May 2009

Travel these hills on foot, by bike, scooter, bus or train and park the car.
Italian public transportation is very doable and entertaining with one warning! Learn the procedure and it changes within the regions and cities.

For Italian train travel, remember to ALWAYS validate your ticket on the yellow machine somewhere found in the station before you get aboard. We bought our train ticket to Florence at the Rome Termini Tourist Booth and they never shared this useful information. The Italian ticket police who came around on that trip leg were not amused by our lack of travel knowledge and showed little patience with ignorant tourists.
Thanks to newly made friend Aida on the train we now get it. The train tickets bought in Italy are totally open as are the Florence bus tickets , but they are not fully validated until clicked at the yellow box. Since checking is sporadic one could take a chance and re-use the same ticket over and over again and be vulnerable to potential, consequential fining, which was never our intent. We gladly pay the very reasonable bus and train fare but please make it more explainable at the onset so that angry ticket police stops waving the 50 Euro fine in tourist faces while muttering “ Stupid Americano” upon parting.
It is their temperament which makes the Italians stand out, not their patience.

For us , public transportation remains a great way of seeing a country while learning its culture and language. My take on the Italian language is that it is made up of English words with a vowel attached at the end. These vowels are anything but silent and I love repeating the words seen in passing, letting the consonants roll with a good vowel rip. Reading it sure is easier than trying to understand the fast speaking Italians but we are improving. They do appreciate our attempt and the “grazi “ sounds sincere. While the train tickets can be bought through vending machines, the Florence city bus tickets are bought at the Tobacco store. Not a good place to head for daily if one is trying to break the nicotine habit but sniffing the air around us, very few in Italy and Europe are concerned about the health hazard of smoking and continue to puff widely.

Florence is obviously not very influenced by the world’s economy since the lines(now called queues) to enter the sights, are very long, even this early in the season.
Mystifying somewhat. What is it that this city offers? The food is indeed good but the food is good anywhere in Italy. Florence claims to have been the backdrop to the birth of many men of genius whose designs and sculptures now mark the city’s small historic center as owning the largest concentration of artistic masterpieces in the world. We gathered this information of course from a Firenzi guide but are quite agreeable to the statement after spending days touring the Uffizi Gallery, Pallazo Vecchio, Santa Maria Novella etc.etc. I am slowly recognizing the sculptures by the lack of fig leaves. Florence center can easily be done on foot if one does not mind crowds, heat and noise. We crossed the Ponte Vecchio ( famous bridge) over the Arno river which separates some of the Florence sights and gratefully walked away from the crowds to climb Piazzale Michelangelo which offers a great and quiet view of the city. On the way back down I braved the crowds and once more stood in line for an inside view of an Italian Church, this time Florence Duomo, one of Italy’s most famous monuments and the world’s fourth largest cathedral. Earlier in the day we had seen a close-up of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore’s, the Battistero and bell tower. In Italy, even while sharing a name, piazza and same unique nougat façade , the entrance of one does not guarantee the entrance to the other and all ask for a separate ticket and waiting in line.
Tom had seen the inside of the Dome before and happily bailed out while I walked to the end of the line only to see a very disturbing sight. Books and fellow travelers had warned us of the number of beggars gathered around Italy’s major sights which of course are the churches, and I observed the woman in front of me very uncomfortably protecting her purse while another, obviously upset and loudly gesticulating begging woman was demanding not only her attention but something else. Emphasis was made through lifting a shirt and baring a maybe lactating breast and while not understanding the cardboard sign the beggar held or the angry, non Italian, words spoken I assumed it to be an emphasis on having to feed a child, overall a disturbing sight. It all happened within seconds and the tourist in front of me was very bewildered, especially when upon non compliance, the parting act was a generous being spat on. While assisting her in wiping down the saliva I asked her why she had been singled out and heard from a co-waiter that she had made the mistake of making eye-contact. Up and down the line, in different languages, heads were nodded. “ Never make eye-contact!” Chatting more I learned that the woman spat on was Dutch and had no clue what had been asked of her and beyond becoming very frightened mentioned that the woman had made her feel guilty. I spent 15 more minutes in the Duomo’s line while it never moved forward listening to fellow tourists, my closest ones were from New York and Amsterdam who shared how in their own cities they never visit the sights marked out for tourists. I listened to the Dutch woman who again shared how the beggar, the begging episode, had made her feel.
I wondered, can some one else make us feel guilty or do we allow others to make us feel guilty?
Who makes us feel guilty?
The yoke of guilt can be handed to us but ultimately we make the decision to hang it around our neck.
It was during those 15 minutes I made the decision to no longer remain in line to pay and see a church , or any house meant for prayer while certain limiting conditions are in place.
We have seen many churches, mosques and temples during our travels. Whether it was the Torah, Bible or Koran the recipe for spiritual contentment, for hope, love and controlling human passion remains pretty equal. Their message is always straight from God but via a different messenger.
The twistenedness comes that it was in the countries where we visited neither temples, mosques , nor churches, there where very few claim to live within the Holy books, it was there where we found God’s basic message fully lived.
Love thy neighbor!

