Alright, its that time again, and to be honest, I am happy to be leaving this area of Turkey. I haven’t had the best experience here as far as finding beauty, art, good food and peace. A great travel day Antalya to Paphos via Vienna is on the books.
Uber
My day started in darkness. I used the Uber app to call a taxi for the airport run. Uber automatically connects to the local taxi syndicate in Turkey, there are no private cars. My driver arrived promptly in the pouring rain, and I was whisked off. The price is variable, so unlike regular Uber where you know what you will be paying, in Turkey you are given an approximation. Always a bit sketchy because of the high degree of taxi scamming that goes on with tourists.
I ended up paying 475TL, which I think is fair.
AYT to VIE
After checking in and heading through security, I scoured the departure lounge for food and water. Antalya Airport is the biggest rip off next to Cancun. Holy cow batman, the prices are insane! Everything is priced in Euro, so be careful there. Examples below, but a 500ml Coke was €5 ($7.50 CAD) and the sesame ring was €3 ($4.50 CAD). Now this ring is the traditional breakfast item in Turkey and purchasing it on the street is roughly €0.30 or less. Dude. I bought nothing.
My flight was on the SunExpress Boeing 737-800 and was decent enough. I was given an isle seat (to frugal to pay for a selected seat) for the 2-hour flight. The person next to me was crowding my space which was uncomfortable. We were offered no food or water.
Vienna
What a breath of fresh air!! I had an eight-hour layover, but it flew by. Having booked my tickets separately because of cost, I had to exit customs and retrieve my luggage. This gave me the opportunity to explore the airport to the fullest. Its beautiful!
Such classy terminals both number 3 and 1. I thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas lights and decorations. The food was killer. My big meal was at WolfGang Puck and was a full breakfast. I was able to sit there for 2 hours while I sipped coffee and wrote to my hearts content.
Wanting to stretch my legs, I walked outside for a bit. The blast of cold air, for it was only 2 degrees Celsius, bought a bolus of tears to my eyes as it made me think instantly of my three beautiful children back home in frigid Canada.
Vienna Departure
Back inside to warm up, I headed to the check-in counters to see if I could deposit my bag and get my next boarding pass even though it was still six hours until my flight. In Canada, no way, you cannot check in until about 2 hours before your flight, but Vienna my loves, why yes, absolutely!
Relieved of my suitcase, I headed through security, which was insanely secure. It has been a very long time since I had such a detail oriented and thorough process. It puts Turkey to shame, for that country has been the most lax of any I have travelled over the past year.
Beautiful shops, reasonable food at Billa (yes, a grocery store inside the airport at grocery store prices!) and comfortable seating was how I spent the next few hours.
At one point it started snowing! It was only 2 degrees outside and the sight was sooooo lovely.
VIE to PFO
My next leg was on RyanAir, first time flying with them. The flight, actually with Lauda Air, went off without a hitch. For a budget airline they are prompt, professional and absolutely fine. I had a window seat and heavens above, the two seats next to me were empty!
Stretch out I did, with my iPad set up on the table in the middle, I watched a full movie, ate my yummy sandy from Billa and before I knew it, the 2.5 hour flight had passed.
Paphos
Arriving in the dark, I was unable to see much of anything. The airport was quick, luggage arrived in a timely manner and off I went. I had prebooked a private transfer with SunTransfers. It was way above my budget, but because it was dark, windy and raining, I knew it would be the best way to get to my next home. The cost was €50 or $75.00 CAD ouch. 😥😐
Just over half an hour later I was welcomed by my next host and this new place is so great! Yay….I’m in Cyprus! What a great travel day all in all. 😊
