sabbaticalmom

Part 5: Rhine Castles -Flying to Istanbul

We had paid for 4 nights at Chatel, but we left mid afternoon the 4th day. Honestly we relaxed all morning and by 2 pm I started thinking that instead of driving all day Thursday to Frankfurt Airport we'd have time to see some Rhine River Castles if we split up the drive. We took a vote, packed up,cleanded up and left in about an hour. My family treat me well!

It was great to know we didn't have to come back up that road again. But it was so beautiful. In fact the ride that whole afternoon thru Switzerland and Germany was all so pretty. DH said, I hope you're going to like Turkey. It's not going to look like this there. uh-oh.

Our plan was just to drive until we found a place to stop over. If we had stopped earlier it would have been easier. We finally found a really sleazy place near Strausbourg. Apparently even when everything else is booked this particular Formule 1 is available. What the heck, it was fine. Bathrooms and shower down the hall, but one was always available!

We were happy to pull out first thing, and happy to only have 2 hours to drive instead of 6 or 7. Good move, Mom. Didn't look so good the night before. Especially when we were paying for a night we'd already paid for.

But no one regrets it now. We had a terrific time in Germany along the Rhine. We tracked down Rick Steves' favorite castle in all of Europe: Burg Eltz. It wasn't our all time favorite, but it was great. Quite a hike to get there, but it was very cool. Set in the woods, it's a castle that's never been attacked and is still inhabited by family. It's very pretty. We had a great lunch right there of German Sausages and Soup. So perfect. It was overcast but not raining. It was nice not to be hot on that hilly hike to the castle. It's quite secluded and on that day we saw a few tour buses, but there didn't seem to be hardly anyone around.

We drove about a 30 minute stretch along the Rhine which was spectacular. That would be a fun place to take a boat cruise. There are so many castles you can hardly count them. We chose one at random and spent a couple of hours there, just before they closed. Everyone voted this our favorite castle--and we loved Chambord--but this one was very fun.

It's so nice to have plans and reservations, but it's sure fun to do something spur of the moment.

It's called Marksburg, I believe. It's in a ruins now which is I love. We wandered and ran up steps and disappeared down steps and had a blast.

I thought I was all done driving up steep hills, but no this was at the top of a very short, but steep hill. Hence why the castle was built there.

There is a cute little touristy train that takes people up the hill, but we were advised to drive up ourselves because we were so close to closing time. So I'm driving up this steep road and the train is ahead of us making a u-turn in the road to park for the night. So on this steep vertical incline we had to stop and sure enough I stalled out. Before I could panic I restarted it again and forged up the mountain. Ugh!!

Glad we're going to Turkey and getting out of the mountains, I'm thinking. Ha!

We headed to the airport and I was filled with gratitude that the trip was going so well. We'd had more fun than I hoped for and I couldn't have been happier. 2 1/2 great weeks and still more to come.

Frankfurt Airport is huge! We got to the airport 3 hours early to return the van. We really needed all that time--well we would have if the plane left on time. After more security lines than I've ever been through, we made it to the gate and found out we were going to be delayed.

This didn't bother us one bit because we were going to have to wait in the Istanbul airport all night anyway.

Another bargain: Flights to Ist from FRA were only $175 RT if we took the 10:30 pm-2:30 AM flight. DH said he really really wanted to go back to Turkey. This was the only way it was affordable. I checked the website sleepinginairports and found IST was a pretty good one.

They were right, we bought some snacks at Starbucks and crashed on some of their comfy big chairs. We weren't the only ones!

So a delay in FRA just helped break it up. It's a 3 hour flight--this time we did sleep. Walking through customs was hilarious--the kids were just zombies. Trying to keep James awake so he could present himself at Passport control was almost impossible. He just kept lying down on the floor. At 4 AM there's not much of a line. DH was in line paying for our visas. No one was fully awake to really help.

We had to wait in the airport to pick up our next van. We had a stupid plan that all made sense when I planned it, I'm sure. We were going to be driving to Ephesus as soon as we could get the car. They didn't open until 8:30 AM.

We knew this would probably be the hardest day. But we had a big 10 seater van and we figured we'd just take turns driving. It was supposed to be a 7 hour drive, so we'd be there early afternoon. If necessary we could pull over and sleep--doable, if not easy.

I'd read trip reports. They said driving in Turkey was easy--good roads.
What an absolute nightmare. We had 2 routes to choose from, we got advice from car rental agency. He said trip should take 5 hours. 6 if you want to be drive safely. yes--6 certainly. We took his recommendation for the route as well.