Granted, many churches here in Italy are filled with historic art we have not yet seen but from now on the only art we want to see is either created by nature or in a kitchen.
We are duomo’d, battisired and pallazo’d out.
The apartment we rented in Florence is owned by Italian chef “ Massimo” who a couple of years ago moved to Dallas, Texas, together with his American wife Kristy. They kept their Florence apartment as their home, while in Italy, and rent it out when in America. We found their listing on internet and it was the opening line, mentioning Massimo as an Italian chef which made us look closer. We had just finished reading “ Kitchen Confessions” by Anthony Bourdain, another chef, and while absolutely not making propaganda for a very outlandish and potentially “offensive for some “ book with his use of very imaginative words , we checked Massimo and Kristy’s listing closer through the sheer coincidence. Thank goodness we did. We enjoyed our time in their apartment. It is very close to the center of Florence and with its two (sixth floor) balconies let us live Italian. In the morning it is the balcony facing East which gives a peek of the city while slowly drinking a whole pot of coffee with a sun, not yet too hot . This same balcony is great later in the day drinking good Chianti wine while the West balcony (off the kitchen) can bake the laundry dry. Sunrises have been missed since the sun rises way too early now for our travel clock and the late setting sun is blocked by the other high rise apartments. Kristy wins the award for preparing the tourist to her home and city with all the information left behind. Trips were taken to see the Tuscan Hills and surrounding towns with easy daily jumps on buses or trains. Fiesole was a great sight. Next to Piazzale Michelangelo, it is considered the other famous hill that surrounds the heart of Florence. We liked it because it is definitely more quiet, the Franciscan monks were very inviting and opened up their monastery without asking for money or making us change clothes . In the heart of Fiesole we learned that it was here that Leonardo da Vinci in 1501 attempted his dream of human flight. On a clear day one can probably see forever or at least have a better view of Florence but alas, a clear day we did not have.
Pisa was another stop and we are debating between two words describing our first view of the famous leaning tower of Pisa on the Campo del Miracoli ( Field of miracles).
Endearing or comical? Either way, we burst out laughing. The leaning tower of Pisa is indeed still very much doing that and we are sure that Pisa is very grateful for the architectural error since there is not much else to draw these crowds. We believe this leaning is not limited to the tower but that the cup- cake shaped baptistery and matching, dazzling white cathedral are all slightly off kilter, or maybe we are.
Pisa is a quiet city to wander through after getting away from its leaning, crowded sight and like the rest of Italy has lots of terraces so legs can be rested and sips of wine taken . That was our course of action after the decision to no longer pay for church entrance. To view the inside of the Pisa church, tower and baptistery costs 25 Euros, somewhat around US$35.00 and a tad too ridiculous.

The Tuscan country side is beautiful , green hills, blue skies and the poppies have followed us here. Now that we know the travel rules and faithfully click our tickets to validation of course no ticket police has been seen since.
At our apartment Kristy and Massimo left cards for restaurants they recommend in Florence and we totally trusted a bone fide chef to send us to the right place in Florence. For an early birthday celebration we ventured out to Accademia Ristorante on Piazza S. Marco and Tom and I both agreed that it was the best meal ever consumed. Leaving the choice of our wining and dining to chef Gianni was another good decision and this birthday dinner will be hard to top. Each wine was carefully chosen to compliment the food on our plate and palate and everything we previously heard and read about Florence cuisine came through.

