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On February 2, I moved to Athens. After their week with me in Oldenburg, my parents traveled with me (by air) to Athens for a week of Greek site-seeing. We spent a couple of days relaxing in Athens (and I moved my belongings into my apartment). Here are a couple of photos of the Parthenon atop the Acropolis.
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The Parthenon by night…
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And by day (from a different angle)
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At the Athenian equivalent of the “tomb of the unknown soldier” in front of the Parliament building, two military soldiers always stand guard at the memorial. They wear traditional garb, which is apparently based on the uniforms of mountain fighters, who fought in Greece’s War of Independence. Once every hour, there is a brief “changing of the guard” ceremony. And then on Sunday mornings at 11am, there’s a bigger ceremony with a parade and a military band.
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“Changing of the guard” ceremony on Sunday morning in Syntagma [Constitution] Square
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On Tuesday, Feb. 5, we drove south to Peloponnese and visited some familiar-sounding, ancient places – Corinth, Epidavros, Mycenae. Then we stayed the night in a beautiful coastal town called Nafplio.
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A hilltop wind farm, as viewed from near Nafplio
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One of Nafplio’s three fortresses
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Sunset in Nafplio harbor
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On Wednesday we drove around six hours northwest (past Athens) into the Sterea Ellada region to arrive in Kalambaka, near Meteora. Meteora is an otherworldly, beautiful place that’s difficult to describe in words… Basically, millions of years ago, due to a combination of tectonic plate movements and weathering from the sea (which is no longer present in the area), the towering vertical rock formations of Meteora were formed. Starting in the 15th century, monks began constructing monasteries atop the cliffs. There are seven monasteries at Meteora, but each has different public opening days, so we visited three. Here are some photos from the area:
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On Thursday we traveled south and stayed in the city of Delphi. Delphi’s ancient city is particularly scenic, because it’s perched on the side of a mountain, with a spectacular view.
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View of the Gulf of Corinth and city of Itea from modern Delphi
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Vista from ancient Delphi ruins
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We returned to Athens on Friday, Feb. 8, and my parents flew back homeward to Kentucky on the next morning.
