AUSTRALIA - getting ready!

Never been to Australia  before! Didn't know a whole lot about this huge continent, with the exception of the bits and pieces we learned from our friends from Perth, Mary & Bruce. We have an original Australian boomerang on our book shelf, and, we love the the three little stuffed animals gifted by our friends (photo further below). Also, from their visits in Germany, we know that the Australian language needs a little time to get used to,,, not your common American English!

Since it's such a long flight and not inexpensive neither, we decided to do more than just Western Australia, and, to travel for five weeks. We'll start in Sydney, tour the surroundings by car, fly over to Uluru (formerly: Ayres Rock), to Melbourne & area and from there to Perth. That's the rough itinerary, more details coming up once we are on our way.

To get familiarized with this (at least to us) completely unknown, far-away continent, its history and culture, landscape, flora & fauna, we started around the Christmas holidays to do thorough research to get prepared. We bought and borrowed books in the library, got maps, read articles, watched films and more. At that point, we had already booked the long-distance flights, and had a general route in mind. National flights followed, then car rentals – all not easy!  We were so used to the good-old USA and United Airlines and Alamo! Now, so many options, so many factors to consider (connections, luggage, seat selection, transit time, etc.).

At first, we were thinking it's easy to get around, and ... underestimated the distances. Assumed,  we could - with the exception of Sydney, Melbourne and Uluru – play it by the ear. Stay at another place every day, without making any reservations. But, then, we noticed that it's still peak season in Australia, end of summer, and a lot of festivals and events are going on.

Therefore, Peter spent quite a bit of time in January to find adequate accommodations, some AirBnB's, some hotels – but, boy, that was a LOT of work! Especially, since we are not your "average vacationers"! We check everything ten times: where is it, how is it, who said what about it, etc.,,, and that takes time and nerves! 

What worked really well so far, was organizing media visits to sights/museums. Very helpful people, very accommodating! And, to our surprise: rates for hotels and other products were lower than what we were used to from our last U.S.A. visits (and, from Germany, too). We'll pick up on that topic once we are in the country.

Germany fits into Australia about 22 times, see the map below! But, population-wise it's the other way around: Germany: approx. 83,5 mio.; Australia: 27,2 Mio.(and the U.S. 240 mio.)! Even the United States are only a bit larger in size than Australia!  At the beginning, we weren't fully aware of the size, and originally planned to drive all the way from Sydney to Adelaide and Melbourne. Even Brisbaine was temporarily under discussion. In the course of time, and, also, thanks to the advice of our friends, we cut down. But, still, probably fully enough to do and see as we planned now! Not a walk on the beach,,,  

Another four full days at home, and, getting ready. Tuesday will be our departure day. From MUC to London and from there with a refueling stop in Singapore to Sydney. That will become a VERY  long day. Touchdown in Sydney will be on Thursday morning their time. Summer and sunshine! Stay tuned!

 

Athens - Στο επανειδείν! See you soon again!

Last full day in Athens, another beautifully sunny, warm day, which started with breakfast on the balcony with fresh baking goods from a nearby bakery: bougatsa, tiropides and koulouri. 

Again, we watched the change of the guard in front of the President's residence and the Parliament, and found out later, that it's regular conscripts, selected in military barracks all over the country for their tallness, stamina, discipline, charisma, etc. After a special training in a barrack behind the parliament, they serve as "Evzones" for a couple of months as part of their regular service. Greece still has mandatory military service for young men, righ now 12 months!). The evzones are very disciplined, they they have a ballet-style choreography, and, they are dressed very warmly in costumes introduced by King Otto from Bavaria.

Old style music for free at Monastiraki Square:

And, strangely, we were walking in Exarchia, Monastiraki, around the Central Market and other neighborhoods, and noticed wall paintings of the same artist everywhere:

Central Market, fruit and nuts department. 

Below: a bookstore - Greeks are still very keen readers, there are lots of bookstores and kiosks with print matrial! - and, a street in Exarchia. This neighborhood around the Tech Uni of Athens is a hub of rebellious people, intellectuals and activists. In 1973, the Greek military raided the student occupation of the Polytechnic University, killing 40 civilians. Still today, strikes and riots usually start here.

Tasty gyros (cut meat from the large vertical spit - mostly served in a pita with tomatoes, onions, fries and sauce) and souvlaki (little separately roasted meat skewers - served on its own with lemon or also in a pita bread) - delicious and cheap at Giorgos-Manos in Exarchia.

