TRAVEL TO BIRGE

This morning we flew to İzmir, rented a car and drove to Birge.  The first thing we learned is that GREEN signs mean toll road and faster... BLUE signs mean you go through towns and see the real Turkey.

  The drive was through a valley with coastal hills on each side that looked a lot like the Lompoc Valley.

We stayed at the Cinaralti Pansiyon and the surroundings were peaceful after our days in Istanbul.  Beautiful gardens and stately trees.  We visited with other guests from Turkey and Germany before heading for the "alpine like lake"  up the mountain.



  

The lake is set among pine trees...and you could be in the high country of the Sierras.   The little town is Golcum (with umlauts over the o and u. ) We walked down the one and only street looking for a snack to tide us over until dinner.  A little ole man came up to us and asked if we were German or English.  He then said... No English, do you speak German?  We managed to communicate enough to tell him we were looking for food.  He said Come, come! and lead us down the street from one establishment to the next until someone was found with Meza, which suited us fine.

Back in Birge, we told the innkeeper we would like to eat at the Pension and went for a walk while our food was prepared.  We met a most delightful bunch of school kids.  Laura just shines when it comes to breaking the ice and talking to little kids.  "What is your name?  My name is Lara".  One of the girls, eleven years old, brought out her English workbook for us to see.  It is amazing how much you can communicate with just a few common words.

English lessons... click to enlarge any photo

Our Room