What a nightmare. Did I already say that? If you're still reading this you probably think I'm a fairly nice person and easy going. It's a good thing I didn't start with this part of the trip.

I think it took me 2 days to stop growling and grimmacing. No, it sure didn't look like Switzerland. But it was just as expensive. I couln't figure out why we had left paradise and come here.

The drive ended up taking us 13 hours. We were exhausted and angry. Luckily the kids slept thru most of it. They'd wake up and ask, how much longer. 2 hours was always the answer. We thought we might stop in Pergammon on the way. We didn't get there until early afternoon and knew that we wouldn't make it to Ozdere, near Ephesus, between 6-8, which is when we'd agreed to pick up keys,if we stopped.

We didn't make it until 10:30 so it's a good thing we didn't stop. We only stopped for gas and 2 fairly quick meals.It was slow going along bad roads. Whenever the road got better we would have to stop at a million lights because of the many small towns.

I was scheming of how I was flying on the way back to IST. I was scheming of a lot of things, actually.

We were about 30 minutes further away than Ephesus in small town of Ozdere. How do I find these small places? The first night in the dark it took us 45 minutes because the road just follows the sea, back and forth and up and down. We got pretty good at that road. i could rename my trip report to: 30 minutes to every town.

We met the Apt manager in town and he showed us where it was and gave us a tour of the apt. Very nice. He was so friendly and sorry we had such a bad time driving. He wasn't bugged we arrived much later than planned,but he had to hurry and get back to his restaurant/bar.

If that apt had looked like a lot of the places we saw on our drive, I'm not sure what I would have done. But it was clean, and huge, and modern and airconditioned. An Englishman owns it and rents it thru a local agency. The apt had english cd's and I literally started dancing with the music. the kids love my moves. I was so relieved that we had a nice place to stay. I think DH was even more relieved!

I'll write about Ephesus and area later--

annhig

hi, again, mom,

well, i do hope that things get better for you in turkey. It's a place I've never been to yet so I'm very interested to read what you think about it.

regards, ann

kerouac

I'm pretty intrepid when I travel, but I don't know if I would want to drive in Turkey.

Back to Formule 1 -- these places absolutely flourished in the first wave of the ultra-budget tourists from Eastern Europe in the early 1990's. But the other brands (including Accor's own Etap) all decided to one-up Formule 1 (and then each other) by offering more and more for almost the same price (private bathroom, cable TV, bigger breakfast, etc.). So now it is true that Formule 1 is the last choice but so thankfully available when all of the other places are full. It is mostly used now by foreign construction workers staying at monthly rates and the working homeless. At my company, we had an employee who was going through a very rough patch in his life, and he lived in one of them for 3 months. He was so in debt at the time that he couldn't even be trusted to pay for the room if we gave him the money, so I was in charge of going to the hotel once a week and paying for his room, 7 days at a time.

travelgirl2

Oh, Chamonix. I think that's where we went when we were visiting friends in Grenoble, France. Is it right near there?

I'm a bit afraid of heights. The tram ride up was fine, but when we got to the top, I could only stay back, away from the edge. We picnic'd and watched the intrepid hang-gliders. It was a beautiful spot.

BlueSea

ttt

Great reports - looking forward to reading more.

sabbaticalmom

I was a little freaked out at the top as well. They say it's the hightest tram ride in Europe.

Part 6: Aegean Coast

We had an awesome night's rest in the airconditioned rooms. We had 3 BR plus both couches laid out to very comfortable beds. So dh had the bed to himself and I slept out on one bed and james slept in the other one. We both appreciated not having to listen to other people snore!!

We had considered driving to Cappadocia after a few days in Ozdere but had to rule that out. Mapquest said it was a 10 hour journey. I can only imagine it would have taken us 20. So we settled in for a beach vacation with excursions to Roman ruins. We had 6 nights here. You can tell by now I don't like to have a lot of time to sit around, but because of how we had to book places, we had a lot of time here.

It was truly a 2 minute walk to the beach and we spent a lot of time there. It was 45 degrees C so the water felt great.

We had 3 daytrips:

1. Ephesus:
Our friends were there last year with a cruise and it was jammed with people. We were able to see it between cruise tours and there was hardly anyone there. It is amazing. We didn't pay for a guide and Erin read aloud from a book we read and dh knows quite a bit, so we thought that was alright. The library and stadium were awesome. I loved thinking of Paul preaching to the Ephesians right there. Dh's favorite picture of whole trip is the family in front of the library.

