure. It is also close to the metro station, and you can easily get to the rail station from the flat. Galina's Flat is extremely affordable, especially for Moscow. Galina's Flat is exactly what it says, a flat owned by a woman named Galina that has rooms available for hire. It is on the fifth floor of a six floor Soviet walk-up. She doesn't offer visa services, but she does offer cats.

Her apartment has between four and six cats running in and out at their leisure. If you don't like cats, do not even think about staying at Galina's. If you don't mine the curious little critters pawing at you and your stuff, then you will be just fine. No breakfast is offered, but she does have a kitchen that people can use. Neat freaks should avoid this place like the plague. It isn't dirty, but it is very old. It has a little bit of a rundown feel to it, but that isn't really a big deal. There isn't a lot of common space except in the 5-bed dorm.

Other than that, her flat is great if you need a cheap, clean, centrally-located place to put your things and rest your head.

Russkoe Podvorie - Rostov-Veliky

Yet another difficult to find hotel. It really didn't help that every map we found of this small town was garbage. The hotel does have a sign up on a side street, but someone broke off the end of the arrow, so it no longer points anywhere. If the arrow were still present, we never would have gotten lost. It is in the center of the city, which means that it should have been easy to find. We just had a little bad luck on our way there.

Other than that, the hotel is right next to the kreml, which is absolutely beautiful (see 5 Golden Rings). The lady at the reception desk spoke very good English, among the best we've encountered in Russia. That isn't really saying much, but it was nice. The rooms are small, but nicely decorated. They have a red, white, and black color scheme that gives a modern, boutique hotel vibe. There is a restaurant attached that serves good food. They also have a small selection of mead, including one made by the local monks.

The breakfast at the restaurant was one of the few good ones we have had. They give you a choice of eggs and sausage, porridge, or blini (Russian crepes). We both chose to have the blini with condensed milk, and they were very good. You get a choice of tea or coffee and a few pastries as well.

We would definitely stay at this hotel again.

Hotel Volga - Kostroma

The Hotel Volga was by far and away the easiest hotel to find. The inter-city bus goes right past it, and you can ask the bus driver to stop at the first bus stop near the hotel. It's a five minute walk back from there. The place is Soviet era through and through. You notice it as soon as you get in the elevator. It is small, ugly, and jerks all the way up. The rooms are also very Soviet, but they aren't bad. There is a sitting room with a balcony and a bedroom that also has a balcony. Our view of the Volga was about the only amazing thing we ran into in Kostroma.

The walls in the hotel are like paper though. If you don't close every door in the room, there are three (one outer, two inner), you can hear everything that goes on in the hallway. If the other guests were quiet, I don't think that would be much of a problem. We were saddled with a hallway full of rambunctious children. They yelled, screamed, and tackled each other in the hall. Until I closed every door, they kept us awake.

Breakfast was again included. I guess I shouldn't complain so much about free breakfasts, but so many of them are very half-assed. This one was better. Some of the stuff was at least lukewarm instead of stone cold. They had potatoes, scrambled eggs that came in block form, hard boiled eggs that were a day or two old, pancakes with no syrup, and an assortment of other things. The cranberry juice was good, and tea and coffee were self-service as usual.

The Volga Hotel was a nice little place, and if you absolutely have to stay in Kostroma (see our Golden Rings blog entry), it isn't a bad place.

Cherry Garden - Suzdal

The Cherry Garden Hotel is easy to find as long as you don't listen to Google Maps. If you try to use Google Maps, like we did, you will end up clear on the other side of the city nowhere near the hotel. We found a couple Russian men to help us; we bought some of their souvenirs later. What should have been a 20 minute walk turned into a 50 minute walk, but we ended up finding the hotel just fine.

The hotel is built in a log cabin style, and the rooms smell of cedar when you enter them. It's a wonderful smell. Our budget double was a good size for the price, 2000 rubles, and the bed was very comfortable. The wi-fi at the hotel was a little slow, but good enough for checking emails. Breakfast was included in the price, and was very good. They cooked it as you showed up, and brought out eggs, bread, and sausages after a few minutes. Coffee and tea were self-service.

The best part of the hotel is actually the backyard. They have a very nice garden that has a man-made stream and pond in the summer. There are two gazebos, one large and one small, where you can sit out and watch the sunrise or sunset. We both thought that it would be best to stay there during the late spring, but it was still mostly green even into late October. It is worth staying there if you ever make it to Suzdal.

The back yard.

Vladimir Hotel - Vladimir

The Vladimir Hotel is conveniently located up a short hill near the bus and train stations. All of the sites are quite close as well. Vladimir isn't a very big city, so you're never very far from the cathedrals and churches anyways, but being near the bus station is a huge plus.

The hotel is not too expensive, 1900 rubles (less than $60) for a standard twin. You can add breakfast, which we did, for another 600 rubles. The room is about the size of a standard dorm room. The beds are directly next to one another, thank god they weren't bunk beds given the size. There is a desk, a wardrobe, and the bathroom is en-suite. Given the location and the price, there isn't really much to complain about.

