Blogs from Nafplion, Pelopennese, Greece, Europe - page 3

Took a day-trip today about an hour North past Argos to Ancient Mycenae. This is another connection back to Troy in Turkey. Mycenae was supposedly the kingdom ruled by Agamemnon, the Greek leader, and his brother, Menelaus. Historically, at least, it was also the most powerful kingdom in the Greek world from about 1600-1200 BC. The ruins, too, were very impressive. Mycenae sits in a very dramatic landscape, right in between two mountains. It also was built out of these absolutely massive blocks of stone. Once Mycenae fell, people thought that only a race of giant Cyclops' could've actually built the place. It's most famous for its Lions Gate, and the famous Treasury of Atreus and the other tombs of the royal family. If you remember the photo of Agamemnon's "Death-Mask" that I posted from the ... read more

I awoke early and went up to the Lido Deck and laid on a deck chair and listened to an explanation of the setting of the sales and watched the crew climb the rigging and do their work. Completely fascinating, I was so engrossed I completely missed breakfast by the time Toni found me about 10 am which was time for the first lecture by Dr. Frank Hildebrandt (German), who studied classical archeology, ancient history, prehistory and medieval archeology. By the way, more than half of the people on board are German. The lecture was great, all about Homer and ancient Greek mythology and history. That lecture was followed by a lecture on the Aegean Sea by John Meffert and it also was quite informative and then it was lunch time. At 12:30 pm Sea Cloud ... read more

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

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

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