Day Twelve (Wednesday)

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This was about to be a very, very busy day. We were up rather early in order to leave on the bus at 8:00. Our breakfast wasn't as filling as our previous few in Greece. This morning it was back to cold cereal, a couple croissants and watery orange juice.

Our first order of business was to drive back up the isolated Tolo road into the larger city of Nafplion. Even though Tolo is the seaside resort where most of the people in our group were happy to stay, Nafplion looked more to my liking. It was also built adjacent to the sea. Nafplion didn't have the beautiful shoreline or bayside restaurants and bars like Tolo, but instead was somewhat sterile-looking in the downtown port area. But in town there was a bustling shopping district and a large fort looking down on the city. I must have seen 3 or 4 rather interesting looking little churches I would've enjoyed visiting. Best of all, they had a Lidl store.

But we weren't in Nafplion for sightseeing. We were here to pick up our guide for the day, Vee. Her actual name was something we couldn't pronounce so she had us call her "Vee". Oddly enough, at the street corner where we were supposed to meet her, there was another well-dressed woman that climbed on our bus when we stopped. We almost drove off with her on board thinking she was our guide, but it turned out that she was indeed a tour guide but waiting for another group. A few seconds later we spotted Vee strolling toward our bus. After introducing herself she wasted no time telling Niko where to point his bus. She wanted to get us to Epidaurus as soon as possible and before the crowds showed-up.

Epidaurus was another sacred site for the ancient Greeks. Even though it was situated only a few miles from Argos (the home of Jason and the Argonauts), it was an independent entity that all the Greek City States protected and used. Epidaurus was the healing center of Greece. People from all over Greece would come to the Ancient Greek version of the Mayo Clinic. In Epidaurus it was believed that Apollo and his son, Asklepios, would come to the vsitors in dreams and offer them cures for their ills. Because of nearby therapeutic mineral waters and some of the local plantlife which was used in medicines, the medical industry of the time settled here. As more and more doctors set up practice here, more and more aged and infirm people settled here (Kind of like Florida). As a result, a city with all its services and facilities grew. By the time the Romans conquered the area around 100 BC there was already a large hospital-like dormitory for the sick, a large amphitheater, baths, a gymnasium and a Hippodrome.

It was already getting pretty warm when we arrived at around 10:00. Vee took us to the huge Amphitheater where she demonstrated the fantastic acoustics. We had a short amount of time to walk through the little nearby museum which was chock full of marble sculptures and building friezes.

Then it was time to hop back on the bus and take another short drive to the ruins of Mycenae. We passed through Nafplion again. We took a brief ride through the center of town and gawked at the fortress looming overhead. We took a side trip to the quayside where we got a nice view of the harbor and fort.

After this 5 minute stop we reboarded the bus and drove out of town toward Mycenae. This is the reputed home of Agamemnon, famed leader of the Greeks during the Trojan War. Don't put any stock in that stupid Brad Pitt movie, Troy. Agamemnon was a cool guy. I must've read that Classics Illustrated comic version of the Iliad 50 million times and old Aggie was definitely a noble leader.

Read the picture captions to learn about Mycenae. I would really have liked to spend the whole day there. Next time we visit (hopefully next summer), I'm going to re-read the Iliad and try to get a better understanding of what this ancient city stood for. According to Wikipedia Argos was only 4 miles away, yet they were two separate, powerful City States.

After dealing with the winds of Mycenae and climbing over all those rocks it was time for lunch. Once again Niko made a suggestion. He took us to a nearby restaurant that supposedly had the best Moussaka and lamb in all of Greece. It just so happened that it was probably the biggest restaurant in all of Greece. The Kolizeras Restaurant reminded me of a wedding reception hall. It was the size of a gymnasium with probably 200 tables in it. By the time we finished lunch, every table was full. The parking lot had at least 9 buses parked there. Once again I ordered Kebabs and some Mythos. It was a nice meal at a reasonable price. Not fantastic but very staisfying.

Next Niko took us to a Greek pottery/souvenir shop a short trip down the road. By now I was pretty well tired of seeing all the beautiful cups, vases, plates and statues. I really didn't spend any time looking around. Now I wish I had - one of the store proprietors showed the group a unique cup called "the Cup of Justice" or "Pythagoras' Cup". Legend has it that when workers were called on to repair some public water pipes, Pythagoras was in charge of moderating the workers’ wine drinking. He invented the “fair cup”. When the wine surpasses the fill line in the cup, the cup totally empties, so the greedy one is left without any wine at all. By his invention, he wanted to teach the equality of all members of a team, the equitable gaining of all, as well as the punishment of the greedy ones. I didn't really think about getting one of these that day, but later in the trip I ran all over the place trying to find one without any luck.

