Day 13.5 Train journey to Istanbul

In the late afternoon, I went to Sofia's train station and boarded the train to Istanbul. In my 4-person sleeping compartment, I encountered two familiar faces: the first was an older Chinese man with whom I had previously traveled from Bucharest to Sofia, and like me, he had to laugh at the coincidence. The second familiar face was a girl who had also participated in the Jewish city tour a few hours earlier. Quickly, we struck up a conversation about this topic, and soon found ourselves talking about many other things. Her name was Zia, she was from the UK, and she wanted to start studying to become a veterinarian in the coming weeks. She was very open and shared her thoughts on life after Brexit, the lengthy application process for universities like Cambridge, and her travel experiences. We chatted for a long time, set up a small dinner menu in the dim light of the compartment, and then tried to convey to our Chinese travel companion (who spoke no English) that it was time to go to sleep.

When night fell, we folded down the beds and went to sleep. At exactly 1:00 AM, the conductor knocked vigorously on the door, accompanied by two policemen. At first, the three of us were a bit shocked, but we soon realized that we were leaving Bulgaria and being checked by the border police. The grim-looking policemen checked our documents, and we were soon able to sleep again.

Until the train stopped an hour later, when the conductor knocked and chased us out of the train along with our luggage. I had read quite a bit about the Turkish border crossing beforehand and was somewhat prepared. Since Turkey was the only country on my trip that was not part of the Schengen Area, the border crossing was the strictest. The stop was dimly lit, and a line had already formed at one of the little houses. Compliantly, I joined the line and waited for the Turkish officer to check my ID behind the bars. After that, I had to put my backpack through an X-ray machine in a separate room. Positive to be going back to sleep soon, I was about to reboard the train. However, I was stopped by our conductor since the entire train still had to be checked by the border police. Completely drowsy, I was now one of 70 people who just wanted to sleep on the train again. After 20 minutes, we were allowed back in, and I was able to sleep until morning.

I was awakened by the rising sun and the gentle swaying of the train. In the distance, the skyscrapers of several Turkish cities could be seen. However, it would take another two hours until we arrived, so I laid down by the window and enjoyed the ride through Turkey. Upon arrival at the station, I took the subway to Istanbul center with Zia. Once there, we took different paths, and I found myself alone in the heart of Istanbul, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the capital.