Athens Acropolis Jan 8

Viking Athens - Rone Cruise 

Acropolis Tour - Athens

January 28, 2026

This morning was an early one as suitcases had to be out side for pick up by 6:00 am.  Then down for breakfast and on the bus.  While the hotel was only a 25 minute walk to Acropolis it was on heck of a climb up to the Acropolis, which is located on a huge mountain top.   

After a short drive we started up the last climb up to the Acropolis.  The Acropolis was a a temple to Athena.  The Acropolis is absolutely huge and totally dominates the sky line of Athens.  The entrance to the temple grounds is dominated by this huge gate.  From the gate the there is a panoramic view of Athens.  We are so glad to be here in January as there was hardly anyone at the site, The at gate there are 6 sets of turnstiles so they must get a lot of visitors.  The temple is absolutely huge.   To give you an idea of how large the pillars are Agnes is standing beside one of the column drums which are 5 feet in diameter.  The temple was constructed around 550 BC and was used until around 500 AD.  

After our visit to the Acropolis we walked down to the Acropolis museum.  It is a very new an beautiful building.  It has hundreds of pieces of pottery and hundreds of statues.  The inside is modelled to represent the Acropolis.  With the different pieces laid out as they would have been.  The ends of the museum have the different statues from the pediments.  Outside Athena's owl, which is the symbol of wisdom stands guard.

Back on the bus and off the the ship.   Glad to be here and settled in.  Stay tuned for ship pictures.  As we were leaving lunch we were asked if we would like an additional reservation at the specialty dining steak house (no charge).  Wow.

Today's temperature is 17 C.

What a great day.

Terr  

Day off in Athens

 Viking Greece Cruise Tour

Day off in Athens

January 27, 2026

Today was a day off so for once we didn't have to be up and out the door by 6:00 am.  It was nice to have an easy morning and a leisurely breakfast.  The hotel has a very nice breakfast buffet and in typical European fashion have the sautéed mushrooms, which I just love.  After numerous cups of coffee and platefuls of croissants Agnes and I were off on a walking tour.  

My charging cable for my Garmin watch is not connecting very well and I saw on Google a store which sells them only a few blocks away so we headed over there.  Well just like the 600 BC Oracle which gave out ambivalent answers, the 2026 Google answer wasn't quite right either as the store turned out to be a supplement store selling protein powers and the like.  

Turns out that there are lots of different ancient sites in downtown Athens and our short little walking tour passed several sights.  One was an ancient graveyard which was outside the city walls, one was of the city walls, one was a market area, and one was a gigantic area cover in several blocks.   Above it all was the Acropolis, which sits atop a huge cliff and dominates the sky line.  

We wandered through the flea market area where there are thousands of tourist trap stores.  Agnes was able to get some retail therapy in.  It was an absolutely beautiful day so we stopped and had a wonderful lunch of chicken gyros at an out door café.  No crowds  so January is really the time of the year to visit.

On the way back to the hotel we came to the  Athens Cathedral which is a Greek Orthodox Cathedral.  It wasn't as big as some of the large cathedrals but it was absolutely stunning in side.   A very different look from the regular Catholic Gothic Cathedrals.  A lot of silver murals and a dark painted ceiling set the stage.  

Back in the hotel we had to pack our suitcases as tomorrow we are off to the cruise ship. Suitcases in the hall before 6:00 am.

What a great day.

Terry 

 

Delphi Greece

Viking Greece - Rome 

Jan 26, 2026

Delphi Greece

Today's tour was out to see the ancient Greek ruins at Delphi.  Delphi was the site of the Temple of Apollo and the Oracle.  It was a 2.5 hour bus ride from our hotel in Athens. So we were on the bus good and early.  We had been told that there was major rain storms in the forecast so bring rain gear and be prepared for some cold blustery weather. On the way out the bus encountered a bunch of driving rain and horrific wind, so everyone on the bus was moaning about how nasty it was going to be.  

We we arrived at Delhi the rain paused and the clouds parted to give us a little sun. It was pretty nice.  The tour guide had been telling us on the way out all about how the Tembple of Apollo worked and how the schedule of the Oracle worked.  The Temple was open for business 365 but you had to bring offerings to get in to plead your case to Apollo.. The oracle was only open for 6 months a year so there was a line up to see the Oracle however by bringing better offerings you could jump the cue to get in.  You could ask the Oracle anything but the trick was how to phrase your question. The Oracle's advise was always elusive and difficult to determine what was actually meant.  Sort of sounds like asking AI today.   

Delphi is located on the side of some very steep mountians and has a spectacular view down the valley.  The overall site is quite large and has a thousand large uneven steps, which being wet from the rain were quite slippery.  Most of the site has been excavated but there is still large sections which are excavated and a couple of sites were being excavated.

Apollo's Temple has only six columns still standing and most of the base is still there.  It is a little hard to imagine what this looked like at the height of it's glory with all the white marble and brightly painted facades. However in farness this site was built around 550 BC. 