For our last couple of days in Italy we decided to head up to Cinque Terre , a coastal region not far from the port of La Spezia. On Christmas 2007, we received a bitter sweet present from Cinque Terre in the form of a calendar made up of pictures taken that year by my nephew Ben who died only months after he hiked the five tiny Cinque Terre coastal villages of Riomaggiore, Manorola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso.
Ben, we do not have your eye, or talent in capturing the beauty you did with your camera, but we gave it a try and are thankful for you letting us know of Italy’s most beautiful spot. The views of the coast are spectacular as is the rich flora. Our days in Italy have been quite hot and the swim taken in the Mediterranean Sea after the hike felt great.,

Friday we head by train back to Rome for one more night in our favorite B&B Cecare Balbo before catching a May 30 plane for Dusseldorf, Germany where we plan to hook up with my dad so our birthdays can be celebrated together this year.

Ciao Italy, it has been bella!

Tom and Els

This past week there have been times that in the middle of the night we wake up wondering where we are. Our pace has been quite fast these last few weeks with countries visited and Italy’s pace of life is contributing

What can be said about Rome besides …Ahhhh.
Our plane landed late Monday night, it was delayed leaving Vienna. BTW, the Vienna airport is one great shopping mall and while waiting , there is lots to see with enticement to buy. We made reservations in Rome a while back at B&B Cecaro Balbo which included a driver pick up from the airport at an extra price but well worth it when arriving late in a city one does not yet know. The Rome airport is quite a ways out and gave our driver lots of straight stretches to reach speeds of 160Km while steering with his knees, after all when an Italian driver has his cell phone in the left hand he needs the other hand to gesticulate with. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, buckle up and take a very deep breath. We had no idea of Cecaro Balbo’s great location and were pleasantly surprised when driver Antonio suddenly started pointing out famous landmarks including the collosseum where he slammed on the brake, to avoid running a red light. At this so historical ruin the road has three lanes to accommodate the extra traffic but Tom counted 7 cars, side by side, all revving their engines to be the first out of the block and not surprisingly, our Antonio sped off first with a big grin. Had we hired the next Mario Andrettti ?
Our very small Cecaro Balbo hotel is in an historical building steps away from Santa Maria Maggiore church and an absolute treasure to stay in while in Rome. It appeared a little creepy at first, no sign what so ever and the only light came from a distant streetlight reflecting back from the cobble stones. Huge oak doors and a bell and after a ringing, the doors creakingly, slowly opened only to reveal a large marbled hall separated by a black iron gate. It felt like entering Frankenstein’s castle. With a pop the gate opened and from a side door a face showed still fitting the scene with words we did not quite understand except “ Stricklands?”. That’s how we met Glenn, and after three days at his place (we may have been be the only guests) are convinced it is the place to be in while in Rome and have already booked for our only night back in Rome next week. Glenn is originally from the Philippines and besides bringing us cappuccinos at 8.00 am every morning showed us what routes to walk and what buses to take so all the Rome sights could be seen. The weather was great, warm and sunny, almost too hot and after spending 8 hours touring the Colloseum, Arch of Constantine, the Palatino , Trevi fountain, Piazza del Popolo, Pantheon and most all the sites right of the River Tiber, we took a cool refuge at Cesaro Balbo. Within its quiet thick walls and slanted brick ceilings, double windows with louvered shutters, we took a three hour nap and now understand siestas. Later that night another approach was taken to see Rome’s sights and that is to comfortably sit back on a small terrace eating the best ice cream ever and watching it happen. The Italian men remain charming and I wonder how the Italian women put up with them. Parking and the fight for a spot becomes entertaining and our hats off to those who can park in footage designed for cycles, admitting that some of the cars are the exact same size as a motor cycle.
Our second Rome day was devoted to the Vatican City and while Tom was in Rome before and saw this sight upon his arrival in Europe in the early seventies, for me it was a first. If we had checked better we would have known that every Wednesday the Pope gives his address to the audience assembled in the square in front of St. Pietro Basilica . Leave it to us to be totally unaware, only happily surprised to hear the pope speak while entering the square and equally oblivious about needing a ticket do sit down and receive the papal blessing in Italian, German and English before listening to that day’s choir which was the Dutch women’s choir from Volendam all dressed in the authentic Volendam clothing. One can only smile and be thankful to all who hold us up in prayer and let us fly by the seat of our pants to know that our moment in time at the Vatican was right. It being a Wednesday may have added to the crowd with whom we were herded and hushed through the museum and Sistine Chapel. Hours can be lost there, or gained, but seeing the art collected by the Vatican , then or recent, and the crick in our neck awing over Michelangelo’s soaring dome is worth the pain.
St. Pietro Basilica is a church I have wanted to enter for many years. With my given name of Petronella and having been baptized, received first communion and confirmation in St. Petrus Kerk , Uden , the Netherlands, and consciously confirmed at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Conway, Arkansas, spending time at the grounding tomb was good.

