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Ever been to Greece? - 7/30/2007 9:28:16 PM

popeye1250

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The History channel which I watch a lot does a lot of stuff on Greece naturally.
I thought this thread (and ones about other countries) could be fun both for those who've been to Greece and for those who haven't to get a flavor of what different countries are like.
I've been all over Greece and a few of it's islands when I was in the Navy. Very pretty but very hot in the summer.
Beautiful Islands with sand beaches, red and blue painted fishing boats.
Islands I've been to are Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Santorini and a few others that escape me now.
Also we went to Athens (many times to take on fuel) Thessalonica, Pirraeus and other places.
My CPO got killed in Athens, he was hit by a motorcycle and dragged for 100 feet. He was 33 and had 5 kids and one on the way. He took 3 days to die.
He is buried in Arlington National Cemetary.
I didn't know it until after he was dead that he was in Vietnam for two tours. He never said anything about it to any of us.
Two tours in Vietnam and he "got it" in Athens, Greece.
That was a sad time for all of us.
We were all in our early 20's and he seemed "old" to us at 33.
There was a military club down towards the airport that we'd go to once in a while and there'd be Air Force guys there, us Sailors and of course Marines from the bigger ships.
It held about 400 people and you could get cheap beers and food and at night maybe meet a lady.
They had a loud speaker for anouncements and the Marines would go outside to a pay phone and ask the Greek bartender to page "Dick Hurts."
"Allo pleese, DICK HURTS pleese peek up de fone!!!"
Over and over again! lol
And at that time there seemed to be a lot of Canadian girls on "Holiday" there. (tbc)

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RE: Ever been to Greece? - 7/30/2007 11:01:45 PM

SDFemDom4cuck

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Never made it there. I was headed there once. Made it to Sardinia before I was stopped and returned to Germany. Damned Interpol!Long story short. I was young, "in love" and he lived in Greece. mmm. Ahhh Memories. LOL

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RE: Ever been to Greece? - 7/31/2007 1:48:20 AM

LadyEllen

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We spent a last minute holiday on the south coast of Crete in a place called Agia Galini. It was incredibly hot and I got burned by the sun, through SPF40, a hat and clothing, to the point where the top of my nose and ears were bleeding. Lovely.

But it was an interesting place - lots of Roman stuff to see, one heck of a big gorge just up from us, (though we had to drive the width of the island to see it as there was no direct road - and the jeep we hired for the adventure broke down in a tiny village halfway), sea so easy to swim in it was like having water wings on(!) and the place we were staying being an odd mix of old and new. Just next to the beach were the old WWII German gun emplacements, where a bunch of Czechs were living for some reason. Apart from them, and we four Brits, the place was overrun with German and Austrian tourists.

And to rejoin Popeye's naval theme, a few days in to the holiday when we still at the "relax on the beach" stage, we saw a couple of Greek navy vessels - big ones, come into view on the horizon. They dropped anchor about a half mile out and shortly after we were treated to an assault of the beach by what I assume were Greek marines - it was an exercise of course, but a very odd experience to have fully armed guys running out of boats at the water's edge towards you!

E

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RE: Ever been to Greece? - 7/31/2007 7:20:40 AM

UtopianRanger

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My Dad just got re-married, and he and his new wife offered everyone on both sides of the family an all-expenses-paid trip to join them for their reception on Mykonos for ten days. Unfortunately......I just couldn't get away. But I'll visit Greece one of these days.

- R

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RE: Ever been to Greece? - 7/31/2007 9:24:31 AM

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Greece is on my list on places-to-visit-before-i-die. i hold a secret admiration of classic Greek theatre and just want to sit in an amphitheatre and read Aristophanes..........

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RE: Ever been to Greece? - 7/31/2007 10:05:39 AM

Mercnbeth

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We were there in 2004 just prior to the Olympics. I think we were there about 3-4 months before the 2004 games began and I remember thinking there was no way the construction would be finished. But the Greeks said it wouldn't be a problem and they were right. The issue they have is that every time they turn a spade of dirt they have to deal with the possibility of running across an ancient artifact. As soon as they do - construction stops until the historians have a look and remove the item and determine nothing else important is there. The process can take years. And you think construction and zoning laws are bad in California?!