After we toured the site we went into the museum where the tour guide lead us through all of the exhibits.  There were a lot of really beautiful pieces of art which had been recovered from the site.  It was very beautiful.  

We were certainly glad to be here in January when there were very few people visiting the site. There must have been parking for a thousand buses.  

By the time we stopped for lunch and drove back it was close to 6:00 pm.  Agnes and I were just beat and went across the street and got a take out spinach and cheese pie for supper. 

Missed the rain and saw Delphi without the crowds,  Perfect!

Terry

Athens Tours January 25 2026

Athens to Rome January 2920 

Athens Tours  Day one

January 25, 2026

Todays tours started with a huge buffet breakfast in the hotel at 6:00 am and on the bus at 7:40.  It was to be a big day with a lot to see and alot of very long and complicated stories about Greek mythology.  A lot of the sites are pre written history or at the very earliest of written history so what is know fals into the mythology area.

The first stop was the Corinth Canal which was built in 1922. It is only a couple of miles long but cuts off 131 miles around some very dangerous coastline. It is a sea level canal and has no locks and only one ship can go through at a time.   This was right after WW1 and Greece was totally broke and in need of new infrastructure.  The Prime Minister pushed this project through against a lot of opposition but it was a huge success and is still in use to day.

The second stop was at the Epidauros theater.  This theater was built around 325 bc.  It can seat 0ver 13,000 people.  The acoustics are absolutely amazing a coin dropped in the center of the theater can be heard in the very top rows of the theatre.  The stone seating is absolutely amazing.  Each of the stone blocks are perfect cut and fitted together so that they all interlock and support each other.  I climbed up about half way and was totally amazed as you could heard the tiniest whisper spoke in the center of the theatre.    

The fourth stop was the Treasure of Atreus, or the tomb of Agamemnon.  It is huge stone structure built around 12500 BC,   This huge tomb is constructed of huge limestone blocks which form a conical beehive.  It was hit by grave robbers early on so not much is know about it.

The last stop was a huge Mycenae fort built in 1300 BC.  It is know as the Lion Gate for the large triangular stone carving of two lions over the gate.  It is a huge complex covering several acres.  It was excavated in the late 1890's so quite a bit is know about how the fort operated.  It was the headquarters of the Mycenae civilization in the 1300 BC time period.  The rocks are al dry laid and are perfectly fitted so the walls have not fallen down.  Even tough the path was extremely steep I climbed right to the top, where the view was outstanding.

We didn't get back to the hotel until almost 4:00.  It was a long, long day of tours, but very interesting.

Terry 

 

Vancouver to Athens

Viking Cruise January 2026

January 24 2026

Vancouver to Athens Greece

The trip from Kelowna to Athens was a long flight and was a lot more complicated than it should have been.  To an extent it was kind of my fault.  We had booked the trip with Viking cruises and it included the flights.  When you book the trip you don't exactly know what kind of flight you are going to get other than you know that it will get you to the destination and will have luggage and choose of seats. The price was quite good in comparison to what I could find so I was happy.  About four months before departure we are told what the flights were.  What I didn't realize was that I had five days to try and get Viking to give different flights so I simply accepted the flights.  The flight we wound up with was from Kelowna to Vancouver to Seattle Washington to Amsterdam to Athens.  

The first flight to Vancouver was on Thursday Jan 22 with an over night in Vancouver.  We had a hotel right at the airport so it was great.  Short 45 minute flight with a nice supper in the hotel and a short walk to the flight the next morning.  

The second flight to Seattle was on a really beaten up old Delta plane.  The flight left right on time for Delta -- 45 minutes late.  Fortunately we had 2.5 hours in Seattle so no big deal.  With the flight only 27 minutes being on this really beaten up old plane wasn't so bad.

The second flight to Amsterdam was also on Delta and was an old Airbus.  We had two seats window and aisle.  The flight was scheduled to leave 25 minutes late but we had 3 hours in Amsterdam so no big deal.  After boarding there was a 45 minute delay while the worked on closing one of the cargo doors.  Down to 110 minutes in Amsterdam which included going thru customs.  They lost another 20 minutes enroute so we were down to  90 minutes.   The movie selection was short but there was a couple.  I never was able to get to sleep as it was morning when we left. .  

In Amsterdam customs is always a long line up and they only had two booths open so the line wasn't moving.   Fortunately there was a fellow from the airport pulling short departure times out of line so when we got within about 40 minutes of departure we got pulled out of line and moved to the front.  

The final leg was KLM plane which had no entertainment or even power points for charging your phone.  The flight was a 2.25 hr and I did get about 40 minutes of sleep.  They had lots of snacks and drinks on board.  We were so happy to have just made it on board. 

When we arrived in Athens it was already late Saturday afternoon and unbelievably our luggage even showed up.  

The Viking representative was there and we where loaded on to a bus and driven to the hotel. 

Were we ever glad that ordeal was over.

