Journey to myself

I woke up in my bed at my father’s place in Kayseri earlier than usually. Sleepy I looked at the time on my phone and checked some messages on instagram, suddenly a message popped up „Guten Morgen“ with a smiling emoji – sent from my father who was next door. I bursted out in laughter and thought ‚that‘s such a dad thing to do‘. Then I got up and walked over to the living room, where he was sleeping on the couch, as he is insisting: I’m sleeping in his bed. We then got dressed to do some walking in the park. The air outside was crisp and cold. Every time I set a foot on the streets of Kayseri, the sight of the tremendous mountain Erciyes, takes my breath away. In awe was I looking, at the majestic mountain, covered in snow. While walking, my father was telling me stories about the past. He has a good sense of humour and doesn’t take life too serious, hence we are laughing a lot. We finished our walk with some exercises on the outdoor fitness equipment.

Back at home, my grandma had already started the breakfast preparations. Unfortunately we cannot speak a lot, as I don’t speak Turkish, we however communicate with smiling, broken English or broken German. Yesterday before I went to bed, she gifted me self made crochet table cloths, what a heartwarming moment.

Later in the day, I caught up with my bike touring friend Marco. After spending three days constantly with father, I left the apartment for the first time on my own. It was an interesting experience, I almost felt like a child. ‘When will you be back?’ – oh how long have I not heard this sentence. Maybe the last time when I was 18? And definitely never from my father. We agreed I will be back for dinner.

Marco and me went to Decathlon. Decathlon is such a staple in the life of a bike tourer. All roads lead to Decathlon. After Decathlon we went to a cafe. The owner of the cafe recognised me from the news and treated us to a glass of cay.

When Marco and me hung out longer than expected, I got nervous being late for dinner. Again what a funny feeling! I updated my father about my timing and when I arrived back home, he greeted me with a new haircut and delicious dinner on the table: soup, salad and cigar börek. During dinner a lot of relatives and acquaintances called my father to congratulate us to our reunion.

So long – haydi görüşürüz from Kayseri!