Venice and the east winds

Ah Venice! the city of canals or in my case wet feet. When the easterly blows you better have your gum boots ready as complete districts will be flooded up to in my case 30 cm and smelly too. But hey, the locals have lived with this and tell me it's something they live with.

The foundation of Venice is basically reclaimed swamps in a network of many small islands. The history of Venice begins early in the fifth century around the period of the collapse of the Roman Empire. Mainlanders starting fleeing to this lagoon because they no longer had the protection of the empire against the barbarians coming down from Northern Europe. The barbarians had no sea skills to speak of and hence this protected the new Venetians.

Bicycles are not allowed and you would not want to try with all the bridges to cross. No cars either - oh such peace at last! More car-less cities please!

 

Stunning architecture, numerous narrow paved streets and alleys with a strong medieval/gothic legacy and did you know it was a launching place for the Crusades heading to the 'East'. This city was and really still is the gateway to Europe from the 'East'. Slowly cruising up the channel after a long and slow 32-hour ferry trip from western Greece you definitely notice the change in style and feel from southern to Central Europe.

You could easily spend a day wandering around the San Marco (St Mark's Square) and surrounding sites broken up with coffee and biscuit breaks. So many cafes and little spaces to go - changing textures, colours, window boxes with flowering aster and petunias - what a classy place this is! Everyone dresses impeccably. Appearance seems to be very important to Europeans.

 

Having a strong interest in the music of the Baroque period meant I had to visit the exhibition of one of the city's most notable music icons, Antonio Vivaldi. Not a bad composer and violinist for a priest, which is a major understatement given his output and major influence on the artistic musical space for further development of instrumental music and opera in Europe and for his contemporaries and composers that followed.

The exhibit has some beautifully aged string instruments and you could well imagine the sound of one in the hands of a skilled contemporary musician.

 

And so my time in The Veneto regions ends, with two days and possibly more rain so it's off to Belzano/Bozen in the South Tryol region in the Northern Alps for some serious riding across the Brenner Pass into Austria. I think the highest altitude will take me to around 1400 m or more so the views will be fantastic!

 

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Santorini blue, quad bikes and organised chaos

The Greek Islands have always been on my list, the notion of Mediterranean food, whitewashed walled villages, grapevines and friendly slow pace has always appealed to me. As I mentioned in an earlier post, living amongst the Greek communities in Melbourne and Adelaide gave me a an appreciation of their culture and strong sense of community spirit.

There are several thousand islands but only a few hundred are actually inhabited. The largest Greek island by area is Crete, located at the southern edge of the Aegean Sea. I am staying on the Island of Santorini for five days and this is located more or less in the central region of the Aegean Sea south of the mainland and part of the Cyclades group. Taking the ferry option was a no-brainier as you simply walk the bicycle on and can you believe it? Tie it up yourself. A nine- hour trip cost 35 euros for everything. The turnaround for this huge ferry and return back the other direction is extraordinary as everyone walks down the car ramp along with cars, motorbikes and trucks and within half an hour or so the new passengers and vehicles are on and it's time to go again.

Santorini blue - well let's call it that for artistic licence is a common colour here. As I rode round the island villages I noticed the consistent use of this beautiful blue in the woodwork of the homes and fences etc and against the pure white plaster of the rendered walls.

I love this rustic and rather tasteful rustic simplicity of pure colours and against the rich blue of the sky and sea really works for me. I expected something more in over the top style like a Polish lounge room but pleasantly surprised.

Why the blue? During German occupation in the Second World War the Santorinians were forbidden to fly the Greek flag which of course is white and blue or blue and white - take your pick. So as a way to demonstrate a metaphorical index finger to their oppressors at the time and provide there own unifying strength they painted their homes in the same colour scheme.

My the way I am not anti German - in fact I have dear German friends and Germany is one of the main attractions for my journey - especially given my passion for classical music and the stunning country landscape of Germany and Austria.

Those that know me are aware of my love for food and ten years cooking in an Adelaide restaurant taught the the importance of food where some poor folk will just treat it as some mundane domestic task. You only get one life! A lovely Greek neighbour taught me how to make Spanikopita which I cooked at the restaurant.

What better place to eat healthy and tasty Mediterranean food than in the Mediterranean. As I walked up the narrow cobbled streets in Fira looking for a good meal I found a modest corner entrance to a cafe and then greeted with a friendly smile and directed to the rear and upstairs to a seating area out on the large balcony overlooking the bay of Fira and the city. Wow! Words could not describe my surprise. So I sat down and pondered the menu - mmm let' start with a nice traditional Greek dip and bread, then follow with a vegetarian pasta. I certainly had room for it after today's rather short but hilly 35km ride on the right side of the road with many quad bikes passing and buses by the dozens.

