I have gone through a difficult period in the last two months, which have happily finished now with my new adventure.
On the last November 16th (2019), after a great 3-day long weekend in Eilat, while coming home, actually while arriving home (we were two blocks from home), we were involved in a traffic accident that left my motorcycle unusable. A lady, who for her reasons (distraction, or just not being concerned about respecting the law) decided to do a left turn when the traffic light for her was red and green for me, left me with no option but to hit her in the back right side of the car.
On the last November 16th (2019), after a great 3-day long weekend in Eilat, while coming home, actually while arriving home (we were two blocks from home), we were involved in a traffic accident that left my motorcycle unusable. A lady, who for her reasons (distraction, or just not being concerned about respecting the law) decided to do a left turn when the traffic light for her was red and green for me, left me with no option but to hit her in the back right side of the car.
The whole front of the motorcycle had been destroyed, the fix would be so expensive for the insurance that my options were to sell the broken motorcycle to a workshop for parts and get the remaining from the insurance, or to have it categorized as Total Loss.
So, in any case, for me, Sapphira was dead.
As usual with these situations, the story develops to a new adventure, that I describe with words and pictures in the continuation of this post.
So, in any case, for me, Sapphira was dead.
As usual with these situations, the story develops to a new adventure, that I describe with words and pictures in the continuation of this post.
I had around one month of dealing with the police, the insurance appraiser, doctors, lawyers, insurance companies, etc, and after I had all sorted out, I turned to the same motorcycle dealer from whom I had bought Sapphira in 2015, trying to find a new motorcycle.
He promptly presented me with pictures and the details of a 2019 BMW R1250RT which was a test-ride bike belonging to them - so I would be first owner of a bike with just some thousands of Kms.
We agreed on all the details, and I began the process with our Ministry of Transportation. On the middle of December, I had the Import License for the motorcycle. Then I had to begin planning the trip, since the trip with the motorcycle in the winter can be challenging.
My dealer suggested that I would come to Darmstadt, do all the papers of the motorcycle with them, and then they would load it to a Sprinter and take me and the motorcycle to Italy through Switzerland. "In this way", they said, "you will avoid not only the snow and cold weather, but also the salt on the roads which causes corrosion at the motorcycle". After closing all the details, we arranged all the dates and the plan was ready.
He promptly presented me with pictures and the details of a 2019 BMW R1250RT which was a test-ride bike belonging to them - so I would be first owner of a bike with just some thousands of Kms.
We agreed on all the details, and I began the process with our Ministry of Transportation. On the middle of December, I had the Import License for the motorcycle. Then I had to begin planning the trip, since the trip with the motorcycle in the winter can be challenging.
My dealer suggested that I would come to Darmstadt, do all the papers of the motorcycle with them, and then they would load it to a Sprinter and take me and the motorcycle to Italy through Switzerland. "In this way", they said, "you will avoid not only the snow and cold weather, but also the salt on the roads which causes corrosion at the motorcycle". After closing all the details, we arranged all the dates and the plan was ready.
(The bike as in the picture I received from them)
So on January 13th, 2020, I was entering the Lufthansa flight at Ben Gurion airport, heading to Frankfurt and from there to Darmstadt.
When I landed in Frankfurt, I got a message from Achim, the co-owner of MCD - Motorrad Center Darmstadt, and one of my good friends there, telling me that he would meet me at the airport.
From the airport, Achim took me to an interesting place in Frankfurt, which rents slots to collectors cars for keeping them in a weather controlled environment, and is open for visitation. The name of the place is Klassikstadt and you can find their website with directions on this link.
Here are some pictures of the place:
When I landed in Frankfurt, I got a message from Achim, the co-owner of MCD - Motorrad Center Darmstadt, and one of my good friends there, telling me that he would meet me at the airport.
From the airport, Achim took me to an interesting place in Frankfurt, which rents slots to collectors cars for keeping them in a weather controlled environment, and is open for visitation. The name of the place is Klassikstadt and you can find their website with directions on this link.
