Istanbul: The Sparkling Bay

Istanbul was the first stop on our two-week “engagement trip” in May 2025. In many ways this was where we caught our travel bug - exploring new places, walking 20k+ steps per day, mostly between coffee shops, living new life together.

Lena found an incredible Airbnb in Taksim which had a window overlooking minarets with the glittering Bosphorus Sea. We woke to the sounds of seagulls and the call to prayer - which gave us the feeling that we had traveled far from home - to a different place and a different time.

Sometimes we wished we were one of the cats: lounging by the sea, in a cafe, or shopping for clothes.

The other highlight of Istanbul was public transit: ferries! The sparkling bay, the wind in our hair - what better way to commute. Near Besiktas we found ourselves admiring an enormous fleet of ships blowing their horns, which we believe was celebrating some sort of sportsball (football, perhaps)?

And lastly - the sunsets, the rooftop sunsets! After a long day wandering about Topkapi palace, we loved dinner at Luco Restaurant. It seemed that every dish sizzled, and we squabbled over who could eat the last bite of halloumi. The birds cackled on the treetops. The sounds engulfed us