The cover of the guide book was bright orange and soon my face looked brighter. We had bought hats at the tourist shops just before we entered, which helped but I think I had heat exhaustion. When it's 115 degrees outside it's not usually when you go sightseeing!

We were offered a shuttle from the parking lot to the entrance as long as we went to a carpet shop. We took the offer and I had to crack up at the "shuttle". I was surprised the car could even run. There was so many cracks in the windshield I don't know how the guy could even see. The carpet shop was nicely airconditioned and was a pleasant way to see carpets.

I think the hot apple tea may have triggered my heat exhaustion. Nothing like heating you up from the inside first! Anyway it was nice and all part of a good experience.

We were happy to get back in the sea when we got home and cool off. The sea is really pretty and you can see the outlines of Greek isles in the far distance. Funny to think that a few days before that we were freezing at Mt Blanc.

2. Pammukale.
One day we trekked to Pammukale. 3 hours each way but overall not too bad. It was a little underwhelming. If it's on your way somewhere it's definitely worth seeing, but a long way just for itself. There were a lot of tour buses there. Lots of Russians in thongs. It was quite comical. The water was very warm and the ground was smooshy and,oh dear. We put our bathing suits and waded up to our ankles. The bathing suits weren't really needed. Ben and Richard looked at me after we put our feet in the water and said, is this it? We drove 3 hours for this? Yeah. They just sighed and shrugged it off.

After wading through the murkey water there was a guy hosing down the walkways. Honestly it was 45 degrees. If you went near his hose he would hose you down. That was the best moment of the day!

But you know, it was cool to see. It's one of the most photographed places in Turkey and we got to see it.

We thought about swimming in the ruins in Antique Pool--but it was packed and expensive. We saved our money for a water park a couple of days later.

My scariest moment came on the way home. I really thought we were going to run head first into a big bus. The turn was much sharper than I thought and all of a sudden this big pink bus is halfway in my lane coming straight at me. I turned for all I was worth, the road was full of gravel(which seemed to be true all over the country) and we were basically sliding out of his way, barely. The accident ratio in Turkey is very high and the rental car agency gave us detailed explanations on how to handle an accident.

My heart raced a little faster, but only dh seemed to notice the near miss. The kids get quite absorbed in their game boys. Maybe it wasn't as close as I thought, either.

3. Aquafantasy
We dropped the kids off and dh and I went to see Kusadasi. Big cruise ships dock here and it's a big town, but really not much to see. Glad we didn't stay here as it was an option.

We drove up to Mary's house. Many people believe this is where Apostle John took Mary at the end of his life. There is a small stone house and even if it's not her house it was neat to see. I was glad we didn't pay for everyone to go in, however. There's never a discount for kids for museums and no museum passes like Paris, so it adds up fast. Besides it was nice to have a couple of hours to ourselves.

We joined the kids for the afternoon at the waterpark and it was so fun. Clean, cold water. Beautiful! We loved the rides and stayed till they closed. They had all the rides a big park in the States has--same prices as well.

Food:
We ate better in Turkey than anywhere else. We had a delicious meal in Ozdere. It runs 2nd to our favorite meal after raclette. We had a big sampler plate and even we had enough leftovers for the next night.

But we had some interesting misfires as well. A lot of the places we went had food cafeteria style. They have this everywhere, so you just point and shoot. We ate more vegetables and balanced meals and it was usually very good. Of course my very first bite turned out to be liver, which warned me to watch out for dark meatballs!

Grocery shopping was an adventure. We could walk to town from our apt in only a few minutes so we shopped a little each day. Dh can read turkish, but still it was challenging. Our favorite thing was the watermelon truck that came through the town like ice cream trucks at home. He has a scale right on the trunk and you buy it directly. We loved that and we ate a lot of watermelon.

One night while eating dinner, we heard a knock on our door. It'd been 3 weeks since anyone called us or came to our door so it was shocking and I couldn't think of any good reason someone would be knocking.

After returning from Pamukkale we noticed quite a bit of water on the main floor. I was glad we'd been gone all day, for then I knew we hadn't tracked in all the water. Well apparently the water was our problem. Dh got to practice his turkish. Although we were on the 3rd floor, our tank was on the main floor with a sign that directed people to our apt in case of a problem. Somehow dh got it to work and after a few doubtful moments that night, it worked fine the rest of the time. It was always something!

