Nafplio, Athens, Hydra- Our last eleven Days in Greece

Nafplio

We took the bus from Stoupa to Nafplio. Well, actually we took three buses from Stoupa to get to Nafplio. It was relatively easy and the buses were comfortable and well maintained. But the scheduling was like Mexico where you are never sure when and if the bus will come in some places, or how long it will take once you get it. The only other thing of note was how much people smoked in the bus stations, YUK.

Nafplio is a beautiful town on a bay with three Venetian forts. One is an island in the bay and the other two look down on the town. We stayed in the old section which has windy, no traffic, ally ways, interesting shops and a port. One day we spent just walking around checking out all the good views and learning a bit of the town history. It was the first capital of Greece after the war for independence in the 1820's. The first president was assassinated on one of the back streets (we saw the spot) and some how Greece got a Bavarian king after that. It was down hill for Greece from there for many years. The town had been occupied by the Venetians and Francs so the architecture is very interesting. Lots of marble stairs and squares surrounded by cafes, flowers flowing off balconies. A highlight was a gelato place, only making it more Italian feeling, where we relived our time in Sorrento, Italy by having lemonchello with our gelato.

We rented a car the next day and drove to two important ancient sites Macyene and the Theater of Epidrovis. The first is the ruin of a town that pre dates the ancient, classical Greece we learn about in school. Seeing the remains and thinking about how they built all this without the tools we have today makes you rethink what we call work.

We also visited Epvidores where there is the best preserved theater of the 135 that remain in Greece. This one was added onto by the Romans. It has amazing acoustics. Nearby are the ruins of a healing center.

I don't have any photos from here as I no longer had a camera. But soon that was solved in Athens.

Athens

The patio

In Athens we stayed with my cousin Mechthild. It was great to stay in a regular neighborhood in a home. She has a wonderful patio that is like an oasis of peace. I loved doing yoga there in the mornings. For me the weather was perfect, I wish we had warm mornings like this in Santa Cruz. Mechthild is a musician so we got to hear her practice on her many different instruments which was also a treat. The first night we went to the school where she teaches music a couple days a week. It is a German private school, similar to an American or international school. We saw the junior class put on a performance of the musical Grease. So we saw Grease in German, but songs sung in English, presented in Greece. Pretty weird but very well done and fun. Another slice of life here.

Mechthild is a good tour guide. We took a walk around the Acropolis one evening with excellent views around Athens. We also went out to a Taverna one night and heard some Greek folk music. Anika was tired so we went home early and only got a taste of the second band, Gypsy, Klezmer great folk jazz, hard to describe but sounded great.

Dave and Anika with the Acropolis complex behind them

Sunset above Athens

Anika meditating above Athens

First music performance in Taverna

We also visited the Archeology museum. There we got more of a feeling for the development of ancient Greek art and culture over time. You can see the influence of Egyptian art on Greek art among other things. I came to better appreciate the detail and level of delicacy of Greek ancient art seeing all these pieces up close. The majority of the work were sculptures, ceramics jewelry or other adornments but there were a couple of frescoes. Some gold. Many were really beautiful.

Objects from the archeology museum

The next day we went to the Acropolis and the Acropolis museum. Again it was a walk back in time that left you wondering how they did all this as well as amazement that it has lasted so long. Of course there is constant preservation work going n but the structures have survived near complete destruction multiple times. I hate to admit this but the first time I came to Greece, 26 years ago (how to feel old) I did not go to the Acropolis. The opportunity came at the end of that trip and I guess the young (dumb ) me was tired of seeing ruins. You can start to feel like there is a famous pile of rocks everywhere you turn in Greece. This time I was not going to make the same mistake and I was glad I did not.

Close up of decoration from a theater seat

Mechthild, Dave and Anika cheering on the show at one of the theater ruins next to the Acropolis

Colorful paving stones

Mechthild in front of one of the many piles of ancient pieces. these were all ends of pillars.

Mechthild, Anika and I in front of the Parthenon

Roof tops from the edge of the Acropolis

After wondering around the Acropolis complex we headed for the Acropolis museum. This is a really well designed museum with many artifacts from the site. It highlights how much has been hauled away by other countries, England and France being big offenders in this regard. The building is all glass on the side facing the Acropolis so you can look out and see where everything came from at almost any point. Another great design point is the walkway leading into the building. It's made of glass so you can see the excavations taking place underneath the building. Like most construction in Athens the construction of this museum unearthed many other finds. Even the metro stops have displays of the artifacts found while building them.

All this ancient splendor really makes you wonder about where Greece is now. They country has had wars, occupations, natural and man made devastation, dictators, many governments and now economic collapse. How did it go fro the height of civilization being the most prosperous and influential to struggling for centuries to find stability and prosperity again? will we learn anything from this?

These two guys from the Congo were playing on a side street near the Acropolis. I bought their CD. They were great. (Got to go to Africa!)

Hydra
When in Greece you have to go to an island. I went to four the last time I was here, 25 or so years ago. This time we picked Hydra because it is one of the closest to Athens and there are no cars. We were not disappointed.

There is not much to do on Hydra besides eat great food, watch beautiful sunsets, swim in clear water, lie around reading a book in the shade or sunshine, walk along the coast or in the hills. It will not sounds beautiful when I describe it Hydra is a rocky, mostly barren, hilly island with no natural fresh water, edged with rocky cliffs and rocky beaches. But it is one of the most beautiful places I have been. I can only describe it with the word delicious, it felt delicious to me, to all of my senses. It was a magical place to end our time in Greece.

Dave is always communing with the animals. Donkeys are used to move everything around Hydra as there are no cars.

One of many beautiful sunsets

Harbor. See how clear the water is?

On a walk, ancient bridge in the background

My favorite Hydra beach