{"id":2317,"date":"2025-11-17T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyclingeast.info\/?p=2317"},"modified":"2026-10-23T04:07:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T02:07:06","slug":"kein-orient-express","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cyclingeast.info\/en\/2025\/11\/17\/kein-orient-express\/","title":{"rendered":"No Orient Express"},"content":{"rendered":"

After ten days in Istanbul \u2013 a well-balanced mix of Bosporus explorations, culinary experiments between baklava and k\u00f6fte, and the heroic determination to conquer the city in small portions \u2013 it was time to say goodbye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our starting point: the venerable Sirkeci railway station. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
\u00a9Alamy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once upon a time, the Orient Express rolled through here. Even Atat\u00fcrk departed from here for Carlsbad to draw inspiration for a modernized Turkey from the abundant healing waters and Bohemian healing treatments \u2013 today, one would probably call this a wellness retreat with geopolitical added value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since this year, the old train station has been renovated as a cultural monument, while the long-distance trains have long been banished from the city center. Today, anyone leaving Istanbul does so 30 kilometers further out, in Halkal\u0131 \u2013 a name that sounds like a Turkish dessert and that for us is also true in some way. Unfortunately, it\u2019s just concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is hardly anything left of the chic of bygone times, when rail travel was still a privilege of the wealthy class. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although: To be honest, rail travel remains a privilege to this day. Not the glamorous privilege of bygone eras, when you sat enthroned in the Orient Express surrounded by crystal glass and velvet upholstery; but a more modern, quieter one: that of those who have the time \u2013 and are willing to pay a little more for it. A paradoxical privilege, because it means traveling more slowly and less comfortably, while the world around you is getting faster and faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seen in this way, the railway is a kind of living museum: you not only buy a ticket, but also the experience of ignoring the speed and technology of the present for a few hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our farewell itself takes place deep underground, in a concrete cave. No last look at the old city with its minarets, no glittering sea that hugs the city on three sides. Instead: gray walls, neon lights, and the realization that the romance of traveling sometimes ends abruptly at the train station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Night train Istanbul-Sofia-Express<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Night train Istanbul-Sofia-Express<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Departure board in Dimitrovgrad (Bulgaria)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Train to Ruse (Bulgaria)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"

Ticket vending machines in Ruse (Bulgaria)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So we rolled towards Bucharest with several changes of train. We had planned to spend two buffer nights there \u2013 not out of tourist curiosity, but out of respect for German railway reliability: connecting trains are more like loose promises than binding commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Analog exit sign in Bucharest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Bucharest it was on to Vienna for one night, then on to Hamburg for another. Then he was back in the north \u2013 familiar, foggy, cool, and with pre-Christmas decorations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will only have to get used to all of this again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can find the final track of the journey here here<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nach zehn Tagen in Istanbul \u2013 einem wohldosierten Wechselspiel aus Bosporus-Betrachtungen, kulinarischen Selbstversuchen zwischen Baklava und K\u00f6fte sowie dem heldenhaften Vorsatz, die Stadt nur in kleinen Portionen zu erobern \u2013 hie\u00df es Abschied nehmen. Unser Ausgangspunkt: der ehrw\u00fcrdige Bahnhof Sirkeci. Einst rollte hier der Orientexpress ein. Selbst Atat\u00fcrk ist von hier nach Karlsbad aufgebrochen, um […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263519337,"featured_media":2327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[785537870,785537878,785537894],"tags":[15344,1275182],"class_list":["post-2317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-unkategorisiert-de","category-fahrrad-de","category-istanbul-2025-de","tag-deutschland","tag-tuerkei"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgqEoM-Bn","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4919,"url":"https:\/\/cyclingeast.info\/en\/2026\/06\/08\/cycling-into-istanbul-soutern-route\/","url_meta":{"origin":2317,"position":0},"title":"Cycling the Southern Route into Istanbul","author":"FriLu","date":"8. 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This is why we decided to turn southwards, after having crossed the Turkish-Greek border, instead\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art des Reisens"","block_context":{"text":"Art des Reisens","link":"https:\/\/cyclingeast.info\/en\/category\/unkategorisiert-de\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclingeast.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-southern-route-edited.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclingeast.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-southern-route-edited.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclingeast.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-southern-route-edited.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclingeast.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-southern-route-edited.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclingeast.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-southern-route-edited.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cyclingeast.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/the-southern-route-edited.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4907,"url":"https:\/\/cyclingeast.info\/en\/2025\/11\/02\/istanbul-mit-dem-fahrrad-in-die-stadt\/","url_meta":{"origin":2317,"position":1},"title":"Cycling into Istanbul","author":"FriLu","date":"2. 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