Europe Spring 2025

februari - maart 2025
  • Ella Balagula
Een 20-daags avontuur van Ella Meer informatie
  • Ella Balagula

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  • Selys encuentro in Belgium

    27 feb.–3 mrt., België ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    We started our trip by landing in Frankfurt airport. Our original plan was to rent a car and drive 3 hours to Liège in Belgium, the home for the encuentro, with a stop in Bonn for a VoiceMap tour about Beethoven, and a visit to Beethoven house museum. Unfortunately, given that our flight departed at 5 pm, we couldn’t really fall asleep that early and ended up landing having only slept for a couple of hours. We decided that driving after a sleepless night wasn’t the best choice, plus we’re too tired for a pleasant sightseeing. So we scratched the plan and instead ran to the train station to make a direct train to Liège. We just made the train with 2 minutes to spare, and 2.5 hrs later, we arrived to Liège. It’s one of the top 4 largest cities in Belgium with beautiful modern architecture, as evidenced by the stunning train station building. We then went to the hotel, rested and got ready for the first milonga of the Selys encuentro, which took place in a stunning historical ballroom in the older wing of the hotel. The next four days, until Monday morning, we did not leave the hotel, fully immersed in dancing. We danced, ate tasty meals and slept very little. We had 31 hours of dancing, and I enjoyed 83 magical tandas (which is about 17 hours of pure dancing) with great dancers, the most I ever danced in a single event. It was warm and friendly with a very high level of dancers, probably the best encuentro for us that we ever attended.Meer informatie

  • View of the agora marketplace and Acropolis in the distance
    Temple of ZeusTemple of Zeus - enormousView of the Acropolis from the Temple of ZeusA Greek Orthodox Church inside the agora, from the Byzantine periodGreek coffee is basically a Turkish coffee

    Athens - ancient Agora

    4 maart, Griekenland ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    On Monday we slept late, had a nice breakfast and took a train back to Frankfurt, for our flight to Athens. We arrived fairly late in the evening, and I just rested, catching up on all the lost encuentro weekend sleep. On Tuesday morning, we took a VoiceMap tour of the ancient Agora. We were there back in 2012, and did a Rick Steves tour, but didn’t remember much. Our knowledge of Ancient Greek history and of Athens highlights was in strong need of a refresher. Last time we were in early June, and it was now definitely much better to walk around in cooler weather and without bus loads of tourists. Agora was an ancient marketplace, but also the seat of the newborn democracy, because this is where people would gather to debate and legislate, and where the seat of the first democratic government resided. There were also, of course, many religious temples, most in ruins, but the Temple of Zeus was incredibly well preserved. It was great to walk the same pathways as Aristotle and Socrates. We also saw the ruins of the prison where Socrates was being held before being executed by eating hemlock - a highly toxic poisonous plant. After Agora, we did another VoiceMap tour - the Greek gastronomy tour that took us to the food market and various food stores and eateries. We ended up eating at another restaurant near our hotel - quite inventive cuisine - incredible Greek salad and super fresh grilled sea bass filet.Meer informatie

  • View of the Temple of Zeus from the Acropolis
    This ancient theater now hosts performances and plays during summerFamous caryatids on one of the temples (copies as originals are in a museum)The temple where Athena and Neptune apparently had a battle and Athena wonSide of the Parthenon

    Athens - Acropolis

    5 maart, Griekenland ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Today, we took a 2-hour VoiceMap tour of Athens jewel - Acropolis. Again, it made such a difference from last time to not be frying under the open Greek summer sun, and not fighting the hoards of people. The beauty of the off season traveling in full force. The tour was really interesting, covering a rich history of one of the world most iconic hills. On the slopes of the hill is one of the world’s first theaters, built specifically for plays and performances, unlike the ones for gladiator fights in Ancient Rome. The theater is actively used during the summer months now, and many celebrities performed there - from Luciano Pavarotti to Elton John. Most of the temples and structures on the Acropolis were built as a dedication to goddess Athena, after whom Athens is named. There were then multiple wars that destroyed or partially destroyed the temples - Persian and Trojan wars, then crusaders and later the Ottoman Turks. It’s a miracle that we can still see so much of its former glory. We learned about the marvelous building methods and skills of the ancient Greeks - enormous structure of the Parthenon was built in only 9 years! After the tour, we walked back to the hotel and had dinner again at the same restaurant Bandiera, ordering the same Greek salad and sea bass. Don’t fix what ain’t broken :)Meer informatie

