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querfeldein
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#107 Visit to the former capital of Greece

E phatlaladitšwe: 15.04.2022

April 7, 2022: Nafplio, Tiryns


F. Yesterday we left Mystras towards Nafplio a bit later because Lauren and Vincent happened to be around the corner (The two French people we pushed up the mountain a week ago #101). We had a long chat with them, so we didn't leave Mystras until noon. Once again, we drove through one of Greece's beautiful mountain landscapes.

Serpetines with a view
Serpentines with a view

Just before Nafplio is Tiryns, a fortress over 4500 years old. Unfortunately, it was only open until 15:30, so we went straight to Nafplio. Here we walked around the city center a bit. The city is a total tourist hotspot, with souvenir shops lining the streets in the inner city. On the city's large parking lot, there were 10 large tour buses, apparently transporting almost all school classes, as the city was overcrowded with small or large groups of students from home and abroad. The old town of Nafplio is located on a peninsula, mostly occupied by a small castle.

For the night, we parked our car on a nearby hill, where a church and 6 cell phone masts were located. From here, we had a great view of Nafplio and great cell phone reception 😊.

View from our overnight spot
View from our overnight spot
Seaside fortress Bourtzi
Seaside fortress Bourtzi
Fortress Palamidi with almost 1,000 steps
Fortress Palamidi with almost 1,000 steps
Breathtaking view of Nafplio
Breathtaking view of Nafplio
Cooking with a view
Cooking with a view
Nafplio at night
Nafplio at night

The next morning, we did some morning exercise by climbing the almost 1,000 steps to Palamidi Castle. The legend says that there are 999 steps because the devil stumbled on the thousandth step. We counted, there are only 913 steps. Once you reach the top, you're quite out of breath, but the view over Nafplio makes up for it.

short break on the way up
short break on the way up
View from above of the old town of Nafplio
View from above of the old town of Nafplio
and back down again...
and back down again...

Of course, we also went down the 913 steps, and before we continued westward, we went back to Tiryns. We didn't want to miss this fortress with its walls over five meters thick. Additionally, we were hoping to learn something about the very ancient history of this castle, but the excavation site only showed the excavation techniques and the progress of the excavation. Nevertheless, the site is completely different in structure from all the castles we have seen so far, so the visit was well worth it.

The right side of the wall is the wall
The right side of the wall is the wall's thickness. This was the main entrance to the fortress.
stones up to 4 cubic meters in size were used in the wall.
stones up to 4 cubic meters in size were used in the wall.
the small side entrance to the castle
the small side entrance to the castle


Day 174 - Total tour 13,445 km


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