May 21-22, 2025

May 21-22, 2025

Before going to bed last night, I popped back up to the roof bar to take a photo of the Acropolis lit up at night.

After breakfast on the rooftop with the Acropolis view again, we met our taxi for the long drive back to the Athens airport. After takeoff Aimee and I stretched out in the open row in front of us. Two hours later we landed in Frankfurt, Germany where we checked into our hotel a short walk away.

Since it is still early, we buy a day pass for the transit system and take the suburban train downtown. Like most cities in Germany, Frankfurt am Main was destroyed in WWII. Locals chose mostly to rebuild modern. The downtown is filled with skyscrapers. Frankfurt has 19 of the top 20 tallest in Germany, most of which are banks. Because of this Frankfurt has nicknames of Mainhattan and Bankfurt.

Despite the modernity, the city has a few medieval looking buildings including a tiny new Old Town. It is filled with tourists and eateries.

On the ride downtown, a talkative German lady gave us some recommendations. One was to try the Sachsenhausen cider; so we walked to that neighborhood across the Main River via the Iron Footbridge. We found a local restaurant and were pleasantly surprised to find White Asparagus on the menu. This is a delicacy in Germany only available in early summer. Asparagus turns white by covering it in dirt during the growing season so no photosynthesis can occur. It has a sweeter, less grassy taste. We order a salad of White Asparagus with Strawberries. We also order the Cordon Bleu with Grilled Potatoes special. The cider had little flavor so I switched back to their dark beer.

We strolled back through downtown, almost getting locked in the Kleinmarkthalle at closing. I got ice cream for the walk. It was much less expensive than in Greece. I am not surprised. We found Greece to be surprisingly pricey. Until very recently Greece was bargain travel. Most of the historical site tickets we bought were all 20 Euros, twice the price from just one year ago.

Also, Greece has taken their past membership in the Byzantine Empire too deeply, applying stifling rules to modern commerce. Normally when traveling with friends we split meals and travel costs on the spot avoiding monetary reconciliation later when we all have forgotten what we spent. Greece’s new Byzantine rules wouldn’t allow us to use multiple credit cards. Fortunately, I am an engineer who spreadsheets everything including my vacations.

Despite having just visited Germany last year, we were a little flummoxed trying to remember the basic German phrases. Apparently at my advanced age, I can only handle one foreign language per trip now. I just got used to Greek. It was not as difficult as you think once you get to know their alphabet. I was amused by our last driver-guide who taught us to count. I hadn't realized I already knew most of the numbers; Three Five Six Seven Eight Ten is Tria Pente Hexi Hepta Octo Deka.

The next morning, we return to the airport to catch our flights back to Tucson. It is uneventful but painfully long. We get home after 8 PM and I am struggling to keep my eyes open. This is the price we pay to travel around the world. I was happy to return to Greece again after so many years. Greece is a land of beauty and history sometimes captured in the same photo.

May 20, 2025

May 20, 2025

Since breakfast starts a little later than normal, Aimee and I decided to get out early for some exercise in Nafplio, Greece. We follow the port counterclockwise to stroll the Arnvanitia Promenade below the old citadel of AcroNafplio. The gate is closed so Aimee skirts around the barrier. I follow her. It is a beautiful stroll with the cliff on our left and the blue Aegean on our right. Our only companions are a dozen cats. At the end of the peninsula we cut back into town passing the Land Gate of Nafplio and down the center of the old town.

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and our driver took us high above the old city to the Venetian fortress of Palamidi. It is a formidable stone castle perched high on a peak. Seemingly impregnable, but shockingly when the immense Ottoman fleet arrived at the port in 1715, the Venetians immediately capitulated and surrendered the city. The fortress is mostly ruins, but we do get great views of the old city and the circular path around AcroNafplio we walked earlier this morning.

From Nafplio we drove through the countryside to the nearby ruins of Epidavros. In ancient Greece this was the birthplace of Asklepios, God of Medicine, and the most important center of healing. This World Heritage site was the Mayo Clinic of its time. Health is always big business and this site had facilities to care for and entertain you during your extended stay. We started at the Theater, the best preserved in Greece. Aimee and my sister had to listen to me recite the Gettysburg Address. Like all Greek theaters (and stadiums) it is built into a hillside. It took Roman engineering to build free-standing structures.

We ran through the small and mostly uninteresting tiny museum, before moving into the main hospital complex. Besides temples, there is an odeon music hall and a large stadium or running track. The centerpiece is the circular Tholos surrounded by dormitories. Healing took place at night when the sacred snakes underneath the Tholos entered your mind while dreaming. Sounds a lot like the self-healing placebo effect which is still very true and effective today. Epidavros is why US doctors use the Caduceus or Rod of Asklepios with its two intertwined snakes as their symbol.

