Crete Blog
If you fancy some vibes from Greece please feel invited to our daily blog from our journey through Crete. The focus is on the following projects: Translating smells, flavours, and light into images; capturing portraits of people, animals, and trees.
Καλώς ήρθατε!
Crete Blog - Day 1
First day on Crete. Last night we enjoyed a great taverna under a fig tree in Iraklio. Today we took a smelly crawling bus to Rethymno, to a wonderful hotel in a Venetian building dating back to 1450. And then a tour through the little streets, to the harbor, through the crowds of tourists, who suddenly miraculously disappeared again. And in the evening, the obligatory choriatiki with tzatziki and kotopoulosouvlaki. Arrived!
Crete Blog - Day 2
A day in Rethymno. A few frappees for breakfast in the morning and one of the rare cloudbursts, so the day was pleasantly cool. We lounged around and marvelled. Bought a Cretan knife, which are traditionally given as gifts at weddings etc., directly from the blacksmith. Chatted with a group of old Greek gentlemen who were enjoying the day in a kafenion, watching tourists. Discovered a trick in the evening - the restaurant pick-up men here don´t bother you if you carry a box in front of you that looks like a doggy bag.
Crete Blog - Day 3
After the stinky bus experience, we switched to a car. On the way to Chania, a rugged mountain landscape merging into and unbelievably turquoise sea. And sheep frolicking in orange groves. In Chania, searching for a parking space in desert heat, checking the supermarket and getting a quick first impression of the old town and harbour. And then finally eating - the finest Cretan home cooking, and to finish off something, which could have been anything between figs and bull's balls and, although delicious, initially remained completely indefinable. As it turned out, they were unripe, long-soaked walnuts...
Crete Blog - Day 4
‘Burglar hunt’ with a Cretan dagger and in underwear in the middle of the night - old buildings make noises. In the morning lost a battle with the washing machine, but even soaking wet clothes dry quickly in the Greek climate. The stove also resisted the plan to fry eggs, but in the end it lost. Then to the tourist information, which was clearly superfluous. After many failures due to the pitfalls of everyday Greek life, spent a quiet day in the old town and at the harbour. In the evening, deliberately exposed us to a tourist rip-off restaurant for the sake of a beautiful view of the harbour - including a continuous loop of Greek cheesy music.
Crete Blog - Day 5
A day all about olive trees. In Vouves, pronounced like ‘Vouves’, as we were eagerly told, there is one of the oldest in the world, at least according to Cretan reckoning. But we also find whole groves of these marvellous and equally ancient beings along the way. In addition, a monster hornet or something similar, seemingly luminous flowers and stunning panoramas with olive groves as far as the eye can see, and then the sapphire blue sea. In the evening, a fresh spit-roasted gyros (not from the freezer!) with live tourist TV and a stunning harbour view.
Crete Blog - Day 6
Left Chania in the north of Crete and travelled through a rugged mountain landscape, which became increasingly green, to Agia Galini in the south. On the way, we stopped at a cheese shop for the best frappé yet and visited a great monastery in Spili. Agia Galini is completely different, much quieter, more tranquil and much steeper on a slope - as a lowland Berliner, it feels like mountain climbing at 30 degrees. End the day in a beach taverna with the sound of the sea and plenty of raki.
Crete Blog - Day 7
We went in search of the ‘mother of olive trees’ - it was hot, but we didn't find her. But we did find many others, no less marvellous. A Minoan archaeological site was also extremely exciting, giant amphoras and a great place in general, including the small taverna with a breathtaking view and pleasant breeze. The former and very famous hippy town of Matala, on the other hand, was a letdown - we spared ourselves the queue to sizzle on the beach and instead returned to our cute, though very German-heavy Agia Galini.
Crete Blog - Day 8
Summer begins in June. You can really feel it here, it gets hotter every day. Today we travelled through the impressive Kourtaliotis Gorge to the equally impressive Monastiri of Preveli - an ancient, sacred place with an extremely pleasant atmosphere. We didn't bother with a hike into the gorge at 35 degrees Celsius; surprisingly, many others saw it differently so we wouldn't have been able to park there anyway. Apart from the heat (even the locals complained), the theme of the day was: surrounded by cats. We ended our last day in Agia Galini in the beach taverna.
Crete Blog - Day 9
Today we travelled across the island to Agios Nikolaos. From the very first impression, Covid seems to have struck particularly hard here, which is exacerbated by the oppressive heat that seems to swallow up every breeze and even every sound. We discover a surreal marina cemetery, many unfinished buildings and other oddities. It's like being stuck on the threshold between two worlds. Our flat has internet from the last world, so we move to a very nice restaurant that hasn't got stuck somewhere to round off the day.
Crete Blog - Day 10
After an evening with a ‘garden view’ of 3 dried up flower pots and no wifi, a sleepless night with mosquito terror and then a cold ‘shower’ under the tap because nothing else worked, this morning we fled straight to a very nice hotel with a sea view. And then walked to the other, very cute part of the town - both felt like a different world. It's suddenly 36°, everything is slowing down, sweating and gasping, and we treat ourselves to a day of relaxation.
Crete Blog - Day 11
Today at 38° we drove into the mountains towards Anogia. The GPS took us round several hairpin bends and even forced us to turn back on impassable gravel roads. The pre-booked accommodation could only be found with the help of Greek language skills and friendly locals - after more than 4 hours. But we left straight away, tiny bedrooms without windows in the heat are out of the question! Later we found a small house with a roof terrace and balcony without any technical help, introduced ourselves to the curious villagers and ate delicious food straight from the charcoal grill in an old taverna. An exhausting day that taught us to trust intuition rather than technology when in doubt.
Crete Blog - Day 12
Another day in the mountains, extremely hot and sweltering, hardly any noise, the heat swallows everything. But we come across old, very powerful places, a breathtaking, barren mountain landscape, ancient gnarled trees and a flock of wild vultures, a good 30 strong, which we can observe just a few metres away. Magical moments! However, we don't reach a cave that we ‘climb’ - it's simply too hot and at 1500 metres we get too dizzy to manage the stony paths.
Crete Blog - Day 13
The day started wonderfully with warm bread from the village bakery across the road and delicious eggs from one of the hens here. Then a little bird sat on our car door and refused to leave. Later, we drove around, marvelled at trees and were curiously gazed at by goats, admired the Cretan art of shooting at road signs, watched original Cretans in a village taverna and discovered a large stalactite cave. Finally, we ate homemade choriatiki and tsatziki on the roof terrace with a much cooler breeze. A wonderful second-last day.
Crete Blog - Day 14
In the mountain village, we got offered tomatoes in the minimarket, a beer in the square taverna and a Coke in the supermarket and were seen off by vultures, ravens and villagers. Then back to Iraklion through a landscape that we had grown fond of and drowned in the chaos of the streets. Bought a knife from one of the now rare original Cretans in Iraklion and got an impression of the city in the sweltering heat. It's supposed to be 40° next week, which makes it a little easier to say goodbye.
