Day 269 April 30 2015 Entzheim France

view from hotel in Marquatstein Germany

about as fast as the car would go!

spinning at a high speed

these chairs are great

Day 269  April 30 2015 Entzheim France

Today is David’s 11^th birthday and he ended up with a bag of chips a 6 pack of chocolate bars and a $20 iTunes card as a present. His main present will be 2 days a Euro Disney when we get there, Isabel will also benefit from David’s present.  We spent the day in the car again driving to Entzheim France.  We spent a small part of the trip traveling at over 170 km/ hr (that was all the Dacia Duster had in it) and getting passed by many cars.  A larger portion of the day was spent in several massive traffic jams due to long weekend volume, a truck stuck on the guardrail and construction.  A drive that should have taken 4 ½ hours took over 8 ½ hours, it was a joyous experience.

Day 268 April 29 2015 Marquatstein Germany

I hope they never see a war

an amphibian barge 

mountains where we stopped for gas

Day 268  April 29 2015 Marquatstein Germany

We drove from Poljanak Croatia to Marquatstein Germany today.  The only stop we made to see a collection of weapons and vehicles from the Croatian Home Land War in Karlovac Croatia.  We arrived at our hotel around 8 pm and enjoyed a meal of German food.  It is the first place in Europe that we stayed that did not have English on their menu.  When the waiter realized that we did not speak German he brought us a folder with translations of German food names to English.  Unfortunately half the stuff on the menu was not in the translations.   The food we got was good even though I did not get what I was hoping that I had ordered.  

Day 267 April 28 2015 Poljanak Croatia

Plitvice Lakes National Park

One of the many waterfalls

looking for stuff

another one of the many falls

looks like paradise 

all those white things in background are waterfalls

shortly before getting a wet foot

Day 267  April 28 2015  Poljanak Croatia

We spent the day walking around the waterfalls at Plitvice Lakes National Park.  We drove from the hotel to the park and were looking for the parking lot.  We got to the boat launch area and were told that we were not supposed to be there with a car.  We asked where we were supposed to park and were told to return up the road  we had just traveled.  When we got to the rangers shack the gate that was open on our trip into the launch was now closed.  I was driving so Evy went to investigate if the gate was locked or just closed.  It was locked but she noticed that the chain had excess slack in it and was able to pry it over the end of the post.. We were free.  We parked the car on the other side of the gate and walked back to the boat launch.  The area is absolutely beautiful with a multitude of waterfalls at different levels.  We spent almost 6 hours walking around the area.  Toward the end of the day we were walking down a trail that was closed due to flooding.  Evy said “If I get a wet foot I am going to be mad, extremely annoyed”, within 5 minutes she slipped of the edge of the bank and got a soaker.  She the got mad and said “ I am going back” so the kids and I continued on the trail and Evy returned to the car by herself.  

Day 266 April 27 2015 Poljanak Croatia

serious static from a plastic slide

Day 266  April 27 2015  Poljanak Croatia

We left Leskovak at 9:30 am and drove just under 800 km to Poljanak Croatia where we plan to visit the Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Day 265 April 26 2015 Leskovak Serbia

Entrance to Theopetra Cave

120 000 year old foot prints made by a child

view inside the cave

another view inside the cave

Day 265  April 26 2015 Leskovak Serbia

We drove a few km from the hotel to the Theopetra Historical Cave.  When the cave was excavated it was discovered that there had been people using it for the last 130 000 years.  It contains a set of 120 000 year old foot prints that were left by a child which then petrified.  It also contains the oldest known human made structure from 24 000 years.  It is a simple wall but it was built to block out the cold winds during the ice age.  There were 12000 year old human skeletons discovered, one of which was on display under plastic case.  We then began our drive towards Thessalonika where we had planned on visiting the white tower.  There was no parking to be found within a reasonable walking distance so we just drove by it and continued on our way towards Leskovak.  When we were about ½ an hour from Thessalonika we realized that the GPS had taken us on a different highway then we had expected.  We looked at the map and it looked like approximately the same distance to continue the way we were as opposed to returning the highway we wanted.  We had planned on going through Macedonia into Serbia, we ended up going though Bulgaria and into Serbia.  The route that the GPS plotted was infact 2 ½ hour longer over some bad roads.  The highway the GPS tried to take us one in Bulgaria was not completed and not in use.  

Day 264 April 25 2015 Kalambaka Greece

one of the  monasteries of Meteora

Monastery in the background

it was a very beautiful area

very beautiful landscape

this tree is now known as the "wedgie tree"!

Day 264  April 25 2015 Kalambaka Greece

After we checked into the hotel in Kalambaka we began touring the area around the 6 monasteries of Meteora.  It is a very beautiful area and the buildings on top of the rocks are very cool.  In the past the people and supplies were hoisted up in nets.  The ropes were not changed until they broke as it was god’s will if the person or supplies were lost.  