Seems quad bikes are the popular choice on Santorini for couples who can't ride a two-wheeler but want to be 'out there'. It's organised chaos here amongst the narrow streets and your only mode of survival is not to 'think' through the traffic but just use your instinct and do it. Hesitate for a moment and your in trouble. Tooting horns is normal. The huge buses, and there are many here, are cleverly weaved through the narrow streets with great skill by the drivers as they deal with motor bikes, quad bikes, cars, pedestrians and anything you can throw at this organised chaos.

The local supermarket and bakery provided my breakfast, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea supplies and I even brought my trusty thermos with me. Occasionally I will go for the cafe espresso but in some remote rural scenarios you need to have a backup.

I left all my attachments at the hotel and simply took day rides to the north, south and east of the island - which is a large volcanic ring of islands with a large central caldera in the centre of the bay. Apparently there may be links to ancient ruins here and the legendary lost city of Atlantis. Plenty of hills to the north and south and my favourite rids was up to the village of IA and back along the east coast with little stops to enjoy the coastal views and cup of tea with baklava. The ruins of Akrotiki to the south west and the Red Beach close by are also iconic locations worth a visit

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The ancient city welcomes me and celebrates Greek Orthodox Easter

Nothing like travelling to another hemisphere to clarify one's perspective. As I flew from Doha over the dry terrain from the 'apparent' safety of my window seat in a Middle Eastern airliner, while enjoying my complimentary breakfast at several thousand feet, I occasionally gazed further to the north where not far away the ancient and troubled cities of Baghdad and Damascus lay.

I have parked myself for three days and nights smack in the middle of the ancient city of Athens and immediately before it celebrates Greek Easter. It is apparently the most important holiday in Greece, especially for the Greek Orthodox Church. Greek Orthodox Easter usually falls one to five weeks after Catholic Easter, while approximately once every four years it falls on the same date. I can hear the bells across the city ringing already.

Good Friday is the day of mourning and churches usually ring out the 'death' gong throughout the day beinging a steady single ring of the bell. Easter Saturday may be spent preparing a bonfire and effigy of Judas outside the church to burn after the midnight service. The Anastasi (Resurrection), takes place at midnight and is the culmination of Holy Week. Churches across Greece are packed from later in the evening for the service and the lighting of the Holy Flame at midnight.

The 40-day fast ends at midnight and meat can them be eaten time to celebrate the Anastasi and the start of Easter at a taverna. Everyone has a great time!

I always loved living among the Greek communities in Melbourne and Adelaide - my long term very generous and kind neighbours in Adelaide wanted me to marry one of their daughters but my short stature and slight build most likely protected me from being a potential candidate.

Looking back over the centuries towards the ancient Acropolis

Looking down from the Acropolis you can get quite overwhelmed by this amazing city that has an ancient legacy of centuries comapred to our short Western colonial history. Not contrived but is what it is and you could easily imagine the constant activity of the traders of linen, spice, tobacco and fine food in the malls and side streets back in ancient times and still continues today. A lovely senior woman begged me to buy her beautifully crafted cotton table cover for five euros in the Plaka district i was very tempted! Just wonderful to walk along side alley after side alley of traders, cafes and activity.

While Greece, and some other southern European countries work through challenges for their own economic prosperity, they have a wonderful abundance of a long established cosmopolitan culture which they also brought to Australia.

It hits you in the face with an abundance of graffiti, malls with long established traders, vespas and other motorbikes by the dozens and no helmets worn. Motorbikes appear to have just as much right of way as pedestrians on the footpaths alley ways and there constant and rule the roads so you better let them through as they won't stop for you. Cars also drive up some pedestrian paths, double parking, driving the wrong way and anything else you can think of. Must exist by some unwritten rules here and haven't got to Italy yet! It's a young persons domain for the monumental traffic jambs, hundreds of yellow Skoda taxis and pigeons everywhere.

No point riding anywhere here so I had some enjoyable strolls through the Monasiraki and Plaka districts full of flea markets, cafes and places just to hang out. All this within a few minutes walk to the Acropolis.

Some recognisable brand names, Vodafone, Dominos, hertz Car Rental, Australian Women's Weekly (huh? Must be for ex-pats) . I feel guilty paying only three Euros for a large capacinno (due to more poor english I got a large rather than small one), a lemon cream bun ( had to point for that one) to die for, so much so that the filling was still cold after breaking the light outer crunchy layer, and that comes with a complimentary large glass of water - I really felt I was robbing them, especially given the shape of the Greek economy. Just shows how much more we are pay in Australia which is a real shock for Europeans holidaying there.

The ethnic mix is also interesting to note as I walked around Athens. During the early 1950s Egyptians emmigrated to Greece, but mainly to the country's cities of Athens and Thessaloniki. Then, some decades later people came from various Middle Eastern countries, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Somalia. A number have also come from the Balkans after the breakup of former Yugoslavia.

 

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