They spoke very good English and Caroline and I had some fun conversations with them before Caroline and Simone managed to tell everyone that I was a singer and could play the piano. Somehow it became a game among the group to see how they could get me back to Julia’s apartment and do a private concert. As Caroline so eloquently said to me that night: “You are our act. We aren’t going to get in if we don’t have some sort of entertainment. And you are IT.” With that in mind, I was taken to Julia’s and did my best to live up to the reputation my friends had created for me in the previous hour and sang a few songs that I’d hoped were popular among Germans. I think it went okay because they didn’t kick me out! Caroline and I had a great night talking to Simone’s friends. One was named “Timo” , but I thought he said “Timone” (as in Timone and Pumba from The Lion King) so I kept calling him the wrong name all night! Other than that, and my moment of embarrassment when I knocked my wine glass off of the table and spilled the whole thing (apparently my hand-talking tendencies have become unquestionably obnoxious), the night was a smashing success!
The next day, Caroline and I did something utterly unspeakable…WE SLEPT IN. (I will give you a moment to catch your breath). It was AH-MAZING! Our slow morning began with brunch in the city with Simone, Alex and Allie (Simone’s friends). We savoured the coffee, waffles, meats, cheeses…everything. It was a wonderful start to the day. Then, Simone played the role of tour guide showing us the sights of Wurzburg. Next it was off to a town (that is too complicated to spell and not easy to remember…Sorry Simone!) that was BEAUTIFUL! We went there by boat and enjoyed being on the water and soaking up the sun. Before long, we found ourselves in a gelato shop (I know, VERY unusual for Caroline and I). This was the best deal we had EVER found throughout our trip. 5 scoops for 2.50 euro!!!!! Needless to say, we indulged. Then, Simone took us to the summer palace/gardens (we made a quick video…see previous blog post) and snapped some photos!
Next was a tour of the Wurzburg Fortress with a private tour guide-Simone’s Dad! We had a nice history lesson on the town of Wurzburg and some great views! It was really fun, but we were very hot, sweaty and thus, very anxious to get home and have a shower. Shortly after, we were heading to the Residence Square which was where everyone else in Wurzburg was heading! This was because a member of the Dallas Mavericks, (winner of the NBA playoffs) and MVP, Dirk Nowitzky was coming back for a visit to his hometown-Wurzburg, Germany! There were roughly 10,000 people in the blazing heat ready to welcome home their favourite player. Caroline and I joined in on the fun. Our favourite part of the whole event was when the German band, Cascada performed. Apparently nobody in Germany actually LISTENS to her because Caroline and I were the only ones singing and dancing because we knew the words to half of the songs. After 1 ½ hours, we were hot and hungry but Derk came out, made his speech (that we couldn’t understand for obvious reasons) and then it was all over! We stopped for Chinese food, and then headed home to watch a movie and get to bed relatively early because Caroline had to leave the next morning at 5:30!
The time came when I had to say goodbye to Caroline and it was so sad! It has been such a wonderful blessing getting to spend so much time with her since we live so far apart during the year. I couldn’t have asked for a better travel buddy! Thankfully, I know we will travel again…as single ladies or with our respective families as we’ve already decided that our future children will be best friends. Haha Anyway, it was fantastic having her here and I miss her already! The good thing was, I would be re-united with my sisters, Ingrid and Kristen and my Dad the following day. However, I still had another day in Wurzburg to spend with Simone!
We slept in, had breakfast on her porch, did some shopping, stopped for a fruit juice and basically just “hung out”. This is something I hadn’t done for a long time. We had a blast talking and laughing. I had to spend the afternoon re-packing my backpack, but then we went out for dinner with Simone’s Dad, sister (Silke) and Silke’s boyfriend (Stefan).
It was the best meal I ever had traveling in Europe thus far! It was so much fun seeing my dear Simone, but I fell asleep quickly because I had to be up at LITERALLY the crack of dawn (3:30 AM) to catch the train to the Frankfurt Airport where I would meet my family.
