What about Greece?

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Sydney International Food Festival by the advertising agency WHYBIN\TBWA

This blog is about Athens and its Travel Angels.

According to the quote ‘every crisis bears an opportunity’ I thought I might take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about this place.

Yes, there are economical difficulties, yes there might be some riots from time to time, but all in all it is a magical place with beauty all around.

Be it the vegetation, with the orange and lemon trees blossoming in spring and filling the air with a beautiful scent, colorful oleander and impressive palm trees.

Then there are the ancient sights dating back more than 2000 (two thousand!) years, impressive and strong as ever the Acropolis. But ruins are even to be found in the metro station, in underground park houses and in the middle of squares. Excavated and well preserved they remind you of a time when democracy was born, when comedies and tragedies were written, where  history and mythology were created, where maths and medicine were taught.

But it is also a modern city at the far east end of Europe. With vast highways, big stadiums, shopping malls and recreation centers it can compare to any western European metropolis. Fancy restaurants as well as small tavernas, big hotel chains as well as small pensions, international fashion brands as well as local art can be found all under the blue Attica sky. The city’s beaches and marinas make you forget that you are in a town of 5 million inhabitants and the nightlife is one of a kind.

Locals are still enjoying a glass of wine, nice music and the full moon as they always did. With everyone of them hiding a philosopher in their souls, they don’t give up, on the contrary: like Alexis Zorbas they feel that now is the time to sing and dance!
If you feel like being part of this never ending hunger for life and freedom visit Athens and ask us to show you around.

Before Midnight

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BEFORE-MIDNIGHT-stills

Went to see the movie last night.

Entirely set in Greece, the Southern Peloponnese to be exact, I was curious to see how the director had kept the atmosphere, the landscape, the scenery and the light. Especially the light as it is unique and so intense in Greece that even the most critical visitors admit that there is something about it nobody can ever forget.

After the show and discussing with a friend, we both thought that there could have been shown more details and many more pictures of a region that is too beautiful to describe in words.

But then, thinking about it, Linklater didn’t want to put the emphasis on the surrounding but on the couple, he didn’t want the scenery to look picture post card perfect but rather show just a few impressions that say a lot about Greece and it’s beauty after all:

the deep blue of the sea

the unforgettable sunsets

the ruins witnessing the history of thousands of years

and the one of  a kind hospitality of the Greeks, sharing their excellent cuisine and philosophical thoughts at a dinner table

So what else can one ask for? Greece is it!

What is Happenning in Istanbul?

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Reblogged from İnsanlik Hali:

Click to visit the original post

To my friends who live outside of Turkey:

I am writing to let you know what is going on in Istanbul for the last five days. I personally have to write this because at the time of my writing most of the media sources are shut down by the government and the word of mouth and the internet are the only ways left for us to explain ourselves and call for help and support.

Read more… 1,148 more words

Brothers in arms

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Greece Financial Crisis

I am not a violent person, I am not a politically active one either.

But there comes a point when everybody should ask themselves: What next?

Governments cut your job, they cut your pension, they take your money out of the banks, next they will take your house..

Demonstrations in Greece, demonstrations in Portugal, in Spain, now in Turkey. .. and still none of the politicians seem to care.

I wonder if they are not afraid?

How can they sleep at night, with so many countries on the edge?

How can they continue playing their power games like nothings is happening?

I wonder what they will do when all these people unite and walk together?

Will they continue experimenting on how far they can go?

What other way of expressing their anger do people in a democracy have?

Nobody listens to them, so unless they are seen, thousands of them in the streets,  marching together, peacefully,  for their right to live in a society that cares for its’ citizens rather than in one where politicians, banks and corporation lobbyists exploit them, there is no hope for change.

There’s so many different worlds 
So many different suns 
And we have just one world 
But we live in different ones

(Dire Straits, Brothers in arms) 

It’s all about the money…

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Money Plant

Is it really??

People ask me questions like:

‘Why do you write this blog ?’

‘Do you get money out of it?’

‘Why waste your time if it is for nothing?’

I have always been of the opinion that life shouldn’t be just about the money.

If we do whatever we do just for the money, there is no arts, there is no voluntary work, there is no future!

We should never stop doing whatever makes us happy, satisfied and fulfilled as a person.

Because only if we do what we do for the sake of it and not for the money a simple Thank you!  might be more of a reward than any payment.