Within our original Italy plans was a hooking up in Tuscany with friends Cathy and Charley. Even well made plans sometimes go awry without our control and while we will not share this time now, we look forward to sharing good time with them in the Holler and any place we find together.
Little more tid bit on why we are taking trains in Italy. While still in Santorini, Greece, hiking from Fira to Oia, Tom’s right eye contact lens started bothering him and he attempted a removal. Never, ever do this while still walking and never ever think the lens is out unless you can see it in your hand. During our crossing of the Aegean Sea, by ferry back to Athens, Tom’s eye slowly started swelling , shut down and only oozed.
Our first Athens trip, the second time around, was to the hospital minutes away from the London Glyfada Hotel. While we knew our hotel had pre- warned the clinic it was still astounding that the eye- doctor walked in the hall way, looked for us, saw Tom and his obvious need and took him in without asking for a name , passport or credit card number, and treated him strictly with the skills he had. After Tom‘s eye was seen to and patched the only English spoken was “ You! Back! Tomorrow”., which we did and again we were picked out of a crowded hall way by this doctor and seen to without any information, papers or any money exchanged.
Tom had a need which the doctor by oath fulfilled.
Truly unbelievable but experienced firsthand, in Greece when a tourist needs emergency medical care it is taken care off, even with us having insurance it was never asked for, no money was exchanged, a true phenomena.

Tom asked me to display all my medical discomforts on our travels, which I will even if they did not need medical interventions but were equally painful.

In Thailand I acquired travelers diarrhea, and now know why it is called such, it travels with you from country to country and can only be absolved through taking the prescribed drugs/antibiotics that were all along in my pack.
I broke two toes. The littlest ones on my right foot, on two different occasions, both involving marble steps while wearing flip-flops. Marble is unforgiving.
Broken toes heal on their own while the black and blue color is unnoticeable on a tanned foot.

Our next stop and stay now is the in the Tuscan hills where we have an apartment waiting in Florence.

Arriverderci,

Tom and Els

While in Greece, daily we must say, we ate a Greek salad, that wonderful concoction of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, green peppers ,capers, olives and all topped with at least a pound of fresh feta and drizzled with the oil of olives picked next door and while sopping it up with fresh crusty bread, beyond wondering why we even ordered an additional entrée, we talked about the name. Why is a Greek salad called such in Greece? Should it not simply be called the chef’s salad there?
In Vienna, every schnitzel is called a Wiener Schnitzel while we do not know what in the heck they mean. Is it just any piece of meat? With or without rib meat? Lamb or veal, chicken, turkey, pork or beef , breaded or not, fried or grilled, stuffed or unstuffy it is called a wiener schnitzel! While still not knowing, we have enjoyed learning and Vienna, with only 72 hours, is the place to find out.
Three days in Austria is not near enough to give the country justice but we sure gave it a try. Upon arrival at the airport we learned of the Wien-Karte (Vienna card) and for 13.00 Euros, a pass can be bought which gives 72 hours unlimited use of Vienna’s large metropolitan public transportation system and we hopped off and on buses, trains, trams moving all at times under, above and way above Vienna while all leaving and arriving with great Austrian/German engineering efficiency. Spend 5 Euros more and the ticket includes many extras like discounts for all the sights to see. With this great system in place it is no wonder that the air is clean since fewer cars are bothering driving around. Flying over Austria this late in a spring where they received an abundance of rain and sunshine is like flying over one gigantic park.
The Geblergasse hotel where stayed very comfortably for our days in Vienna is only a 5 minute walk from the Alser Strasse Underground exit and the walk is so much more enjoyable when not carrying heavy bags. Friday evening we wandered around , learning our perimeters and marveling over Vienna’s calm, composed atmosphere and Saturday was spent catching in turn Tram 1 and 2 which circle the city’s main attractions adjacent to the Donau canal. It rained our first morning there and dressed in shorts and t-shirts as if we were still in Santorini was a cold mistake. We huddled on the Ringstrasse tram and toured the city twice before braving off. The tram conductor must be used to tourists like us and never uttered a word about our lengthy stay. There is so much to see in Vienna and the Wiener-Card Coupon book gave us great instructions on how to reach each sight and many are closely clustered around the Hofburg square and the Osterreichischen Nationalbibliothek (National library). Even on a rainy Saturday these places were packed and many tourists hopped on available, horse drawn , covered carriages. There are way too many museums to mention and we have regrets on our shortage of time and not the foresight to book tickets to hear the Wiener Sangerknaben or see the training of the Lipzannaner horses at the Spanische Hofreitschule while we were so nearby. Long before we reached the famous Vienna Rathaus we heard loud music and not the Mozart or Strauss sounds expected. Instead it was a Rock and roll sound check for the Life Ball which was held in front of the Rathaus last Saturday and drew a crowd of 40.000 later in the evening. It is Europe’s extravagant Aids charity event geared to spread the message that Aids is a weapon of mass destruction and what is needed to turn its tide, We were not able to get tickets but our Arkansas friend Bill Clinton was one of the VIPs and later that night we saw some of the show live on TV. Our pictures of the Rathaus covered with the Life Ball stage are quite unique and we are glad to have seen this monument used productively. We spent most of our Saturday evening walking the Donau and found all 4! There is the Donau canal , close to the center with the Donau river a couple of Underground stops away split by the New Donau River through an enjoyable walk- able isle. We were determined to still find the old Donau and in the end found it the least impressive. How many Donau’s should one have?

