Greek Untour, Spring of 2004
by Lee & Gail Forstie, Oronoco, MN
Easter is the most important religious festival in Greece. This year, Eastern and Western Easters coincided, which is not usually the case. We arrived in Nafplio on Wednesday during Holy Week. Our Poppy apartment overlooked the small square in front of St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church.
The Good Friday night funeral procession from St. George’s to Syntagma Square was extraordinary. It began when a man carried a large wooden empty cross from the church out onto the street. As he moved down the street, a band marched behind him in slow steps as they played a funeral dirge. Soldiers carried a flower-bedecked bier or coffin from the church and followed the band. Then the priests, a squad of soldiers in camo fatigues, and finally the faithful from the church, the square and the streets held long candles aloft as they joined the procession. That crowd of people included the six of us Untourists and Els, our Idyll contact.
Just before midnight during the church service on Saturday night, the church interior went completely dark. After a moment, the chandelier lights began cycling on one at a time. Concurrently, the candles of the congregants were lit, moving in a wave from the altar to the rear of the church. Then the priests exited the church to a small raised platform in the square. The congregation followed them out. The square and the surrounding streets were jammed. Everyone carried a lit candle, even those on the surrounding balconies and rooftops. When the priest announced, "Christos Aneste" (Christ is risen), the church bells went into rapid-fire mode and fireworks exploded down the street. Easter Sunday in Nafplio had begun.
The Poppy apartment is delightfully sited among the narrow, cobblestone streets in old-town Nafplio. The picturesque streets, the tavernas, the magnificent fortress of the Palamidi which loomed 700 feet above, the harbor, the backdrop of the Akronafplia (Nafplio’s acropolis) on this small peninsula jutting out into the Bay of Argos all contribute to make Nafplio a very special place.
Two blocks away our narrow street becomes even more constricted as the taverna tables occupy a portion of the street. The waterfront was only a short distance further. The outdoor tables along the quay were an ideal spot for morning cappuccino. Guarding the harbor entrance here is the miniature fortress of the Bourtzi. Also conveniently located were a grocery store and an Italian gelateria.
The opportunities for day trips were many. The highlights for us included ...
- sitting on the top row of the amphitheatre at Epidaurus and enjoying the impromptu performances emanating from the center of the theatre far below. The acoustics were amazing.
- The boat trip from Tolo to Hydra. Hydra was charming, but our stop in Spetses was forgettable.
- Ancient Corinth
- Mycenae offered the Treasury of Atreus at parking lot level, but the rest of the site was on top of a hill. The short climb was well worth the effort. We entered through the famous Lion’s Gate. The brilliant color of the red poppies sprouting among the ruins brightened a beautiful spring day.
- Monemvasia, the "Gibralter of Greece" was magnificent. We wandered the narrow stone passages of lower town. We paused for lunch at a table overlooking the Aegean. The fortified town has two levels. The upper town is on top of this 1150-foot-high chunk of rock. The lower town has been restored, but the upper town is still in ruins. We followed a rocky path to the summit to reach the Agia Sofia, a 13th century church. While climbing, we paused frequently to admire the scene below – lower town and the sea.
- Ancient Olympia, like Monemvasia, was another long day trip. As Nafplio and Olympia are on opposite sides of the Pelopennese peninsula, some more mountain driving was necessary. Travel writer Robert N. Jenkins, in an article in the St. Petersburg Times, described the trip as, "the most frightening drive I have ever made." It was indeed interesting, including the village of Langadia at the midway point. Incidentally, Jenkins stayed in the Poppy apartment while he researched his travel article.
Ancient Olympia was ample reward for the driving effort. The museum was terrific. But the archeological site across the street was the true highlight. The ruins covered a wide area. The flowering fruit trees added to the aura. Walking through the Stadium Entrance to where the first recorded Olympic Games were held in 776 BC was an incredible experience. - Mystras is 7 km west of Sparta. We had taken the expressway through the mountain tunnel to get to Tripoli and then driven the more typical roads through Sparta on our trip to Monemvasia. However, we needed a day just for Mystras.
Mystras was formed in three parts. First, the castle was built on the hilltop. From there Mystras grew down the slopes to form upper town. Finally, a lower town developed. The occupancy hierarchy also flowed downhill – aristocrats in upper town and peasants outside the walls of lower town.
Because the ruins here were not ancient, but only go back 700 – 800 years, many of the stone walls still stand. The only building currently occupied is the Pantanassa convent, staffed by a few nuns. We walked the stone pathways through lower town, upper town and eventually to the walls of the castle. The direction was mostly up. Mystras was an intriguing place with its winding paths, walled passageways (sometimes leading through arches), flowering trees and a rainbow of color from flowers amongst the rocks. We were able to look over Sparta and the entire region from atop the castle walls.