“The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.”
--Thucydides
The past couple days have involved less Mycenaean architecture than the rest of the trip. Instead, we saw some extra Venetian architecture (like the Napflion fortress). We visited Mystra, where we had dinner the night before. This taverna was at the base of a couple mountains, and there was a baptismal party taking place in the main building—at least that was what we were told. Mystra had an amazing view. We were in the tall mountains, and you could see just how big the fortress was. After a little bit of a trek, we found ourselves at the highest point of the fortress. It was a Sunday, and we could hear some chanting or singing from a church across the valley from us. The sound carried so clearly throughout the hills, I could have worshipped from quite a distance and still heard perfectly. We set about exploring the massive walls and buildings. As part of our exploration, I walked along a wall with some massive drops on either side. About halfway down the wall, I decided that I was done. A couple people made it out to the end where there was a little ledge you could rest on, but I was not the only one to stop before reaching it. It was a massive drop, and I think that it was very respectable that I made it out at all.
There were so many picturesque views of the fortress as we walked from the top to the bottom of the fortress. Again, I came to the conclusion that pictures cannot capture the views. You can get a sense of the place, but it is not the same experience. During our trip down, we saw two churches, one of which was still a functioning convent. I have an obsession with churches—they are just so beautiful and majestic and holy—so I really enjoyed the walk. The nuns invited us to view their wares, so we stopped in to enjoy some Turkish Delight and see the tablecloths and other stitchery. The nun we saw didn’t speak any English. She was exactly what I thought a Greek nun should be; she was smaller than I was, looked so kind, and incredibly friendly and warm. All of this was communicated through her body language, since clearly I couldn’t really communicate with words.
The two churches we saw had such beautiful paintings on all of the walls. Every inch seemed to be covered in some sort of decoration and religious iconography. One was clearly in much better shape than the other, but there is something so holy about any religious building that both held a majestic quality. The buildings were so secluded from the rest of the world, so peaceful, and so old, that they seemed to be the perfect place to worship.
We ended that night in Pylos, where we had a short Greek lesson to learn/review some Greek vocabulary. It is nice to know that I can communicate to a very limited extent with the locals if I need to. While I had a grasp on most of what we covered, it was good to review some important phrases.
We stopped by a beach earlier in the afternoon. The class went as a group after checking into the hotel. After being at the beach for about an hour, we saw our professor arrive to the same beach. He got in the water and joined us in playing Frisbee (in a speedo). The whole concept of swimming and playing Frisbee with our professor was a little strange, but it seemed to fit the professor and the class. I had previously not been partaking in the Frisbee due to my subpar ability to catch and throw a Frisbee, but he tried to include me. I definitely ducked the first Frisbee to be thrown my way, though.
That night, we went to a seaside taverna. I think I had one of my least favorite foods at this taverna: atherina. They were little fried fish, but you could see every part of the fish through the breading. They didn’t really taste good either. They were basically just skin and crunchy; there was no flesh. While I wasn’t a big fan, there were others who absolutely loved these fish.
The following day (the Fourth of July), we visited another Venetian fortress. It was made of stone and towers and water. The water would crash into the rocks, and the view was spectacular. You could feel the ocean. It was gorgeous and magical. The water was so clear and blue, but it didn’t let you forget it was there. It crashed white against the rocks. Everyone was amazed by the view. We spent about an hour just exploring the area.
Before we left, I stopped into an ancient church that I had seen within the fortress. It looked so abandoned and empty from the outside, but the inside was absolutely beautiful. There was an entire wall that just looked blue. The blue was so comforting and pure that it made the entire wall appear magnificent. The religious images were spectacular and so pretty. Beyond the front of the room, the back of the room was fairly worn down. It was not the prettiest color of stone and the chairs looked fairly old. The constant churches are reminders that God really is everywhere. He can always be found in the most unexpected of places, and He is not always overpowering in terms of His outward beauty. He is unassuming, but everpresent. His work is magnificent, as was the water, but He is also present in the simple aspects of life. The appearance is not always an accurate representation, as the outside of this church shows. Similarly, the whole does not need to show its beauty to make everything beautiful. A simple wall is all that it takes to determine the mood of an entire room.
As a class, we were nervous about the Fourth of July. It can be a big holiday in the States, and we wanted to make it a good day in Greece. I hadn’t been very patriotic that day. I was wearing a Greek soccer jersey and had a Greek salad for lunch. We stopped by a beach for lunch and a swim, but lunch took up my entire break. Once we made it to Olympia, things started to turn around.
The brother of the owner of our hotel owns a bigger hotel. We took a taxi over to the brother’s hotel and went swimming in a massive pool. I could only touch on one edge, and the pool was over 3 m deep! It was such an American afternoon. We went to dinner at a taverna, where I got my first (and probably last) Greek burger. Don’t get me wrong, the Greek burgers are fine. They just aren’t my favorite. They have spices in the burger that remind me of a big meatball. But that meant that my dinner consisted of a hamburger, fries, and ketchup. How American?
During dinner, we were able to compile a list of all 50 states, all of the presidents, and came up with most of the capitals. We were laughing and joking all night about how we were behaving as American as we possibly could. When we returned to the hotel, I flipped on the tv and found coverage of the closing ceremonies of the Special Olympics being held down the street from my apartment in Athens. So, while the fireworks were not exactly how I wanted to see them, I still saw a part of an impressive firework display. And thus ends my American night!
This morning, we went to the ancient site of Olympia. The highlight for me was racing down the track. I finished hand-in-hand with Sam, another girl from my class. Beyond the Olympic site, the Temple to Zeus was absolutely massive. I can’t even imagine what it looked like when it was fully constructed, but I am so impressed with the ancient Greeks. We saw the relief sculptures from the Temple, and the figures are probably double my size. The intricate detail work and sheer enormity of the sculptures is incredible.
My last few days have been filled with Venetians fortresses, churches, and massive monuments. Oh, and America!
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