Blogs from Meteora, Thessaly, Greece, Europe - page 11

Greece. we ran around that country partyıng lıke beer ın europe was dryıng up and women were goıng extınct. allow me to clarıfy. ı know nothıng about maınland greece . . . wıth the exceptıon of athens, ı spent the whole month on the ıslands. ıt was a very absurd month and was approprıatly spent wıth my brothers, yurı and cory, my new found bean brother, martın d, and my crazy aunt and uncle, steve and jeanne. ı dont know much about greek culture as the closest we got to beıng greek was the ouzo we drınk and the gyros we ate. the ıslands are all about fun ın the sun and ın dımmly lıt bars. my month ın greece can be broken down ınto three maın parts. fırst was spent wıth cory, martın d, and ... read more

So I am on the ferry to Greece as I type this. At 4 euro for a half hour, I can see this is going to be a bloody costly trip....I have nothing else to do but sit on here. Actually the boat is pretty nice, pool, bar, shops...but being the 'poor' backbacker for 56 euros I have scored myself a night on the outdoor deck....should be interesting seeing i have no sleeping bacg, pillow or warm clothes....hmmm great. Better find myself someone with a spare bed in a cabin- quick! So i left Venice this morning. It was really lovely and relaxing. Did the whole touristy thing....gondola ride etc. Venice is lovely but unless you have a lot of money for eating out and enjoying the city, there isn't much to do. You can walk ... read more

The holiday was something about the Saints or the Trinity- an Orthodox holiday. This meant that at the monasteries instead of the hordes of tourists there were lots of Greeks as well. It was really humbling because most tourists take a bus up but I walked a 20 minute trail steep up to the furthest away monastery, this one full of only Greeks. There was a father with the big beard, black clothes, and cross, and everybody was kissing his hand. I felt really out of place, but he smiled at me and I went inside but everybody was praying so I left. The other monasteries were more touristed, but the best thing about Meteora was the rocks themselves- just beautiful, look at the pictures. I thought Thessalonikki was going to be a bad city, but ... read more

There is one place in the world that without a doubt easily lays claim to single handily having the most profound effect on the way we live and think today. As the incubator of western civilisation, this country of great gods and goddesses, poets and philosophers, politicians and athletes; has bequeathed modern civilization with the building blocks of our society. I was always aware that English was derived through Latin but what I wasn’t aware of is Greek plays an almost equally important role as the root of the English language. Over a Mythos beer I think I could easily argue with you that Politics, Democracy, History, Physics, Law, Ethics & Philosophy - all words derived from Greek - are some of the most important words in the English Language and have fundamentally influenced our societies ... read more

A continuation of my Egypt and Greece trip. Obviously, this would be the Greece part, and in my opinion, considerably less exciting. So stepping off the plane in Athens provided a rather welcome change. It was weird really, as it wasnt just so much as if we were back in civilization (per say,) but it really almost felt like home- as though as if we were back in our own familiar world again. However, this was only partly true and mostly due to a quick but refreshing first glance. The Greeks definitely have their own marked identity and culture as well. It soon became "all Greek to me." Thus, due toe it's somewhat familiar feel, it also isn't exactly as story worthy, so I will try to avoid the day to day, hour by hour rundown ... read more