Our First Taste of Summer

Haley and I just got back from a short weekend trip to Belek, Turkey!  We booked an all-inclusive package with a travel agent in Garmisch. Even though we were staying at a 5 star resort on the beach, we were a little nervous because Eastern European "5 star" standards are a little different than ours. But our hotel, Crystal Resort and Spa, was gorgeous! Everything turned out perfect, and it was so nice to stay at a nice hotel with our own space instead of our usual hostel experience.

Yay we made it and the hotel is nice!

View from the balcony of our hotel room

We spent the first day laying by the pool and at the beach, relaxing. It was warm, but not hot hot, so we didn't think we needed sunscreen... maybe not the best choice as we are both a little red now! We also got massages. We were a bit surprised to walk in and find 2 men in sarongs...??? Turns out part one was actually a Turkish bath.  They use a special scrub and lots and lots of bubbles. Quite an experience, which was followed by a more traditional aroma therapy message.

Our spot by the pool

Day 2 we decided to take a tour and see a little bit of Turkey.  The tour was all in German since we booked our trip through a German travel agent, which made things a bit interesting.

 We thought we would be surrounded by retired Germans, but we weren't the youngest ones on our tour... this is Sofia--precious but very whiny! 

We visited the town of Manavgat. First we stopped at a waterfall and then a "market" which was more like a knock off junk store.

Then we took a little boat cruise and spent some time on the beach.  After we visited a Mosque where we were required to take off our shoes and cover our heads as is the custom in the Islamic religion.  We also heard the Islamic prayer, the Salaat broadcast from the Mosques, which happens 5 times a day.

 The Mosque... notice the 4 towers, or Minarets--each one has a speaker to broadcast the Salaat. 

We finished a tour by visiting a "bazaar," or street market.  We stopped in a bakery to get a little taste of one of our favorite Turkish treats... baklava.  The worker did not know any English, so we ended up with a whole box of baklava which we had no problem finishing!

Our favorite Turkish treat, baclava

 We ended the tour just in time to catch the end of the sunset back at the resort

Then it was already time to go back to the airport. We had a bit of a scary flight home with lots of turbulence. We felt like we were on a roller coaster for most of the ride, but we made it safely to Munich after what felt like an eternity.  Caught the train back to Garmisch just in time for me to head directly to work for a busy night in Zuggy's! 

I think it is finally spring here in Garmisch, and I can ride my bike to work again! We are already planning some fun warm weather activities here, and hopefully soon it will be as warm here as it was in Turkey!