Greece-Nafpoli

14june- 16june 2015, Nafpoli, Greece.

Olympia to Nafpoli.

On route from Olympia to Nafpoli we made a detour to visit what is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Greece, Myceane.

Mycenae, a fortified citadel in the northeast Peloponnese, was the largest and most important centre of the civilization which was named “Mycenaean”.

Mycenaean culture dominated mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, and the shores of Asia Minor during the late Bronze Age (1600-1100 BCE).

Through the lion gate (13^th century BC) we entered the citadel.

This relief sculpture of two lionesses or lions, is the sole surviving monumental piece of Mycenaean sculpture.

We made our way to the top unaware of what we were looking at, a guide would have been useful but there were none around and very few tourists.

The museum only imparted a little more information, the boys had little interest and the subject matter was overwhelming.

The one piece of historic information that the boys found interesting was the belief that from Mycenae, Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae and all of Archaean Greece,

 lead the expedition to Troy to recapture Helen. The boys were familiar with the movie ‘Troy’.

Myceane

We were surprised at our inability to locate the centre of Nafpoli, the first capital of Greece.

We located where our pension for the night was supposed to be, according to our GPS, but here stood another building.

We tried again on foot, now locating Althala Pension within the narrow pedestrian streets of the pretty port town.

With assistance from the staff we drove in as close as we could, the boys and I carrying as many bags through Naplion’s Old town as we could manage, while Chris parked the car at the nearby port.

From our two room accommodation we looked upon the narrow streets graced with Venetian architecture, cafes and boutiques.

With not much of the day left we sat under an impressive bougainvillea and enjoyed dinner at the traditional Greek tavern, ‘Vyzantio’ located a couple of narrow lanes from our accommodation.

Naplion’s Old town

Nafplio seemed relatively easy to explore the following day. Most of its old town was on a peninsula jutting into the Argolic gulf.
We stood and looked out at Bourtzi, a Venetian Fortress Castle on a small island, constructed in 1473 to protect the city from pirates and invaders from the sea.
Later, it was turned into a prison, today it was undergoing restoration.
Our attention soon turned to the Add to dictionary available to hire, if we perched Lachlan in the front basket we could all fit into one.
It was slightly stressful navigating a rather awkwardly manoeuvrable wide bicycle through the tight pedestrianized streets.
We took turns, I tried hard to restrain myself from being overly ‘controlling’ when Ollie and Jarvis took the wheel.

 Althala Pension.

At the end of this mainly positive ride, I headed off with Lachlan and Jarvis while Chris and Ollie took to the hills.

They were to climb the steep ascent to the spectacular citadel, the massive principal fortress of Palamidi, towering 216m above the small port of Nafplio.

Chris and Ollie ran the winding stair from the town to the fortress, 913 steps, over one thousand to the top of the fortress (locals say 999 steps).

Close to closing time they only took a quick look at the fortress. It was built by the Venetians between 1711 and 1714, and is regarded as a masterpiece of military architecture in spite of being successfully stormed in one night by Greek troops in 1822.

Fortress of Palamidi

When I had a little time to myself I took a wander, in and out of shops, down lanes, popping my head into a few churches.

The Church of Ayios Georgios took me by surprise. This 16^th century Greek orthodox church, is one of the oldest and most important churches in the city,

many great events from Greek history took place here.

The understated outside was easy to walk past but a quick backtrack took me briefly inside to view a stunning décor, richly detailed walls and ceilings, painted with copies of great Italian painters. The chandeliers were spectacular.

Dinner in Philelliion square and a final walk back through the evening lit Plateia Syntagmatos (Constitution Square) concluded our stay.

We were to now pack for an early start in the morning. We were to drive to Athens for an early flight to Crete.

Church of Ayios Georgios

Greece - Olympia

13-14^th Jun 2015, Olympia, Greece.

Delphi to Olympia.

We arrived into Olympia mid-afternoon. The temperature had risen so it was nice after a 3:30hr drive to reach our hotel with a pool and the promise of a swim for the kids.

Hotel Europa was beautifully located at the top of the Drouvas Hill in Olympia.

A very welcome reception provided us with an upgrade to a 2 bedroom apartment within the hotel.

Hotel Europa, Olympia

We planned to visit the scared Altis (the sanctuary of the gods) and the stadium of the ancient Olympic Games in the morning.

The remainder of the day was about poolside relaxation and a wonderful evening dinner seated outside on the clifftop garden. 

We enjoyed dips, olives and bread,  moussaka, seabream with eggplant(in honey), chicken in mustard cream bacon sauce, zucchini patties,

fried cheese with pomegranate(speciality) and panna cotta for dessert.

The buffet breakfast was delicious too. All kinds of Greek specialities, many I hadn’t tried before. Greek custard pastries, warm and delicious, cheese and spinach pies, milk cake.

Lots of feta cheese, and tomatoes as you would except in Greece.

It wasn't hard to locate the ancient site, it was just at the foot of the hill. Little now remained of the temples and athletic facilities that once stood here.

For 1000 years the Olympic Games took place here but it was destroyed by Emperor Theodosius II in AD 393.

