Greece

If my major - Liberal Studies - had been a Girl Scout badge,
it would sport an image of the Parthenon

No posts the past two weeks because we were in warm and sunny Greece. While this adventure was definitely outside Limburg, it is a typically Dutch vacation destination. People here tend to take their holidays in sunny places like the Canary islands, Turkey, Spain and Griekenland.

We decided on our vacation destination just two weeks before departure, after considering Ireland, Barcelona and a driving trip through Germany and Austria. I'm still excited about visiting those places; maybe next year.

Gaudi's Church of the Sagrada Famila (Sacred Family), Barcelona
Photo credit Roy Stead

Normally I make pretty elaborate vacation plans, but the kids were hoping for some relaxing beach time, so we kept our itinerary simple: a three-day bus tour to some out-of-the-way ancient sites; a few days at the mainland beach town Nafplio; a couple of days in Athens; and four days on non-motorized Hydra island.

This was the first time we've tried a bus tour, so we didn't know what to expect. It was great! Not only did we have a great guide and driver, there were only 13 people on the tour (on a full size tour bus) and we were the only Americans. The only other kid in the group was the same age as our younger daughter, and they got along great (she's from New Zealand, so language wasn't a problem). Five members of our group were from Brazil, and the other was a Aussie traveling on her own.  I can't imagine a better group; we had a great time together visiting the ancient theatre at Epidaurus, the site of the original Olympic Games, and Delphi.

At the starting line of the 200m "stadia" run at the original Olympic stadium

It was hard to say goodbye to our new friends, but we were ready for a little beach time, so we boarded the Greek equivalent of Greyhound bus to Nafplio. In this seaport town and original capital of independent Greece, we found ourselves surrounded by Greeks; relatively close to Athens, Nafplio is a popular weekend getaway for Athenians (about one third of all Greek residents live in the Athens metro area). We enjoyed hiking to the hilltop fortifications, swimming in the warm and salty water of the Aegean, watching beautiful sunsets and eating tasty Greek food. If you ever get a chance to visit Nafplio, be sure to stay at the Pension Rigas and say hi to Lena for us.

View of Arvanitia beach from the hilltop fortification

Rested after our beachy sojourn, we returned to Athens to see the sights. Climbing the Acropolis was a peak experience for me, but I think the rest of the family preferred viewing it from the air-conditioned comfort of the Acropolis Museum restaurant. We really appreciated that many of the ancient sites stay open until 8 pm, since the middle of the day felt really warm to us, with temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s (high 30's Celsius). We chose to visit several wonderful museums (such as the Acropolis Museum and the National Archaeological Museum) when it was hottest, saving the sites for the early morning or evening. We even had time to ride the funicular to the top of Lycavittos Hill for a great view of Athens and the Acropolis. That was on one of the hottest days, so we followed up with some liquid refreshment, including my new favorite coffee drink, Cappuccino Freddo.

Iced espresso, lightly sweetened, topped with frothed milk foam. Yum!

Before we left for this trip, several friends (who must have been watching the news earlier this year) asked us if it's safe to visit Greece. We felt very safe, even when surrounded by camping protesters when walking through Constitution Square. Greeks are proud of their ancient democratic heritage as well as more modern democratic practices such as free and spirited public debate, and rightfully so.

Photo credit Tilemahos Efthimiadis

Athens was great, but we were ready for a break from the noise of the big city. Fortunately we had saved the most relaxing part of our trip for last. We boarded a high-speed FlyingCat catamaran to the non-motorized island of Hydra, and saw this when we disembarked:

Hydra Island is officially non-motorized

Admittedly donkeys aren't silent, but there is something relaxing about listening to them clop-clopping up the cobblestone paths. The best time of the day for donkey-watching is early in the morning, when the pack trains queue up at the waterfront to load up cases of tomatoes, bottled water and sacks of hay for deliveries all over Hydra town. We spent four very relaxing days swimming, playing cards, napping and celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary, which was a great excuse for eating more delicious Greek food (including grilled octopus, stuffed grape leaves, gyros, and the very yummy vegan giant beans).

Does anyone have a recipe? These are so good!

We loved Greece! Maybe it's the delicious food, maybe it's the warm and sunny Mediterranean climate, maybe it's the warm and friendly people. It's probably a combination of all the above and more. One thing I'm sure about: we'll be back.

Goodbye, Hydra town