More Holiday Greetings

It’s a rainy day in Pitsidia. We thought it only rained here for an hour or so (quick storm, then sun) so during our walk today we ducked into a chapel as it started to rain. The chapel is situated on a cliff and the view was gorgeous, although it was damp and cold as we waited. An hour and a half later (despite our prayers) it was still raining, so we walked home in it. It was still lovely, and the walking kept us warm. Next time, though, we’re bringing the ponchos.

So is life in Pitsida. We’ve been going for bike rides and walks through valleys and olive fields. The weather is mostly good – when the sun is out, it’s warm. At night, or in the shade, it’s cold, and in our apartment , it’s cold and damp (built for the many months of summer heat, I suppose.) As I mentioned last time, no internet or TV here, but that means I will (or at least should) update the blog more often. Also, I’ve got lots of movies and tv shows to watch (Andrew, I got all three seasons of “Dexter” before leaving Berlin – haven’t seen it yet…hope it’s good!)

Speaking of Andrew, I can’t believe I neglected to include in the blog my family’s visit to Berlin on the momentous occasion of the Obama victory. It was great fun to explore Berlin with Lou, Josh and Andrew, and then spend all night in a bar waiting for the election results (which came at about 5AM, our time.) I think Josh posted a video on Facebook – I’ll try to put it on my profile page.

Back to Crete. In addition to walking and biking around, we’ve been out around town a couple of times and had a nice BBQ dinner in the garden. On the 25th, we’re going to a local pub (run by a German/Polish couple) for Xmas dinner. We’ve been promised a duck dinner, and Matthias is just hoping they make enough (he can easily eat half a duck!) Apparently, it’s very quiet here now; the tourists are gone and many of the long-term residents have fled for the winter. But there’s still a small community about, and a few local bars and restaurants open. Enough for us, anyway…especially since Matthias has put us on a much-needed diet. Fortunately, greek salad drenched with olive oil is on the “diet”, so I can’t complain… Speaking of which, I was just writing this to kill time until it’s time to eat….which is….NOW.

Seasons Greetings

Season’s greetings from Crete! We (somewhat sadly) left Berlin nearly a week ago, waking up on our departure day to the news that Athens was under siege! We didn’t have any trouble, although we saw lots of burned out buildings and broken windows in Athens and Iraklion. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

My German language course came to an end on November 17th, the same day Matthias came back. I was sad to say goodbye to the people I befriended in the class, but I was excited to see Matthias. We met at the airport that night. Of course, the weather just turned COLD, and poor Matthias nearly froze on the way home. A few days later, Jennifer and Brenda came to visit. It was so nice to see them and we had a great time – eating, drinking and sightseeing. We even got an early taste of some of the Christmas markets in Berlin.

As the CELTA teacher training started to wind down, we all started to look forward to completing the course. It was a tough three months, but definitely worth it (in my opinion) and I’m going to miss my classmates and teachers. I really liked teaching – at least in that controlled environment – and hope I get to do it (for a living) sometime soon. So, although I was sorry to see the class come to an end, and to say goodbye to all my new friends, I couldn’t complain about our next destination.

Crete is really beautiful, and it’s so nice to have our bikes here. It wasn’t too bad taking the bike on the plane either, although it would have been really hard if I had to do it myself. When we got on the Metro in Athens, the conductor told us that bikes weren’t allowed, but we could ride with the bike if we took the front wheel off (??) Then he told us to “be careful” in Athens because of the riots (not sure how we were supposed to “be careful”) but luckily our hotel was right by the train station and all was quiet. Actually, the hotel was brilliantly located, and we enjoyed the next (sunny) morning walking around downtown Athens. Getting the bike on the Metro to the ferry terminal was another drama – because it was so crowded – but no one told us we couldn’t go…

The overnight ferry ride was nice and comfy (we were able to stretch out on three seats with our sleeping bags) but when we got to Iraklion we were worried that the bus driver wouldn’t let us put the bike on the bus. That would have meant that Matthias would have had to ride 60km over the mountain – in the pouring rain, no less – to the village of Pitsidia. But, fortunately, the bus driver was amenable. And, when we changed buses in Mires, we saw our new landlady – who let us into our apartment as soon as we arrived. The apartment is basic, but cute, and has a nice garden – it will be fine for the winter. Unfortunately – no internet (in the whole town as far as I can see.) but we’ll go at least twice a week to the internet café to maintain contact.

And, finally, the bike riding here is really nice. Though I was wrong to think that riding to class everyday in Berlin was keeping me in shape. I guess I forgot about something they call hills. That’s what makes the scenery so beautiful, I guess. We’ve been to the beach and to nearby villages, so far. And we’ve also met some nice (and interesting) folks here. Hopefully, I’ll have more adventures to report on soon.

Here's a link to a few photos. More to come (hopefully) soon. http://picasaweb.google.es/jrosenyc/December2008#