Travelblog Archieven - Greece Journal

Kalamata, the beautiful eyes of the south

“I wake up one morning drowning in the routine. I put down my guitar and leave Athens, and my happiness blew me at dawn to the south, which has beautiful girls and always summer. Heraklion, Kalamata and sweet cherry…” sings Miltiadis Paschalidis in his song Iraklio-Kalamata. The best olives in the world It is a bit strange that this singer chooses these two cities in this song. Because Heraklion and Kalamata are not exactly the first cities that come to … Read More

Syrako, jewel of the Tzoumerka

Nestled in the rugged landscape of the Tzoumerka mountains in northwestern Greece lies the picturesque village of Syrako. With its stone-built houses and cobblestone streets, it offers a unique glimpse into the past, making it a must-visit destination for travelers seeking an authentic Greek mountain experience. This small mountain village is not easy to reach. Although it’s only 50 kilometres from the city of Ioannina, where we are staying this week, the car ride took us one and a half … Read More

Enjoying Greek wines in Athens

Where to go and what to taste, when you are keen on tasting Greek wines? That’s a question I’m going to help you with. Of course you can travel around in Greece, visit as many as possible wineries, taste wines from all different regios, like I did when I was writing my book (in the Dutch language) Druiven en droesem, een reis langs Griekse wijngaarden (2011). That’s of course not necessary, you can also start in Athens. I will guide … Read More

The National Gallery – Alexander Soutsos Museum in Athens

In the pouring rain I’m heading for the National Gallery. Because of the heavy rain, it’s a perfect day to be inside a museum, and immerse myself for a couple of hours in the world of Greek art. The National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum is a brand new museum. The opening ceremony was held on March 24, 2021. That was a day before the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence. It is located in the district of … Read More

Workplace and museum: the Passimenterie Mentis in Athens

Traditional factories and workplaces in Greece are dying. They either scale up their production, replace outdated machinery and modernise their production lines, or they just perish and close their doors. Just very few workplaces still cherish their old machinery, keep on producing like they did for decades. Mostly because their owners can’t afford renewing and replacing, sometimes because they just love their old-fashioned production line. One of the oldest manufacturing venture in the country, Mentis, started in 1867. The factory … Read More

The Bay of Navarino

Visiting places where a fierce war once raged, is not one of my favorite activities. Some people like to visit the trenches of the First World War. Others travel to Normandy just to see where the British and Americans landed in the final year of the Second World War. Others ‘collect’ military cemeteries. Yet I must admit: in Greece I recently discovered that it can definitely have its charms, to visit a place where a war has been fought, … Read More

The ultimate Greek paradise – the house of Joan and Patrick Leigh Fermor

The sand-colored stones that were used to build the house, come from the nearby Taygetos Mountains. The Cycladic island of Paros was the supplier of the white marble elements. The rough gray stones on the floor were transported from the Pelion peninsula in the north of Greece. Wooden shutters that protect the windows from heavy storms and burning sun, are painted light blue; the same soft matte color that you often see in the French Provence. The huge, multi-level … Read More

Kastoria. City of bears and Byzantine churches

The road signs along the side of the highway are obvious. The warning signs show a large mother bear with a small one behind her. There are also signs with the text ‘Prosogi perasma arkoudhas’ (‘watch out, bears are walking here’). Now I also finally understand the metal fences that we have seen for miles on both sides of the highway. Bears on the road. In the afternoon, we left the airport of Thessaloniki with a rental car, on our … Read More

Anafiotika, an island without sea

The capital of Greece was still a large village two hundred years ago. When Athens was chosen as the capital by King Otto in the 1930s, it was home to about ten thousand people. After that it went fast. In 1879 more than sixty thousand people lived there, in 1896 more than one hundred thousand and now there are almost four million. Many Athenians come from other parts of Greece. As early as the 19th century, people from all over … Read More

Robert McCabe’s Greece

From 10 June to 16 June 2023, the exhibition ‘Greece: Images of an Enchanting Country’ can be seen in The Atrium in The Hague. The event is organized by the Greek Embassy in The Hague. The exhibition contains the beautiful photographs that the American photographer Robert McCabe (1934) took in Greece from the 1950s.Chicago-born McCabe began taking photographs in 1939, at the age of five. Since then he has traveled the world with his camera. In 1954 he visited Greece … Read More