Greece was beautiful beyond description. beth remembers the island names and temples we visited better than me, but I remember Santorini. Santorini is one of the most beautiful places in the world, with blue painted roof-tops that match the surrounding waters. Some say that the people and city/state of Santorini were the basis of Aristotle's story of Atlantis, destroyed when the volcano exploded. We were on a cruise so we didn't get to stay as long as we liked, but someday we'll go back for a more leisurely visit.

Seeking artifacts and temples that date back 5,000 years was incredible. The tour guides pointed to many empty pedestals, especially when we visited the site of the first Olympic games. They said that to see the statues, you'd have to visit Berlin, Paris, London, and other European cities. It seems they were "borrowed" by conquering armies of those countries throughout the years.

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RE: Ever been to Greece? - 7/31/2007 11:05:47 AM

popeye1250

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quote:

ORIGINAL: UtopianRanger

My Dad just got re-married, and he and his new wife offered everyone on both sides of the family an all-expenses-paid trip to join them for their reception on Mykonos for ten days. Unfortunately......I just couldn't get away. But I'll visit Greece one of these days.

- R

Ranger, I forgot Mykonos! That's another island we went to!
Nude beaches and windmills.
We were lucky enough to have one of the most senior Captains (O-6) in the Navy as our Commanding Officer.
I was on a Fleet Oiler (USS TRUCKEE) so the Capt could basically do whatever he wanted as long as we stayed within a certain distance from the Carriers.
In Crete and Rhodes they had WW2 German helmets and other artifacts from the Germans for sale on the streets.
And our ship would anchor outside off the coast and we'd take "small boats" in and land at where the Colossus of Rhodes used to stand.
There were ancient ruins all over Greece. It was nothing to see huge pillars thousands of years old just walking around.
Touring the Acropolis was fun.
And you'd see these guys dressed in black with beards all the time in Athens, Greek Orthodox Preists I was told.
And there were push cart vendors selling spinacopatta, moussacca, and other Greek foods everywhere.

< Message edited by popeye1250 -- 7/31/2007 11:06:41 AM >

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RE: Ever been to Greece? - 7/31/2007 11:46:39 AM

popeye1250

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Mercnbeth

We were there in 2004 just prior to the Olympics. I think we were there about 3-4 months before the 2004 games began and I remember thinking there was no way the construction would be finished. But the Greeks said it wouldn't be a problem and they were right. The issue they have is that every time they turn a spade of dirt they have to deal with the possibility of running across an ancient artifact. As soon as they do - construction stops until the historians have a look and remove the item and determine nothing else important is there. The process can take years. And you think construction and zoning laws are bad in California?!

Greece was beautiful beyond description. beth remembers the island names and temples we visited better than me, but I remember Santorini. Santorini is one of the most beautiful places in the world, with blue painted roof-tops that match the surrounding waters. Some say that the people and city/state of Santorini were the basis of Aristotle's story of Atlantis, destroyed when the volcano exploded. We were on a cruise so we didn't get to stay as long as we liked, but someday we'll go back for a more leisurely visit.

Seeking artifacts and temples that date back 5,000 years was incredible. The tour guides pointed to many empty pedestals, especially when we visited the site of the first Olympic games. They said that to see the statues, you'd have to visit Berlin, Paris, London, and other European cities. It seems they were "borrowed" by conquering armies of those countries throughout the years.

Merc, yes, my ship anchored out in Santorini (Thira) and we'd go in by small boat to the landing and then you could ride on the back of a donkey up the cris-crossed road to the village about 500 feet up the cliff.
They say that that was the site of one of the biggest explosions on earth when that volcano went off.
And they have a liquer called "Ouzo" in Greece that will get you very drunk!
I tried it *one time* and stuck to the beer after that.
And all the islands had great fish in the restaurants as well.
Me and a buddy from Philly (Upper Darby) would rent sailboats (SunFish) whenever they were available and sail all around the islands we were at and stop at beaches for a bit or pull in somewhere for a beer.
Lots of Nude Beaches in Greece!
And lots of German tourists too.

