stokebailey

Wow good to know. Thanks, all! Lena, lately of Australia, didn't seem to know what that sign meant, either, and there weren't any pictures in our guidebook. I almost never drive in Europe. In the US you get a big red P with a diagonal red line, and "No Stopping" sometimes underneath that. The fact that we were one of 30 or so similarly parked cars gave us a false sense of security, obviously, and that there were No Parking signs nearby. If it had been later in the season I'm sure would have proven costly. I'm not sure I ever saw an actual policeman the whole time we were in Nafplio, and only in Athens diverting traffic from the Sunday changing of guards.

I do think anyone who's been to Karachi should make time for a quick photo-taking trip to Greece, K.

Thank you, Carolyn. We didn't get to either of those places this time, but I do hope to go back some day.

stokebailey

travelerjan, I'll have to look for Dakos, since always eager for fine careless rapture (love that phrase.) Food wise, we were otherwise a little conservative in Greece, and the only time we ordered octopus it was unavailable. We loved our grilled kalamari. Giant Beans baked with Tomatoes. One place, Vasili's, ended the meal with complimentary baklava soaked with honey.

Another evening went to the other Trendy Grill overlooking port parking on Boumpoulinas, near an excellent bakery. Again we were surrounded by youngish locals, smoking cigarettes and wearing black. Through a window above our heads we watched the cook make crepes, overstuff them and plate them up. Young men waited to whisk food away on the fleet of delivery scooters parked out front. This Trendy Grill server made certain I pronounced bouyiourdi correctly after three tries, and encouraged us in our use of Greek.

I was never brave enough to do the fish ordering thing; seeing 60 euros/kg on the menu and the idea of going into the kitchen to see if the snapper had fresh bright eyes or not was too daunting.

stokebailey

Speaking of speaking Greek, I was very glad I put in time with Pimsleur CDs. I find it the most effective program, with repetition as it adds new terms. I bailed out during the last disc, after the man asks the strange young woman if she'd like to come up to his place for a drink, and she says Sure! When?

We found that the Pimsleur greeting that sounds a little like "chxairitay" is seldom used. Everyone says something like "yasas".

By the end of our trip, I was sounding downright plausible. I never stay in these countries long enough to get any good with the languages, though it's worth making an effort. We English speakers are fortunate, world travel-wise, and can do just fine without any Greek. I don't like to press my luck.

travelerjan

Stokebailey, I agree most of the Language courses are too formal ... you pick up on a few phrases, then I find MOST useful some "praises." Instead of learning how to say "send back this wine" or 'this costs too much" I have learned the words for "beautiful baby!" "tasty" "wonderful view" ("Magiki" is a great word!). I learned that 40 years ago when I got all the way thru Italy on 3 phrases "Delicious Food" "Wonderful view" and "Beautiful baby!"

BTW, glad you liked that "rapture" phrase but alas not mine, Robert Browning -- you know that old Chestnut "Oh to be in England, now that April's there" ... (but you can substitute Greece for England).

stokebailey

Love it!

stokebailey

I wish I'd known about "Magiki"; would have (over)used that one for sure. One favorite I picked up was "megalo", as in my favorite size of cappuccino. The counter man at Medali bakery, next to the port-side Trendy Grill, taught me that one.

I got up early and out to watch the sun rise. Before 0700 you and the cats have the streets to yourself that time of year. The first morning I only got as far as the café on Syntagma Square, where the evening before we had drunk hot cocoa and watched the scene with families chatting in cafes as children played soccer on the marble-paved square.

The next morning I sat at the Rendezvous Café, next to the big hotel on the waterfront, got coffee from the workers starting to open the place, and settled into a comfortable chair to sketch and write in my journal. Bourtzi island emerged from the silver of the harbor and slowly turned to gold as the mountains behind went from dark grey to purple. It was Magiki. Hannah and I loved sitting at the Rendezvous in the evening at dusk, watching the light fade. I recommend their red wine with honey, warm and especially delicious.

Another day I went to the Medalo bakery for a megalo cappuccino, sat at one of the stools near the pairs of older men who greet the day smoking and watching the world go by. Their honey-based sweets are especially good.

travelerjan

The Nafplio waterfront at sunset. My first evening there I learned a major lesson. I was sipping a glass, munching a snack, snapping many photos, scribbling in my notebook, busy busy busy. Then I noticed a dapper Greek at a nearby table, with his demitasse of coffee, smoking. For 45 minutes he was the picture of serenity, gazing out. 45 minutes to finish one cigarette, one thimbleful of coffee, slowly slowly slowly. Gradually my pulse slowed, my hand fell in my lap. I remember it like today. Nothing like yoga. Better.

LCBoniti

What a lovely, evocative report - and some of the comments are equally so (travelerjan).

clausar

Reading about learning Greek phrases to use in Greece, i am not sure how someone could use the word Magiki , which means magical..... )

travelerjan

Would just refer to an amazing view ... Does not have to involve a rabbit in a hat... A greek used the word to me in the view context & recommended it ...

