Greek Isles Part One: Mykonos

A famous windmill with "Little Venice"
in the background

Wow, we have been so blessed this past month to enjoy some amazing travels! For nearly three weeks we enjoyed visiting three different countries with just brief stops back in Zurich in between each trip. Needless to say there's a bit of catch up to be done on this blog! And while it was a bit chaotic and tiring, it was full of once in a lifetime experiences!


To start everything off in the middle of May we headed to Greece for a week with our time being split between the islands of Mykonos and Santorini. We knew after our brief stop in Athens last November that we really enjoyed the Greek people and the history we saw, so we were eagerly awaiting our trip to the islands to not only enjoy another taste of the Greek people but also a bit of warm weather.

We arrived in Mykonos late in the afternoon on Wednesday and the first day was all about being lazy and enjoying the beautiful weather, so after an extremely warm welcome by the staff at our hotel we quickly found ourselves enjoying a late lunch, a cocktail, and some time in the pool. Little miss Emma also quickly found herself at home in the pool after being only somewhat recently introduced to the water. Even though it was still a little cool we couldn't keep her out of the water!



Not a bad start to vacation...

Our little fish

Too many great photos!

After settling in we enjoyed the evening wandering around the town of Mykonos as we were staying just on the outskirts of the city. It was picture perfect blue skies to see the famous windmills and just wander the narrow streets in awe of the beautiful white washed buildings. It was hard to stop meandering and looking in all the fun shop windows to eat dinner, but once we did we found a restaurant situated in a gorgeous garden covered in a canopy of trees where we could enjoy some wonderful Greek seafood. We were puzzled as to why we were the only people eating there and had everyone waiting on us hand and foot. When I asked I was simply told that we were still early in the season and although the crowds were starting to pick up quickly it was still relatively quiet so they were staffed and ready to go but not surprised to not see more guests. Needless to say we enjoyed the extra attention and all the staff loved our daughter who spent the evening eating up all the attention! Cue the recurring story from all of our following trips of a very petite and adorable 10 month going on 11 month old that loves to wave, smile, giggle, offer pacifiers, clap, play peek-a-boo, and generally just be cute and demand attention from everyone she meets!

Another view of the beautiful windmills

Little Venice is full of nice restaurants and bars right on the water

Tiny alleyways and colorful stairs!

A busy friendmaker at our gorgeous restaurant the first night

Day two we spent the morning exploring more of the town of Mykonos, visiting some historic sites including a few beautiful old churches, and hiking to a great lookout point over the city. Having ate a big breakfast that morning at our hotel (where Emma also decided to say one of her very first words - banana, or more commonly manana) we skipped lunch and instead opted to stop for a "snack" at one of the many tasty crepe and ice cream cafes. It was a good choice for the start of vacation!

So picturesque

Mykonos harbor

Church of Paraportiani

View of Mykonos town and harbor

We headed back to the hotel for more swimming and relaxation at the hotel that afternoon. We also took a quick walk over to the nearby beach, but unfortunately Emma didn't know what to make of the Mediterranean waves so it was short lived. It was still a nice afternoon followed by a trip back into town for a dinner for some traditional Greek lamb.

Our little movie star... not wanting to get too close to those waves!

On our way to dinner strolling through Little Venice

Come Friday and our final full day on Mykonos we decided to take the 40 minute ferry ride to the nearby island of Delos. Delos is famous for its role in Greek mythology and archaelogical finds. Although we did not find it to be as impactful as visiting the Acropolis or some other sites in Athens, it still was very intriguing and simply amazing that they believe some of the original huts were built in the 3rd millenium BC

Island of Delos from the water

The Terrace of the Lions was dedicated to Apollo and originally had 9 to 12 lions with many similarities to the
Egyptian avenue of Sphinxes

Remains of an ancient village

Loving her new friend!

