Blogs from Nafplion, Pelopennese, Greece, Europe
May 1st 2012
K - Given its well-publicized economic problems some friends have asked us whether Greece is a mess - rumors of inadequate public services, garbage in the street etc. seem to abound. I am absolutely sure that the life of the average Greek is full of major concerns and uncertainties but from a tourist perspective there is little to suggest a country in crisis. The places we visited were all clean and the people welcoming. With the exception of the train service which no longer runs internationally and which has been suspended in some areas (replaced by buses) we would not have known there was a particular issue. We were not of course there during a strike period. One thing that did shock me a lot however was the level of graffiti in Athens (and to some ... read more
June 21st 2011
This morning we left the hotel for the archaeological site of Mycenae. The first stop was the Treasury of Atreus or sometimes known as the Treasury of Agamemnon. This was used as a tomb for royalty. The beehive like structure inside and the size of the tomb allows us to know it was for a king. After taking several pictures, we made our way across the street to the palace ruins. The visible ruins date back to the 13th century and we first had to pass through the Lion’s Gate. This relief is the oldest monumental relief in Europe. After surviving the passage through the Lion’s Gate, we continued to make our way up to the remains of the palace. After checking the remains of the palace, we went into the museum to see the artifacts ... read more
June 5th 2011
Monday 30th May 2011 A short drive today from Tolo to Mikenes near ancient Mycenae calling on the way at the delightful seaside town of Nafplio. The town was the first capital of modern Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Due to its strategic position it has quite a chequered history changing hands between the Ottomans and Venetians time and again. Its harbour is guarded by three castles one on a small island ( Bourtzi ), another just above the old town ( Akronafplia ) and one capping a tall cliff above the town ( Palamidi Fortress ). The town itself has narrow atmospheric streets lined with elegant Venetian houses. We strolled along the harbour and then into the town. In Syntagma ( Constitution ) Square we found the Venetian ... read more
July 22nd 2010
Szukajac przyjemnego miejsca w miare blisko Aten, gdzie moznaby zaznac plazy i morza, pojechalismy w koncu do Nafplion. Wstyd sie przyznac, ale jakos nigdy wczesniej w czasie wedrowek po Grecji nie zakonotowalam tego miejsca, a to byla stolica kraju, do roku 1834, kiedy to zaszczyt ten przypadl Atenom. W czasie greckiej wojny o niepodleglosc, Nafplion byl jedna z glownych twierdz ottomanskich, przez rok oblegana przez Kolokotronisa, lokalnego Kosciuszke. Gdy w koncu miasto upadlo, wziete glodem, wlasnie ze wzgledu na swoje umocnienia zostalo siedziba rzadu tymczasowego, a ksiaze Ianis Kapodistrias - pierwszy lider nowego panstwa - uczynil je stolica w roku 1929, a 2 lata pozniej zostal tam zamordowany. Nafplion Wlosi nazywaja "Napoli di Romania" - jako ze znajdowalo sie na terenach Wschodniego Imperium Rzymskiego, a Kapodistrias to naprawde Capo d'Istria, czyli dzis Koper w Slow... read more
March 22nd 2010
ATHENS Day 61 Oh the trains, the trains, the trains. Greece really has the worst trains. Now, I understand that they have a decent bus network but I have purchased a train pass for all of Europe and so I have no intention of spending more money for transportation especially when one day trip from Athens to somewhere near by is 15euro each way! So I was stubborn and went with the train to Nafpilion, being one of the few places accessible by train. Unfortunately, the train runs there only every 4 hours and takes 3 hours to get there so when I finally made it I had 40 minutes to jump off the train and see a little bit before I had to get back on or risk waiting the 4 hours for the ... read more
January 16th 2010
Athens PT 2 not much of a travel blog but a social and health blog!! Finally got out of the place but at least not without a half share of a 4th floor 2br apartment right in the middle of Athens, right behind the old Olympic Stadium...not bad ay!........Once I get those nice little titles in my hands Im taking bookings! As I mentioned in my FB Status, I returned back from my feisty little 83 yo aunt’s place (dads side) from Korintho (as in Korintho Canal) with a bomb going off in front of Parliament house right next to those nice little soldiers who wear those nice pleated dresses! WTF garbage and ferry strikes (whilst we were on Mykonos), student protests, cops shooting kids and bombs going off in front of parliament house....Gee weez these ... read more
January 10th 2010
We ended our short visit to Greece in a beautiful small town named Nafplio, where we met up with Ilan’s brother Ami and his family. The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins -family IS the best!!! Shakked: “Don’t ask me to compare Athens and Nafplio. I can’t. Athens was by far more interesting but Nafplio was more fun. I’ll tell you why. If our trip to Israel was a book, then this could be the prologue, introducing some of the characters. Here in Nafplio we met an aunt, an uncle, and three cousins. Uncle Ami, Aunt Moria, Boaz (age one and a half) David (age five and a half) and Naomi (age seven and a half). It was fun playing with them! The only interesting part was the forts. Nafplio is a port ... read more
July 17th 2009
DAY 92 SAILING DAY 20 Finally Skipper Dave calls out to us that are still below deck to “get up, we are coming into Athens”. Now we are moving. It is still windy, but warm. We enter the marina and it is full of boats as the weather has been rough. We find a place to moor, freshen up, dress and get off that yacht. We have breakfast at a cafe along the beach and hop on a tram into the center of Athens. Bill comes us us. That being Angie, Francine and Yvonne. Bill was here for nine days prior to sailing so he knows the city well. We get off the tram and walk to the parliament building where there is a small crowding gathering for inspection of the guards. It is not as ... read more
May 27th 2009
22 April 2009 The next day we visited Olympia. The site was only a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We had a little bit of rain again this morning but it had cleared by the time we reached the site. We had a dog that seems to live near the hotel follow us all the way to the site. Olympia (no surprises here) is the original home of the Olympic Games held in 776 BC. Olympia was a sacred precinct to the god Zeus, whose temple once housed one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (a massive statue of Zeus with gold work), since destroyed. The Olympia site was huge with the actual stadium, practice stadiums, ruins of ancient temples and roman fountains located in different parts of the quite large archaeological site. ... read more
