Entries about cities postcards

A mid sized university town, Rethymno has an old section of narrows alleys and old houses, in various states of repair and disrepair.

We met a man in this tiny Greek church in the walls of the old city, and talked philosophy. He said he had been coming to this charming place since he was a boy.

Inside the church

The Fortezza, a Venetian Fort, parts of which date back to the 1200's, sits high on a hill overlooking the town, harbor, and the sea. It was built to protect the occupants from Barbarosa and other pirates.

We spent several hours in the warm sun of the afternoon on the grounds around the Fortezza.

Looking out at the sea from Fortezza grounds

By contrast, the modern city spreads out along the beach beyond the harbor, and has a number of hotels and cafes, many of which were closed at this time of year.

As we noticed in Heraklion, the Greeks seems to have a schedule which approximates that of the Spaniards and the Argentinians. That is, a late and big lunch between 2-4 PM, when all the stores close. Often, it seems they close between 1 PM until almost 5, but possibly because this is the off-season. Things don't get started until at least 9 or 10 PM, with dinner and music, and it is not until 11or 12, when things really get hopping.

Tonight we had dinner at Vasilli's, a tiny old place at the base of the Fortezza.

Looking up at wall around Fortezza from sea road. Vasilli"s was on the other side

We happened there yesterday afternoon when they were closed, and promised the owner we would be back the next night. He and his daughter Eleni gave us a big hug after with chatted with them, and so we were bound to return. Vasilli is a big mustachioed man, more or less our age, who used to run a restaurant close to the port, and more recently has opened this place, where mezes and tapas, are the specialities. He is a larger than life character, more or less as I imagine Zorba the Greek, which I am now re-reading after many years. Zorba it turns out, was from Crete, as was his creator Kazantzakis.

Of course at 7:20, the place was empty, but he started a fire in the tiny and smokey wood stove so that we would be comfortable. We ordered a bunch of small mezes, including his special salad, fava beans, Greek meatballs, etc., more than enough food. Around 8, a group of six friends came in, and there were smiles all around when they saw us. One of the women, Despina, came over to our table to talk. She is a young, pretty woman in her late 20's, who is a psychologist at the local hospital where she works with schizophrenic patients. Her parents are divorced, and so she is more or less on her own, and wants to complete her education in Integrative psychology. We both felt an instant connection to her, and she to us. Unfortunately her present job lasts only another two months, and like so many young people in Greece, she has no money to pursue further education, even though she is desperate to do so.

Before long, the larger group had bought us extra wine and insisted we join them and share their bottles of raki, an offer we couldn't refuse. We laughed and talked, despite their generally poor English and our non-existent Greek. Much wine and raki was consumed, and I felt a strong connection to these, and other Greek people, who seem so very warm and generous. We also spent time talking to Eleni, who at 22, is quite sophisticated and aware of what is happening, not only in Greece, but in other places. Thanks to her father's hard work, and her own, she has been fortunate to spend time in Istanbul. This is interesting, when you consider the antipathy between the Greeks and the Turks, which she clearly doesn't feel.

Harbor at sunset

I was thankful that we had spent a few days in Rethymno, despite some chilly weather. It is occasions like the dinner at Vasilli's that I most look forward to in my travels. Thank you Vasilli, for giving me this opportunity, and I hope to spend another night or two at your restaurant.

We seem to have a serendipitous knack for arriving in places during times of celebration. Heraklion, the largest city in Crete is very lively today, as this is their Independence Day, when the Greeks defeated the Turks some 200 years ago. Despite the less than ideal weather, everyone is eating and drinking outside, and very friendly. The owner of a restaurant saw us glancing at the food, and offered us a taste of charcoal broiled octopus, and some of the local hooch, raki.

We stopped to hear some music being played by some young people in a small piazza. It was all acoustic, with several lute like instruments, and mandolins, or similar sounding, and a small drum. Another young man, Migueles, told us that they were playing to raise money for a friend who needed an expensive surgery for an aneurism. We made a small donation, and then continued to talk with him. He helps to run an adventure travel agency in Crete, which takes tourists on hikes and sea kayaking around the island. He also has a brother who lives in Denver, and has been to the US on a couple of occasions to visit and travel.

The next day, also cloudy, windy and rainy, although the worst of it held off until we completed our visit to 2000 BC Knossos. The Capital of Minoan culture, which predates the Greeks by a 1000 years or so, was home to more then 100,000 people, and the residence of King Minos. Knossos is also said to be home to the Minotaur, who was locked in a labyrinth until he was slain by Theseus. On arriving, we met a young Indian couple from Mumbai, although they have lived in Cambridge, near Boston for the last 8 years. And of course, the conversation first revolved around the snow in Boston this past winter, as well as our visit to south India last year.

Many parts of the ruins were reconstructed by Evans in the late 19th century, but it is still difficult to get a sense of the grandeur of the place as much of it is incomplete.

There are some frescoes, also reconstructed from small pieces found on location, and these help to show how advanced Minoan culture was at that time.

We continue to find the Cretans a very friendly bunch. For example, we stopped in a small cafe for cappuccino, and they gave us a big plate of cookies, no charge, to go along with it. Faces light up when we attempt to say hello and thank you in a botched form of Greek, and all of the staff in our hotel, as in Victoria Inn in Athens, are helpful and engaging.

