Author: Peter Meggyesy

Driving in Greece and especially around Athens is not a prospect that I relish. Chaos is the best way to describe it narrow streets, double parked cars, cars, people and animals cutting across you. Massive cars confronting you head on when there seems to be only room for one car. Yet here I am about to do the unthinkable! The plan is to complete a round trip looping through the Pelopponese reprising the tour I went on in 1982.

Legend has it that Zeus sent out two eagles one from the east and the other from the west. Where they met, at the foot of Mt Parnassus is a massive cleft in the mountain range and it became the omphalos, the navel of the world. Initially the item was guarded by the terrible serpent, Python. Apollo killed the python and a temple was built dedicated o him in the 8th century BC. Between the 6th and 4th centuries BC, the Delphic oracle, a priestess who was named Pythia came forth with ambiguous pronouncements regarding the future. Her fame encouraged rulers and ordinary people from far and wide to come for a consultation.

Today this is an evocative site perched high along the mountainside. We enjoy a peaceful and interesting couple of hours here especially as this is now low season and tourists are less plentiful.

The sun is rising as we enter the world famous Acropolis. We stop at the temple of Herodotus to watch the sun rise over the Athenian hills. Then it is off to get some iconic pictures of the Parthenon in what is known as the golden hour of sunlight. Perhaps unsurprisingly there are no queues at this time of year and at eight in the morning but I have played it over cautiously and have pre-booked tickets throughout. My life partner tells me that this is a bucket list item for her and I am so happy to have brought her here.

Constructed around 500 BC on a rocky outcrop high above what is now a city, the Acropolis evolved into a number of temples celebrating the goddess Athena after whom Athens is named. Athena is a daughter of Zeus and is revered for her her wisdom, warfare and handicraft. When it came to Athens it was a choice between the gods Poseidon and Athena. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and water came forth. Athena provided an olive tree and she won the contest. We spend a magic 2 hours wandering around absorbing the history and scenery.

The afternoon has us walking to the Panathenaic Stadium. Just behind Syntagma square it is the stadium for the first modern day Olympics in 1896. In 1894 Baron Pierre de Coubertin proposed a modern day Olympiad in Greece. Athens pulled it off and it was a huge success. In those days it was less about nations and more about individual athletes. A Victorian named Edwin Flack was studying in the UK and decided to enrol for the games. He won gold in 2 races and bronze in tennis is is Australia’s first Olympians. His efforts had Australia 8th on the medals table. Punters can now enjoy the stadium and run around the track channeling their inner athlete. It is irritable and corny to play Chariots of Fire while running around the track but I went there.

The email offering an opportunity to bid for an upgrade for the Aegean flight arrives. It is a 70 minute flight from Corfu to Athens and I ignore the first email. When the second one arrives I have a play with the bidding and find that the minimum offer is 30 euro. As a joke I submit the offer and lo and behold it is accepted! We are at the pointy end, again.

Our apartment in Athens is amazingly central and we are literally no more than 15 minutes walk from all of the major attractions and surrounded by an abundance of great eateries. We fluke the 11am changing of the guard at the parliament in Syntagma square before heading towards the base of the Acropolis the super touristy Plaka. A maze of tourist shops, bars and cafes. For lunch we head to the recommended Psiri district only to find that we are a mere 100 metres from our accommodation. 

The afternoon has us exploring the 6th century BC Greek Agora again at the base of the Acropolis enjoying the warm autumn sunshine. My life partner has become a whiz at finding dining options. Dinner is a degustation menu at Makris restaurant. Stunning food as beautiful to eat as it is visually and about to gain its first Michelin star all at a non Michelin price.

Dressed in shorts and T shirt despite the early morning sun the wind chill on the boat had us shivering and the 3 hour trip to Paxos island was miserable. All was dispelled with the first view of Paxos’ main town Gaios. As the boat pulled in to the lovely fishing village the main square with its crimson painted church glistened in the bright sun. Before long we were sitting at a waterfront table enjoying a delicious lunch and wine. A post prandial walk along the waterfront and through the village has us reinvigorated.

Back on the boat the warmer afternoon has us loving the cruise. We sail to the smaller Antipaxos but decline the option of swimming in the now cooling Ionic sea. Circumnavigating Antipaxos reveals a rugged western coast with cliffs and sea caves and the captain expertly takes us deep into two of them. Cocktails and sunset round off a near perfect day.

Today I have driven around more hairpin bends than I have done all of my life. We have rented a car to drive around much of Corfu. It turns out to be a stressful experience up and down narrow winding mountain roads, often only wide enough for one car. Not to mention the narrow tracks through towns. Nonetheless it is worth the effort as the countryside is nothing short of stunning!

Our first destination was the Achilleion palace 10 km south of Corfu, a steep winding climb up a mountain this was built for Empress Sisi of Austria in 1889. It became her holiday residence until her untimely assassination. The palace is named after Achilles and was built in classic Greek style. There is a classic statue of Achilles with arrow in his heel as well as multiple statues of Minerva. There are amazing sea views.

