Knossos

Of course Knossos is a must-see when on Crete, this is the reason why we went there. Being interested in archeological sights and not visiting Knossos when in the area is definately a no-go.

The place is considered to be the oldest European city, building was started around 1700 b.c., and it is the main site of ancient Minoan culture. Being a very important place for archeology endless theories have been developed around the palace of Knossos, many of them not confirmed yet.

But to be honest: the place just did not catch me. You basically see many old stones lying around and where you see walls, houses, pictures you never know: are they guesswork? Facts? The guide told us about Sir Arthur Evans, the one who excavated the palace of Knossos, and obviously it was his fault why archeologists all around the world are not too happy with it. He digged out stuff, gave it names, added theories and what he could not dig out as a whole he builded himself - with the newly discovered "cement" as a building material, which you cannot remove anymore. So you find cement and antique stones baked together in one, and you do not have a clue anymore what part of it is the "real" thing if any.

One of the things that are known for sure: one of the most important figures was the bull or tauros. We know about the games when young girls and boys jumped across the back of a bull, but we don´t know why they did it. We just know that it happened, and that it must have been dangerous indeed. So of course the bull´s horns you can see here was a sign of the Mioan culture itself.

We also know that it must have been a very rich culture. All over the place you find huge amphoras where they kept enormous amounts of olive oil, gold, grain.... And not only the ruling class was rich, also the working class was well-fed and well-clad.

This replica of a bronze-age painting found at Knossos shows that women were not only priestesses of high rank but also that women were extremely well-respected members of society. To be a woman meant to be a mother meant to be the giver of life! So many societies seem to have lost this respect towards women....

This is what Arthur Ewans called the Throne room, where the King was sitting. New theories say that here was actually the place of the High Priestess, and that maybe Knossos did not have a King but a Queen who might have been also the religious leader.

This is the so-called Queen´s bathroom, because in a tiny place where we were not allowed in they found a bath tub. But who knows who actually took a bath in there? Or took a bath at all? The wall paintings are lovely though.

And here we have the famous Minotauros. You all know the story that somewhere under the palace is the famous labyrinth of the Minotauros who was later killed by Theseus with the help of Ariadne and her thread....

Of course go and see Knossos when you are there. But places like Turkish Ephesos or Austrian Carnuntum caught me lots more, the methods they used seemed to be more scientific and the places themselves were much more charming.

But what turned out to be the real highlight of the day was a visit to Heraklion, the main city of Crete. If you are in the area go to downtown Heraklion and enjoy the shopping, the harbour, the city.... Lovely place with lots to do!

We spend a lovely late afternoon there and then we went home, back to our little place by the beach... Bye-bye for this time, Crete, cannot wait to be back soon!

Das Lasithi-Plateau

When you travel around Crete you realize that the island is not just beaches and the sea but also a lot of mountains. You get the Ida-Mountains, the Dikti-Mountains and the Lefka Ori, all of them more then 2000 meters above sea level, and then of course there is the Lasithi-Plateau, which is between 800 and 900 meters up and where you even get snow in Winter.

Compared to the other Greek Islands Crete is so big that it takes a lot of driving to get around there, going up to Lasithi took us about 2 hrs from our hotel in the Malia area. But it is definately worth it, you see a lot of the "real" island, and you can enjoy wonderful views.

There are plenty of archeological sites at Crete, the place we wanted to see today was the "Psychro cave", the place where - according to Greek mythology - Zeus was born. His mother Rhea is said to have been hiding in this cave because his father Kronos was jealous of the baby, but when Kronos found her she showed him a stone instead of the baby and Kronos was obviously happy and walked off. How dull can you be? A stone instead of a baby? Oh well.....

The way up from the parking area to the cave is quite tough, they tell you that you have to be in good shape to make it up the mountain, and this is really true. You walk up a very steep path, and the sun blazes down on you, and the way is looong.......

You can take a donkey up if you want - and believe me I was tempted. But noooo, this is something for whimps....

And after you have completely exhausted yourself going up, up, up you go down into the earth again. Here it is lots cooler than outside.

The Psychro cave has been a worshipping site for over thousands of years, and you can feel there is something there. It is just a pity that the "something" is there with so many other people. But this is definately a problem here: At Crete you are never alone with the sights. And we were not even in the main season. But no need to worry, once you are off the beaten track you are fine.

Afterwards we simply travelled around Lasithi and found lots of nice little villages with comfortable little gardens and the familiar looking Greek doors. Later we had a perfect light lunch in a small taverna right next to one of the little churches you find everywhere, and later we went in and lit a candle to ask for save travelling.

And then we ventured on to see more of this friendly, easy-going area.

And later, back in the luxury and comfyness of our hotel, when the sun went down over the Aegaeian Sea, we thought that it had been a really good day.

Kreta - Impressionen

The Greek Pantheon is a strange place. The Gods behave worse than people, they live, love, rage so much more than we do, and from my POV they are not a bunch of entities to look up to. But when I arrived at Crete I found myself in complete agreement with Zeus that he had decided to have been born there.

I had only been to the Greek Islands once, more than a decade ago, that time it had been Rhodes, and I remember it to have been cold (weatherwise), unfriendly (peoplewise) and nothing special for me personally. Everybody had told me, "Crete is fun, you will see!" but some things you really have to find out for yourself. So this is what we did, and we found it to be wonderful!

So hello from Crete! Its warm waters and white sand reminded me to Kho Samui (the only other place in the world where I am able to walk straight into the water because it is so warm), and still it is only 2,5 hrs from my home and one does not even have to cross EU borders! Amazing! Especially for someone like me who thought for a very long time the next decent beach would be Miami Beach...

The whole hotel area was only palm trees and blooming flowers, and even though the place hosted like 600 people it never felt crowded it all.

The main pool was gigantic, and it was the first holiday in a long time where I actually used a pool that was not my home one. The water was warm, almost no people inside (I wonder where they all were) and room enought for me to let off steam! I am not too fond of sports but I really, really enjoy swimming.

This is the view from our favorite breakfast/dinner table. We enjoyed great moments of sundown there - not of sunrise though, much too early for late birds like us. You could feel the soft breeze from the water,  enjoy the daily concert of the crickets and pampered yourself with gorgeous food. Heaven...

One day the weather was cloudy and the sea was rough, but it still was warm and we enjoyed a long walk at the beach. Since we are not the type of people who love roasting in the sun all day it was the perfect weather! A bit cooler than usual, grand moments looking out at the sea which reminded me of the rough and sometimes dark ocean down Highway No.1 at California´s West coast.... Sorry I keep comparing, but I guess this is one of the problems when you have done a decent deal of travelling. Anyway, we had a fun time.

But soon the weather improved back to Greek normal, the sea calmed down, and everything was sun, mild breezes and hot temperatures again.

So we could do one of the things we enjoyed best: sit on our own private terrace and enjoy an ice-cold beer.

In my mind Crete will always be this friendly, warm Island full of blooming flowers, good smells and enjoyable colours which are pleasing the eye so much. Birds singing, crickets chirping, a soft breeze is coming from the water - this is my impression of Crete, my personal "Island of Gods".