Note: Our trip to Greece is so breathtaking that we needed to split it into four-and-a-half blog posts to cover it all. This is part one. You can skip ahead to parts two, three, four, and the epilogue, if you'd like. But take your time--it's really beautiful!
We must apologize for our extended absence from the Meldrumhaus. Tyler had to do some work that required quite a bit of travel and Sara, the ever-faithful wife, decided it was in the best interest of the relationship to accompany him. Fortunately, as the title of this blog post indicates, the work was in Greece. So, for approximately 10 days, from September 28 through October 7, the Meldrumhaus was temporarily located in the Aegean Sea on the islands of Crete and Santorini. And it was excellent.
Tyler did, in fact, do quite a bit of work. There was a two-day conference with groups from all over Europe who are all interested in Art and Cultural Heritage Conservation/Restoration discussing (lightly) the science and (heavily) the bureaucracy involved in such projects. There were also two days of taking measurements on Venetian frescoes in an old church/monastery right on the northern shore of Crete. But, if we know our reading faithful, you're here to hear about the parts of Greece that had little to do with work.
Below is a brief itinerary of what we did, together with a map for the geographically inclined (or challenged). Also, since we took so many photos, there are links by each day's activities that point to the photo gallery for that day. We're planning to break the trip up into a few posts, including one on the most beautiful parts of Crete itself, one on the Minoan ruins that Sara saw (some of which Tyler saw, too), and a post on the incomparably beautiful island of Santorini.
View Greece, 2011 in a larger map
Wednesday, 28 September: We travel from Aachen to Düsseldorf (the place where this whole adventure started, as you may recall), then flew to Heraklion (the capital of Crete), arriving in the early evening.
Thursday, 29 September: Tyler was in meetings while Sara wandered around the city of Heraklion and went to the Archaeological Museum there.
Friday, 30 September: Tyler still in meetings and Sara took a trip to Chania, a beautiful city on the western side of Crete.
Saturday, 1 October: Both of us took a tour around some sites on the eastern side of Greece, including the ruins of a Minoan palace complex at Malia, a Byzantine church, and the island of Spinalonga.
Sunday, 2 October: We took a day trip to the city of Agios Nikolaos.
Monday, 3 October: Tyler was making measurements at a church in Heraklion, while Sara took a trip to the city of Rethymnon--mostly for the beach.
Tuesday, 4 October: Tyler doing more measurements, while Sara went to another Minoan archaeological site at Knossos.
Wednesday, 5 October: We got up early to take a ferry from Crete to the southernmost island of the Cyclades, Santorini (Day 1). It was amazing. We went to the beach in Perissa (southeastern part of the island) and also the the phenomenally gorgeous city of Oia (pronounced EE-uh).
Thursday, 6 October: We were still on Santorini (Day 2), spending the morning at the beach in Perissa and the afternoon in the capital city of Santorini, Fira. We then caught a ferry back to Heraklion for one last night in Greece.
Friday, 7 October: Sadly, our trip came to an end with us getting up at an ungodly hour to make it to the airport in time for an online webcast for one of Sara's classes and for our flight back to Düsseldorf. And a nap.
Next on our Tour de Greece: Crete!
We must apologize for our extended absence from the Meldrumhaus. Tyler had to do some work that required quite a bit of travel and Sara, the ever-faithful wife, decided it was in the best interest of the relationship to accompany him. Fortunately, as the title of this blog post indicates, the work was in Greece. So, for approximately 10 days, from September 28 through October 7, the Meldrumhaus was temporarily located in the Aegean Sea on the islands of Crete and Santorini. And it was excellent.
Tyler did, in fact, do quite a bit of work. There was a two-day conference with groups from all over Europe who are all interested in Art and Cultural Heritage Conservation/Restoration discussing (lightly) the science and (heavily) the bureaucracy involved in such projects. There were also two days of taking measurements on Venetian frescoes in an old church/monastery right on the northern shore of Crete. But, if we know our reading faithful, you're here to hear about the parts of Greece that had little to do with work.
Below is a brief itinerary of what we did, together with a map for the geographically inclined (or challenged). Also, since we took so many photos, there are links by each day's activities that point to the photo gallery for that day. We're planning to break the trip up into a few posts, including one on the most beautiful parts of Crete itself, one on the Minoan ruins that Sara saw (some of which Tyler saw, too), and a post on the incomparably beautiful island of Santorini.
View Greece, 2011 in a larger map
Wednesday, 28 September: We travel from Aachen to Düsseldorf (the place where this whole adventure started, as you may recall), then flew to Heraklion (the capital of Crete), arriving in the early evening.
Thursday, 29 September: Tyler was in meetings while Sara wandered around the city of Heraklion and went to the Archaeological Museum there.
Friday, 30 September: Tyler still in meetings and Sara took a trip to Chania, a beautiful city on the western side of Crete.
Saturday, 1 October: Both of us took a tour around some sites on the eastern side of Greece, including the ruins of a Minoan palace complex at Malia, a Byzantine church, and the island of Spinalonga.
Sunday, 2 October: We took a day trip to the city of Agios Nikolaos.
Monday, 3 October: Tyler was making measurements at a church in Heraklion, while Sara took a trip to the city of Rethymnon--mostly for the beach.
Tuesday, 4 October: Tyler doing more measurements, while Sara went to another Minoan archaeological site at Knossos.
Wednesday, 5 October: We got up early to take a ferry from Crete to the southernmost island of the Cyclades, Santorini (Day 1). It was amazing. We went to the beach in Perissa (southeastern part of the island) and also the the phenomenally gorgeous city of Oia (pronounced EE-uh).
Thursday, 6 October: We were still on Santorini (Day 2), spending the morning at the beach in Perissa and the afternoon in the capital city of Santorini, Fira. We then caught a ferry back to Heraklion for one last night in Greece.
Friday, 7 October: Sadly, our trip came to an end with us getting up at an ungodly hour to make it to the airport in time for an online webcast for one of Sara's classes and for our flight back to Düsseldorf. And a nap.
Next on our Tour de Greece: Crete!
Okay, I love the photos, but this is the lazy people's blog post! You need to do a little more work and cull the photos for us, and tell us what some of those things are! (BTW, those big clay jars in your Knossos photos suddenly make me understand how Ali Baba's robbers could hide in them . . . )
ReplyDeleteI take it all back. Beautiful photos -- what a great trip!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the retraction :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful trip!! It looked SO fantastic! I'm glad everything lived up to your 15 year expectations!
ReplyDelete