Here are some pictures of the place:
(click on any picture in the gallery to open it in full size and then navigate to the next/previous pictures)
After visiting the 3 floors of the exposition and the workshops that function there, we took some time to eat a nice lunch at the restaurant of the place.
After visiting the 3 floors of the exposition and the workshops that function there, we took some time to eat a nice lunch at the restaurant of the place.
In the evening, Achim came again to get me to a nice dinner in a very typical Italian restaurant that he knew in Darmstadt.
Next day was procedure day. Early in the morning I was already at MCD, where my other big friend there, Manfred, the Sales and Logistics manager of the place, was waiting for me to begin the tour of the German offices to officialize the sale and the export of the motorcycle.
We began by the Transit Authority, where we registered the sale, made the temporary insurance for the motorcycle so that I would be able to ride it in Europe, and got a temporary number for the bike. Although a 9-day number and insurance would be enough, I decided to take a 15-day registration for covering any unpredicted delay.
From there, we continued to the Customs Authority, where the export papers were made. The export papers would enable me to put the motorcycle at the ship that would take it to Israel from Lavrio, Greece.
The whole process was very fast. I was already expecting it due to the experience of 2015, when it took us around 2.5 hours to do Sapphira's papers. This time, we were in luck, it was winter in Germany and nobody does these things at this time... so it took us around 1.5 hours to be ready and back to MCD.
The rest of the day was spent mainly in doing reservations of everything that was depending on having the papers done in time: the hotel in Ancona, the ferryboat from Ancona to Patras, and the hotel in the Peloponnese that would be my base for two nights while I explore the region - my first time there.
I needed to choose a name for the motorcycle. Usually my motorcycles had lady names, that were connected to its color. So my first BMW was Maryn, a reference to her Marine Blue color, and the 2014 RT LC was Sapphira - a reference to the Quartzbleu Sapphire color. But I couldn't find such a name that would reference "Carbon Black".
Then I decided to change strategy and go for a Greek Mythology goddess. My first thinking was Athena, since I would ship the bike from Athens, but I decided to look for further names. In a google search, one of the first interesting names that appeared was Circe, and I went to check who she was in Wikipedia. The following are the first lines you fine at the name Circe in Wikipedia:
Next day was procedure day. Early in the morning I was already at MCD, where my other big friend there, Manfred, the Sales and Logistics manager of the place, was waiting for me to begin the tour of the German offices to officialize the sale and the export of the motorcycle.
We began by the Transit Authority, where we registered the sale, made the temporary insurance for the motorcycle so that I would be able to ride it in Europe, and got a temporary number for the bike. Although a 9-day number and insurance would be enough, I decided to take a 15-day registration for covering any unpredicted delay.
From there, we continued to the Customs Authority, where the export papers were made. The export papers would enable me to put the motorcycle at the ship that would take it to Israel from Lavrio, Greece.
The whole process was very fast. I was already expecting it due to the experience of 2015, when it took us around 2.5 hours to do Sapphira's papers. This time, we were in luck, it was winter in Germany and nobody does these things at this time... so it took us around 1.5 hours to be ready and back to MCD.
The rest of the day was spent mainly in doing reservations of everything that was depending on having the papers done in time: the hotel in Ancona, the ferryboat from Ancona to Patras, and the hotel in the Peloponnese that would be my base for two nights while I explore the region - my first time there.
I needed to choose a name for the motorcycle. Usually my motorcycles had lady names, that were connected to its color. So my first BMW was Maryn, a reference to her Marine Blue color, and the 2014 RT LC was Sapphira - a reference to the Quartzbleu Sapphire color. But I couldn't find such a name that would reference "Carbon Black".
Then I decided to change strategy and go for a Greek Mythology goddess. My first thinking was Athena, since I would ship the bike from Athens, but I decided to look for further names. In a google search, one of the first interesting names that appeared was Circe, and I went to check who she was in Wikipedia. The following are the first lines you fine at the name Circe in Wikipedia:
Circe (/ˈsɜːrsi/; Greek: Κίρκη Kírkē pronounced [kírkɛː]) is a goddess of magic or sometimes a nymph, enchantress or sorceress in Greek mythology. She is a daughter of the god Helios...