Just as we would say Amazing ...

mariha2912

Μαγευτική - Mageftiki ~Enchanting or Charming seems more appropriate I think....
And I use chxairitay- Ηerete- Χαίρετε (?) all the time but it is a rather uncommon greeting nowadays .It means something like (I wish you to have) hapiness/healthiness/well-being. It comes from ancient χαίρω~ rejoice, be glad, enjoy , it's hard to explain... This is where word Χαρά=Hapiness comes from and we still use Χαίρω Πολύ=Nice to meet you when we are introduced to someone, meaning I am very happy to meet you or something. And χαιρετίσματα or χαιρετισμούς= Greetings ...
Anyway, this will get terribly off-topic and never ending if we keep going on the language thing! lol

I really enjoy this trip report, I can't wait for next instalment stokebailey!

travelerjan

Mariha, I totally agree, I have always been Enchanted by "Herete" -- if only English had such a gracious greeting! As ever, I am charmed by your insights.

stokebailey

LCB, you are kind to say that. I've been savoring the image of a dapper man and his coffee, and thinking how important to have the time of my life whatever I'm doing.

Mariha, not even a little bit off-topic. Even so I love off-topic. Delighted to learn what Χαίρετε means. I was a little self-conscious of my pronunciation, not sure how much topspin to put on that first X, was glad to switch to the more common greeting.

My brother took ancient Greek, and could be heard declaiming all over the house. The best and true way to speak it per him. He would share nuggets with me, like that eucalyptus means "well-covered." I imagined him saying Oh...kaLIPtye! all around Nafplio, where the trees grow in abundance, along with palms, pines, cypress, and orange trees in the streets loaded with fruit.

One afternoon we went to the National Gallery, where there was an exhibit of ethereal paintings by a woman artist whose name I've lost. Lovely stuff, and also well worth seeing for the historical subject paintings that depicted the Greek struggle for independence. Nafplio was the first capital of Greece, which is I'm sure a source of pride.

Another morning we visited the Archeological museum, also very much worth a visit for the Mycenean art and the bronze armor of the kind Homer described. I think. They have some beautiful pieces.

We didn't go to the Folklore Museum, but they have an excellent gift shop where I bought little one-ounce packets of Nafplio-made tomato paste, among other things.

Hannah had a vision of visiting an island, and Hydra is not far by ferry. You can catch one at the Nafplio port. Lena thought the best way, because of the chance to see the countryside, is driving to Ermione (Hermione) and taking a 45-minute ferry ride from there.

We set out on a fine mid-morning, out past our favorite Trendy Grill on the Epidaurus road. I'd bought a Peloponnese road map, and knew to take the first main road to the right. Ten minutes or so out of town we saw road signs and then immediately a blacktop road to the right, thought surely that was it, and took it. Surely it was not it. The road dwindled to a farm road. It reminded me of northern New Mexico back country mountain roads, where you downshift to 2nd and then 1st and make gravel fly to get up some of the hills. I attempted to project confidence, and it did all come back to me, heart somewhat in mouth. Past sheep folds, goats, olive groves, arroyos, rough rural beauty. Finally we rejoined the Ermione road just south of Epidaurus.

Still you go over a couple of sizable mountain passes. We pulled over one time to take a breather, enjoy the view and examine a couple of roadside shrines more closely. What are they called, and what do they represent? They seem prehistoric and Christian at the same time, some of them beautifully tended, others weathered, almost all with fine miniature architecture. Both of the ones I peered into had beverage containers inside.

Arriving in Ermione, we learned that the next ferry would leave in around an hour, and the soonest we could return from Hydra would be 1830. I had retina issues in December and had been driving just fine at home, but on this trip started seeing slightly double. Problematic, especially at night. Hannah, ever a good sport, agreed that we'd be best off having lunch at one of the water front cafes and then driving back. We decided to pretend that we had already arrived in Hydra, and really it could not have been all that much nicer. It was a beautiful day to sit in the sun among our fellow holiday-goers and be waited on, brought Greek food, breathing the sea air and gazing at the Mediterranean. All for mere money.

A man asked where we were from, told us he was from Tunis. We looked in a few shops, I bought a megalo cappuccino at the bakery for 2€, and the lovely counter woman gave me a big bottle of water too. Fortified with caffeine, lunch, and Greek generosity we headed back. It was significantly easier on the main roads.