When we first arrived in Austria last Friday it was so good to be able to read the signs and understand (mostly) the spoken German words. It was a little disconcerting that upon my speaking what I presumed to be quite understandable German, the Austrians would immediately answer in English . My German must not be what I think it is. I decided to stick with my guns though and kept conversing in German even while noticing the painful look on their faces. My German will not get any better if I am not allowed to practice. I do wonder how often I have done the same and discouraged others from learning Dutch by not allowing them to speak in a language foreign to them because it hurt my ears.

The highlight of our short trip to Vienna was connecting back with Helga, an Austrian woman whom we briefly met on a New Zealand beach in early February. At that time we shared a rainy ocean swim and our meal. Helga then mentioned for us to contact her if our travels would bring us closer and they did. We met Helga last Sunday morning at Schloss Shonbrunn , the magnificent summer palace of the Habsburgs and still kept in its shining glory. We could not have had a better guide to take us through the gardens and show us the views. Afterwards Helga drove us south to the city of Baden where the former Emperors family ’s Kur park and Casino are still drawing crowds to hear the music of Strauss and Mozart surrounded by the park’s greenness.
In Baden Helga showed us the specific Austrian signs which lead locals and tourists to homes where authentic made food and wine can be consumed in a comfortable, home/garten setting and Helga treated us to a Bunschenank. While we were sharing the great breads, spreads and wine Helga promised us to many months earlier we commented on the great fact of sharing meals in some one’s private back yard while bringing mans’ best friends, their dogs. The couple next to us, with their dog, overheard our conversation done in both German and English and introduced us to their language . Liz, born and raised in Kansas and her Austrian husband Otto showed us how both our languages together, called Germish , can be spoken well .
Liz and I had a great time passing back and forth the humor Americans have for those living in Kansas and we are adding Liz as another great Kansas person to know. Our Kansas friends Jeannie, Annette and Bill should know that now with meeting Liz the scale is favorably tipping for Kansas.

Tonight, while writing about our Schnitzel days, we already are in Rome but Rome wanderings will have to wait for another day.
It was Helga who showed us another way, another word for saying Schuss, auf wiedersehen, good-bye or tot ziens. All words containing that we have a hope to see each other again.
Helga gave us the Austrian word of Servus, an ancient word meaning that while we may not see each other again on this earth we honor and treasure every moment we spent together.

Servus Helga, Vienna and Austria.