So for me, writing this blog, giving back just a little bit of what Greece has give me and an occasional Nice blog! is more than enough!

Hostility versus Hospitality

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Once again I have to come back to the subject of Greeks being hostile towards foreigners.

Speaking from personal experience,  I can tell you this is not the fact, and if you watch this video you will be convinced that what you have heard about Greek hospitality is 100% true.

I will never forget a similar experience my father had with the guy in the video:

Walking around Athens one sunny Christmas morning, watching the Seasons decoration of Santa Clauses and snowflakes not matching at all the warm climate, he came back from his walk over excited that wherever he had stopped to take pictures or to enjoy the scenery he got invited by the locals to have an ouzo or try a Christmas cookie.

So enjoy this video which reflects Greek hospitality perfectly!
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A40iNV_e7DU

The sky(pe) is the limit

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CNT Rio del la Plata 13June 2012 pilotage dense fog 2

You left again today.. now it’s back to communication with sms, a satellite phone call once in a while and skype in the ports, where available.. for how many months? who knows..

Talking to friends and relatives they try to convince me that now, with all the new ways of communication things are not as bad.. it used to be so much harder just a view years ago, seamen wouldn’t get the news, good or bad until they returned, they would miss out on the most important events in their families, babies being born, people dying, wars starting…

So yes, they are right, it is much easier now, you can even celebrate a birthday over skype, with the birthday cake and a song in front of the computer screen, for the other to realize that he’s not forgotten..

And if there is someone out there finding a way to make communication ON the ocean easier and cheaper, I will be forever grateful!

KURO SIWO

by Nikos Kavvadias (Greek Seaman and Poet 1910-1975)

That first trip – a southern freight, by chance -
no sleep, malaria, difficult watches.
Strangely deceptive, the lights of the Indies -
they say you don’t see them at a first glance.Beyond Adam’s bridge, you took on freight
in South China – soya, sacks by the thousand,
and couldn’t get out of your mind for a second
what they’d told you in Athens one wasted night.The tar gets under your nails, and burns;
the fish-oil stinks on your clothes for years,
and her words keep ringing still in your ears:
“Is it the ship or the compass that turns?”You altered course when the weather turned,
but the sea bore a grudge and exacted its cost.
Tonight my two caged parrots were lost,
and the ape I’d had such trouble to train.The ship! – it wipes out all our chances.
The Kuro Siwo crushed us under its heel,
but you’re still watching, over the wheel,
how, point by point, the compass dances.

The great escape

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ËÉÌÁÍÉ ÐÅÉÑÁÉÁ ÁÐÅÑÃÉÁ

Saturday before Easter and everybody is escaping the city, either to one of the countless islands or to a village on the mainland.

Watching the ferries coming and going inside the port of Piraeus is an experience which is watched by many from the docks.

Young and old is getting onto the boats taking them to their destinations.

It is amazing to see a city of more than 5 Million being deserted and left with ‘a few’ hundred thousands.

This usually happens twice a year, on Easter because it is the biggest holiday for the Orthodox Church and the beginning of August when everybody is on vacation and the goal is to get out of the heat of the city of concrete and bricks.

So keep this in mind when planning your vacation in Greece during this time, as ferries, hotels, beaches and tavernas might be crowded everywhere outside Athens, whereas the city itself is much easier to explore. It is quieter, with less traffic and easier access to the local hideaways.

Happy (Greek) Easter

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Easter

If you are travelling to Greece this week, keep in mind that it is Greek Easter next Sunday, the 5th of May.

On Good Friday there are processions all over Greece, in every city, village, small and big church people are gathering with brown candles in order to remember the death of Jesus Christ.

On Saturday at midnight,  you will  see the same people lighting white candles, sometimes even fires, outside the same churches, symbolizing the resurrection of Christ.

Then, on Easter Sunday in every garden and on every square there are lambs grilled on open fires.

With music, dance and laughter families and friends get together and celebrate.

Don’t be surprised if you get offered a piece of grilled meat or a glass of delicious Greek wine when passing by.

Even if you are not a religious person, Orthodox Easter is an experience of a lifetime!

More than a 1000 words..

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video england

I want to share a video spot which is really saying it all.

Have a look, it’s worth it when considering Greece for your next vacation:

http://www.thestival.gr/xalllara/item/44677-i-diafimisi-poy-trelane-toys-toyristes-28binteo29