Every four years the Olympic flame is lit here, beginning its journey to the next city to host the games.

As well as the birthplace of the Olympic Games, Ancient Olympia was the most celebrated sanctuary of ancient Greece.

Dedicated to Zeus it hosted one of the seven wonders of the Ancient world, the gold and ivory cult statue of Zeus. 

East of the Altis (Sacred Precinct of Zeus), we entered the stadium through a stone archway. Surprisingly it was rectangular, unlike today’s stadiums.

You could still make out the stone start and finish lines and the judges seat.

We ran the sprint track (slow jogged it myself) observed by somewhat less than the 45000 spectators the stadium originally seated.

Chris then videoed the run, trying to avoid capturing the profanities coming out of Lachlan’s mouth as he ran the 120m, slightly limping in 37C heat. 

The boys had a renewed sense of energy to do this run multiple times, slightly annoying considering there were constant complaints about walking the rest of the archaeological site.

I was surprised at how pleasant and pretty the site was, but I shouldn’t have been as it is considered an area of ‘outstanding natural beauty’.

Wandering amongst the tree-shaded ruins was a lovely way to escape the heat, the shade was well appreciated.

The walk back up the hill in full sun to the car wasn’t appreciated at all, neither was the heat inside the black car that had sat in the sun for too long.

After an ice-cream pit stop in the modern town of Olympia we were back in the car, air conditioning on, heading now to Nafplio.

Greece - Delphi

12-13^th June 2015, Delphi, Greece.

Chris now seated on the ‘correct’ side of our rental car did a great job driving us out of Athens.

We were beginning our short trip around the mainland, first stop Delphi, 178km northwest of Athens (2:30 hr).

There was a certain relief that came with knowing the car already had dings and scratches, a few more wouldn’t be unexpected, probably not even noticed.

With the novelty of a lightly packed car we enjoyed the views as we made our journey through the rather non-prosperous arid rocky landscape.

Situated on the main street in Delphi, running along the cliff edge, was the ‘Pan Hotel’.

Surprisingly there were carparks outside the front door making for an easy unpack into our two basic rooms for the night.

Our small balconies had wide views over the Corinthian Gulf, a great spot for a drink and to later watch the sunset.

We waited a little for the heat to drop down before our visit of the adjoining Ancient Delphi, it was registering 30-37C.

Pan Hotel, Delphi.

Parked at the bottom of the holy archaeological site we could look upon the well-preserved ruins of Delphi, nestled amongst the rocks and pine trees upon the holy mountain of Parnassus.

We started the upwards ascent, Chris eventually complaining that he ‘felt like a mule’, carrying Lachlan on his shoulders.

Delphi is best known, as “the supreme oracle site of the ancient Mediterranean world”.

The earliest legends claim that Delphi was the sacred place of the earth goddess Gaia. It was guarded by her daughter, the serpent Python.

According to later Greek Myths (510-323BC), the site of Delphi was believed to be the centre of the earth.

Zeus attempting to locate the centre of the earth sent two eagles flying at equal speed from the two ends of the world.

From where their paths crossed, Zeus threw a stone from the sky. It fell at Delphi.

An even later legend claims that Apollo, the son of Zeus came from his home atop Mt. Olympus to Mt. Parnassus to slay Python.

Finally claiming the site Apollo erected his own oracular temple where he had slain Python.

An omphalos stone (meaning 'centre of the earth' to the ancient Greeks) was set in the ground, it later became the centre of the inner sanctum of the shrine of the Oracle of Delphi (the most important Oracle in the classical Greek world).

Temple of Apollo.

Theatre.

We climbed to the stadium at the top of the site, far above the temples and theatre below. It was one of the four precursor stadiums to the Olympic Games.

Here grand athletic spectacles took place during the first millennium BC. It could seat 6500 spectators.

Following behind us, loudly talking, huffing and puffing, were an American school group.

The boys were amused listening in. I now had some ammunition to recommend to Ollie that he curb the annoying American accent habit he had developed.

Stadium

Walking back down we could appreciate more the stunning setting and tranquility, there was certainly an atmosphere of peace, beauty and sacred meaning.

At the foot of the archaeological site we took a quick look at the Delphi Archaeological museum. It housed an impressive collection.

Back at the Delphi Township I took a stroll down the small main street.

I returned in time for our dinner reservation with the addition of an ‘eye’ pinned on my top. It was a shopkeeper’s gift, “for good luck”, he said.

  

We sat on the restaurant’s terrace and enjoyed both a fabulous meal and view.

We started with smoked eggplant salad, Aegean Lahanodolmades (Greek cabbage stuffed ( with fish) in lemon sauce,

feta wrapped in filo fried with balsamic pomegranate and honey sauce and carrot soup which surprisingly the kids raved about.

Then lamb, salad with Cretan cheese, rocket, spinach, chicken, honey and orange dressing. Pasta (not needed). Dessert was a strawberry soup with ice-cream and baklava.

The following morning, we were back on the road. This time a three-and-a-half-hour drive to Olympia. There were multiple offers of navigational help from lovely locals watching us pack up our car.

We left on a positive note.