Spindler Mlyn

Girls have returned. We had a great time. The days were in the 30's and the sun was shinning until the last day. Hours were spent at the Aquapark and Bobsledding. N never slowed down the whole time. I'm glad to be back in Prague for a rest.

Spindler is within the Krkonose Mountains (Giant Mountains in English) that boarder Poland. The area is a popular ski resort area. During the summer it transforms itself into a summer adventure sports haven. For $65AUS you can go tandem paragliding(unfortunately I couldn't convince N). Other sports include high ropes, quadbiking, giant swing, MTBiking. But most people(mainly Germans) go there to walk the many trails.

N and I caught a bus to Spindleruv Bouda(30min)
, which is the border town with Poland, and walked across the border and along the top of the Krkonose.
This photo is looking down into Poland. There were lots of wild flowers and lots of butterflies....which helped to entertain and encourage N to keep walking. This is the Czech side! This is the red walking track to Snezka 1602m.
I have to give it to the Czechs for their affordable and extensive public transport system. We caught the metro as far east as possible(Cerny Most - IKEA stop). At the metro is a bus depot...for $11AUS N & I caught a bus all the way to Spindleruv Mlyn(3hours).

Banished the Girls to another Holiday

J & N have headed off to Spindler Mlyn (http://www.spindleruv-mlyn.cz/Default.aspx?jazyk=EN , 3 hours by bus from Praha) for 5 days of

Bobsledding: http://www.bobovka.cz/
&
Aquapark Craziness: http://www.aquaparkspindl.cz/

Staying at http://www.bedriska.cz/index.php?language=en

All for $250 AUD - bargain !

After day 1, M is already bored & lonely.

M

Paddling in Prague

We went for a paddle just before lunch today. 100Kc ($5AUD) for an hour. N wants to go back tomorrow! We could travel from the weir near Charles Bridge to the next weir up stream - really easy going! as long as there is no wind...and it was very still and humid today. I had to buy a fan yesterday.

Santorini (Thira) day trip

Santorini is a volcano. The towns line the tops of the high cliffs, with spectacular views into the centre of the volcano. The last major earthquake that measured 7.8 was in 1956 - they also watch for slight changes in the rise or fall of the central land mass as a determinor of a forthcoming eruption(they say they can tell a month in advance of a possible eruption).

We caught a ferry from Naxos.
This picture shows the bus path up the zigzag road.
We visited Oia

and Fira

Naxos

We picked the lovely Island of Naxos in the Cyclades to spend a week. As you approach Naxos by ferry you see the islands most famous landmark, a huge doorway of the Temple of Apollo.

Our hotel was at Agios Prokopis, 5 minutes walk to the beach. The beachfront was well equiped with cafe's, restaurants and all your shopping needs. A bus ran every 30 min(or so) to Naxos main town area(15-20min bus ride) and all the way down the coast. Our hotel had a big swimming pool which N spent hours in.

We hired a car for the day and travelled around the Island.
Baseous castle (near Ano Sagri) was built in 1671. It was the monastery of the Holy Cross until the beginning of the C19th.

A few minutes walk from Apollonas(town at the northern tip of the Island) is a C7th BC kouros (unfinished statue in situ in an ancient quarry)
Just past this castle at Agia we hit the dirt tracks down to a pebble beach that looked brilliant from the road way. We had the place to ourselves so we all had a skinny dip.

Marked on the Naxos map as Ipilis Tower is the castle of the Kokkos family from 1600(date on the internal chapel). Descendents now maintain the castle, one pictured.

Here are some of our beach shots
Kastraki
Ag.Anna
Ag. Prokopis at night

Octopus hanging out at the restaurants in Naxos harbour

Athens

Back to Prague after a fabulous 12 days in Greece. We flew into Athens, which thanks to the Olympics in 2004 has a metro from the airport to the centre of Athens...all very civilized and easy to get around.


Our room had a huge verandah with views up to Lykavittos Hill.

Our first day, of course, started with the Acropolis.
Theatre of Dionysos

Theatre of Herodus Atticus


The Parthenon. N decided to give her fringe a trim before we left Prague - very Linda Evangelistic style!


The Erechtheion, with the six maiden supporting collumns.

At the northern foothills of the Acropolis is Ancient Agora. It was the marketplace of ancient Athens.
One of the main monuments is the Temple of Hephaestus.
Then we wondered around Plaka and had a traditional Greek lunch here.


Energised from lunch and a new pink hat, we powered on to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which was begun in C6th BC and completed by Hadrian in 131AD. The collumns are 17m high.

We also fed the pigeons at Parliament house. M had lots of friends that day, as you can see. N just didn't have enough perch areas to satisfy the volumes that flocked to daddy. This is where you can see the guards in traditional uniform.


We also visited the National Archeological Museum, Lykavittos Hill and the Planetarium.

Naxos, here we come !

We've been sitting on the lounge looking through pictures of our island destination for next weekend.

Hotel: http://www.hotelsofgreece.com/cyclades/naxos/prokopis/

Island Info: http://www.naxos-greece.net/

M