(Heraklion, Crete, Greece)

When your vacation time is coming to an end, you start to wonder if there are things you’ve somehow forgotten to do. And so it was that I realized I had (ahem) overlooked Heraklion’s imposing city walls.

The Venetians started to built the city walls in 1462. This was in response to the rise of the Ottoman Empire. But even when the Ottomans took over Heraklion in 1669, they left the fortifications in place.

As you can see from the photos, the city has long since outgrown the ancient walls. But the walls are now topped with a 3 km walking trail. which allows panoramic views of the both the old city and the newer parts outside of it.

While it took me seven days to finally climb and then walk the walls, I think I was better able to appreciate it than if I had climbed them immediately upon arrival. My extensive exploration of Heraklion’s historic centre had given me a better sense of place. I contrast this with my visit to the city walls in Lucca, Italy: I walked those walls immediately upon arriving, and didn’t really know much about what I was seeing.

There was also one special monument on top of the walls. The tomb of writer Nikos Kazantzakis, who I first encountered at the Historical Museum of Crete, is on the top of the Martinengo Bastion. On his tombstone are his own words: “I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free.”

After ending my walk at the northwest corner of the fortified city, I returned to my hotel through an unfamiliar neighbourhood. It was off the beaten path – no tourists, and also some abandoned buildings. We never felt unsafe in Crete, but this was probably the only part that I might be wary of at night.

Stay tuned for our last hours in Crete, and our return to the Greek mainland!

(Heraklion, Crete, Greece)

After the famous Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, we kept our expectations in check for the relatively modest Historical Museum of Crete. But, like many things in Crete, it exceeded those expectations.

There were a number of “models” of what Heraklion looked like in the past, particularly during the extended Venetian presence here. I also found the “icon” art quite striking: it seemed to radiate colour and light from the dark background of the display room. It reminded me a bit of what I saw in Trebinje (Bosnia & Herzegovina).

I was also taken with the “bird’s eye” view below of Heraklion, which showed how things looked here many centuries ago. It helped put the city walls into perspective, as they have been dwarfed in some places by the growth of the city.

In the picture below, you can see what looks like a typical professor’s office from the mid-20th century. But why was it in the Historical Museum of Crete? Well, it was actually a recreation of the office of Nikos Kazantzakis. And if that name doesn’t sound familiar, some of his work should.

Nikos Kazantzakis was from Heraklion, and holds the distinction of being the most-translated Greek author worldwide. Two of his works are particularly well-known: adaptations of both Zorba the Greek (1964) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) became well-known movies after his death in 1957.

One of the last displays I saw was a re-creation of a typical Cretan farmhouse. Such houses consisted of one large room, with somewhat of a separation in the middle. Nonetheless, with the high ceilings, it didn’t feel oppressive or cramped.

The museum also had some very interesting displays on the Nazi occupation of Crete, and the brave resistance which formed during that time. It didn’t lend itself well to photographs for this blog, but the stories and exhibits made for some engrossing reading.

After a somewhat intellectual morning at the museum, it was time to recharge over a meal. For a change, we ended up at a cafe called Frankly My Dear. I wouldn’t say there was anything Greek about my Asian noodle bowl, but it was colourful and fun. The location near one of the city’s main squares ensured that the atmosphere was buzzing throughout.

The other non-local meal we had in Heraklion was at an Italian restaurant called Molfetta. It’s named after a small Italian town near the port of Bari. I presume the owner/chef/waiter is from there! As we used some (maybe badly mangled) Italian, it was fun to not resort to English for a change. It also reminded us that there are some parts of Italy we still haven’t seen, and we resolved to include some Italian content on a future European trip.

As Bob Dylan sang: “It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.” So, while we will be leaving soon, there is still more to come from Crete!

(Heraklion, Crete, Greece)

The above photo was taken outside our hotel in Heraklion. Crete has a large feral cat population and, as you can see, some of them have developed very particular tastes in furniture.

Speaking of the Hotel Kastro, the above photo shows one of my breakfast plates. The breakfast is buffet style and features a wide range of Greek and Cretan specialties. I particularly enjoy the fresh feta and fresh honey…literally right from the honey comb. I stir it into my yogurt with some walnuts and get my day off to a great start! The yogurt is a little different from the “Greek style” yogurt we get in Canada. It is whipped into a slightly fluffier form, and I think I prefer it that way.

We continue to experiment with mezes, the Greek equivalent of tapas. When we ordered grilled mushrooms at Siga Siga, we didn’t expect them to look like that. But it was delicious, with a squirt of lemon to round it off. We haven’t seen many lemon trees in downtown Heraklion, but you don’t have to get far out of the city to see a lot of them.

Pictured above is Dedalou Street, which we often find ourselves using to get to and from the bus station. We’re starting to come up with alternate names for some of the streets that we see frequently. This particular one is better known to us as Jewellery Street, as there are so many jewellery stores on it. But it is far from the only place to get jewellery. Jewellery stores, as well as stores selling formal wear, just seem to be very common here.

While Greece is known for grilled meat, we generally don’t each much of it. For the most part, we have been seeking out other local foods. However, we did go to the Kalamaki for a panini/pita with grilled chicken. It is a local fast food chain, and seems to have a predominantly local clientele despite the very non-Greek signage. Once again, taking yogurt sauce instead of tzatziki sauce constitutes a garlic-free win!

