Road Stories: Christmas Markets, Mulled Wine, and Masala Tea

As always, with the arrival of December, social media is flooded with flashy photos of Christmas markets. The reality of my day, however, is sitting by a warm stove, holding a cup of masala tea, and wistfully looking at these photos of a trip that won’t happen this year.

In normal times, besides spontaneous trips, I have two fixed travel plans each year. One is a birthday gift to myself at the end of July or early August, and the other is a trip to any place in Europe for the love of mulled wine and gingerbread during Christmas markets.

This trip, which changes based on the cheapest ticket I can find and my budget, has become a routine in recent years. Like everyone else, it will remain a dream this year, but that doesn’t mean I can’t relive old memories.

My last Christmas market trip was to Kiev. Although I occasionally regret it, I can still say it was beautiful when I think back. The main reason for my regret is, of course, the obvious one: Friends, Ukraine is cold in December… So cold that no thermal clothing you can get in Turkey can protect you from this cold. Or maybe they couldn’t protect someone like me who gets cold even in July. If it weren’t for the country’s famous homemade hot chocolates and honey vodkas, I don’t know how I would have survived that trip without getting sick. Of course, I must also add the indispensable mulled wine of the Christmas markets to this list.

Have You Ever Seen a Ukrainian Feels  This Cold?

Every few kilometers, I threw myself into the first cafe or restaurant I could find to warm my frozen feet and hands, which I couldn’t even take out of my pockets to take photos. I’m not using “threw” metaphorically here; I literally threw myself in. How I opened those doors and entered, shivering and half-begging, “Give me vodka, please, please give me vodka,” most places mobilized to warm me up. I’d better not even mention the waiters’ pitying looks and their jokes among themselves about how I wasn’t used to this cold.

On the second day of my trip, despite being disappointed that the Christmas market wasn’t fully set up, I met Saurabh and Szilvia while drinking my mulled wine by the fire. In the midst of their heated discussion about Ukraine’s situation post-2014 Euromaidan movement, they turned to me and asked, “Are you Ukrainian?” When I replied, “Have you ever seen a Ukrainian feels this cold?” it led to a delightful conversation for the rest of the night.

Saurabh is an Indian software developer and an expat traveler living in different countries. Szilvia, a painting artist, has also lived in various countries and is a travel enthusiast. Szilvia had gone to India for six months to find inspiration, and Saurabh had come from a family visit to Germany. They met on the flight to Kiev and decided to enjoy mulled wine in the city square, which led to our meeting. After walking for hours with our mulled wine, we ended the night at a soup restaurant, where I learned that this custom wasn’t exclusive to our country.

By the way, my name is Fatma…

When we decided to end the night and left the soup restaurant, one of the Ubers we called arrived, completing the comedy chain that started with our meeting. Just as we were about to get into the car, I said, “By the way, my name is Fatma,” which made us laugh so hard we couldn’t get into the Uber for a while. We had talked non-stop about world politics, the countries we visited, and food for the last few hours, but no one had bothered to ask each other’s names. We exchanged social media contacts, promised to meet again somewhere in the world, and ended the night.

After this encounter, we kept in touch through occasional greetings on social media. A few months later, I received a message from Saurabh asking if I could show around a close friend of his who was an Istanbul fan and would have a layover in Istanbul. I gladly accepted, not knowing it would open the door to a lasting friendship. I provided his friend with the necessary information on what to do at the airport and where to meet. Two weeks later, Apurva arrived with an American traveler, Ryan, whom he met on the plane.

After a night in Taksim full of classic Turkish dishes, Turkish coffee, and lots of baklava, I dropped them off at their hostel to rest for a few hours. I returned home with a big package prepared for me by Apurva’s wife, Ashima. The carefully selected teas, spices, snacks, and various gifts in the package delighted me so much that I called Ashima to thank her. Today, we still chat, often about their little girl, Lil. I can even say that I started watching Turkish series again after years just because Ashima loved them and sometimes asked, “Have you seen this one?”

I still remember them with the warm masala tea and Indian snacks that come in my occasional packages.

Hoping that 2021 will erase all the negativity brought by 2020, welcome 2021.

With the hope of hitting the road again and meeting new people…

Happy New Year…

Published on December 2, 2020, in Gezgingazetesi.

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