Olympia

Last but not least was Greece, upping Don’s country count to a very respectable 30!

Here we ate and shopped, and with the little free time we had left, we toured around the site of the first Olympics in ancient Greece around the 8th century BC. The ruins include an athlete village of sorts, a stadium and other sports venues. Some has been reconstructed, but mostly the stones lie on the ground. Photos at each place show what the structure would have looked like back then. On the right is the recreation and the left is what it looks like now. I wonder if Greek parents were as enthusiastic with their kids participation as parents today?

On our tour we had a very talkative guide who my sister aptly started to call Mr. Bean – he flashed us photos of the site, knew a lot and kept smiling in an engaged but quirky way. Right in the middle of one of his blurbs, his phone started ringing. Once he’d turned it off it rang again. He answered, and even though he spoke in Greek, I was betting that it was his mother.

Our final stop was a Greek winery, Mercouri, for a tasting. In this context, it meant getting a tour of the premises and seeing old and newer equipment used in the wine-making process. Guess which is which in my photos!

Following that, we had a simple lunch in the garden with one bottle of red and one white wine, although split between six of us equaled not all that much:) Of course, there were olives and feta cheese. And while the wine was very reasonable, it wasn’t something I would have sought out. Mind you, I haven’t had ouzo yet…I did hug an olive tree.

Kotor

South of Croatia we landed in Montenegro – a new country for both Don and I. My count is now in the double digits beginning with 7, and Don hit 29 – a privilege and a feat ;).

Montenegro has the same mountainous geography and stunning coast as its neighbours. Here we’d hoped to do a bike trip, but ’twas not in the cards. Instead, we hiked to the the ruined fortress overlooking the city. 

The walk up was about an hour, and it was most certainly very hot. The path was wide and most segments had large, stone steps to one side, which made it easy for my non-hiking shoe choice. Every so often we ducked into some well-earned shade. About halfway up was a mini-church built into the landscape. Less a religious than resting spot for most hikers.

Once down, we wandered around the narrow streets and into a few churches before sitting down for a beer at one of the squares.

 

Dubrovnik

Croatia – country 28 for Don and old stomping grounds for me. Dubrovnik is an old walled city, with more sightseers than residents. The cobblestone streets are smooth from centuries of walking.

Having lived in Bosnia from 2000-2002, I probably came to Dubrovnik five or six times in that two plus years. More than a decade later, it looked the same but different too. Not sure I was ever here at the height of summer. And of course Game of Thrones didn’t exist back then either.

Which brings me to our major outing in this town – a Game of Thrones tour. For fans, this meant getting to see where something like 10,000 scenes were filmed (and CGI’d, some authentic) including a famous walk of shame. For me, yes I’m that 1%, this meant following around a very enthusiastic tour guide, getting very sweaty in the process and trying to envision streets filled with cameras rolling instead of tourists. Here’s Don pretending to be Joffrey yelling at Tyrion aka our tour guide.Our final jaunt was a loop around the wall which took about an hour. Looking down the only signal that half the houses had been destroyed during the early 90s war was different coloured roofs from before and after. 

The whole experience made me nostalgic for my overseas days.

Venice

How many things can you do in Venice in 24 hours?

• Enjoy a really good coffee at the airport after running late for the flight

• Walk a loop to San Marco Square vigorously reading the map the whole time

• Buy a fabulous red and black purse (not for all travelers) because why not?

• Drink a Spritz Veneziano in la Piazza while shooing off pigeons

• Invade a restaurant with 11 Pawelski family members and be the last ones to leave

• Ignore the annoying cold that descended sometime between Berlin and Prague

• Hire a gondola for 30 minutes and get a full history of Venice as well as a stunning ride

 

Prague

First things first – Don’s country count is now 27!

This next part of our vacation took us by train from Berlin to Prague. Of course, it left right on time. En route, we had views of beautiful countryside and the Vltava river toward the end. We chatted to the British backpackers we were sharing our cabin with – oh the days of traveling cheaply with a train pass!

On arrival, Don navigated us to our hotel above a famous brewery, where we were greeted with a welcome beer! Shortly thereafter we took our first walk around the city. I’d been here a couple of times before in the mid-90s but after 20 years it’s all new again 😉 Prague’s old city is a UNESCO heritage site so everything here is beautiful and fairytale looking. In any of these photos, I can envision Princess Buttercup walking out after the introduction by Prince Humperdinck.