After spending a couple hours on the extremely windy island we made our way back to Mykonos where we spent the afternoon exploring another nearby beach (although no swimming attempts were even made as it was quite cool), and we relaxed by our pool again. It was fun to spend some time talking and getting to know the people that worked at our hotel better. Talking to the pool/bar manager further solidified how friendly and welcoming the Greek people really are. Everyone seems to simply love children and want to do anything they can to help out. From waiters & waitresses the first night offering to hold/watch Emma while we ate, to the lady managing the breakfast room at the hotel bringing special treats for Emma, to that afternoon this man bringing out a giant dinosaur for Emma to love on, they went out of the way to help! Later that evening we even ran into the restaurant manager from a previous night's dinner while out walking around and he was so cute as to put Emma up on his scooter and let her help rev the engine. I simply could not get enough of these people. So while some people might say not to go to the Greek Isles with children and to instead just enjoy it as a romantic spot, I might say the opposite as so far in our experiences there are few places you will find where people will be so welcoming and helpful to a family with children!

No swimming today, but enjoying our afternoon poolside nonetheless and teaching Emma new things!

She loved the Momma cat and her kittens that lived around the hotel

Come Saturday morning we had only a few hours to enjoy the island before taking off on the ferry to the island of Santorini. Although most people might hope to skip working out while on a vacation like this, with a marathon only a couple weeks down the road I didn't have much of a choice and so Saturday morning I squeezed in my last semi-long run. I couldn't have asked for a much more stunning place to run. While it might not be the most runner friendly and the one thing that I don't like about the Greeks is that they frown largely on women exercising it was still perhaps one of the best places I have ever run (one of the others is Santorini!).

While we were sad to be leaving the island of Mykonos come afternoon we were so excited to be headed to Santorini to enjoy some more Greek hospitality and another beautiful island!

What a helper!



One last shot with the windmills!

Waiting for the ferry and someone wants to practice her walking!

Hiking the Grosser Mythen

Grosser Mythen Summit

May is full of random middle of the week holidays for Steve, so what better to do with a beautiful day off in the middle of the week than to go for a hike in the alps right? So per our usual routine we found ourselves at 10 pm the night before looking at where in Switzerland the weather would be best (as almost anywhere can be reached as a day trip). Steve settled on a spot that was relatively close to Zurich called the Grosser Mythen.

All she needs to start the day on the train - a straw and a pair of sunglasses!

We're going to hike that "rock" today?

30 minutes into the hike a view of the valley we started in

Of course I was relatively oblivous to the fact that Steve had just made plans to do probably our most difficult hike to date, yet I think he was too. Although there are websites and iphone Apps dedicated to describing and providing facts on all these various hikes throughout Switzerland it seems that they are never quite accurate. On this particular day although we knew we would have a significant hike, we did not expect it to take double the amount of time as described. While we acknowledge that we are not the fastest hikers around with one of us carrying Emma and the other carrying a backpack with supplies for all three of us, we also are pretty sure we are not the slowest out there. Oh well, I guess our speed up allowed us to enjoy more of the views?!

Uh oh, reading the signs and checking his phone for directions

That's a sheer cliff!

Enjoying the views on the way up

Almost there!

While the 800 meter plus (2600 feet) elevation increase was challenging at times during the two hours it took us to get to the top, we were not only richly rewarded with beautiful views while hiking but I think both of our jaws dropped a little when we saw the view as we reached the summit. It was a stunning 360 degree panorama of alpine peaks intermixed with beautiful blue lakes, rivers, and alpine villages. With so many spectacular sceneries in Switzerland it's difficult to pick out just one favorite, but this spot definitely made the list of the top few places we have seen thus far.



One of a kind views all around us

Overlooking Lake Luzern

Looking back on the valley we started in

Breathtaking

Family photo time!

Just couldn't get enough of it!

We would have liked to have spent all day at the top, but instead we settled for an hour to have lunch and simply soak in the views. Emma had a blast watching the birds that were following our (and our food's) every move and getting some time to move around and practice her walking.