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With our time here in Santorini and Greece drawing to a close we took stock of all the extra’s we accumulated in the last 5 countries and were still hauling with us. It was time to put a package together and send it home. Finding the local post office is way more difficult than emergency medical care and many steps were taken on the Santorini Island before our box could be sent. It is a veiled gift . Our children, to whom this was sent are not allowed to open the box beyond the Nepali veil, covering their Christmas gifts. On the very top is a small clear package which contains 5 pouches, holding the coins of Thailand, Nepal, India, Turkey and Greece, the countries we have traveled in these last weeks.
They have been faithfully collected for our favorite son in law, Mr. Corbitt, and his class at Simon Intermediate school in Conway, Arkansas. While now in Euro land, we have learned that not all Euros are equal as pointed out to us in a small Santorini store where the owner showed us the Greek mark on the coins and maybe after Greece we will no longer see the 1 and 2 Euro cent coins. The Nepali pouch of coins is still the most special to us, partly because of the difficulty in aquiring them. In Nepal, rupee coins are rarely seen and passed and even for the smallest denominations, 1, 2 or 5 rupees, worth pennies each, tattered bills are now much more common which makes it hard to believe that as recent as 1953, when Sir Edmund Hillary scaled Mount Everest an 30 extra Sherpa porters hauled the coins needed to pay for his expedition since at that time rupee bills were still unheard of in Nepal . In our Nepal coin bag is a small piece of chocolate. It was the tender rendered for 1 rupee when the store did not have the correct change and seeing the pile of chocolates in the cash register drawer, very acceptable.

We ended our time in Santorini with that we did most of and that was walking. The island invites one to this, blasted as it was to smithereens by volcanic activity it leaves one side with sheer cliffs while on the other side gently sloping back to the sea, allowing black and red sand beaches for the tourists to bake on. Our most favorite walk was the 15km hike from Fira to the town of Oia, built along the rim of the caldera wall and known for a spectacular sunset. Walking through the narrow alleys, terraced on cliffs showed us the roof arches of Santorini, all whitewashed or painted the church blue and there to offset the other Santorini phenomena which is the hidden flat basins each arched roof carries to catch and utilize every raindrop which falls on this extremely dry island. Slightly tilted, each roof has a drain which carries the rare , fresh water to a cistern deep below each house. On top one could also see the stainless steel hot water tanks attached to the solar panels which gave us many good hot showers. It is amazing how an island without fresh water and limited rain days can maintain its greenness, flowers and grape crops for the Santos wine. We mentioned earlier the lowness of the grape bushes, barely 2 feet in height so as to be protected from the Santorini wind which is strong, fierce and as the few trees show, blows from one direction only.
We took the “See Santorini in one day” tour and had a reenergizing blast. The tour involved a visit to the prophet Elias monastery built on the highest point of the island in 1711 AD and of course the view was breathtaking. In the Athinios port we boarded the old King Thiras boat which took us first to the island of Nea Kameni which is still an active volcano and the walk around and on the volcano involves clambering on lava with lots of tourists and not all were sufficiently warned that on this hike no donkeys were available. Afterwards the boat sailed to the small island of Palia Kameni,where we were offered a swim in the green, hot sulfur waters flowing behind the active crater. This became quite comical. The King Thiras boat stopped quite a way back from the island and we were all offered the opportunity to jump in, swim through the very cold , early spring Aegean waters for 15 meters( give or take a couple of 100 meters) before enjoying bathtub warm, orange and white speckled sulfur waters and some of us did. That’s when true bonding starts with your fellow passengers; Chinese, Dutch, Australian, American and Greek all sound alike when only shrieks of pain and moans of joy are heard when the water temperature abruptly changes from 10 to 35 degrees Celsius. The swim back to the King Thiras became a race since only cold water was a certainty on the return. The island of Thirassia was visited next and we hiked up to the village of Manalos and wondered when the tour company will start warning tourists that their day program is quite a work out. In Santorini donkeys are of course ready and willing to take you up the 600 or so vertical steps with at least many more horizontal steps in between but even while knowing how it boosts the Santorini economy, we struggle with having these tiny donkeys carry our big bodies up. Port Athinos was built only 40 years ago when Santorini realized that the port of Fira was not conductive in attracting the tourists, not even the donkeys could carry all the luggage and there was no room for the winding road needed to carry the big buses and their load up which now is in place. It is in Athinios where the big ferries stop. Fira still has its port for the daily cruise ships and some years ago a smart business man built a steep cable car to take the tourist up and down which of course drew the wrath of the donkey owners. Lately a happy compromise has been reached in Santorini, the cable car owner gives twenty percent of his profit back to the donkey owners who sit waiting for the few costumers still wanting the authentic ride up the many steps.

