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13. Stop: Greece

פֿאַרעפֿנטלעכט: 27.10.2019

It is autumn in Europe. That means it is rainy, muddy, and cold almost everywhere, and you would rather be curled up on the couch eating casserole and watching Harry Potter than being outside. But since we are not on this trip to sit on the couch, but to see what the world has to offer (well, Harry Potter is hard to beat), we needed a place where the weather is still good in October. From Georgia, there are not many options, so we chose Greece: 1. October is the best time to visit Greece because the weather is pleasantly warm at around 25-30°C, and 2. There is a direct flight from Tbilisi to Athens. So here we are, back on European soil!

In Athens, our goal was to soak up the ancient Greek culture and avoid the midday heat (and tourist crowds). During the day, we visited ancient Greek buildings and beautiful neighborhoods with narrow alleys and small houses. In the evenings, we relaxed on our rooftop terrace with a view over Athens and enjoyed self-cooked meals at sunset. Life is good!

Cheers to Athens!
Cheers to Athens!


While strolling through the city center, we fell in love with the neighborhood of Anafiotika. It is located directly next to the oldest and probably most famous neighborhood of Athens, Plaka, and consists of many very small houses whose owners do everything to make them look beautiful. Many houses are traditionally painted white and blue and have small white walls around their gardens. The colorful aspect is brought by the plant life, such as huge bougainvillea flowers, which overgrow the narrow paths where often only one person can fit, blooming in a radiant pink color. Of course, there is also no traffic there, and it is wonderfully quiet.

Quiet street cafes in Athens in the morning
Quiet street cafes in Athens in the morning


Strolling through Anafiotika
Strolling through Anafiotika


Narrow blooming alleys
Narrow blooming alleys


The classic Greek painting: Blue and white
The classic Greek painting: Blue and white


When in Athens, you cannot miss a visit to the Acropolis, as it towers over the city like a giant statue and challenges you to explore it. At first, we were completely shocked by the crowds of people squeezing through the narrow entrance in the morning, but once you are on the Acropolis grounds, it quickly disperses. Of course, we were impressed by its history and sheer size, but what interested us even more were the restoration works. For many decades, efforts have been made not only to piece together the individual parts of the destroyed temples like a puzzle but also to rectify poorly and incorrectly performed restoration work from previous years. This is a very time-consuming task considering the many small and large pieces of stone that have been worn down and destroyed over centuries, but thanks to modern technology, much can be reconstructed. All individual parts are precisely measured and displayed in 3D using computer software to find matching counterparts, determine their origin in the temple, and then assemble everything. Why did we make so much effort with puzzles as children? We should have just programmed good computer software to do it all for us.

Ruins already begin on the way to the Acropolis
Ruins already begin on the way to the Acropolis


Storming the Acropolis
Storming the Acropolis


Through this gate, you enter the sacred sites (what remains of them)
Through this gate, you enter the sacred sites (what remains of them)


A life-sized puzzle
A life-sized puzzle


After Athens, it was time for some hiking fun, so we drove inland with our rental car to Kalambaka to visit the famous Meteora Monasteries. On the way, we passed kilometers of cotton fields, which transformed the landscape into a fluffy cotton world, as cotton balls flew around everywhere due to the harvest. Otherwise, the vegetation was rather sparse because cotton and olive trees mainly grow in Greece due to the dry climate, until we finally caught a glimpse of the huge rock walls of the Meteora Monasteries. The gray rock rises vertically from the flat landscape and forms a miniature mountain range.

Cotton fields as far as the eye can see
Cotton fields as far as the eye can see


The rock walls rise behind Kalambaka
The rock walls rise behind Kalambaka


The individual rock formations with their many caves impressed the first hermits in the 11th century, who led an ascetic life in the caves. This gave rise to the idea in the 14th century of building well-secured monasteries on the rocks, and gradually 24 monasteries were built. At that time, many of them could only be reached by cable cars, allowing the monks to live their faith in safety. Today, most of these buildings are abandoned or destroyed, and only 6 monasteries are still in use and have been made accessible to pedestrians by stairs. So unfortunately, we didn't have to be hoisted up by a cable car, but we had the opportunity to climb several hundred steps and explore the monasteries from all sides. The churches, in particular, were spectacular, as they were adorned with more than just pomp and equipped with hundreds of chandeliers. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in these rooms, so you have to go there yourself if you want to see them.