On our fist look at the famed astronomical clock, the twelve apostles did not make an appearance at the two doors above the face when it chimed the hour. Anti-climatic as there was a rather large crowd below anticipating the show. Later on we found out they were just having lunch (as opposed to off the job) likely due to some reconstruction of the building.Charles bridge is Prague’s famous pedestrian walkway with musicians and craft sellers along each side. Our first glimpse was that night. This photo doesn’t reflect the enormous crowds wandering around and across, of which we quickly became a part. Our first full day we footed across the river to visit Prague Castle and grounds. This, after Don’s early jaunt to a camera store to buy film, from which he returned with a new old camera. Cue the sigh from Ele, wondering why Don thought we had the space for it.

Prague Castle is a cluster of buildings enclosed by a wall, additions having been added over the years to create a rather large, although picturesque area. Included is the main cathedral and a second church. Along the south is a long, green and peaceful garden. Also gave us opportunities for shade.

Five hours of castling later, we scurried back to the hotel for our dinner reservation. The menu was traditional Czech food, so lots of meat and potato options. Which made the cooked red cabbage the evening’s big winner. I think the server was puzzled at our questions about red versus white cabbage but thrilled when we ordered a second round.

Later on, we checked out some jazz nearby. I don’t remember jazz being a thing 20 years ago but my guidebook had a whole section on it, so it certainly seemed a thing now. We ordered Becherovka – a local alcohol I found back in the day tasting of aniseed. I think we were drinking it neat back then but this time around tried it with tonic water. Yep, still just as tasty.

Our last day began with an organ concert in a historic church (or rather practice for a concert that evening but same idea). We saw the Jewish area, including an old cemetery, and then we did a walkabout back on the castle/west side of the river.

We ended our day with classical music and ballet in a large concert hall. In this city, there is so much music available – every church, historic building and hall advertised concerts. I figure being a musician here probably sets up a lifetime of employment.

Cruise – Summer 2017 – Berlin

We left tornado-ravaged Toronto about four hours late, which gave us the opportunity to bump into an old friend and compare notes on our various destinations and get some really awesome meal vouchers. Finally left around 11pm but damn was that sandwich delicious.

Upon arrival, first things first – tried out the local beer while Anne-Marie, my mom, initially eyed, then asked about our neighbour’s sauerkraut. We unpacked much later 🙂

A lot of Berlin is focused on their history of being a city divided by the Cold War. Anne-Marie had vague memories from being here in the 60s to meet my father’s family. First photo is Berlin in 1965, found on the wall of a subway station. The second photo is Anne-Marie pointing out landmarks she remembered from when she was at Checkpoint Charlie.

At the spot she’s pointing to now stands a long signboard (of which the photo above is part) with the history of West and East Berlin. All around the city are Wall pieces and fragments on display, like those below.

We also found an old Watchtower from the former East. I cringed at the skinny, concrete column, up which a guard would need to climb to reach the observation spot. And envisioned someone whose job it was to spot (and shoot) East Berliners simply wishing to go to a place with basic freedoms and amenities ready available.

On some sidewalks and roads are bricks and metal lines reminding people where the Wall once stood. The signals to cross the street are very distinctive in what was the East. We found a big statue of ‘Go.’ Love that bowler hat.

Just west of our hotel was the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate. It’s the only one of 14 Gates still standing, the legacy of a super rich king wanting the promenade to look pretty. I think it worked. This fall there’s an election. I think Merkel is as popular as ever. At least she’s someone who can Whack-A-Mole Trump.

We opted for an hour long boat tour of the Spree and saw some new and not so new landmarks.

That evening we ventured to a 17th floor bar, with glass elevator on the outside, for a spectacular city view. Anne-Marie decided to go for one last walk around and as  Don and I headed to the door, we found her animatedly conversing with two Italian men 😳.

The next day we explored some Pawelski family history, taking the subway to find the place my father lived as a teenager. Not much else but at least horses are allowed on board. At the old address there was still a shop, although selling repair services and not convenience goods as in my father’s time. At the entrance was a hallway and stairs up to flats above, a garden at the end. As we walked through a man offered to take us to the office beyond the greenery. We found the current owner and her son. She said she’d bought the store in 1980, so from my father’s cousin. It had been called ‘Pawelski’s’ at the time 🙂 She offered to email us photos and said the only thing remaining from that time was the tree in the back. By 1980 my father would have been gone from Germany for 25 years already.

The rest of the day we shopped and walked around Kurfurstendamm and Alexanderplatz – two famous landmarks, the first with an impressive bombed-out but still standing church. We found a patio nearby for some beers. Here, we showed Anne-Marie how to connect to wifi while on the move, and she proceeded to send her first email from a cafe. A proud daughter moment.