What stands out for us in Santorini is not the sunset we watched in Oia with many others but instead the full moon slowly starting its arch over the Caldera nighttime blue.
It is the time spent in the village of Karterados, walking, waiting for buses, buying bread and seeing the town’s people white washing for the summer to come. It is in the greetings we received and gave back to those who recognized us as travelers who stayed on Santorini for longer than a couple of days.
Santorini is not only a place to live but a place to be and with both fondness and sadness we sailed yesterday back to Athens and spent one more night there, this time on the Southern Athens beach of Glyfada before flying to Austria tomorrow.

Let’s hear if the hills are truly alive with the sound of music.

Yassu and thank you Greece!

Tom and Els
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Greece welcomed us at the end of May first with a glorious sunset, visible from our taxi which was careening at speeds of 120 KM on the 80 KM roads but our driver was in there by far not alone. Upon landing at the Athens airport we learned of the public transportation strike held but thankfully taxis were exempt. Earlier in the day, while leaving Istanbul we became aware of the May first status as a national Holiday in Turkey and the protestations and conflicts which resulted later after our departure. Taking a shuttle bus to the Istanbul airport we met a fellow traveler from the Netherlands, living not far from my old home town who told us about the mayhem which happened the day before in the Dutch town of Apeldoorn on Koneginne Dag (Queens Day). How 7 people died with many more wounded when in a deranged moment, by car, an attempt was made on the lives of the Dutch Royal Family and while they survived physically, it will change how a country looks at safety and protection and April 30 will never be seen and celebrated the same. At the root of what happened in Turkey, Greece and the Netherlands the same ailment can be found. Fear of existence in a world where many are losing their jobs and homes. Still, it was not the world’s economy which filled Tom’s hospital room with its CNN sounds but non-stop reports of the swine-Mexican-H1N1 flu. Traveling by air on May first brought it even closer, many people were seen in both the Istanbul and Athens airport wearing a filtering mask and at the Athens airport it was not a stamp which was placed in our passport but a flyer from the Hellenic Centre for Disease control and prevention, alerting us to swine flu in humans and what all to avoid, including visiting swine breeding locations and not to cover sneezes and coughs with hands, instead with upper arms.

It is every year that many people die all over the world from different strains of the flu and its complications so we have decided to not add it as an additional worry to our travels but stay very focused on where the bus and taxi drivers are coming from out of narrow alley corners because they still remain our most immediate danger.

Returning to Athens, to Greece was very monumental to Tom and I. In the fall of 1973 we were here. It was our very first trip together at the prill age of barely 20 (Els) and almost 22 (Tom). We see our return as a successful completion of a trip around the world starting many years ago and that the next two European months are an extra. While our return to Athens almost 36 years later may be significant to us, wandering around the Acropolis last Saturday, seeing the Parthenon and Athena’s temple once again, monuments which more than any other epitomizes the glory of Ancient Greece in the 5th Century BC reminds us that in their grand scheme of time we are merely a dot. Spending the day retracing our steps we again became enthralled with the grace and harmony found in the Parthenon even while most of it was surrounded in scaffolding for reconstruction purposes. In 438 BC, in an attempt to achieve perfect form the Parthenon lines were ingeniously formed to counteract unharmonious optical illusions. “The base curves upwards slightly towards the ends, and the columns become slightly narrower towards the top with the overall effect of making them both look straight“.
Simply not much different from the grace and allowances we make in relationships so that harmony can appear.

We booked our Athens stay at the Apollo Hotel on Archilleos Street and while it boasted an Acropolis view from some of the balconied rooms we were so surprised when it actually did. Traveling as long as we have and booking on internet we have become quite skeptical. I have walked down to the reception desk upon arrival and showed them the picture advertised on internet only to say” THIS is the room we want to stay in tonight and where are you hiding it? ‘ En suite’ should mean the bathroom is attached to the room and not a flea infested , squatter toilet without paper two floors up. The Apollo hotel was great, the view was more than promised as was the walking distance to Athen’s great sights. With Tom only having been discharged from the hospital the day before we limited our wanderings and took many rests which in Athens are a sight in itself.. Again here, as in Turkey, they are at the early beginning of a hopeful successful tourist season and prices are still lower. For some unexplainable reason so far, last Saturday, May 2, none of the sights in Athens charged admissions including the Acropolis, Ancient Agora, Roman Agora and museums which was highly appreciated by us, even more so after traveling in countries where as tourists we usually were charged up to 10 times more. The money saved was of course spent on a very good meal and surrounded by street vendors we were highly entertained while the sun once again colorfully set over Athens. Street vendors carry their wares in sheets which make good displays on the ground and somewhere an extra set must be hid since the wares offered are immediately changed when the weather does, which quickly can in early May Greece .

