Exploring Greece (Part 1)

Last time I wrote about a very recent event but now I will take you on another journey back in time to the summer of 2007. It was a memorable journey in many way but there was one thing that I will not forget while I live and those were the spectacular and historical sites of mythical Greece.

But before telling more about the birth place of mythology I will talk about the long and exhausting journey of getting there which was probably one of the longest trips I have ever been on. After getting over the Hungarian border at Tompa and started on the journey through Serbia which was such a long part of our trip that we had to stop for the night in a hotel near the capital of Skopje. By the second day we reached Macedonia where we also made a short stop at an ancient Roman excavation site but after that we didn't stop till we got to the land of Greece more precisely Olimpic Beach where we had a dip in the Aegean Sea and a good night sleep.

On the third day we really kicked into gear and started to explore the truly historical sites and scenes of Greece. First up was the Valley of Temph where the Shrine of Apollo and a beautiful chapel which was bulit into the side of the valley was located. Then came the Meteora's the medival monasteries on top of the uniquely fomed hills. The site was truly amazing but the best part was when we had a chance to see one of the monasteries from the inside. It was very amazing especially the chapel which was full of holy pictures and gold icons wherever we looked. Here I mde a very important discovery which was that frape is the best coffee I have ever drank. And I also won a real gold plated icon on the bus with the help of a lucky-bag game.

Our next stop before reaching the capital was The Hot Gates of Thermopylae where the great battle between the Persians and the Spartans was. Unfortunetly the centuries have shaped the surrounding areas so that Hot Gates have completely wanished even though the location where we were was really where it all happened. But today all that we can see is a slab of marble on the top of a steep hill which if you can read it preserves the last words of Leonidas and his men before they fell.

After these few historic stops we continued further down South to our true destination Athens. Our stay in the capital was quite long but still we never had one dull moment because each day was filled with sites and traditional Greek meals to make us feel even more at home. Just to list a few we had gyros, tzadziki, musaka and a lot of other delicious meals all accompanied by some Greek wine. And we also had some ouzo one night as well the most famous short drink besides metaxa in Greece. And one of the most interestig things that we saw there was the changing of the President's guards which was similar to the one in London but different as well. And another thing to mention here is the Panathenic Stadium where the first modern olympic games were held.

But what really astonished me was the Acropolis which I had only seen in books before but being there at the birth place of culture itself was more incredible than I would ever have imagined. We have seen the Theater of Dionysius where Sophocles' dramas were first played, we also saw the Odeion, the Parthenon, the Kariatides, the Areos Pagos and the Agora as well. It was really great to see all these historic places if only it weren't so damn hot there it would have been even better.

However there is still a lot more to talk about unfortunetly you will have to wait till next week for the other half of the story so don't go nowhere.