Ozdere:
Too bad it wasn't closer to Ephesus as that was the gateway to other places, but we enjoyed this small beach town. We walked the town each evening. We loved shopping at the farmer's market one night and bringing home tasty fruits and vegetables.

We enjoyed talking to the shopkeepers. Turks are as friendly as everyone says. They were usually surprised to find out we were Americans. We were often assumed to be Germans. They were shocked that dh could speak some turkish. He was in heaven. I wasn't always a good sport,but I was trying.

It was a hard adjustment from Switzerland. I decided I would no longer look down on people who said they don't like to travel. It is hard work and it doesn't always turn out the way you expect.

So I have mixed feelings about our Turkey trip so far. At least it's not as bad as the first day!

We left very early one morning to drive back to Istanbul. We took a different route and had just learned of a ferry that cuts off a few hours of the trip. Unfortunately we didn't find out in time to make a reservation, so we were trying to get there a couple of hours early to grab a spot.

The driving was much better, we were able to drive faster and the first 4 hours went by smoothly. We made it to the ferry dock 3 hours before sailing, but found out they were sold out. The later sailing was also sold out. We could get one the following morning. No good! We asked how long it would take to drive to Istanbul from where we were. He guessed 7 hours. Ugh! Must find another ferry.

There was another ferry further down the sea. So we drove an hour, but we could never find it. There was one tiny sign on the highway 1/8 mile before the exit. Tried to uturn, but impossible as the highway ended and twisted and turned and became another road with no way to exit for a very long time.

DH saw one other possiblity. By the time we reached that ferry landing we'd been driving around 7-8 hours. The ferry had available space and I was deliriouly happy to park the car and climb aboard. The ferry crossing took 90 minutes--probably cut off 3-4 hours of driving. Happy mama.

Best advice of trip: turn in car back to airport right after ferry. We were not too far from the airport and it was with ultimate relief to turn that van in. No accidents, no damages. No more driving the rest of trip.

Our apt rentors sent a van to pick us up. No wonder people like tour groups! How nice is it to have someone come get you and take you exactly where you need to go!!

Our original plan was to park the van by apt the first night and return to airport early morning. Sometimes I'm delusional. Our apt was in city center this time, by the Gelata Tower. The streets are the narrowest I've ever seen. I broke into a sweat just imagining how we would have handled driving anywhere near our apt. As it was he had to drop us off a block away, because there was no way to fit a large van on that street.

Last part coming up!

connecticutyankee

Wonderful report, SM! I especially loved it when you were in Paris and thought "I can't believe we're ALL here together!" That's the best feeling, eh? Sharing all this your brood...

Now, for some more fun, try sending your two oldest to Europe by themselves next time. We did and we are still regaled with new stories of survival and adventure today!

CY

Dejais

Still enjoying your report. Also, wondering what was the total length of your trip? Very impressed with the fact that you both can speak French and your DH can read Turkish. That must have come in very handy!

Kellye

Great trip report--I'm enjoying it. The thought of driving throughout Europe doesn't appeal, but if I were taking all 3 of my kids with me, I guess that would be my most affordable route too. Good work making it back in one piece!

sabbaticalmom

Dejais, we were gone 32 days. June 4 to July 4th. It's funny how etched in my memory certain days are. I spent so much time planning that when i say June 10th I know I was in Paris, June 17th we were pulling into Chatel, etc.

I'm glad AutoEurope lets you make changes without penalties. I sure tweaked those plans alot!

Final Part: Istanbul

Sometimes things do go your way.Things just might work out well.

We had a nice apt by Galata Tower.The street our apt was on looks like it could be out of a movie set. The reviews from several major travel guides say this is the best place to stay. I think my expectations were a little too high, but it was still nice.

Unfortunately,the A/C wasn't working at all-and it was unusually hot. While we were being shown the apt we thought the AC just needed time to cool the place off.

Dinner was excellent as we chose several dishes from a restaurant and we brought it home. Every bite was delicious. I ate in front of the fan because after dowsing my head in the shower I still thought I was going to blow up from heat, but the good food sure helped.

I slept on the floor in the hallway under the AC which was blowing the faintest bit of air. It made for a rough night. (It cooled off 2nd night and we got a good breeze thru the windows--by 3rd night we finally connected with apt managers and they brought 2 fans).