Our trip in Greece this time is different. We are of course older but probably no wiser. In 1973 we landed in Rhodes and slowly traveled our way up by ferries to Athens while stopping and staying at the islands of Kos, Leros and Myconos. We remember the ferries very fondly, broke as we were then (and now) we traveled steerage which today is called economy class. In 1973 the ferry boats were not the luxury 8 deck monsters which now give us an idealic crossing of the Aegean Sea ,watching islands roll by while the American Extreme home makeover and Super nanny are shown on a TV above.
Then, in 1973, Tom and I snuck in the life boats dangling on the upper deck and enjoyed a calm crossing while in steerage it would not have been pleasant and now we wonder about all the rules we broke as 20 year olds.
This time our destination is one island only . The island of Santorini and while our ferry took us by the islands of Paros and Naxos only pictures where taken of them while they showed us other great places to come to and rest. Our first view of Santorini gave the impression of snow topped mountains and it was not until we were closer that we saw instead the white washed buildings of the villages perched high atop the cliffs. It was around 1450 BC that the volcanic heart of Santorini exploded, sank and left an extraordinary landscape. It remains possible that the volcanic catastrophe destroyed the Minoan civilization but neither this theory nor the claim that the island was part of the lost continent of Atlantis has ever been proven.

What is proven to be true is that Santorini is an absolutely delightful and colorful place to be in early May. Prices are cut in half to attract the early birds which allows us to have great lodging in Pension George, a charming, of course whitewashed, blue trimmed family run pension in the centre of the island, within walking distance of the capital town of Fira. George’s wife Helen is English which sure aids in communication. Just up the street from us is the best bakery on the island and every morning we take a short stroll and pick out our loaf for the day and together with the fresh feta and fruit from the store next door, accompanied by a bottle of Santorini wine it makes for a good meal on our balcony. The first morning in the bakery I was a little overwhelmed with all the choices of bread and wondered if the proprietor would let me tap the loaves and see which were crispy since our languages did not meet. During my somewhat embarrassing attempt to purchase a crispy loaf of bread a friendly villager walked in with great understanding of the English language who showed me the bread I wanted and now each morning I happily only point a finger and the bread of choice is there. Our first two days here were rainy. We somehow are destined to bring rain there where it is needed and in Santorini it has been rare and the vine bushes show the shortage. We gladly do our part to make the wine flow. Thankfully we can afford the rainy days and during those days Tom rested, healed even more but lost a cap on one of his molars. With the cap in hand we walked through the small town of Karterados and found the local dentist-office , mentioned by Helen from our pension and within minutes Tom’s cap was back in place. In Karterados the dentist still works by the first come, first served order and can afford to charge only 30 Euros for remounting a cap since the overhead is almost nil. He performed not only as the dentist but was the receptionist, dental hygienist and accounts payable. Tom paid considerably more the first time it was put down and it did not stay in place. Hopefully we now are done checking out local emergency dental and medical care.
We plan on staying 10 days here in Santorini and there is plenty to see and do. Buses are not quite running on schedule since the tourists are not all here yet but that makes it even more entertaining. We hopped on buses yesterday which were either an hour late or an hour early depending on the sounds around us, for us they happened right when we walked up not expecting anything and pleasantly surprised. We have as of yet not learned when one is supposed to pay for these bus rides. Invariantly the bus driver says “ pay later” and often we part from the bus and have not paid and wonder if later in the day when we do it all evens out. The island can be walked easily as we did today and after a 45 minute hike we found a black sand beach all to ourselves. The water is still extremely frigid but doable for a short time only to say that the salt of the Aegean Sea was tasted on our lips while enduring a brain freeze.
After now six weeks of traveling there where we did not understand the languages and it all sounded Greek to us, with pun intended now it does. There is something with the Greek language that makes it fascinating for those of us who do not understand it to watch. When words are lost, one pays more attention to the other forms of communication, facial expressions, body language, timbre, gestures and the Greek gives plenty. While the words exchanged could be as banal as “ honey, did you remember to turn of the lights” , their communication gives forth an intimidation, an aggression foreign to us.

We are surrounded by the colors of Greece, the intense blue of the Aegean sea with a sky trying to match daily while all are sprucing and white washing the immaculate houses for the summer to come.
It is a good place to be in early May.

Yassu

Tom and Els