Scenic Sounio and the Temple of Poseidon

(Special note from Dianne:  My family is giving me great grief that the title of today's post sounds like the next edition in the Harry Potter series...)

Tuesday's highlight involved a family trip by car to the nearby coastal village of Sounio.  Oh, what an adventure!!  We passed SEVERAL Greek towns along the way...in fact, many that most folks NEVER see on THEIR way to Sounio.  We just considered them added bonuses to our trek. :)  The thing the boys will always remember about our trip down was this make-shift road block we came upon, managed by men in masks and camo suits, who were allowing some cars to pass thru and guiding others (like ours) into another roadblocked section of the highway.  After making sure all doors were locked and windows up, Brad quickly got us out of there.  We never knew for sure exactly what was going on, but the boys found it all very exhilarating!!

Thanks to Brad's adept navigational skills and in spite of countless uncharted roads, we did, in fact finally make it to Sounio, and it was well worth it...from every direction we saw scenes such as this...we were, to use the phrase of a dear friend, completely "gob-smacked" by the beauty around us. 

It's no wonder the ancient Greeks chose this site to build the temple of Poseidon.  Literally all around are sheer cliffs tumbling into the Aegean Sea, so this was an ideal site for worship of the powerful god of the sea.  We, on the other hand, found it an ideal site for worship of the God who created the sea.

We took the scenic route home, along a highway right along the coast, and with the sun setting, it was breathtaking...we stopped at a grill near the beach on our way home and had none other than gyros pita and souvlakis.  Don't think we've missed a day yet without eating these two favored Greek staples...And, as for the rest of our trip home, suffice it to say that many new trails were blazed, some more than once (grinning), and a good time was had by all...

Marathon Man Monday

So, Monday was a bit of a slower day after the Athens extravaganza on Siunday...we chose to stay closer to home...this is the "Marathon Man" and it is a statue very near the Bible College that represents the 1/2 marathon mark--13.1 miles--from the city of Marathon to the stadium in Athens.  As the story goes, when 25,000 Persians arrived at the Bay of Marathon in 490 B.C., it seemed impossible that the 10,000 Greeks could defeat them.  Greek victory was won by enclosing the Persians on all sides and driving them out to see, where 6000 Persians died and only 192 Athenians.  The origins of the marathon run date from this Battle of Marathon.  News of the victory was relayed by a runner who covered the 26.2 miles back to Athens in full armour before dying of exhaustion.

Just across from the Marathon Man is the largest and best bakery I have ever been in IN MY LIFE!!  It went on and on and on...heavenly...they boys each chose an ENORMOUS donut covered in sugar, Victoria chose a pastry with Merenda (Greek-brand Nutella) within, and Brad and I went with the homade baklava...I think we've been back every day since! (The owners were so kind...when they realized we were Americans visiting the Greek Bible College, they insisted we try a couple other of their pastries as their gift to us.  Talk about an example of showing kindness to foreigners!) 

After our venture to Beneth, the bakery, we went to our neighborhood underground grocery store, where the first thing that greets you is octopus, straight from the Aegean Sea.  I do so enjoy going into grocery stores wherever we may be, from a country story in Tennessee, to the corner market in Greece, I always find the experience completely delightful.

Even daily activities here have a Greek flair, which we are so enjoying, like hanging out our clean laundry...on the roof!...

...and playing hide and seek in 2 foot tall clover!...

...and climbing unknown (olive?) trees...

The Greek Bible College has many amenities for the students, among them this basketball/volleyball court.  We had loads of fun here...

...and here as mom is whoopin' up on Daniel...WAY TO GO, MOM!!

Ancient Athens

 Our first Sunday in Greece we went to the First Greek Evangelical Church in Athens.  It was really something...as the service was entirely in Greek, we were given headsets with simultaneous English translation.  We felt like we were at the United Nations.  

As we exited the church, this was one of the first sights we saw, in a nearby park.  It is the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which is the largest in Greece (even larger than the Parthenon).  It took 650 years to complete, and the roman Emperor Hadrian dedicated it during the Panhellenic festival of AD 132.

It was surreal to have a picnic lunch here...

...between the temple and Hadrian's Arch, which marks the boundary between the ancient city and the new Athens of Hadrian.  (The kids were enjoying feeding --and scaring--the pigeons.)

We then decided to head to the Acropolis...on the way up, cut into the southern cliff face of the Acropolis, we spied the Theatre of Dionysos, which is the birthplace of Greek tragedy, and was the first theatre built of stone.  Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes all had their plays performed here.  The Romans enlarged this theatre to seat 17,000, and used it as a gladiatorial arena.  Victoria is sitting on the theatre's throne...the actual seat where Roman Emperor Nero sat for the gladiatorial contests...

This is another view of Dionysos' Theatre with the same three great kiddos and the Acropolis above...

Located just next to the Theatre of Dionysos, was the Sanctuary of Asklepios, founded in 420 B.C. and dedicated to the god of healing.  In every direction we looked were ruins of something historically significant and culturally relevant...

Also on the way to the peak of the Acropolis is the Porch of the Caryatids, where these statues of women were used in place of columns.  An olive tree (in the left of the photo) now grows where Athena first planted her tree in a competition against Poseidon.  Also in the background one can see part of the city of Athens among the hills...

This is thus far my very favorite picture of the trip...I feel like the caption should say, "Come Study Abroad in Athens" or some such...this is, in fact, the Parthenon...

Talk about the strength of Samson!!  Look what that Daniel Green had hold up!!

This is the Theatre of Herodes Atticus, originally build in AD 161.  It is used today for outdoor concerts...

This is the same theatre from a different angle...note the ancient structure in the left background...glimpses of antiquity everywhere...