For lunch we drove to the port of Old Epidavros for a nice lunch of humus, salad, and moussaka before continuing the long drive back to Athens. On the way we stretched our legs at the very tiny ruins of Cenchreae, the eastern port for ancient Corinth. Besides a nice surviving tiled hallway, you can see the stone piers for mooring and unloading ships.

Across the road is one of many little shrines, in the shape of a tiny church, we have often seen beside the road. I thought they had some religious significance, but are memorials to people killed in car accidents.

After checking into our hotel across from Hadrian’s Gate, we strolled around the very touristy Plaka neighborhood. Surprisingly tucked within this very modern urban jungle, we stumble upon a number of tiny 1000 year-old Byzantine chapels and Greek ruins accidentally discovered during new construction. That is always a problem with cities with millennia long histories.

After resting at our hotel we join my sister on the rooftop for a purposefully slow dinner. This is because we have a great view of the Acropolis from our table and we want to watch the sun setting behind the Parthenon.

May 19, 2025

May 19, 2025

Crete and Santorini had some very strong winds after we left. The news said that the dolphin fresco at Knossos Palace we just visited had collapsed. Thankfully we saw it but if the Greek government doesn't do something the rest of the reconstructions are also going to fail.

After a quick breakfast, we left Athens early for another adventure, this time into the Peloponnese Peninsula. Our path followed the coastline passing the site of the Battle of Salamis. This 480 BC naval battle took place right after the Greek infantry loss at Thermopylae. As predicted by the enigmatic Oracle at Delphi, Athens was victorious behind a "wooden wall" (of ships), forcing the Persians to retreat back to Asia.

After an hour we reached the modern city of Corinth. Here a 4-mile-wide isthmus once connected the peninsula to the mainland. Merchants had long dreamed of cutting a canal through this isthmus. In 1893, after digging the Suez Canal, engineers turned their attention to Corinth. It was dug to sea level avoiding the need for locks.

In olden times, Corinthians helped sailors haul their boats or cargo across the isthmus as a shortcut avoiding the long and hazardous route around the south coast. Our driver showed us how the Diolkos (portage) ruts are still visible in the pavement two thousand years later. In return Corinth charged a toll making them wealthy.

From the canal we drove to the nearby site of ancient Corinth. The ruins of the Temple of Apollo dominate the site. Across the Agora is the Bema or podium from which St Paul preached his message to the Corinthians.

Short on time we skipped ahead to the ruins of Mycenae. This World Heritage site is the home of the legendary King Agamemnon who led the Greeks in the Trojan War. The Myceneans inherited (or seized) the trading empire of the Minoans after the eruption of Santorini. While Knossos was built for luxury, Mycenae was built for defense. It has stout walls with an easily defensible front gate. A pair of headless lions adorn the top of the lintel.

We walked up into the steep hilltop fortress passing a large grave circle where they found the solid gold Mask of Agamemnon. Farther up we find the great hall of the palace. Near the back exit, we find the hidden water source of the city down a long dark passage. We left the citadel through the back gate passing a roofless grave circle.

We ran through the site’s small artifact museum. The finest specimens are now in Athens but I am always curious about the anthropomorphic doll-like figures found in most early cultures throughout the world.

Our last stop at Mycenae is down the hill outside the old walls at the Treasury of Atreus. This round domed structure built into a small hill contains a surprisingly-large corbelled ceiling. It was the largest dome for a thousand years until the Romans engineered the large-scale use of the structural arch. It is thought this could be the grave of Agamemnon’s father.

The citadel of Mycenae and the long entrance path of this grave is built using massive stones. It is hard to imagine how this prehistoric culture could shape and move these boulders so long ago without modern technology. The Golden Age Greeks a thousand years later in 500 BC had the same thoughts. They believed the only answer involved an extinct race of giants or Cyclops, hence the name Cyclopean Walls.

We drove down the valley to where the seashore once reached. There we made a brief stop at the ruins of another Mycenaean-era hill-fort known as Tiryns. This citadel and legendary home of Hercules has similarly massive walls.

We finished just down the road in the seaside town of Nafplio. We stop at a restaurant facing the harbor for a quick lunch of Fried Calamari and salad. We started with bread garnished with a Baba Ganoush type of eggplant puree.

