Istanbul, day 1

Greetings from Istanbul. I had to fly there with a friend, until she realized she needed a passport, which was expired. It made my trip challenging in some way, but not too much. The most challenging thing was to carry and drive around my big luggage. Why big? Because I could take one. And maybe needed, but not too much.
So, here I stepped out of rainy 3 degrees warmth Vilnius into a fifteen-ish sunshine-filled Istanbul. What could be better... Maybe, not to have a big luggage at your side. First stop - tourist information center at the airport. I didn't get to buy a transportation card there, they were out of them.i was too I can buy one at metro station, but filling one is somewhat tricky - there are no English instructions, so I should ask for help once there. Truth is that buying a card and adding some money into it is so easy and intuitive that you don't expect it to be so easy. Just select an upload option, place your card and insert the money. That's all. All you need is to get smaller bills. If you change a metro line, you are charged again, but the ride is cheaper compared to other places I've been.
So, it took me an hour to get to Taksim from airport.the train doesn't always run underground so yoU get to see what is waiting for you next day once you start exploring the city. Lots of different layers peeling off - demolished buildings, block houses and residential block houses and minarets of mosques reaching for the sky in the most unexpected places.
Finding a booked hostel was not so easy as it should have been. smaller streets don't have name plates. But asking someone even if they don't speak English and you don't know any Turkish-turns out to be helpful anyway. Not lost in translation.
Once I reached hostel, I realized I've been promoted to the second floor of the bed. Some exercises didn't hurt anyone. Actually, this is my first time at hostel sharing a room with strangers. One can't tell he travelled for real if he/she didn't stay at the hostel. But more about that next time.