  • Busts of Ancient Greek playwrights
    Ruins of the ancient Roman bathhouseConference hallThe stadium where first modern Olympic Games were heldHerod's gateRuins of the ancient village under the Acropolis museumOriginal caryatids from the acropolis templeByzantine churchMain Greek Orthodox cathedralAthenian jews dedicated this statue to the Patriarch who defended Jews from the NazisSmall Byzantine church next to the more modern cathedral

    Athens - Downtown and Acropolis museum

    6 maart, Griekenland ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Today, we started the day with the scrumptious breakfast at our hotel - a typical scrambled eggs with tomatoes dish, and massive pancakes 🙈 ! We then did a VoiceMap tour of downtown which covered layers of Greek history. We saw Greek parlament where change of the guards takes place ( we didn’t get to see it), then a conference hall where they celebrate important events and receive other heads of state. We learned about play writers of Ancient Greece whose dramas and comedies are still being performed around the world. We saw a huge Olympic stadium - it was first an Ancient Greek stadium, like the one on Olympia. It was in ruins and it was rebuilt in late 19th century to host the first modern Olympic Games. It is also the finish site of the Athens marathon. We also saw some impressive ruins of columns which were the remnants of a massive temple and saw the Herod’s Gate - Herod was a Roman emperor but he was a huge Helenopille - a big fan of Greek arts, literature and Gods. He played a big role in preserving many temples and art pieces. After the tour, we went to the Acropolis museum, which houses various sculptures and archeological objects found in the Acropolis. It’s a very modern museum, well laid out and with a great audio guide. It really brought to life for us the various layers of history of Acropolis and Greek arts and mythology. The museum is built over the excavated ancient village. And inside are well preserved or partially restored sculptures. Interestingly, the Parthenon and other temples were covered in stunning statues, but were knocked off by the Persians. The citizens of Athens then buried those sculptures in mud pits, and they were thus magically preserved. On the other hand, a couple of sculptures that were left intact outside, didn’t fair as well, eroded by the elements. Overall, it was a fascinating museum. Afterwards, I walked a bit with a portion of Rick Steves tour, learning about Greek Orthodox Church. I visited its main cathedral which is the seat of all of Greek Orthodox Church, like a Greek Vatican. There was also a monument to the Greek head Patriarch who was active during the Holocaust defending Jews and risking his own life. Afterwards, I went to the same restaurant again, but this time ordered a Greek salad and incredible chicken breast in fruit sauce.Meer informatie

  • Drive from Heraklion to Rethymno

    7 maart, Griekenland ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    On Friday, we got up early, had the last scrumptious Athens breakfast, and took a 45min flight to Heraklion, Crete. We rented a car, and embarked on the first of many driving VoiceMap tours around the island. These 3-hour tours have been developed by a Dutch guy who lives on Crete, and calls himself Mr Rutaki - because he guides Routes, and Taki is diminutive in Greek. Today, the tour took us from Heraklion to Rethymno, which is a beautiful Venetian harbor on the west of Heraklion. Crete is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations - Minoans who lived in 3000 BC. There are many excavation sites and a wealth of Archeological findings. Then there were Greeks, then Romans, then Venetians ruled from 12 to 16 centuries, then Ottoman Turks, until the independence in 1830. Mr. Rutaki took us on rural mountain roads among olive groves and through small villages. Given that it is now off season, the villages are now empty and pretty much all commercial activities are shut down and the stores are closed. Still, it was wonderful to drive through the villages and learn about Cretan traditions and ways of life. We arrived in Rethymno and had delicious dinner in one of the taverns.Meer informatie

