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Athens, althoug it became the capital of Greece only in 1834, the goddess of wisdom Athena (daughter of all-powerful Zeus) had long since been  chosen  as the guardian of the city by the greek Gods who gathered on Olympus. The toursit visiting today the capital  still faces the hellemic history and mythology. No better place to feel this history than the Acropolis, with its panoramic view of the town and its temples dating back to the 5th century BC. Pericles, the general who had ruled Athens from 461-429 BC, had led an ambitious building program on this rocky plateau. The Parthenon thus became the heart of the ancient city and it stands now for Greece glorious past.

The traveler can only imagine  today how it looked like (something like imagining the Colosseum at its maximum splendor).

Although the most photographed monument on the Acropolis is the Erechtheion with the beautiful six stone maidens, or Caryatidis, used in place of columns,  it is on its southern slope  that Greek tragedy was born and where Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides had their plays performed in front of some 17000 spectators. A fairly short walk leads the tourist to the Agora, or marketplace of ancient Greece, where men like Socrates met to debate and started the foundations of western philosophy.

Mostly touristy but still requiring a walk are two of the oldest inhabited areas of the town: Plaka and Monasteraki, with their souvenir shops and boutiques. Above all in the labyrinth of Plaka narrow streets plenty of cafés, restaurants and tavernas offer some relax to the tired tourist. who can still walk to Monasteraki flea market to navigate among old books, records, coins and many other items. A suggestion: bargaining is here a must.

After a full day of sightseeing, sit down once again for an ouzo (traditional licorice-flaavoured spirit) and watch the sunset on the highest point of Athens, the Likavittos Hill. Last but not least: there is no shortage of hotels in Athens, for every budget and every taste.

As part of the Ottoman empire for almost 400 years, one cannot but have a small strong ‘Turkish’ coffeee served in any coffee shop. But if you want to jump into a variety of designer boutiques, just go to Tsakalof Street. Here again just sit down at one of it’s many trendy cafés before starting your visit to the over 100 museums in Athens, from the National Archeological Museum to the Goulandris Museum and the National Gallery of Art.

In order to get to know a captivating city like Warsaw a week-end surely is not enough; but we couldn’t stay longer. So we had to make a strict selection: what is worth seeing in Warsaw in 2 days?

Listed below you’ll find our selected sites for our first visit to the capital:

1. Warsaw Old Town with its romantic little streets going down to the Vistula River banks,  nowadays the rebuilt Old Town well deserves the status of Cultural and Natural Heritage of the World Cultural;

2. the Royal Route connecting the Royal Castle of Warsaw to the summer Residence of King Jan III Sobieski (Wilanow) with palaces, churches and sumptuous government buildings. After this walk you will know the history of the town because it is really a journey through the centuries.  The Royal Castle, for instance, was built in the 13th century and, in the course of the centuries, it provided the setting for many important historical events. Robbed and destroyed between 1939-1944, it was rebuilt around the surviving architectural structures from 1971 to1984. Or the Presidential Palace, built in the mid of the 17th century, now remodeled in a neo-classical style. Since 1994 it is the residence of the President of Poland. And still the baroque Church of the Holy Cross (1679/1696): the urn containing the heart of Chopin is walled in in its pillars;

3. the Warsaw Citadel, an imposing fortress dating back to the 19th century, one of the best preserved complexes of Poland’s military architecture;

4. The Palace of Culture and Science, still Poland’s highest building (it’s over 230 metres or 754 feet high) overlooks the town, a huge building housing over 3.000 rooms (conference rooms, exhibition areas, modern and confortable offices, practically a small town in itself);

5. The Powaski Cemetery, one of Europe’s oldest and largest necropolises (anyhow the oldest catholic cemetery in the town), created in 1790. You can see here many examples of sculptural and architectural art with important works of classicism, secession and modern art.There are also traces of the presence and cultural heritage of Jewish people who lived in Warsaw. Before World War II over 350.000 Jewish peoiple lived in Warsaw, thus making the city the second biggest Jewish community in Europe.

Make your hotel reservation in advance, you can book any Warsaw hotels, from a 5 star hotel to a quite bed and Breakfast.

This is the itinerary we have done, but much more  is still to be discovered in Warsaw. We’ll have to go there for a second visit! 

It is on the occasion of the Queen’s birthday that Amsterdam becomes an even more special city.  The daily routine is forgotten and celebrations start the day (evening) before, i.e. on April 29th, with concerts, shows and, of course, lots of beer…
On April 30th (the Queen’s actual birthday) the atmosphere of the town is joyful: a rather peculiar second-hand market is set up practically before all houses. What has become useless is on sale at rather interesting low prices.
The merrymaking for the Queen is really worth a visit to Amsterdam at the end of April. And if you want another “plus”  do not forget that this is the period when tulips are in full blossom and  the botanical garden at  Keukenhof (some half an hour from Amsterdam)  awaits you with its bikes to enjoy the multicolored fields (it is not the beer’s side-effect, they are indeed  tulips).
But don’t forget, if you plan to visit Amsterdam in this special period of the year, to book your hotel in advance.

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