Blogs from Chania, Crete, Greece, Europe - page 10

Todays blog is going to be quite different from the usual travel updates as it summarises my trip and experience in visiting the battlefields and war cemetaries of the Battle of Crete. It will involve a bit of a historical context to begin with and will probably be quite long, so perhaps you could find time to read it later. I think I will start with explaining just what went on during the battle, as it is an inspiring story that I think all New Zealanders should be aware of and pay their respects to. First the historical context. In April 1941 the Germans were on a roll and had invaded Greece and their battle-hardened and superbly equipped army pushed a much inferior Allied force, including the NZ Division, out of mainland Greece. The survivors withdrew ... read more

Worth the Wander After the last entry, you may be wondering what possessed us to go creeping along the winding, collapsing mountain roads of Crete. Brother Mark and I were looking for a small beach town on the Southwest coast called Sougia because it was the closest thing we could identify near Lissos. Lissos is an ancient site that's played host to a number of civilizations. The odd thing about Lissos is that, while it's marked on lots of maps (usually with a cartoon symbol that's supposed to suggest ancient ruins), there's almost no information about it anywhere and there's no road to it. That's going to peak my interest; but how to get there? We had a plan for trekking across Crete. Before you point out that Ernest Shackleton had a plan for trekking across ... read more

As I was walking along, checking out the Minoan ruins and looking for the restaurant featured in our travel guide, Adonis accosted me. That was his name. Really. He looked a little like a middle aged Paul Newman - all blue eyes and charm. He gave me some flowers and told me that they are native to Crete. He said that every spring, all over Crete, people wait for the flowering of their special flower which makes all the streets smell so sweet. I've since discovered that they are a type of Daphne (Daphne sericea for the scientists). What a lovely way to be welcomed to Chania (pronounced Hahnia), one of the largest cities in Crete. When we arrived, we weren't so sure. The ferry got into port after 8pm and after walking around with heavy ... read more