Saturday May 16 – Today Eric, Christi, John, and a family friend named Marga went to Irakleon, the biggest city in Crete, to do some sightseeing. Because of its nice natural harbor, Irakleon has been a major hub dating back to the most ancient times. The Minoan ruins of Knossos are just outside Irakleon. But, because of war and other devastations throughout recent history, there are few old buildings or ruins still left in Irakleon today.

We went downtown and walked along the waterfront for a while. Irakleon’s waterfront is attractive, with mostly modern, aesthetically appealing buildings. It looks like the walls from the Venetian era have been recreated, which helps give the city some of the charm and character that Rythmeno and Chania have. There are a couple old style buildings, as well, which further adds charm.

After our walk, we drove around the city some more. The outer areas of Irakleon are similar to Continue reading →

Friday, May 15 On Tuesday morning we flew to Athens. We had gotten lucky and found plane tickets at literally half of what they normally cost. The recession must be really bad to get such cheap tickets during prime tourist season.

We landed in Athens on Wednesday in the late afternoon. Needless to say, it had been a long day of travel. The flights were uneventful. Traveling by plane always makes us appreciate how nice it is to travel by boat. Yes, sometimes travel by boat is miserable, too, but at least on the boat you aren’t cramped into small seats, can get some sleep, can eat or drink whenever you want, can watch a movie of your own choosing, don’t have to listen to screaming babies, don’t have to worry about lost luggage, and don’t have to smell people who have been traveling for 26 hours and need a shower (including ourselves).

Upon arrival in Athens, we went straight to our hotel in downtown, got dinner and crashed. We were up early yesterday morning so we could walk around a bit before meeting Andronikos. We picked a route that took us down streets we have never been on before so we could catch some new sights. We probably walked about 5 miles total and it was lovely. We talked about how much nicer the city has become over the years.

Athens is a fairly homogenous looking city, mostly 8 10 story blocky buildings dotted with Byzantine style churches. You can differentiate the newer churches from the very old ones by their placement. New churches fit the layout of the street. The old churches are in odd places, like hanging halfway out into the street, tucked between two other buildings, or an appendage off of another building. Here is an example of an old church in an odd place

Also, here and there you pass Continue reading →