Reviewing Athens

Agora

A week in Athens isn’t nearly long enough to see all of the monuments, ruins, points of interest, as well as sample all of the food options in the city. I also didn’t get to do more than glance at the sea shore or peek at some of the coastline. In August I thought one time in Athens was plenty, but I may have to make a return trip some fall or spring! For information about my rating system of where we stayed, what we ate, and what we did, see Reading the Reviews.

Acting out in Athens

Greek Folk Dance

The best time to visit Athens is in the spring (April, May, early June) or fall (mid-September, October); so of course we came in August. This is one of the hottest months, as well as the time of year that Athens has the most tourists. Was it hot – yes! Was it crowded – sort of. If you went to the tourist places, and who doesn’t, there were substantial numbers of people; if you hung out in museums or interesting places without air conditioning, it wasn’t too crowded. Our best idea was to go to the ruins early in the morning and save the museums for later in the day. In the evening the best place to be was in a café that overlooked the water with some sort of cold drink in your hand.

Geology, Hallucinogens, and Lots of Questions

One of the most famous places in Greece, and a tourist destination since

Mountains

as early as 1400 BCE, is Delphi. And being tourists, Barb and I hopped on a bus for a tour of the area. I was anxious to see the grotto down along some river or stream – one again, reality was not what stories of the area had lead me to believe. It’s about a four and a half hour ride through some very pretty mountainous scenery from Athens to Delphi; luckily we had a great guide.

Amsterdam, Again

And I came back to Amsterdam. This is my third trip and Dave’s second. Our first visit was in the 1980s with a tour group; we saw the ‘common sites’, including, after dark, the red light district. Neither of us was impressed. My next trip was with Barb, and we concentrated on museums. This time I came because this is where the cruise ended and stayed since it was a place Dave had never really explored. I was tickled to get to show him some wonderful museums. We weren’t in time to see the tulips, but the weather was lovely and it was fun to be out on the canals in the little boats. Once again, for me the down side was the number of bicycles – they seem to aim right at pedestrians with silent malice. (The video is falling blossoms from the Rijksmuseum.)

Winding through the Kinderdijk Windmills

Finally! I was going to get to see actual windmills. Growing up in Texas I’d

Several of the windmills

seen windmills all of my life; those wimpy little things with tiny blades that pumped water into the cattle tanks, or even for household use. However, the day I heard the story of the boy with his finger in the dike and saw the pictures that went with it, I wanted to see a ‘real’ windmill. Later in high school I read Don Quixote, and again, there were ‘real’ windmills. I’d been to the Netherlands previously, but never visited any windmills – this was my chance!

Brühl Byways and Palaces

Pig in a kilt

So my burning question is what’s the difference between a palace and a castle? In my mind, a castle has to have turrets, lots of different levels, parapets, balconies, bridges, terraces and even a moat! A palace is nothing more than a really big mansion. And I’m sort of right. It’s a castle if it has fortifications; otherwise it’s only a palace. Since we had a chance to see some palaces, off we went. The Augustusburg and Falkenlust Palaces are in North Rhine-Westphalia rather than right down on the river. It was a nice drive and the weather sort of cooperated – it didn’t rain, sleet or hail.

Curious about Cologne, Germany

Cologne is a pretty city with architecture influenced by the Dutch as well

Restaurant area in Cologne

as the Italians and the French. But what I loved most about the city was the cathedral. It’s nearly over the top Gothic architecture is jaw-dropping. So I was stunned when one of our party absolutely refused to go inside – and was nasty about it. All I could think was ‘ugly American’. Our tour guide was gracious, recommending a nice place for a cup of coffee while this person and a companion waited for the tour to continue. Better manners would have been to inquire as to a café location and quietly state that they would wait for us there; it doesn’t cost anything to be polite.