Unfortunately, my family wasn’t there to greet me at the gate because their plane was late so I slept for awhile until they finally made it. We didn’t have much time to catch up before we were boarding the plane for Athens! I couldn’t believe I was already heading to Greece. I was so excited, and tried to prepare myself for the hot weather. When we got out of the airport (Praise the Lord all of our bags made it), we took a cab to our hotel. I didn’t think there was a vehicle big enough to fit all of our stuff (Kristen and Dad’s bikes are folded up into two giant suitcases), but sure enough there was a driver who used a net to make it all fit.
The ride into town was pretty crazy. I kept on looking behind me because I thought that one of the bags was going to fly loose on the freeway. Thankfully, that didn’t happen and we made it to our hotel without any baggage casualties. We didn’t do much that day because the other three were so jet lagged, so they slept for 4 hours while I read, went on the computer and…had a mini-nap as well. We DID go out for dinner that night, however and I was reminded of how much I love Greek food. We had a great meal and it was fun catching up with my family after…6 months. I didn’t unload all of my random stories on them in one night, of course but there were plenty of stories from all of us to go around. We did a little exploring that night, but the following day was our big sightseeing day.
We started off by doing a Rick Steve’s walking tour. He never lets us down. First was the Syntagma Square (the infamous location for all the rioting that has been going on in Athens). From there we went down the shopping street and saw a traditional Greek orthodox church. We saw a few of those that day. Then, we saw Hadrian’s Arch and the ruins “Hadrianopolis”, a community devoted to the Roman Emperor at the time. It was interesting to see the ancient ruins in the middle of a modern, bustling city.
Our walk led us through a small village (filled with random cats…) and eventually to the Ancient Agora. The Ancient Agora was the social and commercial centre of ancient Athens. I learned a lot there…including a few rules that I was not aware of before my entry:
1.No posing for pictures! (This was yelled at me when I tried to organize a fun picture with the three of us girls peeking out of the columns of the temple. Apparently, pictures are allowed, but creative pictures are inappropriate. Sue me.)
2.No shorts or bare arms in holy places (Okay, okay I should know this by now after all the churches that I went to in Italy, but I still can’t believe there are people who can walk around in 32 degree weather wearing pants and long sleeves)
3.No sitting! (Note to self: don’t sit on anything that looks like a rock. It is not a rock. It is an ancient ruin and you will get in trouble from a woman with a whistle if you sit within a meter of it.)
We took a nap in the afternoon because, well if you know my Dad he loves naps and hates heat so…the heat of the day is a perfect time for “a little lie down”. We saved the Acropolis for the evening. We’d heard that there would be less people there and of course, it would be cooler. We were not disappointed. After walking through the grand entrance (The Propylaea), we saw the famous Parthenon. Kristen read the details on each major sight: The Temple of Athena Nike, The Monument of Agrippa, The Erechtheion, The Temple of Roma, and The Porch of Caryatids. It was really interesting to hear how all of the major sights were built back in ancient times, and even more incredible to see them still standing today! We also had a great view of Athens from the hill.
I also saw the cutest family there! We all know I can't see a cute family and NOT take a picture. I could only get the father and son, but I couldn't resist!
We were quite tired by dinner time and of course, we couldn’t sit down anywhere (obviously). There were even people hired to literally sit in a little booth and blow a whistle if someone sat down on something or went to close to a major monument. (See picture of obnoxious behaviour below).
That night we had a traditional Greek meal, did a little bit of shopping on our way back to the hotel, and then admired the view of the Acropolis from our balcony.
The next day, we were supposed to head out the Greek Island of Antiparos, but the ferry schedule was a bit different than expected, so the girls went to see the changing of the guards while Dad went to the new Acropolis museum which he really enjoyed.
And…that was it for Athens! Of course, this is a condensed version of our time there, but we really enjoyed the city, didn’t have any trouble with the riots and were excited to head off to the islands for some rest and relaxation!
Sending hugs to you all!
A
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