 

The birds were like vultures waiting for hikers to drop a bite of food

Having enjoyed our time with only a few other people at the top we finally decided it was time to make our way back down to our starting point. Being later in the day and snow still melting off nearby peaks we found ourselves during part of the hike walking through considerable water where just a few hours earlier there had been none. Needless to say by the time we got to the bottom with wet shoes, our first slight tan of the summer, and tired legs we were glad to be done. Yet without a doubt that will be hike that will not be forgotten!

What a little helper trying to hold mom's hiking poles on the way down!

 

Beer, a history lesson, and a fairy tale castle!

Picture perfect Bavaria

As if our spring wasn't already busy enough with traveling when some friends of ours asked us if we wanted to join on a last minute trip to Munich for the weekend we couldn't resist. And since we were headed to Bavaria we decided to tag on an extra day to visit the famous King's Castles of the region.

In order to most effectively get to all the sights we decided to rent a car and drive to Munich as it is only a little over a three hour drive. Not to mention Steve wanted his chance to drive on the Autobahn as well!

We arrived late on Friday evening as traffic was not very good, but we did not have any plans other than to watch our friends' son, who is a few months older than Emma, so they could go out and enjoy an evening sans baby. That is certainly one of the benefits of traveling with friends who also have children, as we traded off and Steve and I also got an evening to ourselves on Saturday night. As much fun as we have traveling with Emma I don't think anyone will not say that they don't enjoy an opportunity to get out on their own every once in awhile as well.

So after getting settled on Friday night and a bit of a lazy start on Saturday morning we had a relatively busy agenda to see some of the historical sights of Munich before finding our way to the famous beer halls and gardens that Munich is best known for. We were lucky to have our own personal tour guides as our friends had been to Munich several times before and were happy to show us the sites. We enjoyed getting a taste of the city's architecture and seeing where key events occurred in World War II.

The Rathaus-Glockenspiel at Marienplatz

Sight of some famous World War II gatherings

By lunch time we found our way to the grounds of Springfest. Springfest is a more low key version of the much more famous Oktoberfest, but still gave us a sampling of what Oktoberfest is like. Of course all of us (as in all the adults) had to have an oversize beer along with some traditional German food (roasted chicken, brats, pretzels, etc). From there we continued to enjoy the beautiful spring afternoon outdoors in the Englischer Garten and then onto perhaps the most famous of all, the Hofbrauhaus. By that time it was already getting close to bedtime for two members of our party so we headed back to the hotel. Yet, lucky for us once Emma was in bed we got to head back out to check out one other famous beer hall, Augustiner. To say the least by the end of the night we were quite content with our whirlwind tour of Munich and its beer (especially for me since I'm not one for beer really!).

Looking the part in Dirndl & Leiderhosen at Springfest

Testing the pretzel

A tent at Springfest

Of course the downside of being able to go out after Emma's bedtime is that morning really comes too early as someone doesn't yet know how to hit snooze on her alarm clock. Yet, with Emma's help we got going and enjoyed a little more meandering around Munich and revisiting the Hofbrauhaus so we could have a better look around while it wasn't quite so busy at 10:30 in the morning! Although we are surrounded by important historical sites everywhere in Europe, I think visiting a place like Munich is even more impactful because of it's role in World War II and knowing how much it impacted our parents and grandparents generation.

Moms and babies at the Hofbrauhaus

Hard-working dads with stroller, diaper bags, and beer in hand!

Sight of some famous speeches and gatherings at the Hofbrauhaus

Going our separate ways, our friends stayed back in Munich city center to enjoy a bit more of the day while we headed out to the suburb of Dachau to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. We lucked out with a wonderful tour guide that really gave us an in depth look at what went on at that particular camp and helped us to remember a little of our European history classes from back in high school. Dachau was not an extermination camp, but rather a labor camp and is most well known for being the model for which most all other concentration camps were built. It was in fact such a model camp that at one point in time the Nazis were so bold as to even bring in representatives from the Red Cross and other such organizations and show them how "good" the conditions were for these prisoners. In reality they only introduced them to the Catholic Priest prisoners who were kept in the best physical condition of all and even hosted them with festival type camaraderie when they came to see the camp.