This is how this part of our trip went. Cool, but hard. Old and neat but sometimes old and gross.DH had a great time trying to speak his Turkish and remembering things. I felt bad that I didn't react better to some things. The kids were doing excellent.

Istanbul is a little crazy! The crowds, the noise of people selling things, the crowds of people everywhere, the smell of the fish markets and restaurants is all a little overwhelming. But all in a fun way. It was crowded but felt different than London where everyone seemed to be in such a hurry.

We lived right by Taksim Square so we walked that every evening. We even went to breakfast with 2 guys DH knows who work for Intel in Istanbul. It makes it so much more interesting to talk with people who live there. Then this "strange land" doesn't seem so strange.
The country is more than its looks. These 2 guys were so friendly and so enthusiastic about their country I felt bad for all my bad thoughts.

My favorite:
We took a cruise up the bosphorous strait, which I had read quite a bit about. It's a tour boat that goes up the strait for about an hour. The water was surprisingly blue and the surrounding hills all green and cute copper rooftops on the buildings with all kinds of palaces, fortresses and "summer homes" for the rich and famous to see along the way. I couldn't help myself--I liked it!!

On the boat I was on a bench next to a Swedish man and his 13 year old daughter talking English to a Danish guy who has lived in Turkey for many years. They were friends and let me join in their conversation which made it very fun. He knew all sorts of things about the sights and the Swedish guy was full of good questions. The Swedish guy lives in Olympia WA and he and his daughter had been on their European adventure for a couple of weeks as well.

He said we've had some high points and low points. I just laughed. He was talking about their all night train travels and arriving here in a low morale. I loved it. I'm not alone!

We talked a little about traveling and how you really have to roll with the punches. He did a similar trip with his older daughter a few years ago. He asked me what caused the kids the most shock and I told him they were doing fine. I think it really helps they have brothers and a sister to keep things more normal.

I told him I was the one who was the most shocked about Turkey. The Danish Turk was really surprised. What's shocking about this country? I told them about our first day and the drive and the Dane couldn't believe we had bad roads. The roads in Turkey are great, he said, much better than Denmark. I said not on the roads we were on the first day. Then the Swede/American guy said it may depend on what you're used to. Anyway it was a funny conversation. My morale was definitely better!

Then we got off and there was a park where the kids played on the teeter totter and we got a whole bunch of berek (meat or cheese stuffed in puff pastry--delicious) and ate it in the park looking at the water.

Then we took a bus to see where dh lived 20 years ago at the University. It's in a very lovely part high above the Bosphorous. Read: very steep walk up the hill! We had a nice time walking around the area and then got a waffle on the way home. You know what they call waffles in Turkey? You guessed it--waffles. They cooked it, spread it with all kinds of toppings and folded it over. Bananas, strawberries, and chocolate taste good in crepes and waffles,too!

Dh and the boys had a long bus ride back to where we live. Some nice boys gave up their seats for Erin and me and so we enjoyed the long ride home seeing the sights from the road instead of the sea. Saturday night traffic and crowded bus made the trip long for the ones standing. We ate at a cafeteria on the way home at 9:30. The pedestrian street we walked along was packed with tons of cafes and restaurants. The cafeterias make it so easy to eat because you can just point to what you want and the food is so good.

We went to church on Sunday. Dh guessed the meeting would be in English. He was right, there was even a guy there from Ivory Coast and DH translated the mtg into french for him! We were 6 out of the 18 people there. Great experience!

We went to most of the big spots. Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque, a few other mosques, Spice Bazaar and Covered Bazaar. These places are so old they make Western Europe seem new. Prices are high for Americans now, I guess since they revalued their currency, so shopping for bargains is not really effective!

I loved Topkapi Palace. We were there for a long time, but still weren't able to go to the Harem. Just ran out of time because they close it down for lunch and we couldn't wait for it to reopen.

We visited all the top spots in Istanbul. We walked all over the place and had an amazing time here and in western europe. The following day we flew back to Frankfurt for one night before catching an early morning flight to the States. Can't believe this adventure was about to end. Can't believe we've eaten every meal but one breakfast with our whole family for a month. Can't believe all this planning was coming to an end, but it was fantastic and we were glad to be goming back home. The boys couldn't wait for Root Beer!

One funny note about Frankfurt. We walked around the old part of the city and couldn't believe how quiet it was. No one shouting out their wares and trying to get your attention. It was so quiet it was eery!

merrytimes

I read your post with great interest. It sounds like you had an awesome trip and have no doubt that your children will benefit for years to come.