While we were in the shop Niko asked Gail if he could donate something to her school. He offered to buy a large marble bust of Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. The store wrapped it up, packed it for us, and gave it to me to lug around for the rest of the trip. Later on at the airport I was a little concerned that I never saw them actually put the bust into the box. Sorry, but in the post 911 world I can't help but be a little suspicious of people's charity.

After we loaded even more souvenirs aboard our crowded bus, we drove a few hours across the peninsula to the Corinth Canal. Here we left Vee by the side of the road. She promised she'd see us the next day for our tour of Athens.

Just as rush hour was about to start we left Corinth and drove on to Athens. By now I had become so jaded by seeing so much ancient building and engineering that I hardly noticed some of the castles and forts guarding the approaches to the ancient center of Greece. After all that running around and all the food we consumed most everyone on the best was asleep when we entered the suburbs of Athens. As Jurgen had said earlier, Athens seems to be a "white" city. As you enter the city the majority of the buildings are lightly-colored and rather clean looking. Unlike Rome, there wasn't graffitti everywhere nor were there many boarded-up collapsing buildings. It was a bustling crowded town, but it looked well kept. Just before we reached our hotel we passed a little shop advertising Souvlaki and Gyros. I made a mental note to check it out later. Here we were on our second last day in Greece and I had had only one Gyro so far.

Everyone in the group was thrilled and a little surprised when we pulled up in front of the modern, luxurious-looking Hotel Oscar. It reminded me of a Sheraton. Not that there was anything wrong with any of other hotels, but this placed looked like a 5 star joint. The lobby had marble floors, a nice bar, leather sofas, 8 cubicles with computers and a bank of elevators.

Unfortunately only one elevator was working. It probably took me close to 45 minutes before I could get to my room. My room was wonderful: a nice big queen bed, modern color TV, big bathroom, a refrigerator and lots of toileteries in the bathroom.

But as nice as my room was, Gail and her Mom were in the lap of luxury. They had a penthouse suite! Their bathroom was nearly as big as my entire room. They had a huge deep tub, big refrigerator, DVD movie player, flat screen TV, lots of floor space, huge closets and a sliding glass soor leading to a balcony that overlooked Athens. The next floor up was the rooftop pool which sits in the shadow of the Parthenon.

This evening we were scheduled to attend the Greek Cutural Experience. Dinner wouldn't be until sometime after 9:00. Gail and I decided to go back up the block to look for the Gyro stand. Just then Tyler and Gen showed-up. When we asked what their plans were Tyler said he was going to check out a Gyro store he saw from inside the bus. We easily found the place. I think we were the first Americans to ever eat there. The waitress and cook ran all over the place trying to get our Gyros and beers ready for us. The Gyros were humongous. And the pita was not only stuffed with lettuce, tomato, onion, Tzatziki sauce, Feta cheese and some unknown kind of meat, but with french fries too. The Gyros were a meal in themselves and cost less than $2.00 each.

At 8:00 pm Niko drove us to the Plaka section of Athens. This is where our Greek Night would be held. Since we got there early Jurgen gave us some time to explore this part of town. This is the kind of shopping Gail and I enjoy. It's a pedestrian only zone. The streets are narrow and crowded with shoppers and merchandise spilling out into the street. The little stores were a bit tacky and catered to tourists, but there was so much going on that we were thoroughly entertained for the next half hour. We stopped in two competing liquor stores trying to find the best price for Ouzo and Grappa. We stopped in a couple other shops looking to add to our bell collection, but we came away empty-handed. The smells of Souvlaki, Gyros, Baklava and roasted nuts were rather alluring but we held off knowing dinner was scheduled for 9:00.

At a few minutes before 9:00 our group re-assembled outside the Greek Night restaurant. We were among the very first people welcomed inside and were seated stageside. I absolutely hate shows with audience participation and this did not look good. Not good at all. I made sure I got a seat at least 3 seats from the stage while poor Tyler sat front and center.

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Photos

The obligatory group shot
Our tour of the Amphitheater in Epidaurus gave us the perfect opportunity to take a picture of the group. This pose had to be held for about 10 minutes as virtually every camera in our group was used to record this momnt for posterity.