North of Corfu our lunch stop is at Kassiopi. The drive has beautiful sea views and we eat alfresco on the sea front of this pretty fishing village.

After lunch the next stop is Canal d’Amour. Sandstone cliffs are reminiscent of Port Campbell in Victoria. Legend has it that couples who swim the canal together will find the love of their life. Despite the cooler autumn weather here there are many braving the cold waters for a swim.

The next stop is a rough hike to the viewpoint of Porto Timono beach. The pictures tell the tale

Our final stop is Paleokastritsa monastery.

Clickety clack as the poor little wheels on our suitcases struggle with the rough paving of Corfus old town. Our last morning in Albania proceeded uneventfully. The rented car is returned without any drama and we get the stamp from immigration and settled down for the 70 minute ferry across to Corfus Island which belongs to Greece. On clearing Greek formalities we were initially told it is a 10 minute walk to our apartment. We are on our way and it becomes evident that he true distance was 25 minutes. Coupled with erratic Google maps instructions we do a big loop through the old town and it is a sweaty 40 minute walk dragging our suitcases. Fortunately those little wheels survived the ordeal.

The afternoon restored our faith in this place with an exquisite old town, palace and the sublime old fort. The latter has layer upon layer of history. Built initially by the Greeks added to buy the Venetians and finally the British in the 1800s. Absolutely beautiful!

Our last day in Albania sees us driving to Gjirokaster, the stone city. It is so named for the old town buildings built in stone with stone roofs. The origins of the city date back to the 5th century AD but the castle was built in the 9th century AD.  It is a steady climb from the car park to the bazaar which is now a pretty network of pedestrian only streets catering to tourists with cafes, bars and souvenir shops.

A brooding fortress looms high above us and dominates the landscape. It is a stiff climb but the views from the rampart are well worth the effort. Apart from its role as a fortress it has a darker recent past. Under communist rule the evil dictator Enver Hoxha used it as a prison to interrogate, torture and incarcerate political prisoners

As a philatelic child I encountered most of the worlds’ stamps. Branded with the country’s name in their own language and currency  it prompted me to do interesting research of far flung countries. One which particularly piqued my interest was a stamp with the country name “Shqiperia” which turned out to be Albania. At that time, the 1970s Soviet Russia and the Iron curtain was a powerful influence in the world. My reading about this small Balkan country intrigued me even further. Today the label “Hermit Kingdom” is used to describe North Korea. In those days it could have equally applied to this country. At the time I remember thinking that I would never get to this country.

For a country whose history goes back thousands of years, very little of the past remains. In common with the other Balkan states it has a long history of Roman and then Ottoman occupation but it is the 20th century that was the most turbulent and interesting. Mussolini and subsequently the German Nazis occupied Albania giving rise to a revolutionary army to gain independence. While the motivation to join was for freedom, the army was successfully led by a young Enver Hoxha, who, at the end of WW2, declared a communist state with himself as the dictator. Sham one party elections followed but with all opposition parties banned he always secured 99% of the vote. He quickly moved to seal the borders no-one could leave and no-one could enter under penalty of death. Between 1945 and his death in 1985 he ruled a brutal and repressive Stalinist state complete with secret police, torture and gulags. Tens of thousands died which on a per capita basis is every bit as heinous as Stalin’s record.

The capitol city of Tirana is quite a revelation. I expected dour Soviet era concrete blocks and basic amenities. We have an apartment in the Blloku area and are in the midst of tree lined boulevards and stylish cafes and bars. The centre is booming with new multistory largely hotel construction but in the last 30 years since the fall of communism here the authorities have built a charming city albeit bereft of any historical monuments and also cursed with crazy chaotic traffic. It is a lovely place to spend a day or two and the food and wine scene is also impressive.

It is a pleasant 3 hour drive south winding through pretty, mountainous terrain. Our destination is Lake Ohrid, a massive lake that straddles the border between Macedonia and Albania. It is Sunday and the sun is shining and the little tourist town of Ohrid on the Macedonian side is abuzz with tourists and locals walking the lakeside promenade soaking in the UV rays and the view.

The setting is sublime and on Monday when the tourist traffic dissipates it is peaceful. We are lakeside on the promenade and it is a lovely 15 minute stroll to the delightful old town, a maze of cobblestone alleyways. The moniker “Jerusalem of the Balkans refers to the fact that there are 365 churches here, one for each day of the year. The oldest is the church of St Sofia which dates back to the 11th century. The ancient theatre dates back to 200 BC and a fort on the hilltop dominates the town.

Monday lunch is at Monastery winery with a cheese and charcuterie platter and a guided wine tasting. Both food and wine were amazingly good.

We finish our afternoon with a boat ride on the lake on a quirky “semi submarine” offering both underwater and deck views.

Our final morning in Macedonia sees us driving around the lake to the Albanian border and stopping at the Monastery of St Naum. It was established by St Naum, a Bulgarian writer and enlightener, in the 10th century. The present day church dates back to the 16th century and is said to be where the brothers St Cyril and St Methodius developed the Cyrillic alphabet.