The breakfast wasn't worth it though. Everything is laid out buffet-style, but the food is all cold. Even the eggs. They did have apple juice, coffee, tea, and what looked like tomato juice. There was also a selection of cheese and meats, but really only one kind of cheese, and two kinds of standard store bought cold cuts. They also had bananas, which was a plus for Emily. The breakfast is worth about half of what we paid, and in reality, they would be better off switching to a continental breakfast with pastries, toast, and assorted jams and jellies.

Hotel Sergievskaya - Nizhny Novgorod

The hotel options in Nizhny Novgorod are extremely limited. We really only had three hotel choices: one close to the train station, one close to the Kremlin, and one in between. Emily kept asking me which one we should stay in, because they were all similar in price. After some discussion, we decided (I decided), we should stay in the one that was in between the train station and the Kremlin. Emily replied, “Yay! That's the one with the pretty rooms!” The rooms are indeed very pretty.

Pretty.

Online, you see pictures of blue rooms and pink rooms. I thought those were two different rooms. It turns out that the pink room is the bedroom and the blue room is the dining room/sitting room. The room was our most expensive to date by far, 4100 roubles (just over $100), but it was totally worth it. The hotel only has about six rooms, but the service is excellent, and the rooms are well taken care of. The bathroom has a bathtub and heated floors. The hot water takes a while to get going, but stays a nice temperature and never gets to scalding temperatures. The bedroom has down pillows and blankets, and the bed is extremely comfortable. We both said that we got some of the best sleep we've had on the trip. Of course, wi-fi is available throughout the hotel.

Sitting room/dining area.

Bedroom.

In the morning, breakfast was served in our room. Emily got sausages and I got fried eggs. Breakfast included orange juice, tea, yogurt, and a bread basket. It was very good. We highly recommend staying at this hotel if you don't mind spending a little extra. I'm pretty sure it will be one of our favorite hotels from this trip.

Our wonderful breakfast spread. And Emily.

Mikado Hostel - Kazan

Mikado Hostel just moved into a new building, directly across from the old one, a month ago. The interior is brand new, and all the beds and linens seem like they just came out of the box. They are all from Ikea, so they definitely came out of boxes. It is very clean, almost sterile in fact. The staff is very nice, and they all speak English very well. There is a large kitchen that guests can use, but no lounge space that we saw. We never went upstairs, so it may have been up there. There is wifi available, but the signal is a little weak downstairs, where our room was.

The hostel is centrally located, so once you have actually found it, it is easy to get to. Most of the sites are nearby as well. The directions online are not very helpful however, and finding it the first time can be a bit difficult.

They do have a few things to tweak, but I'm sure they will fix them in time. The wallpaper contains fiberglass, which is something you don't think about until your guests all get a rash from touching it. Emily woke up with a small rash on her back from sleeping against the wall. They also need to put bath mats in the shower, because Richard almost fell. They also haven't sorted out the keys. They don't give a key to the front door, which is always locked, and they couldn't find the key to our room. The hostel is very nice, but I would give them a few months to figure things out before staying there again.

Trans Sib Hostel - Irkutsk

The Trans Sib Hostel is in an amazing location less than 10 minutes from the train station by foot. That is where our amazement ended. There is currently only one room open, because the hostel is under construction. They, I'm assuming the owner and his friend, are building a shittily constructed wall to separate the two dorm-type rooms from the main reception area. According to some old reviews, this was once an open space. After growing up in a house that was being built, and helping to build parts myself, I can safely say these are more “walls” than real walls. They are insulated with egg holders that have been foam sprayed to keep them together. Very classy. They used what looked like 2x2 studs to hold up the sheet rock that forms the wall itself. I think I could probably step through their wall without much effort. I think privacy curtains would do as much as their walls, but they just don't give that same sense of false security I guess.

Giant key.

The staff was extremely nice and helpful whenever they weren't turning the television up so they could hear it over the pounding of nails that comes with construction. They really should have closed shop for a couple weeks, or really a couple days with that kind of quality, and just reopened when the wall was finished. If the wall had been finished before we got there, I wouldn't be writing about how poorly they put it together, and I would be writing about how awesome their gigantic bathroom is and how comfortable their beds are and how fun it was to have a giant key for the front door.

(Yet another) Olga's Baikal Guesthouse – Listvyanka

Despite the difficulty we had in finding this place (see entry "A Fish Called Omul" about Listvyanka), it turned out ok.

Olga, of course Olga, runs a nice little homestay in Listvyanka. It's about 15 minutes from the center of the village, but right down the street from the shore line. She has two twin rooms that are available for visitors. It's very clean and the bathroom has heated floors. She will give you endless coffee and tea, and cooks a pretty good breakfast. She also served us some apple preserves that were amazing.

In her house there is a cat and he loves hanging around visitors. He even jumped into Richard's bed during the night. She has no internet. In all, it was a fine stay although it took a while to find it. If you want to stay closer to the bus station and the Mayak Hotel, the only bastion of internet service, don't stay here.