2014

Hydra the relaxing island with no cars

After spending 2 days in Poros the next island to continue our holidays was Hydra. From Poros we got the flying dolphin and Hydra was about an hour away. The first thing you’ll see when you get off the ferry is the harbor which is centered and all around there are restaurants, shops and markets. The small streets are made of steep stones. In Hydra you won’t see any cars, buses, or motorbikes – instead, you’ll see a lot of donkeys. The only vehicle we've seen on the island was a rubbish truck. Donkeys and water taxis are the only public transportation in Hydra for tourists and locals. We booked our stay at Pension Erofili which is located 2 minutes from the port and stayed in the studio which had a kitchen and an independent veranda. Although we didn't pay extra to have breakfast there, it looked nice and on the last day the owners offered us coffee and breakfast. Spilia Beach Bar is located under the cannon on the west side of the port and it’s the only swimming spot you can access by foot near the harbour. It serves food and drinks all day and during the night there’s music. We went there before sunset and had a few beers until dawn. There’s an excellent view of the harbour and you’ll see the ferries, cruise ships, water taxis, and boats coming to the island. Although the drinks were a bit expensive it’s worth going there just for the relaxing view. During daylight people enjoy the rocky beach beneath (Hydronetta) where most people jump from the rocks in the clear crystal waters. Mandraki Bay – Miramare is a beach that you can easily reach by water taxi or by boat. At the Mandraki Bay, there’s a hotel known as Miramare that you could see as you approach with the boat. We got our sunbeds (which were free) and we looked to see if there was a bar nearby or something but the place looked ‘dead’. There was a kid there cleaning the tables and bringing some refreshments and [...]

2023-07-13T12:15:15+03:00August 22nd, 2014|

Aveiro the Portuguese Venice

Aveiro is a city on the west coast of Portugal set along a lagoon called Ria de Aveiro. The coastal lagoon is rich in bird life and that's where Aveiro got its name from, the Latin aviarium (place of birds). It's distinguished by its canals navigated by colorful boats (barcos moliceiros), reminding Venice. The boats were traditionally used to harvest seaweed. I've been to Portugal a few years ago (in Lisbon) and was considering at some point in the future to visit Porto but then a good chance comes up to travel to Aveiro for a business meeting.  I’ve heard of Aveiro before but never thought of going there. Travelling to Aveiro from Cyprus was quite exhausting since we had to take 3 flights (Larnaca - Athens, Athens - Barcelona, Barcelona - Porto) and then a train from Porto to Aveiro. The city Part of the city is bathed through canals, bridges and painted boats called moliceiros which are very similar to the gondolas of Venice. They also say that Aveiro has some fantastic sandy beaches which I didn’t have the chance to visit. You can walk around Aveiro since it's a small town and most of the places are near each other (restaurants, bars, shops). Since I visited Aveiro for business purposes I didn't have enough time to explore Aveiro apart from walking around the canals and the old city. Hotel We stayed at the Hotel Moliceiro which is located very centrally and you can reach the hottest spots within a short walking distance. The room was very clean and comfortable. The breakfast buffet was amazing with a large variety of options to choose from. The staff was helpful and friendly. The price was very good by what you eventually get so I would recommend this place to anyone traveling to Aveiro. The food Ovos moles is almost sold everywhere and it looks like you are about to eat something sweet so I though to give it a try but I didn't like it was made from egg york and the taste of egg is very strong.  You will find most [...]

2023-06-29T16:33:44+03:00June 8th, 2014|

Norway in a Nutshell Tour

One of the most amazing experiences I had in my life.  Norway in a nutshell. After visiting Oslo, the next stop while in Scandinavia was Bergen. On our way from Oslo to Bergen we purchased the Norway in a nutshell tour however we were unable to do this on the day we were travelling to Bergen since it was very windy and it was snowing therefore the train could not approach the Myrdal station. So we did the tour on our way back to Oslo. We booked our tickets via the official website a month before in order to enjoy Norway's magical fjords. So our trip begins from Bergen with a train to Voss. The scenery was magnificent since we were going through the fjords and it was snowy everywhere. We then reached Voss from where we got the bus to Gudvangen. Gudvangen and the Nærøyfjord fjord At Gudvangen village we got the ship for a cruise through the Nærøyfjord fjord which ended in Flam. During the cruise we enjoyed amazing scenery of the fjords. The Nærøyfjord fjord is a UNESCO World Heritage site and its Norway’s longest and deepest fjords surrounded by towering mountains. During the cruise we enjoyed waterfalls which cascade from the mountain tops and some amazing landscapes. Flam In Flam we had to wait for about 2 hours to get the train to Myrdal station. We couldn’t do much in Flam though, since it was freezing and raining so we had lunch in a café near the station. Flam Railway - Flamsbana After waiting we got the Flam Railway. The Flam Railway is called Flamsbana and it’s considered one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world. In winter the view is totally different from what you see in spring or summer. This is one of the steepest train lines in the world since most of the journey duration has a gradient (hill) of 5.5%. During the journey we could see steep mountains, waterfalls which were frozen, we passed through tunnel and through fjords. It took us about an hour to travel from the ocean [...]

2018-02-23T09:14:27+03:00February 22nd, 2014|
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