Stage 46: From Istanbul to Yalova

On January 8th, the journey continued after the winter break. A month without sports and lots of food over the holidays has left its mark, so I wanted to take it easy on the first stages. The port of Besiktas was only a few hundred meters from my hostel, the crossing to Uskudar was no problem. Riding a bike in Asia for the first time! The next few hours were spent along the coast through Uskudar and Kadikoy, Istanbul's most popular neighborhoods on the Asian side. The further ride on the expressway to Eskihisar was a bit stressful. There, car ferries cross the Sea of Marmara every minute, even though the next bridge feels 5 kilometers away. At the ticket counter, I was curiously looked at and received help from a police officer, as the ticket machine only speaks Turkish. The 30-minute crossing cost 11 Lira (75 cents). From the landing point, it was only about 15 kilometers to Yalova (didn't look particularly exciting) and another 10 kilometers to my accommodation in the south. I had to push the bike on the last kilometers. I thought 'mountain view' means you have a view of a mountain, not that you look down from a mountain... But the effort was worth it, the quiet area in the middle of nowhere was a welcome change from the noise of the main road and the big cities. My host greeted me from afar with good English. The small hotel felt more like a farm in Austria, there were cows, chickens, and a cat. There were also a few peaceful stray dogs. After a small dinner in the nearby new development area, I was exhausted. It's crazy how quickly your muscles deteriorate when you've been eating cookies and pastries for a few weeks!