Mycenae & Miscellany in the Peoponnese
We spent Easter week in Nafplio doing day trips and coping with holiday closures.
Nearly all the restaurants were open and it was possible to find a grocery store or mini market if you weren’t picky.
It varied a little day-to-day:
Good Friday, somewhat open
Palm Saturday, somewhat open
Easter Sunday, only restaurants open (and not all of those)
Easter Monday, some tourist shops open
(but possibly also because there was a cruise ship in town)
Some more landscapes from recent travels
The Argolic Gulf is a mile or two away.
Rocky beach near Nafplio.
View of Nafplio from the Venetian fortress above town.
Venetian lion at the 15th century castle/fortress above Nafplio.
Throughout the mediterranean, the Ottomans (Turks) and Venetians (and others to a lesser extent) had frequent territorial conflicts and turnovers.
We did not visit the Palamidi fortress above Nafplio.
Nafplio’s final fortress which is small and out in the bay.
The olive trees might start flowering before we leave.
In the meantime, we have to be okay with just the spring wildflowers.
Leaves are starting to overtake flowers on these trees.
Some of the vineyards in the Nemea area were further along in leafing out.
We did some wine tasting in Nemea (30-minute drive from Nafplio).
Greece is mostly known for white wines but Nemea is known for red as well.
Very affordable at €8-15/bottle.
These are wines that are best to drink now or in the next couple of years.
Winery puppy
We have bought only a few bottles of wine but we have had plenty of “house” wine.
In a restaurant, house wine is sold by the liter or ½ liter (for comparison a bottle of wine is ¾ liter).
Sometimes you can choose the varietal (e.g. merlot) but often just the color (red, white, rose).
A liter of house wine in a restaurant will be $10-15.
”House” wine is also sold in grocery stores in 1.5L plastic bottles.
We aren’t white wine connoisseurs so we have found the whites to be pleasant when chilled.
The red would not be an exciting wine for anyone.
But both are crazy affordable at around $4/bottle!
And, like many European wines, these don’t lead so readily to a hangover.
Ancient ruins are everywhere - temples, villages, fortresses.
This is a temple to Zeus in Nemea.
We did not visit Ancient Corinth or the Castle of Argos.
The ancient theater at Epidavros still hosts shows (seats 12,000).
The acoustics are great but the seating would be spectacularly uncomfortable and the stairs are steep and many.
Mycenae between Nafplio and Nemea gave its name to the Mycenaean civilization
which existed in Greece roughly 1750-1050 BCE.
The site has a stunning 360 degree view and the construction is impressive.
3-d rendition of Mycenae from above
The size of the rocks that comprise the outer wall and gates is phenomenal.
These have not been reconstructed; they have been standing here for over 3000 years.
When Mycenae was built, Europe possibly still had lions.
Red dots on this map represent confirmed lion remains.
The presence of lions in Europe goes a long way toward explaining the inspiration
for someone 3000 years ago to carve the “Lion Gate” at Mycenae.
The lions did have heads but they were likely a different material and have been lost.
They had some very skilled artists.
Mycenae is where the “Mask of Agamemnon” was found.
It is on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
Other items found at Mycenae that are on display in the onsite museum.
We are currently at the Athens airport waiting for our flight to the island of Naxos.
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