This weekend was another weekend with family, this time in Clinton, NJ. On Saturday afternoon we drove into town to explore the Dickens Days festivities. These included an exhibit of decorated trees, a blacksmithing demonstration, and a concert on the side of the river. Our nice and nephew had a great time, and I took some photos.
This weekend we took a trip down to Connecticut to visit some family. We met up with them at Macedonia Brook State Park based on nothing more than what was easiest to meet at. Given the fairly loose vetting process I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the walk we got. It was a lovely fall day and the park was quiet, so we felt like we had the place to ourselves. I would definitely be up for coming back to explore this some more.
Unfortunately, the end of our trip arrived far to quickly. We went out for one last adventure the morning of our flight and hiked up Filopappou Hill from our Airbnb. In addition to just being a nice walk, the hill has great views of the city and of the Acropolis. After that it was off to the airport, and back to reality.
The National Archaeological Museum was recommended by our local tour guide, and turned out to be one of the highlights of Athens for me. The museum contains a wealth of ancient artifacts, statues, artwork, jewelry, and tools. The first main highlight was the Akroriri exhibit. After having seen the site itself in Santorini, we really enjoyed seeing some of the Murals and artifacts that were uncovered there. It really helped paint a complete picture of the place.
My personal favorite though was seeing the Antikythera Mechanism, the earliest known analog computer. It was used to calculate the dates of astronomical events, including eclipses, years in advance and dates to around 150 BC. As a software engineer, this was fascinating. I have seen documentaries devoted to the device, so seeing it in person was something special. In addition to the original pieces, they also have various reconstructions of the machine on display.
We got up the next morning for a private tour around Athens and the Acropolis. We met our guide at a cafe at the base of the Acropolis and immediately headed up. On the way up the hill, the guide explained all kinds of details of Greek life in ancient times, and explained the purpose and use of the various ruins we passed. She was really a treasure trove of information.
After squeezing our way through the crowds to the top of the Acropolis, we were able to take in the Parthenon and the surrounding buildings. Though it is clearly not a complete structure these days, the size and precision of the stonework was still incredible. To top it off, the Acropolis has some incredible views of the surrounding city.
Once we had our fill of the monuments, we headed down the other side of the hill and got a tour of some of the oldest neighborhoods in the center of town. These had a range of architectural and artistic sights. Once again, our guide was a huge help. I don’t know how we would have found these places without her.
With the wedding wrapped up we headed for Athens to see some of the most iconic parts of Greece. Though the airport was a crazy experience, the flight itself was short and we were able to enjoy the evening in Athens. We walked around the city center and had dinner with a view of the Acropolis. The street art was quite striking. There were really impressive murals all over town.
Another item that came up repeatedly while we were researching what to do in Santorini was the ruins of the bronze age city of Akrotiri. We drove down to check it out the morning of the wedding. We really ended up enjoying seeing this place. The excavation area is quite large, and much of it is very well preserved. Seeing all the details of these really impressive houses from 3500 years ago was really eye opening. I have no idea how they were able to build such structures without even having iron tools. In the end we spent a couple of hours touring the site.
The morning of the wedding I got up early with my parents and we walked into Oia to watch the sun come up. I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting Oia. At that time of day the cruise ships and evening revelers have yet to arrive, and the city is peaceful and quiet. As the sun came up it cast it’s warm light across the city. We stopped in to a cafe for a simple yet delicious breakfast before heading back to get ready for the day.
Another highlight of the week of wedding festivities was the boat cruise organized by the bride and groom. We boarded a catamaran in Ammoudi and immediately headed out to the center of Santorini’s caldera. After a swim in the volcanically warm (and smelly) water we continued on around the southern tip of the island. The geography on this part of the island is particularly impressive looking, with large cliffs banded with multiple shades of red and white.
Once around the end of the island we stopped off of a black and red sand beach for more swimming and a lunch break. Though we were not expecting it, the food turned out to be fantastic. It was a simple spread, but excellently cooked on board. With that we sailed back to port and headed to the pool at one of the local hotels.
After my initial taste of the sunrises and sunsets in Santorini I couldn’t get enough. I ended up getting up early every day we were there, and even hiked up to the ridge above Finikia multiple times to watch the sun rise and fall.
I had my mind set on catching a photo of the sunrise from the Panagia church perched up on top of the hill above town. The first morning was cloudy, but had hints of the glorious color that could have been. My second trip up the hill was a complete washout, and I got to watch the inside of a cloud instead of the sunrise I had been hoping for.
My sunset attempt did go better, and I got to capture the incredible golden light at the Profitis Ilias Church. Though there were a number of people around, it was not nearly as crowded as it had been in Oia, and I really enjoyed watching and photographing it all. They really mean what they say about those Santorini Sunsets.
