Leaving the Peloponnese and heading to Piraeus, the Athens harbor, we had to cross the famous Corinth Canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Aegean Sea. Cut through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth, it effectively makes the peninsula of the Peloponnese an island. Several rulers in antiquity dreamed of digging a water passage […]

Going way back to Greek history classes in high school, Monika has a vivid memory of the Lion Gate at Mycenae, so naturally this was a must-see stop. In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centers of Greek civilization, a military stronghold that dominated much of southern Greece. According to legend […]

Driving north towards Mycene and Corinth, we could have followed the freeway, but we had read in one of our guidebooks about the little alpine village of Kosmás on the coastal route.  It was a pretty easy choice. Heading into the Párnonas Mountains, the tortuous two-lane road was very steep. Second and third gear travel […]

This jewel town is located on a small island off the east coast of the Peloponnese, separated from the mainland by an earthquake in 375AD and now linked to the mainland by a short causeway. Founded in 583 by people seeking refuge from the Slavic and Avaric invasion of Greece, the site had a powerful […]

It was a short drive from Mystras to (new) Sparta, founded in the 1830s when Mystras was basically abandoned. Sparta became a prominent city-state in ancient Greece and was unique for its social system and constitution, which completely focused on military training and excellence. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power […]