Just south of the Kalamaki take-out, the Morosini Fountain (a.k.a. the Lions Fountain) is a Heraklion landmark. Cafés, restaurants, and other attractions fan out in all directions. Alas, I fear that the fountain may be the victim of budgetary constraints. We didn’t see it operating once during out entire stay. Nonetheless, it’s a nice enough fountain and I’m sure it’s quite impressive when it is operational. Even when it’s not working, it’s still a very popular meeting spot.

One afternoon, we decided to stop into one of those small, cozy cafés a few blocks away that only non-tourists were visiting. We didn’t want a full lunch, but saw one café where some people were nibbling on bread rusks with plates of feta, olives, and vegetables. Once we sat down, we saw that was the only food offered…and the only real beverage options were raki, chocolate, and coffee. Well, we were committed, so we ordered some raki, some hot chocolate, and the only snack option!

I couldn’t make that part of my daily routine, but it was still interesting to truly “go local”…if only for an hour or so. Stay tuned for more from Crete!

(Heraklion, Crete, Greece)

Heraklion is Crete’s largest city. We spent our first full day here getting our bearings. That might not sound too ambitious, but it is important to remember that the city really expanded under Venetian rule. So, it is not surprising that the old city is a warren of narrow non-linear streets…just like Venice.

It was so confusing that we managed to get disoriented on our first extended exploration of the city. I was sure that we were travelling west, but it turned out that we had been travelling south. And with such narrow streets, you can’t look to the sea or to other landmarks to navigate. We were glad that we had a map with us, and we never left our hotel without it.

It didn’t take us long to realize that Heraklion has a very strong café culture. Cafés were everywhere. On the main streets, the crowd tended to be younger and the offerings were trendier. It’s not unusual for those places to have five (or more) types of hot chocolate in addition to a few dozen coffees. On the side streets, the crowd skewed older and largely male. The coffee selection was much smaller. But those places might serve raki too. It remains a key element of Cretan culture.

After a caffeine hit, we felt emboldened to trek even further. But this time, we headed for the water. Heraklion has a huge harbour…or, rather, harbours. The one closest to downtown is the old Venetian harbour, and comes complete with a Venetian fortress and a 2.5 kilometre-long pier. East of that is the new harbour, where massive ferries sail to Piraeus (the port of Athens) or to other Greek islands. These ferries are basically floating cities.

I will cut to the chase: yes, the sea seems especially blue here. Every photo I took just seemed more vivid than marine pictures taken elsewhere. I didn’t use any filters or trickery. The only other place where I’ve seen such blue water is the Croatian coast around Dubrovnik. There’s a good reason why blue is so prominent on the Greek flag!

Travelling in the off-season has its pluses and minuses. Most importantly, the tourist crush is non-existent. But, as a result, many sites and museums have shorter hours. Places that might be open until 8:00 p.m. in the summer months might close at 3:30 p.m. at this time of year. It means that some advance planning is required. But one thing stays constant throughout the year: Cretans tend to eat dinner very late. 10:00 p.m. seems to be the preferred time here.

While Heraklion has more than its share of narrow, winding streets, it does have some grand boulevards too. Happily, many streets are also pedestrian only…or really only see periodic traffic in the form of motorcycles or delivery vehicles. And the pedestrian streets are full! The streets are humming well into the night, and the restaurants stay open until midnight or later too.

As much as the Heraklion lifestyle is growing on us, we also want to see other parts of Crete. Stay tuned for our first Cretan road-trip!

(Heraklion, Crete, Greece)

Crete is the largest Greek island. It hosts a tremendous number of visitors. Yet I can honestly say that it has never been on my travel radar. So, you may be surprised that Crete will now constitute by far the largest portion of our European trip.

But Crete starts to make sense when it is considered in context. We were already in Athens. We didn’t want to be in a big city, and we also wanted to see something completely different. I usually only travel in winter to ski, so this was a rare chance to go somewhere that would likely be too hot for us in the summer. Crete scored big for cultural sites and also for food. It quickly became the leading contender.

By basing ourselves in Heraklion (Iraklio), the transport hub of Crete, we would have access to a number of other Cretan destinations. And Heraklion also seemed to have a few worthwhile attractions of its own…most notably, the nearby UNESCO-listed Palace of Knossos. So, we boarded an Aegean Airways flight to Heraklion and began our Cretan adventure!

Our initial impressions were not spectacular. Then again, the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel rarely takes you past the most appealing parts of town. On the plus side, our taxi driver was quite personable and gave us some insight into Crete. He lamented that it was getting harder to attract people to agriculture as a career. But he also noted that Crete was a place where quality of life was still valued.

Our hotel (Hotel Kastro) is very much downtown. We’ll be able to walk just about everywhere. And while the nearby park could use some TLC, we did find some appealing retail areas on the other side of it. Most notably, Heraklion appears to be alive. There are many pedestrian streets, and they are busy until very late in the evening.

Our first meal in Heraklion was at a restaurant called Lola. It was a charming, cozy place, and introduced us to the Cretan tradition of hospitality. Like pretty much every Cretan restaurant, you get a complimentary dessert and raki (tsikoudia) after your meal. If you don’t know raki...after a few days in Crete, you definitely will. It’s a potent alcoholic drink made from grape skins and every restaurant seems to have their own!

The photo at the very top of this post shows 1866 Street in Heraklion. It’s also known as the Central Market, and has an interesting mix of souvenir shops and small businesses catering to the local market. Stay tuned for more about Heraklion…and other parts of Crete!