Fun on the rocks
Fun on the rocks


The fascinating architecture of the Meteora Monasteries
The fascinating architecture of the Meteora Monasteries


More Meteora Monasteries
More Meteora Monasteries


The interiors are very well preserved
The interiors are very well preserved


In addition to the beautiful hikes through the monasteries, along the rock walls, and through autumn forests with a sea of cyclamens, we enjoyed the sunsets from the mountains the most. We also celebrated Jan's birthday this way: At sunset on a lonely rock ledge with a view of the mountains and monasteries, and a cold beer in hand. Saying goodbye to the monasteries and their mountains was really difficult; this place simply has a magical atmosphere. But after several days of heavy rain, we decided to move on.

Jan looks tiny in front of the huge rock wall
Jan looks tiny in front of the huge rock wall


Jan searches for his hermit cave
Jan searches for his hermit cave


A sea of cyclamens
A sea of cyclamens


The most beautiful sunset in Greece
The most beautiful sunset in Greece


Our next destination was the island of Zakynthos (called "Zante" by the locals) in western Greece. Since we had already seen the city and the mountains, we wanted to enjoy the sea and the coast, and Zante has some impressive cliffs and super blue sea with sandy beaches. At least, that was the plan... until we arrived on Zante and experienced 5 days of bad weather with heavy thunderstorms out of 7 days. Luckily, we had booked an apartment with a kitchen, so we could simply cook and relax. So, even in Greece, we spent days in October on the couch with casserole and Harry Potter.

We made the most of the good weather and explored the beautiful coastal landscape of Zante. We especially liked the crystal-clear seawater that shines in all shades of blue. Here, you want to go swimming everywhere. We visited many high cliffs, descended to rocky outcrops, and watched the sunset over the sea from the edge of a 300m high cliff. We were particularly impressed by a bay where a shipwreck is located, so we hiked along the cliff and admired the bay from different angles. By the way, the shipwreck stranded there in 1980 when, according to the story, some smugglers disposed of it and set it on fire to cover their tracks. Unknowingly, they created a real tourist attraction. You can only reach the ship itself by boat tour, so we saved that, but the view from above and the hike were fascinating enough.

Somewhere in a pretty village on Zante
Somewhere in a pretty village on Zante


The first cliffs on Zante convinced us immediately
The first cliffs on Zante convinced us immediately


Jan puts all his trust in the rusty railing
Jan puts all his trust in the rusty railing


This water awaits you when you reach the bottom
This water awaits you when you reach the bottom


Hiking around the Shipwreck bay
Hiking around the Shipwreck bay


Enjoying the sunset on 300m high cliffs
Enjoying the sunset on 300m high cliffs


Besides olives, hardly anything else grows here
Besides olives, hardly anything else grows here


A typical road situation on Crete
A typical road situation on Crete


The beautiful Balos beach awaits us below
The beautiful Balos beach awaits us below


We have already spotted a secluded bay
We have already spotted a secluded bay


The famous pink sand
The famous pink sand


Ahhhh, the masses have been unleashed!!
Ahhhh, the masses have been unleashed!!


A bee enjoying a last sunset with us
A bee enjoying a last sunset with us


To bag a few souvenirs and to see a typical Cretan town, we visited Chania. The city center of Chania is a labyrinth of narrow pedestrian streets right next to an old Venetian harbor, perfect for aimlessly strolling through the alleys and discovering small shops and tavernas. Like in a maze, you can lose yourself here for hours and constantly find new beautiful paths through the old houses. We also visited a market where tons of fruits and vegetables were sold and finally went to the hairdresser, as the last time was 4 months ago for Jan and over 1 year for Natalie. We didn't think we could walk around looking so scruffy, let alone fly back home.