  • Rethymno harbor and a lighthouse
    One of the opulent Greek Orthodox churchesFormer church, becoming a mosque and now exhibition hallRethymno fortressMosque inside the fortress remaining from the Ottoman timesBeautiful Venetian fountainOne of the village churches on the driveSmall chapel of Five Holy VirginsBeautiful mountain villageA church in one of the villages we passedSheep traffic againBeautiful lake

    Tour of Rethymno and drive to Chania

    8 maart, Griekenland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today, we started the day with a VoiceMap walking tour of Rethymno with Mr Rutaki. We explored a beautiful harbor and walked some winding Venetian streets. The signs of multiple layers of history were everywhere. There is a huge mosque looking building with a minaret, which was first a Byzantine church, then a mosque under the Ottomans, and then a church again, but they didn’t want to remove a beautiful minaret, so they left it. Now it’s an arts exhibition hall. We walked around the beautiful Rethymno fortress - I can imagine that in high season it would be packed, but now we were the only ones. Then we packed up, and left Rethymno, on a 3 hour drive west towards Chania with Mr Rutaki. We stopped in a small village to see its beautiful church, and on another stop, we walked towards a small chapel dedicated to 5 virgins, who according to a legend, were martyred for their Christian faith. It was in such a beautiful remote setting! The tour ended in a small town of Georgioupolis with beautiful lake and a small harbor. Then we drove 45 min to Chania, our next pit stop for the rest of the weekend. We had a quick dinner and went to a milonga that was advertised to us by the woman from Chania that we met at the encuentro in Venice. Unfortunately, the milonga was pretty empty, not clear why. But we chatted with the local dancers and had some nice dances.Meer informatie

  • Main cathedral of Chania
    Synagogue of ChaniaLots of beautiful pottery and sculptures at the archeological museumPottery and remains of Roman mosaicsA minaret leftover from the Ottoman timesFormer Turkish baths turned exhibit hallsThe minaret at the background of snowy mountainsHarbor and beautiful snowy mountains at the sunsetWe walked to the lighthouse

    Chania VoiceMap tour

    9 maart, Griekenland ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Today we did a VoiceMap tour of Chania, and went to the Archeological museum. It was great to wander beautiful winding streets of Chania, and to admire Venetian harbor. Of course, again there are many layers of history, with the occasional minaret remaining from the Ottoman times. There were also the remnants of the Jewish population on Crete - an old synagogue from the 16 century. There were about 300 Jews on Crete in 1941, but they were all rounded up by the Nazis who occupied Crete and put on a ship heading to Auschwitz. They never made it, as the ship was bombarded by the allied forces and everyone on board died. The synagogue fell in despair and was rebuilt by a visiting Israeli Jew and now hosts a small museum. The Jewish community on Crete is tiny but uses this synagogue as a community place for connection. We then went to the Chania Archeological museum which displayed the artifacts from Neolithic times, to many Minoan civilization findings. It was really fascinating to see amazing pottery or beauty tools, such as tweezers from 2000 BC. Afterwards we had a nice dinner of lamb in a harbor tavern and walked to the lighthouse to watch a spectacular sunset. Afterwards, we left Chania and drove for two hours back west to Heraklion.Meer informatie

  • Beautiful olive trees
    Chapel inside the caveThe cave where the rebels were hidingMirabella bay with the Spinalonga islandSpinalonga island in frontThese boat usually ferry people to Spinalonga island, but not in low seasonThe small lake in Agios NikolaosLots of fragrant lemon trees everywhereMinotaur mural on the stairs

    Drive from Malia to Agios Nikolaos

    10 maart, Griekenland ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Today we left Heraklion and drove west, on a 3 hr drive with Mr Rutaki VoiceMap to Agios Nikolaos. Typically, these drives take you on a winding roads around olive tree groves, through mountain villages, which are very sleepy with all commercial activity shut down for the season now. On the way, Mr Rutaki shares a lot of general info about Crete, which is somewhat quite repetitive on each of the drives. For example, we heard multiple times about the funeral and burial Cretan traditions, or types of olives and olive oil that exist, or the significance of small roadside candle shrines. Well, at least we hopefully will not forget it! Each drive though has a few of its distinct highlights. Today, we stopped at the cave where 3500 rebels and civilians were hiding during the ottoman times, and were all massacred. There is a small chapel inside the cave. In the high season you can probably explore the cave, but now no one was there and it was pitch dark, so we didn’t venture deep into the cave corridors with our flimsy phone flashlights. The next highlight was the gorgeous Mirabella bay and the Spinalonga island that we could see from the shore. It’s a 16 century Venetian fort, later turned into a leper colony. In high season boats take you on a tour of the small fortress but now we just admired it from the distance. We then arrived to Agios Nikolaos, a small town with the beach and lake and we stopped there for the night.Meer informatie