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RE: Ever been to Greece? - 7/31/2007 1:08:01 PM

Mercnbeth

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Popeye -
Man you made be remember some things!

quote:

Merc, yes, my ship anchored out in Santorini (Thira) and we'd go in by small boat to the landing and then you could ride on the back of a donkey up the cris-crossed road to the village about 500 feet up the cliff.

We did that! There is a tram too now. We have video of us on the donkey ride and we threaten to bore people regularly by showing it. Watching it is a great way to get sea-sick on land.

quote:

And they have a liqueur called "Ouzo" in Greece that will get you very drunk! I tried it *one time* and stuck to the beer after that.

And its a very nasty hangover - similar to the Italian liqueur Sambucca. Did you ever try 'Raki', a white liquer from Turkey with a simliar impact? Add water and ice and it turns milk white.

quote:

And all the islands had great fish in the restaurants as well.
Me and a buddy from Philly (Upper Darby) would rent sailboats (SunFish) whenever they were available and sail all around the islands we were at and stop at beaches for a bit or pull in somewhere for a beer.

That's the part we missed due to being on a cruise ship - we rarely got to enjoy anything more than a snack in the local places. The special meals provided at restaurants were geared toward 'western' tourists. However, we went on one shore trip to a remote place in Croatia that was only accessible by small boat. Once at the restaurant the waiter asked us; "Fish or Meat?" He didn't understand, or was incapable of answering the group question; "What kind?" We ordered one of each - can't tell you to this day what it was other than GREAT.

quote:

Lots of Nude Beaches in Greece! And lots of German tourists too.

One of my favorite stories about the trip. We stopped at a resort for lunch while on a tour. The guide said after lunch feel free to enjoy a walk to the beach. Since the group was made up of mostly Americans he warned us that it was a nude beach. Well of course - most of the men just had to take a stroll, most of the wives staying behind. beth was an exception of course. Sure enough during our stroll we ran into nude German tourists bathers.

Let me tell you - there are some very lovely and attractive German people in general and German woman in particular - NONE were on the beach that day! But they were ALL beautiful and enjoying the freedom of being naked on the beach and in the water without any worry or care about who thought what about how they looked. It was also obvious that there wasn't a big impact from any 'Venus Shaver' marketing campaign. What looked, and felt, weird were the American tourists in their walking shorts, cruise ship stickers, and sun-hats trying hard to look like they weren't looking.

THANKS for shaking off the dust from some fine memories.

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RE: Ever been to Greece? - 7/31/2007 1:50:03 PM

GhitaAmati

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Sir visited Greece once..with the Marines....now I gotta go ask him all about it when he gets home.....

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RE: Ever been to Greece? - 7/31/2007 2:12:20 PM

popeye1250

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quote:

ORIGINAL: GhitaAmati

Sir visited Greece once..with the Marines....now I gotta go ask him all about it when he gets home.....

Maybe he was one of the Marines who were making that "Dick Hurts" post! lol
I was there in 72' & 73'.

Merc, yeah, I forgot about that, in those days "leg shaving" wasn't real big in Europe for the Ladies!
No tram in those days on Santorini.
You had to ride the donkeys or walk!
Usually when we'd pull into one of those islands or other places we'd stay for 3-5 days or in Athens or Naples for two weeks at a time. The rest of the time we'd be out fueling the Forrestal, Kennedy, Saratoga, or the Roosevelt and their Cruisers, Destroyers, and support ships and playing "hide and go seek" with the Russian Navy.
And, the carriers were always fueled starting at midnight to 0400.
So, it was a nice break to pull into somewhere and go drinking and girl hunting.
I did two tours, one in '72 and again in '73.
Six months on the first one and 9 months on the second one because of the Arab/Israeli War in '73.

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RE: Ever been to Greece? - 8/1/2007 12:06:24 AM

Vendaval

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Greece is on my list of places to visit in the future. I much prefer traveling during the spring or fall when there are lower temperatures and fewer tourists.

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