Entrance to the Amphitheather of Epidaurus
The outdoor theater is immense. It is still used today for concerts and operas. Take note of the huge rocks in the forground. Archaeologists were excavating around them. Apparently they are bits of the wall surrounding the Amphitheater.

Preparing for the concert
This is the view from the cheap seats at the Amphitheater. As you can see, the stage was being set for a concert that night. I\'m not sure why they even need the big amps. Vee demonstrated the near perfect acoustics of the place by having us sit halfway up the seats. She then stood at a specific mark on the stage. Then she tore a sheet of paper. We could hear it 30 rows up. The same thing when she dropped a coin. When she moved to another spot just a few feet away, she whispered and the sound seemed to come at us from a different location.

The fort at Nafplion
As we drove through the seaside town of Nafplion we were constantly looking up at the fort that towered over the harbor and city below.

Another fort, or is it a castle?
In addition to the imposing fortress high above the downtown, on the other side of the semi-circular harbor there was another hill. Of course, the inhabitants had to fortify that so this structure was built to guard this side of the harbor. These forts do not date back to the Ancient Greeks however. The Turks actually controlled this part of Greece in the 16th and 17th Centuries. When Greece gained its independence from Turkey, Nafplion served as the capital of Greece from 1829 until 1834.

And even more fortifications out in the harbor
The Greeks really wanted to protect this town. They even put this fort out in the middle of the harbor. It's called "Bourtzi Castle" and was built by the ruling Venetians in the 15th Century in order to protect one of their important Greek trading outposts.

Greek hot water heaters
As we drove through the countryside going from Nafplion to Mycenae I kept seeing big barrels propped on top of the homes. Vee told us that these barrels are filled with water which is then heated by the intense sun. This is then used as the hot water source in the home.

Arrival at Mycenae
On the hillside in the background you can see the site of ancient Mycenae, home of Agamemnon. Before we headed over to the city ruins we first stopped to view the unique series of tombs lining a nearby hillside. For the first time since we got to Greece, we hit a wall of heat as we exited the bus. It still didn't feel as bad as Italy's humid heat, but the sun was rather intense and immediately sought some shade under the ever-oresent olive trees.

Treasury of Atreus/Tomb of Agamemnon
This structure goes by both names, yet scholars doubt that it is either the site of a treasury or the tomb of the great King Agamemnon. More likely it was the final resting place of a lesser member of Greek royalty. Like the ancient tribes of England with their burial barrows, the Greeks first erected big mounds of earth then tunneled into them. They lined the passage way with huge stones then supported the tomb entrance with more stone. The doorway into the tomb was built before the invention of the arch. The lintel above the main doorway supports most of the weight but the triangular area above takes the weight above off the center of the door lintel. Grave robbers are believed to have stolen whatever decorative carvings (probably a stone lion) that were inserted in that triangular space.

Inside the tomb
Inside the tomb it was nice and cool. There wasn't much to see inside other than just how precisely the stones lining the tomb fit together. In this picture you can see another small room adjoining the tomb. Its construction also utilized the triangle and lintel support.

Approaching Mycenae
We spent about a half hour visiting the tomb then reboarded Niko's bus for the ride up to Mycenae. Even though the bus headed a couple hundred feet uphill, the parking lot was still way below the entrance to the old walled city. The hike uphill wasn't too bad at first, but the bright, hot sun reflecting off the white-stoned pathway was starting to give me a headache. Vee urged us onward and upward through the Lion's Gate into Mycenae. It is thought that stone lions similar to these adorned many of the buildings in the area that utilized the triangle and lintel building style.

The city walls at the entrance to Mycenae are still intact
The road leading into Mycenae narrows as it passes between these high walls built on both sides. The walls on this side take advantage of the sheer cliffs on this part of the hill.

The Acropolis of Mycenae
The town of Mycanae was built at the top of a hill that commanded the farmland below it. Since the city was built atop a hill, it was called an "Acropolis" (high city). This area just outside the main city wall was another set of royal graves. The noted archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, first excavated Mycenae in the mid-19th Century and unearthed these tombs. Inside he found gold death masks, swords and a horde of gold jewelry. Modern scholars believe that these circular graves pre-date those burial mounds we had just visited on the opposite side of the road. Incidently, Scliemann later went on to discover the site of Ancient Troy in Turkey.