Entrance gate with quote "Work makes you free"

Inside the concentration camp

View of some of the sleeping barracks in the camp

While it was a bit difficult to bring to life the horror that existed at the camp while we visited on a beautiful 60 degree day, we still managed to get a feeling. From learning that some 200,000 people were prisoners of the camp and 40,000 of them died. It was frightening to think that this was an extremely low death rate for a labor camp. We learned and saw the differences of treatment that various "types" of prisoners received (homosexual vs Catholic priests vs Eastern European). Jewish people were not sent to Dachau as they were sent straight to extermination camps. Perhaps one of the most chilling details I learned during our tour was in regards to what these prisoners did for their "labor." I guess I had never really thought what they did on a daily basis, but it was disheartening to find out that they were sent into the town of Dachau to work in many of the factories and there they worked directly alongside non-prisoners. Yet, somehow the townspeople continued to go on with their daily lives believing the propaganda and ignoring what they were seeing with their own eyes as these very sick, malnourished and abused people worked right alongside of them.

Row after row of where barracks once stood

Barbed wire perimeter

Sculpture meant to depict prisoners who chose to commit suicide by running and jumping into the barbed wire when they were being forced to stand still for hours on end during role call often for no specific reason.

Stories such as those I will surely not forget and I hope our world never has to witness such horror again. I was glad to hear that it is mandatory for all German students to visit concentration camps during their schooling years. It made me think about how learning about such events in our world's history out of books can make a small impact, but I only wish that all people have an opportunity to visit sights like this and see and feel it for themselves.

Feeling thankful to be able to visit such a place we were equally happy to be on our way to our next destination, which would not be nearly as heavy of subject matter. So we made the 1.5 hour drive into southwest Bavaria which is famous for two large castles (the King's Castles), most recognizable being the Neuschwanstein Castle, which is the castle that Walt Disney used as his model to build Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Arriving in the small town of Fussen in the early evening we decided to get a sneak peak at the castles while the weather was still beautiful as we didn't know what to expect the next day. Neuschwanstein Castle sits at the top of a large hill, of which during normal visiting hours, you have the choice to walk, take a bus, or horse drawn carriage to the top. Of course since these weren't running and we had a ticket to visit the inside of the castles in the morning we said we weren't going to hike all the way to the top, but just a little ways to get a few views. Yet somehow 40 minutes later we found ourselves not just at the castle, but having hiked even a little further up. The views were addicting, especially as the night was quiet with just a few other people meandering about the area. To say the Neuschwanstein Castle is impressive is an understatement.

Neuschwanstein castle from the Marienbrucke

Smiles over Bavaria!

Views from the Neuschwanstein castle

Dad and daughter admiring the castle

Marienbrucke... I was a little nervous to walk across it, but the views were worth it!

Happy with squeezing in an outdoor self tour in nice weather we got ready for our tour of the interior of the Neuschwanstein  and Hohenschwangau castles the following morning. It was not only interesting to see the inside of the castles but also learn a little about the different conditions the castles were built under, especially the fact King Ludwig II died mysteriously during the building of Neuschwanstein and much of the interior of the castle was never finished. However, in the areas that were finished there were certainly no details left to spare.

The Hohenschwagau Castle built by King Maximillian II

Taking a snooze break

More views of the Hohenschwagau castle

Walking, walking...

Enjoying one last nice Bavarian meal we headed back to Zurich on Monday afternoon feeling that we had quite a diverse weekend trip. I can only hope that 5, 10, or 20 years down the road we still remember quite a bit about trips like this one. And while we know Emma won't remember it, hopefully she will see photos and be more intrigued to learn about all the places her parents hauled her around to growing up!

Picture perfect