We are taking our three granddaughters(13,11&10) to Paris(staying at HOtel Marignan) and Bruge (rental house) next year for a week; then we will travel to Amsterdam by train to meet their parents who will be flying in from Canada. Then we will spend a few days in Holland/Leiden(family) , 3 days in Germany(family) finishing off our holiday by flying to Italy to spend a week in Umbria before flying home.We had originally planned on Mallorca , however due to no direct flights back into Canada we decided on Italy.I have been working on this trip since last December and happy to say that -- planning is moving along nicely.OUr family is very excited and I have bought the girls books on Paris etc.We plan on visiting Flander's Fields while in Bruge.
This trip ,has been a dream of my husband and I ever since I reconnected with my father's family in Holland and mother's family in Germany.I was separated from them for 54 years (parents divorced before )after mother and I immigrated to Canda.To make a long story short it was not a good scene.
I finally got the courage to contact the family 3 years ago and it has and continues to be a wondrous journey.The icing on the cake was meeting my 1/2 brother .
This trip will allow our children and grandchildren to meet all my family in Europe and to see and experience different countries. We felt that a few days meeting family and mixing it up with other activities was the best balance.

After all this I have a question? Did your children carry their own passports ? I was thinking of buying the girls one of the skin toned money belts that you wear under your clothing.I would appreciate any input ;also what would you suggest, knowing the ages of the girls , that is not to be missed in Paris?
Thank you

carolyn

What a great report! I have really enjoyed reading all of it. I was laughing out loud at your description of the dead guys in the House of Lords.

travelgirl2

merrytimes - I have always felt safer carrying the entire family's passports. Once we are at our hotel, we lock them in the safe. So, we only carry them around on travelling days. I figure it is much less likely that one will be lost if I have the whole bunch of them.

I loved your story about re-connecting with family. I hope you all have a nice visit in Europe.

noe847

I've always carried my children's (and sometimes my husband's as well) passports with me. I sometimes still do this even though they are both in college. I'm not a big fan of those under clothes carriers. If you do a search, you should be able to find several long threads on the topic of money belts, security pouches, and the like.

sabbaticalmom

merrytimes,my husband always held the passports. The only time each person needed is own was at security thru airports. We passed them out and promptly collected them!

We loved the open bus tour in Paris. You have such a great view of the city. You ride when you're tired and get off when you see something you like.

Tried the economical city buses. Didn't work for us! Crowded, no view and slow!

The museum pass is a great investment. Popped in at places we might not otherwise. Kids under 18 are free at most places, cheap prices at others.

We apparently loved to climb anything we could. Tried to do Eiffel Tower at night, but they close the line down earlier than we thought.

Your trip sounds wonderful. I'll look forward to doing that with grandkids one day!!

rosslang

Can you give information about the apartment you found in Woolwich? We are a famiy of 5 planning to be in London next May and have found the same problem with having to get two rooms at any hotel or B&B. Thanks!

sabbaticalmom

I thought I had included these but I must have deleted it somehow before I posted it.

The Woolwich apt was very nice. 2 BR upstairs and the other bed is downstairs, not a separate private room, but it's at least a double bed.

Here are the details of our apts:
London--www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/50506

Paris --it's on expedia and booking.com look for Citea Residentiel Marne la Vallee

Normandy--www.bellefontaine-park.com

France/Switzerland--www.chatel.com

Ephesus area: www.villarenters.com
look for Aegean penthouse in Ozdere

Istanbul: www.istanbulholidayapts.com
also on www.turkeytravelplanner.com look for Bereket 2

travelgirl2

Thank you for providing the links!

rosslang

Thank you for the Woowich apt information. It looks really nice and I am glad to have word from someone who actually stayed there. Did you feel safe walking in the area near the apt -- to the train and to shop?

On another post I asked about Woolwich Royal Arsenal among other areas I am considering and was told "It's a crime ridden run-down building site. It'll be great in 10 years time, but for now, avoid like the plague."

What was your experience with the area around the apartment?

Thank you!

sabbaticalmom

We had no problems walking around the area. We arrived home very late and never saw any problems. Of course my husband is 6'4 and 2 teenage sons are also tall, so that helps. But honestly we hardly saw anyone as we walked home from train station.

In the morning it was just the usual people getting up and going to work.

Good luck!