Next time: depart early morning and still take that back road, but be prepared for it. Stop and take photos. Have a backup driver with dependable vision. OR: just take the ferry from Nafplio.

travelerjan

I wish wish wish there were ferries from Nafplio. Once upon a time. Now an occasional Cruise ship stops for a few hours. Of course yachts. Many. And large. On one of my sunset times on the seafront, I was awestruck by a gleaming white loooong yacht... the size of Queen Liz' Britannia but MUCH newer, glossier. Wandered up. On the Bow: Alexander. Later told that this was probably the Onassis yacht. Named for his son who died. The year I saw this, O was gone but Christina O still living. LIves of the R & F.

thursdaysd

In northern Greece I was told that the little roadside shrines marked accident sites. If the driver survived it contained a picture of the relevant saint, otherwise a memorial of the victim.

mariha2912

Those shrins are usually called Εικονοστάσια- Iconostasia and most of the time contain a saint icon and an oil lamp and occasionaly a censer and all related paraphernalia. In case of road accidents with fatalities they often contain pictures of the victims and some of his favorite items or similar.
Nowadays, iconostasia by the road side are usually related with car accidents as per thursdaysd 's post, but their significance, especially on more rural areas or the older one's might be different. An expression of gratitude, an obletion to a saint because something someone asked from him/her did happen/materialised at the end, a mark for a spiritual or supernatural event that took place on the location, a saint giving instructions to built a shrine or find an icon or similar on the spot...many other reasonings.

Here is a story about one iconostasi, to give you a clue that fascinated stories might be related to them:
Somewhere down on the Delphi olive grove stands a very old iconostasi in the middle of nowhere. This was built back on the '40s by a distant aunt of mine when she dreamed of her son standing on said spot and next day she received a letter from him.
During Greek civil war the 14 yo son went missing one day and no one knew if he was dead or alive. After 2 years without any information or sign of what happened to him, this latter came,him explaining that the αντάρτες - left party guerillas- sort of kidnapped him and took him to Soviet Union. He was fine in health and having an education.
Not much more information but of course it was a great relief to family that he was alive and finally having a clue where he was. My great aunt built an iconostasi on the location of her dream as an offering to Virgin Mary who is a mother and who she was adressing her prayers to. By the way her son stayed up in Soviet Union 2-3 more years and came back speaking fluent Russian and having studied civil enginnering, one of the most educated guys of his age! lol

stokebailey

Oh, my. Wonderful story, mariha. Thank you.

I may be thinking of herms or hermai, those squared off roadside sculptures, as ancient ancestors of the iconostasia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herma
When I studied Greek classics in college, during a more protective era, they left off the phallus part.

I could have sworn I saw a signboard at the Nafplio port for Hydra ferry, and Lena thought there was one. So maybe now? Seems unlikely, but Nafplio's being discovered more as a destination maybe.

One disappointment and really only sign of economic woe was that the hotel at clifftop seems to have closed at least temporarily. Lena had taken a guest up there the previous month. Hannah and I walked up past the cannons to where the elevator entrance should have been, but it was closed and disused-looking. No lights visible from town. We would only have gone there for a drink in the evening; too many people doing that and not enough to help keep them afloat. The Rendezvous Cafe was a delightful substitute in the evenings, where we got even better treatment our second visit, more nibbles with our drinks. I could easily become a regular there.

travelerjan

You may be right!! The Nauplia Palace website says nothing about it, but when one goes to Trip Advisor, there are no reviews later than Fall 2015. They appear to be booking rooms right now -- perhaps they closed down for the winter??? But they STILL should have the elevator for the park at the very point of the peninsula... the BEST view.

Those clifftop hotels (there are TWO!) are ammo for people who do not trust govts. to do things right. On my first trip to Old Town I saw 2 hotels up there, behind the ancient Acronafplia parapets & was outraged. Commercialism! Then I learned the Greek GOVT built them: 1980s? The Luxury one, N. Palace was mismanaged & sold to Helios luxury hotel chain. 5stars & €€€ but gets mixed reviews; not surprised it's in trouble.

The other is at landward end of peninsula, with ramp leading up from the Arvanita (town beach) parking lot. Planned as a budget hotel serving package tour groups. Then it was discovered that the ramp construction was badly flawed and could not support tour-bus traffic. !!!! In my first visit in '99 I stayed nearby in tiny room w. no breakfast, so went over to this (still-open) hotel and saw huuuuge dining room w. uniformed staff and NO guests. Spooky. Closed the next year & not torn down yet (lots of graffiti) because I think asbestos is involved which makes demolition very costly. At any rate, provides nice ramp for cars accessing lodgings up there, and for swimmers & walkers.

annhig

Hannah, ever a good sport, agreed that we'd be best off having lunch at one of the water front cafes and then driving back. We decided to pretend that we had already arrived in Hydra, and really it could not have been all that much nicer>>

what a jewel your DD is, Stoke [as one might expect of course]. no wonder you enjoy travelling together.

VirginiaC

Years ago on Hydra, we saw a man get off the boat and prepare to make his way home with the items he'd brought from the mainland.
So he loaded up a rental donkey with two bags of groceries, a huge hibiscus plant and his lap top, and started trudging up the hill.

We still treasure the memory -- and the picture DH snapped.