After checking into our accommodations, we walked around this cute town. We made a quick stop in the old Venetian arsenal to visit the Archeological Museum and see its famous bronze-age suit of armor. This early attempt looks like the Michelin Man. Interestingly it is topped with a helmet adorned with dozens of Boar’s Teeth. We also stepped inside the very ornate Greek Orthodox Church of Panaghia (All Holy).

I spent the next couple hours following Aimee around while she pops in shops. I find a particularly colorful street off Syntagma Square lined with Bougainvillea flowers.

The Greek War of Independence started here in 1821 and Nafplio became the first capital of Greece. We pass a statue of Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first governor. Unfortunately he was assassinated during the ensuing Civil War. The European establishment then installed a Bavarian prince as ruler, King Otto. We see his statue too. Humorously Greece went from Ottoman rule to Otto rule.

After resting at the hotel we had dinner at a seaside restaurant. We did Meze tonight. That is the Greek version of Spanish Tapas. The several appetizers while small and expensive were very tasty and beautifully presented. We had to follow it up with two desserts.

On our walk back along the shore, we see the old Venetian port castle lit up, while street musicians play some kind of Roma music. We finish at the Gelato shop.

May 18, 2025

May 18, 2025

Last night after dinner, we went back up into the needles of Meteora to watch the sun set. Fortunately we had enough scattered clouds that the sun was broken into rays making the stunning scenery even more captivating.

In the morning after breakfast we checked out of our hotel and drove just a few minutes to the sixth and last monastery, St Nicholas. It sits atop a low hill. We had to climb the whole way from the road far below. Once at the top it is hard to appreciate the verticality of the setting. Each monastery is more impressively viewed from afar.

For the third time Aimee was asked to wear a skirt. Aimee said this borrowed dress was the nicest. Being small it took very little time to tour, but it did have a nice deck for observing the valley below.

Back on the road we started our return to Athens. Halfway we stopped to checkout Thermopylae Pass. In ancient times it was a narrow strip of land between the sea and the coastal mountains. Any army marching on Athens would have to file through it. Since then the bay has silted up and the pass is now very wide.

Not surprisingly quite a few battles throughout the centuries have been fought here. But the most famous was the one in 480 BC when 300 Spartans made a heroic last stand here against Xerxes and his Persian army. The Persians went on to sack Athens. We watched a movie about the battle and then visited the monument to the Spartan king Leonidas who sacrificed his life here.

We then drove to the namesake hot springs. Thermopylae means Hot Gate. The sulfurous springs made locals think this was the gate to the hellish underworld of Hades.

We had lunch nearby on the water. We had some very good fried zucchini and then got back on the highway to Athens. Since it is Sunday we encounter very little traffic. We make a final stop to watch a high-stepping Changing of the Guard outside the Presidential Mansion in Athens.

Once checked in, Aimee and I did a little walk around the vicinity. We passed under a very pretty canopied lane of flowering Jacaranda trees ending at the Panatheneic Stadium. This ancient marble arena was rebuilt for the first modern Olympics in 1896. Every four years the Olympic flame is carried from here to the new host country.

We returned through the National Garden which was the backyard of the old Royal Palace. That building is now the Greek Parliament. It faces Syntagma (Constitution) Square. We finished passing the ruins of a Roman bath, and a new statue of Alexander the Great. In 338 BC Alexander and his father Phillip, King of Macedonia marched through Thermopylae conquering Athens and the rest of Greece.

May 17, 2025

May 17, 2025

To beat the tourist crowd we are up early for breakfast. Our table has a mountain view and we see sunshine again! That is good because we are going to be outdoors all day. To get energy for our hiking, after bacon and eggs, I try several of the Greek desserts. I especially like the Bougatsa, a flaky custard pie. The Halva and rice pudding are also tasty.

The Meteora area is a geological oddity. The end of the mountain range here has been eroded into dozens of needles with nearly vertical faces pockmarked with small caves. It would be a hiking destination for the geology alone. What makes this area a World Heritage site and tourist destination are the local monasteries. Early Christian hermit monks initially lived in these caves. Aimee and I walked to a nearby location before dinner to see one example. It is just a simple wooden platform built into the cave.

Next to it is the Monastery of St Anthony. It is a big upgrade with more permanent accommodations of tight-fitting masonry and wood walls, simple ladder access, and tiny locked door. Like Skellig Michael off the Irish coast it makes for a simple existence isolated from humanity.

In the Middle Ages the monks expanded and needed larger accommodations so they moved atop the needles. This also provided protection from the Ottoman Muslims who invaded, conquered and ruled Greece for 400+ years. There used to be 24 monasteries here, but today only six remain. We visited five today. We started with Varlaam, named after the first hermit to inhabit the site.