The Venetian harbor of Chania
The Venetian harbor of Chania


Chania
Chania's alleys hold new surprises every time


Pottery is a tradition here
Pottery is a tradition here


Even the cats enjoy the beautiful alleys
Even the cats enjoy the beautiful alleys


The tavernas are more than inviting
The tavernas are more than inviting


What else would you buy in Crete but olives?
What else would you buy in Crete but olives?


On the way south, we visited the beautiful Botanical Garden of Crete. We have rarely seen such a beautiful place: It doesn't feel like a planned garden, but more like a systematically wild jungle with a multitude of fruit trees and herbs. Every corner smelled different, and we saw many fruit trees for the first time in our lives. Especially for us, it was absolutely exciting because we now know the trees of many fruits we ate during the journey. And as a highlight, the garden also houses some animals, including a very affectionate donkey.

The Botanical Garden of Crete
The Botanical Garden of Crete


Natalie enjoying the scent of herbs
Natalie enjoying the scent of herbs


The passion fruit bloom
The passion fruit bloom


Jan
Jan's affectionate friend, the donkey


In southern Crete, we finally found the peace and nature we were looking for, as it is home to the deepest and most beautiful gorges on the island, inviting us to hike. One of the highlights of a visit to Crete is probably traversing the Samaria Gorge. It is 13 km long and leads from the highest mountain range of Crete to the sea. However, the transportation to the starting point and from the endpoint was too complicated and expensive for us (you have to take a bus and a ferry), so we found a more convenient solution. We drove by car to the village of Sougia by the sea, took the ferry to the lower start of the gorge by the sea, and then walked as far as we could into the gorge and back the same way to Sougia.

Sougia
Sougia


Taking the ferry to the Samaria Gorge
Taking the ferry to the Samaria Gorge


So, we had to walk slightly uphill more than on the regular hike from the mountains to the sea, but it was absolutely worth it. The highlight was that we arrived early in the morning at the bottom of the gorge and could enjoy the most beautiful part almost completely alone, as the day hikers only arrived much later. With several hundred hikers per day in the low season (and several thousand per day in the high season), this was a huge advantage. So we walked through a quiet, deep gorge in bright sunshine, only hearing the sound of the river splashing. You can't imagine how relieved we were when we realized that despite the dryness in Crete, there was still water flowing in the gorge in October. And we wished for "smell photography" there because it smelled wonderfully like hot pine forest everywhere. Natalie immediately felt transported back to her childhood in Yosemite. In fact, the whole gorge with its barren high cliffs, the turquoise stream in the middle, the pine forest, and the hot sun reminded us of US national parks like Zion or Yosemite and once again showed us that we have many beautiful places right on our doorstep.


The famous Samaria Gorge
The famous Samaria Gorge


The narrowest portal of the Samaria Gorge
The narrowest portal of the Samaria Gorge


Good weather in the gorge
Good weather in the gorge


Goodbye Jan, wrong way
Goodbye Jan, wrong way


A farewell sunset on the return trip
A farewell sunset on the return trip


In addition to the Samaria Gorge, we hiked several other gorges and were impressed every time. Each gorge had its own uniqueness. For example, the Lissos Gorge led us to a long-abandoned place from 500-300 BC, which is said to have healing and spiritual effects.

The Lissos Gorge
The Lissos Gorge


The ruins of Lissos lie at our feet
The ruins of Lissos lie at our feet


The houses are well preserved for 2500 years
The houses are well preserved for 2500 years


Rest and relaxation after the hike is a must
Rest and relaxation after the hike is a must


Afterwards, we bid farewell to the idyll and nature, as Greece was the last country on our journey. Eventually, our financial resources run out, and our travel insurances expire, so we have to return to the seriousness of life. But we will write a final report because we cannot end this blog without a proper conclusion.

Goodbye Greece, it was wonderful
Goodbye Greece, it was wonderful


Song of weather in Greece: Can't control the weather – Fairground Saints

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