Although we have only spent a few days in Greece, it is easy to see that they are much less concerned with appearance than the Italians. As in Italy, most stores close in mid-day for several hours, which is when the biggest meal is consumed.

In Athens we stayed outside the downtown area in a small hotel, close the the business school of the University. However it was a short subway ride away from Monasteraki and the old city. The modern city has been built around the Acropolis hill and the Agora, the center of the city during Greek and Roman tImes. With the economic crisis of the past several years Athens has clearly come upon hard times. There is graffiti everywhere and many buildings in disrepair. Some students at the University told us the unemployment rate for young people is more than 60%. All of this makes Athens rather a depressing place, especially in some locations. The only major site worth seeing is the Acropolis and the area immediately around it. We had heard this from friends who had been there a few years earlier, but it was our feeling as well. On the other hand, the food was decent and the baked goods excellent. One bakery near our hotel had a round thing made with fila dough and something like Romano cheese. It looked suspiciously like a bagel, only it tasted better. I had one nearly every day we were were in town. What will happen now with Greece and the euro seems to be anyone's guess. The few people we have talked to seem to be all over the map as to what should happen. Whatever it is, I fear Greece and especially Athens will remain in the economic doldrums for quite some time.

Our first stop was Syntagma Square to see the government buildings and the changing of the guard.

The National Archeological Museum was well worth a visit.

Death mask of Agamemnon

But not surprisingly, it was the Parthenon, now under reconstruction, that we found most interesting. What I didn't know was that the city was sacked by the Persians in 480AD and the Acropolis destroyed. So this is clearly not the first time it is being reconstructed.

View from the top of Parthenon hill

Outdoor theater on Parthenon hill

The Agora, the area around the base of the Parthenon, which has several old buildings and ruins, also provides a look into ancient Greek culture.

Looking up at Parthenon Hill from the Agora

After walking around the extensive grounds of the Agora, we had built up a powerful thirst, and stopped to sample the ouzo at this factory in the old city.

The Italian portion of our trip is rapidly coming to a close. Tomorrow we drive to Rome airport and fly to Athens. We left Modica early to spend another day in Siracusa, and the women who run the B&B were delighted to see us a second time. During most of the day the rain held off so we had time to wander with Joachim and Antonette, who took the train since we didn't have room in our car. The highlight was eating lunch in the open air market where we drank Prosecco, and had some of the best mozzarella and sausage I have ever tasted. At night thunderstorms rolled in, and we holed up in a small bar, drinking Grand Marnier, and talking about whether the German temperament had anything to do with Hitler. I couldn't have asked this question of any other Germans, but felt comfortable enough to do so with the two of them. The answer was complex, in that they felt the previous generation of Germans was considerably more rigid and conformist than subsequent generations.

Here in the pleasant town of Salerno, just south of the Amalfi Coast, we finally got lucky with weather, and have had two nice days to check out the museums and hang out on the seaside promenade.

And yes, have some pastry at one of the many bakeries. There seem to be at least half a dozen on most blocks downtown.

Shopping street. No cars.

Street at dusk

Fabian, our host at the B&B apartment, has been quite agreeable and helpful, coming out to find us when we, as per usual, had trouble locating his place.

View from our room

Open air market just outside our apartment

To get to Sicily we took the ferry to Messina, which was quick and easy.

Then we drove on to Nicolosi, near the slopes of slopes of Mt. Aetna, which took hours in a driving rain. The main problem was that google maps didn't seem able to find its way on these crazy Italian roads, where there are more roundabouts than you can shake a stick at. The major roads are fine, but as soon as you get off of them, the GPS gets lost, and it doesn't help that the name of the same road seems to change every few miles. At any rate, it was cold and damp when we arrived, and so we left a day early and drove to Siracusa.

We were lucky to get some nice views of the mountain, totally snow covered, as the weather cleared overnight.

In the more distant view, you can see smoke rising from the top of this very active volcano

Siracusa turned out to be a delightful city with a mostly restored old section, Ortigya, about a ten minute walk from our B&B. Ortigya is on a small island separated from the rest of the city by a causeway. We spent most of the day there just wandering its narrow alleys and piazzas, going to the papyrus museum, and later to a crazy puppet show, in Italian, which didn't seem to make a lot of sense even when we read the plot in English.

Houses and sea wall near papyrus museum

Siracusa has a long history of several thousand years. The Greeks occupied the place for quite some time around 1000 BC to 2 or 300 BC. In fact there is still an ancient Greek amphitheater where aeschylus' plays are performed as they were during Greek times. Aeschylus lived here for a while, as did Archimedes. Siracusa was a major maritime power and Greek city/state. Eventually it was taken over by the Romans, and then the Arabs, and finally the Normans who came in around 1000 AD.

The Duomo, the towns most famous cathedral, is built on top of the columns of the Temple of Apollo, which dates to 600BC. The old columns of the temple are still quite visible, and the building is, in a word, magnificent, both inside and out.

Side view with columns still visible on the outside

Inside the building

Inside of dome,

Not quite Michelangelo, but almost

Our B and B, Siracusa, is newly opened by two very friendly women, one of whom speaks some English. We spent some time talking with them at breakfast and soon they felt like good friends. We are very happy to be staying here, and they invited us back for breakfast on our return trip to Rome in a week or so. Nanette even arranged for an inter-cambio over skype with one of the women.

Nanette with our hostess' showing off breakfast pie