The port of Mycenae
As we walked deeper and ascended higher into the ruins of this royal city the wind began to blow stronger and stronger. It became very obvious that this was a virtually impregnable location. The slopes of the hill were steep on all four sides and there was no other nearby ground that offered any advantage in elevation. Vee pointed out that the dark green valley you can see in the background was once part of the sea. The waterline came right up to the area where the Tomb of Agamemnon stands. Over the years the port silted over and now olive trees thrive in the valley.

The back gate
We climbed to the top of the city hill then headed down toward the back gate. The entire time we were struggling against the wind. On a hot sunny day the stiff breeze felt really nice. This shot is a bit of an optical illusion: the area just beyond the stone ruins is much lower than that plateau. Those mountains behind everything were just too far away to be of any tactical use for possible invaders. The hilltop city was really the fortress the locals would flee to if an enemy invaded the valley and villages below.

A closer look at the back gate
The rear entrance to the acropolis was rarely used. It was deliberately designed to be very narrow in case of enemy attack. This part of the fort is situated much lower than the main part and being at the back of the fort which sits high above the valley, it was judged rather unlikely that invaders could get to this section.

Archaelogists continue to sift for clues
While we were touring the site we saw a good number of college students walking around with hardhats and trowels. They were doing work study projects at numerous points within the city. You can see in this picture that there were once a whole lot of buildings within the walls. Over the years farmers and even city builders stole much of the stonework and left only the foundations.

A delicious lunch at Kolizeras
Getting back to the bus when our tour ended was easy - it was all downhill and we had the wind behind us. Niko and Vee conferred and came up with the idea of going to the famous Kolizeras restaurant just down the road. Besides the fact that the plate is huge and the food is good, its main claim to fame is that the walls of the place are lined with photos of famous American politicians that have eaten there. Once again lunch was on our own, but this was the only place to eat out here in the middle of nowhere. Gail's Mom ordered this Greek salad topped with Feta cheese. Gail had Moussaka again accompanied by a Mythos beer. I ate chicken kebabs for maybe the fifth time on this trip.

Cassie volunteers
After lunch we drove to a big souvenir/art shop. We were ushered into the basement where we observed some artisans creating pottery. Our guide grabbed Cassie and had her help demonstrate how Pythagoras' Cup of Justice works.

Jurgen (aka "Jurgos")
For some reason people have a lot of trouble saying Jurgen's name. He jokes about being called "Yogan", "Yogurt", "Joe-gan", "Yerman" and even "Urine". Niko couldn't say "Jurgen" either and instead called him "Jurgos". The name caught on and most of us called him that. Imagine our delight in finding this sign on the door of the souvenir shop.

On the road to Corinth
Driving from Mycenae toward Corith we kept passing all kinds of unmarked ruins. There is so much history there that they don't even bother with some of the less impressive ruins laying all over the place. As we approached Corith we spotted the ruins of Acrocorith built high atop this massive mountain. It "only" dates from the 10th Century AD and was built by the Byzantines. The Normans conquered it during the Crusades and added to the fortress. Then the Turks seized it only to lose it to the Venetians in the 15th Century. Then the Turks took it again and added more new construction. Finally the Greeks won it back in the 1800's.

Comments

[Nick Berlingieri]

Jurgen
I too took an EF Tour Trip with Jurgen. It was Feb. 23rd 2007 to March 4th. Jurgen is truly an amazing tour director, we all absolutely loved him. Also our trip visited all the same places in Italy that you went to. My Europe Trip memories can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/spinereto

[Zigeuner]

Aye Carumba
You and your friends are my teacher wife's worse nightmare. Whenever we take an EF trip we wonder what the kids are doing back in their rooms. Thanks to you, now we know. And why don't you guys ever know where the heck you are? But I gotta admit, I love your videos. Very well done and funny as hell. I love the part where you guys are looking for hot chicks. Nice to know you are having a good time. We're traveling with Juergen again this summer and I can't wait to tell him about your stuff. We want to see more travelogues from you guys.

[Zigeuner]

Jurgen video now on YouTube
We just got back from another trip with Jurgen - this time two weeks in Greece with a cruise. Our guide Jurgen remembered you guys but your video which I tried to put on my MP3 player got screwed-up so I didn't get to show him. Anyway, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpMu3QQHL14 if you want to hear one of his stories again. We made him tell all of his goofy stories again.