Day 263 April 24 2015 Athens Greece

enjoying ice cream outside the acropolis museum

the museum is built over a historic town

inside the acropolis museum

Day 263  April 24  2015  Athens Greece

We spent the morning booking a car for south Africa and our return trip to Paris.  We have decided to skip visiting Turkey on this trip as we do not have enough time.  We will return in the future to visit Turkey and Egypt.  In the afternoon we went to the Acropolis museum where we spent a couple of hours looking at the statues.  There are quite a few more archaeological sites to see in the area; however by the time we left the museum we had our fill of looking at status, columns and piles of rock. We returned to the apartment cooked supper and relaxed.  

Day 262 April 23 2015 Athens Greece

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Erechtheion

overlooking the theater

outside the theater

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Day 262  April 23  2015  Athens Greece

We searched the internet and found a coil laundry that was very close to the Acropolis.  Evy drove us down town and we were lucky and found parking next to the laundry.  While our laundry was washing we ate in a Mexican restaurant.  Once the laundry was done we walked to the Acropolis and began our tour of the area.  We climbed the hill to see the Parthenon and the Erechtheion.  We then walked to the Aeropagus hill where we sat and admired the view of the city and the Acropolis.  The last stop of the day was at Hadrian Gate and the Temple of Olympian Zeus.   Since it was getting dark we walked back to the car with a stop for ice cream on the way.

Day 261 April 22 2015 Athens Greece

Natural rock in the shape of  a bear at our hotel

Day 261  April 22  2015  Athens Greece

We toured the ruins of Delphi for a few hours then continued our drive towards Athens with a stop at the Loukas Monastery.  The monastery was beautiful as were the rolling hills around it and the mountains in the background.  We were not sure what to expect of the apartment when we got to Athens.  When we were looking at it on Airbnb it was priced to low for what the pictures were displaying.  Evy and I both ignored it for the first part of our accommodation search.  We both felt that there was something wrong and it was a scam similar to what we had experienced in the Philippines.   We were happy when we got there and discovered that it was exactly like the pictures.  The apartment was large and very comfortable.  The view from the living room was fantastic as it overlooked the city.   We needed to wash clothes and did a search on the internet looking for a Laundromat in the area.  When we got to the location the business was nowhere to be found, I suspect another victim of the Greek crisis.  We headed towards the center of the town as we knew there were more coin laundries there.  When we finally found one it was 8:50 pm and they closed at 9 pm.  We ended up washing some clothes in the sink when we got back to the apartment.  We wasted just over 2 hours trying to find a place to do our clothes.

Day 260 April 21 2015 Delphi Greece

absolutely the best pastry of the sabbatical

in front of Chlemoutsi Castle

inside the walls of Chlemoutsi Castle

courtyard of Chlemoutsi Castle

Day 260  April 21  2015  Delphi Greece

We moved from Pyrgos to Delphi today.  The first stop on the route was at the fantastic bakery where we ate more than enough pastry for two or three people each.  We then stopped at Chlemoutsi Castle which was built by the Franks in 1220 to 1223 AD.  It was an interesting castle built on a hill with beautiful view of the surrounding countryside and the sea.  We then continued on our way towards Delphi arriving at the hotel around 6 pm.  For supper we picked up Greek souvlaki and Greek salad.  When I was getting ready to go to town for the souvlaki I discovered that I did not have my car keys.  When we had the car filled up I did not get my key back from the service station attendant. Since the place we fueled the car is a fair distance away we are considering getting a replacement key instead of returning to the station to pick it up.

Day 259 April 20 2015 Pyrgos Greece

Olympia Greece

running on the first Olympic field

more ruins at Olympia

I love this picture

crowned victorious by her brother 

defending the hotel beach from the evil attacking brother

Day 259  April 20  2015  Pyrgos Greece

Today we went to the historic site of Olympia where the first Olympic Games were held and where the flame is still lit today.  The first part of the site we visited was the stadium where the kids had a race down the field.  Isabel claimed victory but the video showed a different ending and the honors went to David.   David showed that he can sometimes be a nice brother and made Isabel a crown from an olive branch and placed it on her head like she was a champion Olympic  athlete.  It was a fantastic time to visit as there were quite a few trees full of beautiful purple flower that smelled fantastic.  The flowers mixed with the ruins provided an awe inspiring visit, it was absolutely beautiful.  After the ruins we went to the museum with a stop on the way at the snack bar.  The poplar trees were dropping pollen is quantities that it looked like it was snowing complete with accumulation on the ground.  It was great for David’s and my allergies.  We stopped at a grocery store on the way home and purchased groceries and a bottle of wine.  I told Evy that she was starting to take after my mother as we ended up buying our alcohol based on the shape of the bottle.  We could not read the greek language on the bottle so we use bottle shape to make our selection.  In the evening the kids and I went for a walk along the shore where we discovered an old stone quarry.  You could see where the stones had been cut and removed by cutting a 1 ½ to 2 inch channel around the rock and then prying it out.