Greece

So my travels took me to Greece, where I'd dreamed of going. Turns out, it was everything I expected it to be. From the sprawling metropolis of Athens (which was kind of dirty), to the old historic sites of the Ancient Greeks, to the whitewashed marble houses of the islands, to the unbearably oppressive heat, to the unbelievably tasty food, Greece turned out to be probably my best experience so far.

Although, I just have to add one thing that really threw me off about Greece. You couldn't throw toilet paper in the toilets. People told me the pipes were too old and too narrow to accept toilet paper, so each stall had a little garbage can next to the toilets, where you'd... you know... throw the used paper. It was revolting, and a poor example of primitive designs from the most ancient and advanced culture in the world. In any case, I know that from some of your stories, I was lucky to even HAVE toilet paper, or a toilet, or even a bathroom, so I shouldn't complain. But you try to sit there and bear it.

So, to start off, I just wanted to say that after my picture of "Fruit's" from Barcelona, with its needless apostrophe (unless the guy's name was Dan Fruit), to the "To Crash in Case of Fire" from Venice, I bring you the best version of mistranslated English thus far. It comes from a menu on Santorini. Has anyone read Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal"?




This was the sunset from Oia, the northwesterly-most (is that a word?) town on Santorini. Oh, right, it's most northwesterly.


The white and blue against the cliffs and sea.



Again, the views from the village.

Some of the Greeks and Americans I stayed with while in Greece.

That's Manolis, on the left. He hosted me for six whole days while in Athens. Truly a great ambassador of goodwill. I met him through Couchsurfing, which I love, and which will revolutionize travel. He's reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which I gave him. I got him obsessed with Harry Potter, which he said was more than enough of an even trade for hosting. Also, it's in English. The Greeks (especially Manolis) speak English incredibly well.

Hercules (or Herakles) wrestling a snake. This is from the 6th century, BC, which makes it over 2500 years old. You can even still see the color on the snake.

The Temple of Zeus. Not much of it is left, but it's huge and impressive.

The Temple of Hephaestus, god of Fire. Remarkably well-preserved.

Ah, the Parthenon, which tops the Acropolis. So much renovation to be done there. It's a shame there was so much work being done and so many exhibits were closed, but they're currently renovating the old renovation, which was apparently poor and faulty. So this time, they're getting it right forever. Just means I'll have to go back.

The Theatre of Dionysus, obviously renovated. Still used for performances.

So that, in short, was my Greek trip. I had plenty of feta: baked, fried, grilled, fresh, soaked in olive oil, etc. Other food highlights were Kataifi, which is better than Baklava but gets less than half the recognition (kind of like Edgardo Alfonzo in his prime), 2 Euro pitas filled with lamb, chicken, etc. Unbelievable bargain. Giant plates of Tzatziki which you could dip anything in, and on the island, banana pancakes with chocolate for breakfast every morning. That's not very Greek, but it sure was delicious.

Also, the Greeks, when you dine with them, eat everything Tapas-style, like in Spain. So don't even think of ordering a dish for yourself. I love it, and I think I've said this before, but I hope to bring that style of eating back to the USA. It's more communal, encourages people to talk, and lets you try half the menu, which you want to do in the US, but can't, because there's so much to choose from.

Athens, by the way, was 46 degrees with 80% humidity while I was there. For you Fahrenheiters, 46 is a shade under 115. It was dreadful. I never felt clean once for a week, and it was also impossible to sleep.

Now I'm in Germany, and I got sick my first day because it was cold and rainy and I was short on sleep, but now I'm feeling better, and am going to go drink some beer and eat cheese and bratwurst. The Calw festival is on again this weekend, and I'm either going to that or going to visit my Sydney friend Tara in Tubingen, or both.

Oh right, Happy Fourth of July! This is my third out of the last five I've spent outside the US. There's pride for ya. See you guys around again soon.