25 Hours to Baku

This update is being made by JM's parents who traveled to Azerbaijan to see the country and celebrate JM's 25th birthday. First and foremost, Happy Birthday JM!!!!! It has been great celebrating with you in Baku!!!

Traveling to Baku is an adventure. After 3 "interruptions" (as they are called by the airlines) we made it to Baku in 25 hours and our one checked bag lost. A couple of hints for those who endeavor to travel here:

1. Take your bag of personal clothing for the trip as a carry on. The bag that did not make it has gifts and presents for JM and her host families.
2. When re-routed as we were sent through Frankfurt instead of Istanbul as planned, ask the airline for a ticket manifest. We arrived in Frankfurt with nothing more that a printed itinerary and used boarding passes looking to get on a different airline.
3. Speaking of boarding passes, do not throw away ANY boarding passes!!! You will be asked for them.
4. And, do not lose or throw away your checked luggage tags. They, too, are requested at ANY ticket counter. Not too mention it is useful to have in case your luggage does not arrive.

The upside is we made it here and the hotel (The Park Hyatt which is quite lovely by the way) is working on finding our luggage. Latest is it is on Turkish Air for arrival tonight. Keep your fingers crossed.

Clearing customs was a treat. Long lines and finally we get customs agent 007. Actually his badge was 0007 but it got the man to smile and he let me smile for our entry picture. There is not a lot of smiling in this country. So if you are coming here, always remember they love James Bond! I did not know that when I called him 007 but it worked. And for those of you who like trivia, one of the movies was filmed here.

Enough of the travel details, on to the adventure. To celebrate JM's birthday, we carried a cake from her favorite bakery Mrs. Goodman's Baking Company in Worthington OH on the plane. Are we crazy? Perhaps. But the cake will be a tasty treat tonight. The cake arrived in tact, and a little smashed on one side. When ordered, we asked for it to be frozen and placed it in a plastic cake carrier inside of a Sam's Club freezer bag.  It worked.

Of course the first order of business upon arrival was for Russ to teach the bartenders on the preparation of the perfect martini....surprise!!??? He is happy and the bartenders at the Park Hyatt are well schooled in martini making. As I am writing, at the bar of course, a lovely couple arrived and asked for a vodka martini.  Lucky for Imran the bartender, Russ is here to give pointers!!!!!

Now that the drinks are under control, let's talk food. Not regional but hotel food. First dinner,  how do I say this......there was a lot of food, and good food too, on the table?? Steak, spaghetti, pizza, salad........for JM it was a food fest. JM had to be careful to not overeat and get sick. Sticking with the hotel food, and after 10 hours of sleep, we enter the breakfast buffet. Did I say BUFFET?????? For the Hodges, there is no better word to the ears. Can I say bacon and sausage???? For JM, it was a dream, a luxury. Half a plate full of bacon and sausage and she is ready to go. For those of you who don't know this, pork is generally not eaten here, and when it can be purchased, it is expensive. Let me also add, the small bottles of jams an jellies provided by the hotel are the perfect items for JM to take to her home. As we have learned, the food can be bland so any jams and spices are wanted items.

The adventure continues after breakfast with a tour of the old city and the beautiful monuments in the city. The monuments honoring those lost in battle are very recent in the 1990's. The scars are still fresh..many died unnecessarily as the country evolved.  In the old city, we saw a lot but it is raining and windy. Baku is known as the windy city -- the Chicago of Azerbaijan. A fan of Chicago as my sister lived there, they are not kidding with the comparison. As we continue on, JM takes us to her friend the rug guy. As we get ready to purchase, turns out I cannot do the bargaining!!!! I am truly the queen of bargaining...give me a cell phone and I am ready. Unfortunately, the rug guy only wanted to deal with Russ, "the man of the family." Not certain if we got the best deal, but it all worked out.

So here we are at the bar. Still enjoying the cocktails and the fine company of the Americans who joined us. Tonight is JM's birthday dinner celebration. We have 6 PCV's (that we know of) joining us. We know the word is out that parents (aka human ATMs)  are in town for a free meal. Who cares......it should be great fun That is all that matters.

The journey continues and there will be more to come. Stay tuned!!