It's Greek To Me

As luck would have it, my very first work related trip outside of Germany was a 4-day journey to Crete, one of the larger islands in the Mediterranean under Greek rule. It took all day on Saturday, 12 March to fly there, but that allowed time for me to have a "non work" Sunday to decompress before hitting the ground running on Monday morning. As it turns out, much of the early part of Sunday was actually spent preparing for Monday's duties, but on Sunday afternoon I was able to get out and about to explore nearby Chania, a city along the northwest side of the island.

What a place! The Island of Crete was settled over 3000 years ago - think about that for a minute - it's old. It's also considered the birthplace of Zeus - arguably the most famous of Greek gods. Having only spent four days on the island, I can see why Crete could boast the claim. The part of the island near Chania commands fantastic natural views - crystal clear lakes, large daunting snow capped mountains, and the Mediterranean Sea. And the inhabitants of the island seem as charming and as welcoming as the environment. Almost everyone I met, from the Greek nationals to the fortunate foreigners who lived and worked on the island, had such positive attitudes - they seem to truly appreciate the beauty of the place.

Armed with just a point-and-shoot camera (I kept the Canon Rebel back in Germany, as I had to handle quite a significant amount of work related baggage on the trip and wanted to keep my personal luggage to a minimum), the pictures don't begin to tell the story of the beauty that encompasses the island. I wish I had spent a few more days there, just to be able to explore more of the island. I guess I'll just have to visit again sometime!

Photos are linked on the right-hand side of the blog, or you can just click here.