Terry 

 

Jos' Boat Trip Oct 8 2025

Jos' Boat Trip

Schiphol Airport

October 08, 2025

This morning was our last chance for another ride and neither Jos or I were going to miss it.  I had laid out a route the night before which took us on a few paths we had ridden before.  It was  a great morning for a ride with very little wind and lots of blue sky.   

We headed out of the harbour and up the dyke road to the north towards Ouddorp.  Once we got to the island to the north we turned onto this tree lined path.  It was so nice rolling down the path.  However autumn is certainly upon us as there were lots of leaves on the ground.  In the few short days I have been here the trees have gone from totally green to yellow.  

As we followed the path along the coast we came to the Ouddorp spiral tower where we were a couple of days before.  From there we headed into Ouddorp where I hit an ATM so that I could pay Jos for the bike he had rented on my behalf.  I must say it was a excellent Trek bike with an aluminum frame bike with disc brakes and good wheels.  It was a joy to ride and much better than I had expected.  

I must also thank Jos for organizing such an excellent trip.  I was treated like a king.  Jos picked me up at the airport, took me to different harbours on his yacht, cooked great meals almost every night, fed me apple pie and ice cream, and drove me to the train so I could get to the airport.  WOW!!

Jos and I had a bunch of really rood rides and while we didn't break any speed records, we had a lot of fun.  I am not sure what the final grand total mileage was but the other day it was over 400 kms and we did another 30 km today.  

I started out calling this Jos' Boat Tour,  but in hindsight maybe I should have called it Tour de Klompen,  Klompen is the Dutch word for wooden shoes, and it is such a gives you such a great visual impression of clomping around.   

Up early and on the plane home.

Terry  

   

 

Jos' Bout Trip Oct 7 2025

 Jos' Boat Trip

Port Zelande

October 07, 2025

The weather looked pretty good this morning with only an 18 gusting to 28 kms/hr wind out of the SW.  So we planned an 88.5 kms ride down to Middleburg via the historic town of Veere.  We were up early and on the road by 9:45.  Ok not so early by we needed to be sure of the weather.  

The ride down to Veere was along the main dyke which keeps the sea back.  So you are up high on the dyke and totally exposed to the wind.  It was a real struggle straight into the wind for the 35 kms down to Veere.  Veere is historic town with most of the buildings showing signs in the early 1500's.  I did take a picture of one of the newer buildings which showed a sign of 1570.   Even though it was all into the wind we still made pretty good time so we stopped for a full on lunch in one of many restaurants.  Lunch was three fried eggs on a layer of ham on top of a couple of slices of rye bread. 

When we had gone into the restaurant it was pretty nice, when we came out the mist had set in and the temperature had dropped 5 C.  The mist/fog was really cold and I was sure that we were going to get rained on.    A couple of turns out of Veere and we were on some of the smoothest concrete I have ever ridden on.  As a result it didn't take long to make it down to Middleburg.  

We cruised through Middleburg and while it is really a pretty historic city with some great architecture I only took one picture of a fountain with pick water which showed up as white in the  picture.  It was just too cold and damp.

On the way back Jos asked if I wanted apple pie for supper.  Well yes, who doesn't want apple pie,  Unfortunately this lead to an 8 kms detour to find the apple pie.  So when we got back to the boat we were at 96 kms.  So we rode down the street for an extra 4 kms so we could log a 100 kms ride.  

Back on the boat we celebrated with chocolate milk.  

While the last 65 kms was cold and amp we had a great ride and one we will brag about.

Terry 

Jos' Boat Trip Oct 6 2025

 Jos' Boat Trip 

Port Zelande

October 06, 2025

Today the winds had died down quite a bit and were only blowing at 28 kms/hr with gusts to 45 kms/hr.  I friend of mine once said you do know why the Dutch have windmills.  It is true there is a fair amount of wind here, although Jos assures me that this is nothing compared to Wellington NZ.  

The forecast was for morning rain so we were in no hurray to jump on the bikes and make tracks.  Jos had some work to complete so I wandered over to the local mall and picked up apple turnovers and a couple of croissants. They are so good, as they are baked fresh there every day.  

I had laid out a 40 kms ride north along the dyke and around the NE side of the island to the north of us, with a loop at the north end though the  town of Stellendam, and a return ride along the south side of the island. The wind was coming out of the south west so the outward bound ride was just great sailing along with a very fresh tail wind.  It took us along the north coast of the island pass the beaches. Even though ir was cold and blustery people were out flying kites.  We climbed a look out tower with a spiral stair.  The views were somewhat hampered by the low hanging clouds and mist.  However on a clear day I am sure that you could see Newfoundland (or at least Greenland) in the distance.  

The return ride was kind of a different story as it was almost straight into the wind across some fields and then down the top of this dyke.  There wasn't any shelter from the wind and about 10 kms/hr was about all you could do.  Perseverance got us home.  

It was great getting out on the bikes for a ride.   The sun came out and the chocolate milk tasted great. 

 

Weather looks even better tomorrow so I am hoping we can get a big ride in. 

Terru