Google Earth Community: 1953 The Peleponese, Greece on Foot

1953 Greece on Foot with my brother Gerhard

In 1953 it became possible to visit Greece, the land of my dreams. We hitchhiked from Germany through Northern Italy to Brindisi and took a boat to Athens, where we spent four weeks getting drunk on classical art and architecture and exploring Attica and Corinth. During the following four weeks we hiked through the Peleponese and fell hopelessly in love with Greece. I have been back many times to Athens and the islands, but only once to the Peleponese dreading a destruction of the emotional impact of this first visit.

Lake Garda in a rainstorm. We hitchhiked to Ravenna and down the Adriatic Coast. After two starry nights on a rusty steamer we landed in Athens. Ulysses couldn't have been more excited.

The Poseidon Temple of Sounion at the tip of Attika. - After the rainy skies of Northern Europe the transparancy of the Greek light was a revelation: The burnt siena of the rocky land limned by the blue sea, islands floating to the horizon, and the white marble of the temple's collumns.

Walking to Mykene. An olive grove on the way in the evening light. A magical moon-lit night on the roof of the shack of the archeologists reciting the dreaful stories of Agamemnon and the Orestia.

The high-light of the trip became the lonely temple of Apollo at Bassai. It took us four sun-drenched days hiking through the Arcadian mountains to reach it. We slept in the temple. No one disturbed our solitude. In the morning a shepherdess brought us a bowl of fresh sheep milk .

Paestum, Italy the Heraion. On the 5th of October 53 the boat took us back to Brindisi. Heavy rain drove us to take the train to Naples. One last glorious afternoon we spent in Paestum.

RWFG October 2008

Edited by RWFG (11/19/08 11:17 PM)

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