See the handsome man looking away on the right with the khakis and navy sweater?  Yes, that would be Bradley about to go thru The Propylaia, the "new" entrance to the Acropolis.  See if you can find Caleb, Daniel, and Victoria in this picure.  (Hint:  Daniel has on an Indiana Jones-type hat.)  Did I mention that this NEW entrance was built in 437 - 432 BC ?!?!?!

One of the highlights of today was going to Mars Hill, known here as the Areopagus, where Paul preached the sermon recorded in Acts 17.  His entire sermon (Acts 17: 22-34) is written here on this bronze plaque, which is on the side of the Areopagus.

We are now on top of the Areopagus.  Acts 17:22 starts out, "So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said..."  WE WERE STANDING IN THE MIDST OF THE AREOPAGUS, WHERE PAUL STOOD!!!  Brad read Paul's sermon from Acts 17 to us overlooking the city of Athens from the "midst of the Areopagus"...INSPIRING...

Our day ended with gelatto...mmmm.....again, note the temple in the background...this one happens to be Hephaisteion, in the Agora, or marketplace, which formed the political heart of ancient Athens from 600 B.C.

Back "home" in Pikermi, we feasted on souvlakis and gyros at a grill just across the street from the Bible College...WHEW!!  WHAT A DAY!!!!

Gorgeous Greece

Our first full day here in Pikermi, Greece, we decided to take a family walk down a pathway near the Greek Bible College, where we are staying and where Brad is teaching.  We discovered all kinds of things...like this heavily laden orange tree...  (Their fruit is D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!)

  

...lots of beautiful blooming bushes...



...and the boys favorite... this type of tree with itty-bitty (1-cm long) pine-cone-type appendages that they discovered if they ruffled the branches, the pollen would douse everyone walking behind them.  They found this GREAT fun, and we all came home bearing plenty of pollen to prove it...

The village of Pikermi is just a few minutes from Rafina, a coastal village, so our first afternoon we headed down to the seashore.  Our friend Jeff insisted we borrow his car, and we were off...(I was so thankful that they drive on the RIGHT side of the street here, unlike our Irish driving adventure!)  We were struck how the buildings here look like we'd thought they'd look in Greece...mostly all white-washed with the rocky, hilly countryside looking just like it does in books...we were not disappointed!

The most interesting thing we saw today was right here on the beach.  This gentleman was an octopus fisherman, and he took the time to show the kids the steps of cleaning an octopus (right in front of our very eyes - Egads!, as my daddy would say), which includes squirting the ink (and innards) into a bucket of water...

(Side note:  note the ship in the background...this is a port town, and it is not uncommon to see ships such as this in the harbor, some of which carry passengers to one of the many Greek Isles...)

...then "beating the fire" out of them with what looked like a small cricket bat to tenderize them.  The octopi still had reflexes as they were tenderized...they weren't the only ones cringing at that point...

We ended our day with dinner by the beach with Myrto, our friend from Cambridge; Jeff Baldwin, the headmaster at the Greek Bible College, and Robert, another friend from Cambridge.  We ate souvlaki gyros, which is a SCRUMPIOUS typical dish, along with a Greek salad (no lettuce), which can be seen in the foreground.  The feta on these salads was fresh, and so yummy.  I didn't think I was a feta fan, but how wrong I was!  I could NOT stop eating the stuff!

Our first day ended with loukoumades, a traditional honey-dipped pastry, similar to beignets, and equally as yummy.  The kids have been great at trying new foods--even ones they can't pronounce and don't know exactly what is...we are REALLY enjoying Greek cuisine!!

Amazing Amsterdam

AND BEYOND...so, this is the first entry in the "and beyond" portion of the blog "Cambridge Capers and Beyond"...we are on a plane headed to Greece, by way of Amsterdam...and we are so humbled, grateful, amazed, and thankful to be going...the entire story of how we got to this place is nothing short of miraculous.  God is good. 

So, we ended up with an unexpected 8-hour layover in Amsterdam, and decided to take advantage of it with a city tour!  In the words of the British, "It was brilliant!"  We were SOOOOO thankful we decided to explore a bit...here's some of what we saw: 

1. Windmills - this one is 400 years old.  There are around 1000 windmills left today of the 9000 at one time.

2.  Wooden ice skates - These belong to family members of the farmer we visited, and are hanging from the rafters.  We learned that most all the canals in the country freeze over in the winter and that ice skating is a national past time...cool.  The wooden ice skates fit OVER your regular pair of shoes.

3.  Wooden shoes and Cheese - we visited this farm where they make fresh (we met the cows) cheese and also MAKE wooden shoes --  REALLYY?!?!?!  So, the kids had fun trying on a pair and holding 10 year old gouda cheese, which, by the way, they told us is called, "parmesan." Oh...of course...

4.  Beautiful boat-lined canals - Since 1/2 the country is BELOW sea level, they have a 24/7 "Pumping-Water-Out-Party" with these enormous water pumping stations, which we learned everyone in the Netherlands has the opportunity to pay special taxes for (our tour guide Hank said with a grin.)

5. "I AMsterdam" is the official city motto. In "Museum Square" are these enormous letters of their motto.  I like how this photo captures our children's personalities a bit...as for me, I'm just thankful that the "d" was extra wide to accommodate both

 Tori and my hips...ahem...

6. - Anne Frank's house - Probably the highlight of the day was getting to see Anne Frank's house. See the middle building with 3 windows across with BLACK on the bottom story?  This entire structure is the house where she and her family were hidden during WWII. 

6 1/2. - This is the church that was just one-half block from Anne Frank's house that she mentioned in the book, from which every quarter hour she could here the church's bells chime.  I couldn't believe how moved I was to put sights and sounds to her story...