I saw a cat with a flower in its hair riding a goat I swear

brianzurek
Apr 13
6 min read

Not sure if I just got back from a Dr Seuss book or a European holiday extravaganza! Or something, kinda of, sort of, like that... All in 3 parts. What was the reason for this soiree and what were the parts you ask? Eva was spending her sobatical in Germany, which provided me a chance to visit and for us to go on a fun little European adventure. The parts were seperated by country: 1) Greece; 2) Italy (with 3 acts) and 3) Germany

Clods roll in over the cliffs of San Vito Lo Capo

Part 1) Greece: Leonidio

First stop in our adventure was Leonidio, Greece.. Known for its steep tufa climbing, pleasant beaches, nice sunrises and amazing bakeries!

Leonidio is a smaller greek town located in Arcadia, Peloponnese. It sits in a cliffed in valley that leads down to the sea.

Over the past 10 to 15 years there has been an explostion of growth in rock climbing in the region

Eva's friend from Germany, Erwin, joined us on this portion of the trip

the plan was to spend 2 1/2 weeks in Leonidio. Enough time for routines to form and and simple flow of day to day life took over.....

Some morings were niver than others

Day started with a run down to the local bakery

Brian by the end of the trip had turned into quite the Greek Coffee connoisseur

Brewing Greek coffee requires a special pot!

breakfast was perhaps the highlight

Eva enjoys a baked good

Deciding where to climb for the day

and getting there

not all approaches are equal

all with the intention of going rock climbing!

Scoping out the beta as they like to say

Brian found a steep route

Eva finds a sharp gray one

While Erwin found a colorful wall

Eva finds a spot high above the water

Erwin losses his face in the vast shades of limestone

Brian ponders whats next?

whats next

Eva unimpressed moves on

and finds a hold

Sometimes a little help is needed

and with that up Eva goes

taking some much needed rest

meanwhile Brian finds another route to climb

as does Erwin

and lets not forget Clive!

and.... thats enough climbing for now

end of day selfie(s)

said selfie

and just like that the moon rises and another day comes to a close

Moon over the Mittle Mar

nighttime in Leonidio

nighttime is also known as dinner time

by the end of the trip we managed to hit all the restaurants

but clearly had our favourite

On the subject of food lets not forget the oranges!

more oranges

On the days off we explored the surrounding area

Going to beach

testing the water

going for a swim

checking out where fish come from

exploring local monasteries

will they let Eva in:?

Rumour has it its filled with nuns, they must have taken the day off

there was of course loads of local goodies to buy

some of the goodies to buy

there were also some doors in Leonidio that Brian oddly felt the need to photograph

and some flowers

Eva enjoying some flowers

and thats roughly how it was in Greece

Part 2) Italy

In Athens we left Erwin behind as we boarded a plane for Italy. Italy is best told out in 3 acts: I Napoli; II Amalfi Coast; III San Vito Lo Capo (Sicily)

Act I) Napoli (aka Naples)

Napoli is the land of food, pizza, mass of humanity and Pompeii

Pizza - need I say more

But Napoli has more than just Pizza

Really there is more than just Pizza and Gelato

Brin checks out the seafood

What?!

While Brian was focused on eating Eva went off and made a new friend

Eva checks out some fancy shopping mall

while Brian tries to be artistic

Napoli provided lots of opportunities for Brian to try and be artistic

Perhaps deserving of its own act, Pompeii, was a really impressive site

its huge! Its basically all open and you can just go where you want - super cool!

Eva checks out the theatre district

Brian finds the perfect place for his Pompeii express espresso shop

Comes with its own statues

paintings included

Even has its own guard dog!

ruts add character

Act II) Amalfi Coast

known for its steep cliffs, narrow tight roads, scenic walking paths and ocean views

Also known for its crazy crowds, long traffic jams and no parking - thankfully we were there during the off season and saw none of it. View from our apartment balcony

Great place to watch the sky and ships go by

While the Amalfi Coast is known for its crazy roads it also has a nice extensive network of walking trails.

Eva enjoys a walk into town

and finds a passage way with a view

the view

another view

the region is known for its lemon's

Eva checks out the lemon's

Eva checks out a realestate opportunity - a castle on the sea

The narrow passage ways literally wind their way through town

Brian stops for Gelato

Gelato before pasta is what the locals say

We even found some hand made ravioli

a little religion

my final resting place?

and just like that another day comes to an end on the Amalfi Coast

Act III) San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily

This act began before it evan began with a night train from Napoli to Palermo.

Eva checks out our digs for the night

Now I know what you are saying, Palermo is on Sicily which is an island, how does a train get to an Island? A train ferry boat of course!

After a sound nights sleep Brian enjoys complimentary newspaper and coffee

Once in Palermo we picked up our car and were back on the road. Brian somehow manages to find a gelato stand and must stop!

after a long journey we make it to our apartment just in time for the sun to set

the sunset

San Vito is known for its cliffs that come down almost to the sea

The rocks going straight into the sea provided Eva with plenty of geology to explore

check out these folds

A little bit of weather moved in and created for some dramatic seas

Eva getting up close and personal with the waves

perhaps time to take the boat out

riding out the storm

the sun sets

the waves calm down

and another day comes to an end

but we are not here for geology or to watch sappy sunsets and waves crash along the shore. We got serious work to do.... Eva on the approach - notice the door to the cyclops lair ahead!

Eva getting ready

Eva checking out whats to come

Whats to come? We don't know, it seems someone didn't get the memo this was a climbing trip which means photos should be of climbing not sunsets, rock formations and waves! Here is a crazy plant instead

As usual Eva made some new friends

and Brian took too many photos

In the end he even managed to find a cannoli or two or ???

Before leaving Italy lets treat ourselves to one more sunset

As day turns into night

Part 3) Deutschland (aka Germany)

No sooner had the wheels touched down, boarded the bus and arrived at the Munich airport did Brian sit down and order himself a Weißwurst, Bretzl and a Weizen beer

The plan was to spend a week in Dresden visiting with Eva and her friends and family, maybe do a little climbing and search for Easter Eggs.

I also spent a little Brian time exploring the city

The city is known for its art and culture

Some more classic paintings in the Classics Museum

and sculptures

Even got to see a restoration in progress

Old globes in physics and math section

In the Castle, delicate ivory vases

and geometric shapes

someone forgot their armour

compliments the 'modern'

and historical works around town

and sometimes I just have to find my own 'art' like this fine art picture of a boat

somewhere / somewhen Brian managed to find a currywurst

to supplement his diet of Kuchen (aka cake)

Brötchen (aka wheat dinner rolls)

Frühstück (aka breakfast)

and Russian ice cream sandwiches

with all this eating it was time to go climbing in the famous Sächsische Schweiz. On the approach

Eva scooping out the fine route

who needs cams or nuts when one can tie knots into slings?!

placing 'pro'

racked up

climbing

and it rained.....

Not to worry a couple days later the skies cleared and we made it the Chech side of the border where rumor has it the climbing is not quite as scarry - emphasis on rumour