Hellas, Greece

After the unique experience of travelling European countries, I thought that also here the standard Train and Tourist Info operate flawlessly. However, the response from the Train Info Officer on a request for the train departure timetables for Athens, to which he replied, "Mister, call seven one one" and after the repeated request at the Tourist Info and the answer "Mister, call seven one one", after my decision to really call “Seven one one”, and after realizing that this just didn’t work out, we went to Athens on a horribly stinky train which looked more like a tram. Still, we managed to get a few affirmative responses that the train is really going to Athens, and we were sure that we managed to translate the Greek letters on our tickets into the word “Athens”. At one point the train stopped and everyone went out of the train. To our surprise we were not in Athens, but by the end of a parking lot, where we were directed to enter a bus. As everybody went into that bus, we went too. After a while, the bus stopped. Everybody went out of the bus and disappeared. After that the bus disappeared. We were in a village 15 kilometers from Athens.

We traveled to Greece with an alternative Interrail link, a ship from Ancona to Igoumenitsa. A great and luxury big ship with a swimming pool with salt water, a huge balcony on the stern with a view at the sunset, wine, socializing with travelers, more wine and sleeping outdoors on the balcony under the stars.

Superfast, our link from Ancona (Italy) to Igoumenitsa (Greece). The ride, 23 hours.

The view from the ship terrace at the stern.

Wine, socializing and sleeping under the starry sky.

The Parthenon, an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Athena from the 5th century BC on the Acropolis, a small hill in the heart of Athens. Like most sites, always in scaffolding.

Odeon of Herod Atticus, the only monument in the Acropolis along with the Parthenon which has its own distinctive shape. In the background, the huge city-village of Athens.

Apart from the Athenian Acropolis, the majority of the sights in Athens are scattered throughout the city. You can buy an all-in-one ticket for all major sights. The price is 12 EUR for ordinary people, 6 EUR for students and “for free” for students from the European Union. This made me very surprised, angry and led me to think that everyone should have a right for knowledge, and if we “humble people” outside of this intergovernmental and supranational community of European states can pay for it then also these Germans in the picture above can. The picture shows the Temple of Zeus, or what is left of it. Two pillars stand, one is on the ground.

The Temple of Zeus, or what is left of it. Two pillars stand, one is on the ground.

Cooking outdoors in the park.

After we passed through Patras and the Peloponnese to Athens, we headed to the Cyclades, a group of islands in the Aegean Sea. With time we got used to sleep on ships. One observation and advice is that you do not accidentally try to sleep near exhaust openings of the ship engines.

The distinctive look of architecture and external design of buildings on the islands. Everything is full of old well-preserved windmills and buildings in blue and white attire. Perhaps the blue and white color combination is because of the national flag, or more likely to protect against mosquitoes that reject this kind of blue color.

Arrival at Pharos, one of the jewels of the Cyclades, perfect for holiday or kite and wind surfing because of the constant wind.

Idyllic beaches.

Excellent local food. Gyros, bread, meat, onion, tomato and Tzatziki sauce, a combination of yogurt or sour cream, garlic, cucumbers, salt and pepper.

Ouzo, a local hard liquor made from anise. You can find it in all sort of small bottles and large bottles, barrels and tanks similar to oil bottles, in some tanks and some tin cans like buckets of paint for the walls. Interesting is the "Ouzu effect " or "The effect of spontaneous emulsification", a phenomenon which occurs when you add ice cubes to the Ouzu. The drink is at room temperature transparent. When you add the ice cubes it becomes milky white.

Ios, a party Island. On the beach, almost no one, the people sleep up to 14:00 pm when again the party starts. I wake up at night for a piss, and two girls sleep beside our tent on the floor. I wake up again in the morning, the girls have disappeared, but another guy appeared on a mattress. :)

And finally a bit of Greek local music ..

This example is from Patras. We tried to catch some sleep under a bench at the railway station. But the festivities lasted until the early morning hours, so we joined in.