Access to these isolated locations used to be only by a rope on a wooden pulley. I wonder how many monks were lost to frayed ropes.

To promote tourism stone steps have been carved into the cliffs. To reach the monastery at the summit, a lot of stairs need to be climbed.

Each monastery has a small richly decorated church with barrel-vaulted ceilings completely covered in paintings of apostles and saints. Most have a large chandelier in the center, wooden chairs around the periphery and a wall called an iconostasis separating the nave from the sanctuary.

Most monasteries also have a small museum of religious artifacts including vestments, illustrated bibles, and artwork.

Many had some kind of winery. Humorously the wine barrels are enormous. We saw several wooden ones larger than 3000 gallons. I guess if I lived here, I would also probably feel the need for a lot of wine.

While touring the first couple monasteries was interesting, the highlight of the visits, is looking out at the scenery and finding a great view of the neighboring monasteries. The scenic overlooks are the big reward for climbing to the top of each pinnacle.

Next we visited St Stephens, followed by Holy Trinity, and Roussanou (aka St Barbara). Surprisingly two of the monasteries have been converted into nunneries. Their dress code is stricter, requiring Aimee to borrow a skirt for the visits. The longest climb was Holy Trinity, which James Bond scaled in the 1981 movie, For Your Eyes Only.

Needing a recharge from the exercise, we ate lunch in the little town of Kastraki. Besides a salad and meatballs with spaghetti, we had a Greek dish of Giant Beans. They tasted like an oversize butter bean.

After lunch we toured Grand Meteoron, the largest of the Meteora monasteries. Midafternoon, we drove back to our hotel to rest our weary legs. For dinner we went to the same restaurant as lunch. The wait staff knows us now and took good care of us. It seems a tradition of most Greek restaurants is a complementary dessert. Tonight was a miniature chocolate-covered ice cream bar.

May 16, 2025

May 16, 2025

We checked out of our Athens hotel this morning and met our driver for a three-day adventure. Or at least tried to. Traffic leaving the city on the highway north was horrendous. It was stop and go for a very long time. I surely do not miss rush-hour traffic. We eventually left the coastal plains behind and drove into the mountains. The scenery improved dramatically as we climbed higher. The road was lined almost the entire way with bright yellow wildflowers. Near Mt Parnassus, the second highest peak in Greece, we arrived at the World Heritage site of Delphi.

Just like today, in ancient times Delphi received lots of foreign visitors. People came to consult the Oracle before making a big decision. Divinations occurred only on the seventh day of the month. The answers were humorously enigmatic and famously misinterpreted.

We met our guide who gave us a tour of the local museum. Like on the Acropolis, excavations have uncovered long buried artifacts in much better condition than the objects above ground. Tinges of color could be seen often. I liked the frieze reliefs with Achilles fighting in the Trojan War. Between our guide's Greek accent and the loud screams of dozens of school kids, it was hard to understand her explanations.

Afterwards we entered the archeological site and walked up the switch-backed Sacred Way. It once was lined with treasuries filled with offerings from wealthy patrons and cities wanting special favors from the god Apollo. We passed the Omphalos (belly-button) stone marking Delphi as the center of the (Greek) world. The whole way we are graced with glorious views of the mountain valley.

At the top we reached the Temple of Apollo where the Oracle presided. I smiled when I saw the coiled bronze body of the Serpent Column. The top was stolen in Byzantine times. We saw it displayed in the Hippodrome spine in Istanbul three years ago. The temple is off-limits today but in ancient times you could enter and descend into a cave to ask the Oracle your question. She sat on a geological fissure where leaking petroleum vapors put the seer into a trance so she could commune with the god Apollo.

Back at the bottom we drove into the modern town of Delphi for lunch. This time we had an appetizer of stuffed pasta called Mandi and the Moussaka eggplant lasagna. Both were delicious.

I thought reaching mountainous Delphi would be nearly impossible for early travelers until we got to the restaurant. There we saw that an arm of the Gulf of Corinth reaches close to Delphi making it an easy trip by boat. The valley below is filled with millions of olive trees.

To get back to the highway going north required navigating a slow winding road through the mountains. At Thermopylae, we rejoined the highway. It took a couple more hours before we reached our hotel room in the Meteora area. Our room has nice view of the unique rock formations of Meteora. Unfortunately our sunny weather has disappeared.

As we walked into town, it started to spit rain. For dinner we had chicken and pork Souvlaki. It is the Greek version of Shish Kebab. Souvlaki means ‘little skewer’.