  • Beautiful church in one of the villages
    A church on top of the hill - looks like MeteoraCave with the chapel on top of the hillStunning hilly countrysideEndless olive groves on the carpets of wildflowersAmazing restaurant where I had the best lamb everHeraklion harborA tower wat the end of the peerThe pier ends in an imposing towerLodgia from the Venetian times built like FlorenceInterestingly this gallery is called Basilica of St Mark'sVenetian fountain that served as the main drinking water source for the cityA fountainInside one of the beautiful churchesBeautiful church with a bell tower

    Driving in the South and Heraklion

    11 maart, Griekenland ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    This morning we had delicious Greek yogurt with thyme honey and left Agios Nikolaos to do another Mr Rutaki drive towards the south coast of Crete. A special mention goes to all the Greek yogurts in Greece. Even the most standard looking ones with 2% fat are the smoothest and creamiest tasting ever. We drove through some more mountain villages and olive groves and listened to mostly the same type of information with occasional new highlights. We started to get a bit saturated with Mr Rutaki and were glad that it was our last drive with him. The scenery though was stunning - the south is more covered with forests, and the limestone peaks which made it look like a much smaller version of Meteora. Even complete with a few chapels on top of the limestone peaks. After we finished the drive on the south coast, we drove 1.5 hrs back to Heraklion. Igor had to work in the afternoon, while I went for a nice long late lunch/early dinner at an amazing restaurant Peskesi and had the most delicious lamb I ever had on top of rice that was cooked in lamb juices. Even forgot to take a picture! Afterwards I did one last Mr Rutaki walking tour of Heraklion. I walked around the beautiful harbor and the Venetian center with some imposing Italian looking building and fountains. I saw some more beautiful churches and then walked back to the hotel.Meer informatie

  • Knossos palace ruins
    The reconstructed part with cement columnsThe famous throne room, partially reconstructedReconstructed part with the freely imagined frescoesThe golden bees pendant - the bees are carrying a drop of honeyIncredible potteryBeautiful craftsmanshipThe famous disc with the Minoan writing - their script is only partially decipheredFamous snake womenOrange trees everywhere

    Knossos and Archeological Museum

    12 maart, Griekenland ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    Today was all about the Minoan civilization. We started the day by driving 15 min to Knossos - the ancient capital of the Minoan civilization around 3000 - 1500 BC. There was an enormous palace in Knossos, which has extensive fairly well preserved ruins. These ruins were discovered in the 19th century by the British archeologist Arthur Evans. Sir Evans dedicated many years of his life to preserving and restoring the Knossos palace. The result is impressive but quite controversial. Sir Evans led rebuilding of some parts of the palace to what he believed was the original state, including colors and frescoes. Given that he used modern materials such as cement, it’s clear that it’s just a replica, and we are not even sure what exactly the palace structures looked like, so a lot was the work of the Sir Evans imagination. I think we were a bit disappointed by the reconstruction, but still incredibly impressed by the sheer scale of the palace ruins. After the palace, we drove back to Heraklion and went to the Archeological Museum where most of the numerous findings form the Knossos ruins and from the other archaeological sites around Crete. We saw such masterpieces of the ancient civilization as the famous golden bees pendant form Malia, or the snake women from Knossos. The craftsmanship of the gorgeous pottery, or the miniature seals were astonishing. Hard to believe that they were created more than 4 millenniums ago. After the museum, we went back to the Peskeki restaurant and this time we had incredibly soft and delicious goat main dish.Meer informatie