 

 

 

 

The National Archeological Museum (above) ,,, how many hours have we spent there at study times! We went back again to meet our friend Wanda again, and, noticed that at least 1/3 of the rooms are closed for different reasons. At least, I found one of "my Aphrodites", a small roman copy of the (lost) famous greek statue of Aphrodite called "Louvre-Naples", about which I wrote my dissertation.

Below, a glimpse into the ceramics collection (a geometric amphora) and on the right the famous Antikythera Ephebe, a bronze statue dating around 340/330 BC, found in 1900 by sponge-divers in an ancient shipwreck off the island of Antikythera. 

Further below the valuable gold treasure of Troy, discovered by Heinrich Schliemann.  

Enough is enough,,, getting tired of museums,,, After our visit, we went for some grocery shopping in downtown - especially, cheeses and olives, raisins and herbs to take home with us. Then we sat a bit at Monastiraki Square to enjoy the sun (for the last time this year?) and to watch people and cats. Through the National Garden (further below, left) - a green oasis with a little zoo and pavilions, an openair café, botanical treasures, a pond, etc. we walked home to the AirBnB when it got dark.

In the meantime, we arrived back home. Transportation to the Athens airport on Friday, noon, was quick (subway), flight on time. The Athens Airport is a very modern, clean airport with lots of opportunities to still shop greek goodies of all kinds for reasonable prices. Arrived in MUC at 17:30 pm, home at 20:15 pm. It's been a strenuous, but informative, efficient and action-packed trip - brain is spinning! For the next two weeks (until due date of the book update) we have to sort through all the newly gathered information and to label and select the right photos.

Never on Sunday! Piraeus

 

 By streetcar (very modern!) we went on an excursion to the ocean and to the famous harbour since ancient times, Piraeus. 

It took us about 20 min.  to get to our first stop, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, an architectonical eyecatcher, designed by Renzo Piano and open since 2016. 

What's to be seen on the photo below is the so-called "Lighthouse" (below), just the top of the building with a viewing platform, a café and an open library. In front of the building is a green roof, covering the building underneith, which contains the National Library, the Opera, a café and shop and more. Also, there is a Botanical Garden with pavillions, stage, trails and all kinds of plants

  

Green Roof

Opera House

Observation Deck with great views

 

,,, for example: towards Piraeus

 

  Next stop (above): the Olympiakos Piraeus stadium (soccer). Of course, we had to find the team store to get another cap for P's collection. 

Next: Microlimano, one of the harbors of Piraeus, the "small one", where originally mostly fishing boats docked. Today it's a row of mostly fish restaurants on the water, some fishing boats are still there. In total: very idyllic.

 

 

We continued our walk along the beach, passing swimming pools and playgrounds to Votsalakia Beach, famous with the locals. Wished we would have had our swimsuits with us!

Approaching downtown Piraeus - below: Zea Harbor, mostly a yacht harbor, which got a new promenade, where also cafés and restaurants are rowing up.

Mural at the ferry harbor

But, the real deal in Piraeus is the Port of Piraeus, at the same time a ferry harbor for regular traffic to the islands (Cyclades, Crete, Rhodes, Saronic Islands, etc.), and, a main port for huge cruise ships (see photo above, right). Right now, they mostly spill out American tourists, which are transported to Athens by bus, get a tour, admire the Acropolis, don't consume much, but swamp the big museums and attractions.

By the way: Piraeus on its own is well worth a visit. It has a vivid market, a nice archeological museum, some excavations, shopping malls, churches, historic houses. It's a harbor town, a bit run down, a bit dirty, but different. We remember times when we, as students, were hanging out at the port, waiting for our ferry to arrive or checking, which agency offered the cheapest tickets. Nowadays, the area is polished and clean, with waiting areas, taxis, kiosks and such, no backpackers anymore. Times have changed for sure, ferries became bigger, too, and faster!

For lunch we went to a small family restaurant we knew. Nothing fancy at all, it's a place where they still let you choose from the glass showcase at the entrance. Pots and pans standing there and you order directly, sit down and get the meal (all at the same time) served to the table. And, it's still cheap!

On the photo above: pastitsio (pasta dish), below little sardines (maridaki) and a choriatiki (farmers' salad).

Piraeus' historic train station which opened in 1869 to connect Athens and Piraeus.

On the way back to Athens we stopped again at the beach for a great sunset and took the next streetcar back into town for a night cap: an IPA at the tiny hole-in-the-wall brewpub of "Blame The Sun".

BTW: "Never on Sunday" refers to "Sonntags nie!" a greek romance with Jules Dassin and Melina Mercours which plays in Piraeus (1960).