Well, it is probably clear to everyone that after reading this introduction (and specially the last sentence referencing "Helios"), I couldn't even think of looking for another name. So meet Circe, the daughter of Helio. At least this time, my wife, instead of referencing the bike as "the mistress" will have to call her "the stepdaughter".
At the end of the day, we loaded the motorcycle to the dealer's Sprinter, and took the car with the bike to Manfred's home.
Next morning (if you can call it morning... at this season this is still night) we left at 7:30, Manfred and me, in the direction of Italy, heading to Ancona. We had 1,076 Km ahead of us, and wanted to avoid the traffic jams.
We travelled around 3 hours to the south of Germany, and for our surprise traffic was quite fine. "OK, then we will have a traffic jam only in Milano", Manfred said.
At the very South of Germany, we crossed the border to Switzerland at Basel, and continued heading South to the direction of Lugano. In Switzerland, we had to go up 2,000 meters to Gothard, and there the scenery changed completely. Here are some pictures of the area - click on one of the pictures to expand:
Next morning (if you can call it morning... at this season this is still night) we left at 7:30, Manfred and me, in the direction of Italy, heading to Ancona. We had 1,076 Km ahead of us, and wanted to avoid the traffic jams.
We travelled around 3 hours to the south of Germany, and for our surprise traffic was quite fine. "OK, then we will have a traffic jam only in Milano", Manfred said.
At the very South of Germany, we crossed the border to Switzerland at Basel, and continued heading South to the direction of Lugano. In Switzerland, we had to go up 2,000 meters to Gothard, and there the scenery changed completely. Here are some pictures of the area - click on one of the pictures to expand:
We passed through Lugano and Milano without any traffic jam, and at the end of the day, near 18:00, we were already arriving to our hotel in Ancona.
The hotel was D'Ago48, a very interesting hotel, built on an old historical house, which, according to our host Oberdan was in the hands of his family for more than 150 years. He lived there in the ground floor, and built on the first floor 3 zimmers for rent. However, since he only had 2 bathrooms, he decided to put only two zimmers for rent. We were the only ones at the hotel. We asked him for a recommendation of some nice place to eat, and he recommended La Botte Restaurant & Pizzeria, a place he knew well. We said we would go there, and then Oberdan asked us how we would go there... "with the van", we said, for which he answered that parking would be difficult; he offered to take Manfred and me there, and bring us back after we finished dining. Well, OK.
The hotel was D'Ago48, a very interesting hotel, built on an old historical house, which, according to our host Oberdan was in the hands of his family for more than 150 years. He lived there in the ground floor, and built on the first floor 3 zimmers for rent. However, since he only had 2 bathrooms, he decided to put only two zimmers for rent. We were the only ones at the hotel. We asked him for a recommendation of some nice place to eat, and he recommended La Botte Restaurant & Pizzeria, a place he knew well. We said we would go there, and then Oberdan asked us how we would go there... "with the van", we said, for which he answered that parking would be difficult; he offered to take Manfred and me there, and bring us back after we finished dining. Well, OK.
Well, the meal began with a pizza for each and a bottle of great Italian red wine, and finished with a Creme Catalan accompanied by a glass of Grappa. At the end we were very full, very satisfied, and very dizzy. It was a great luck that we could call Oberdan and ask him to take us back to the hotel, since I doubt we would be able to drive back to there...
In the following morning, Manfred and me woke up early, enjoyed a very nice Italian breakfast, and then went out for taking the bike out of the Sprinter.
With the bike out of the Sprinter, it was time for Manfred to depart back to Germany. Here our ways parted, he left back and I stayed two more hours at the hotel to wait for the time of my ferry boat to Patras.
In the following morning, Manfred and me woke up early, enjoyed a very nice Italian breakfast, and then went out for taking the bike out of the Sprinter.
With the bike out of the Sprinter, it was time for Manfred to depart back to Germany. Here our ways parted, he left back and I stayed two more hours at the hotel to wait for the time of my ferry boat to Patras.
I took the ferry boat from the company ANEK. I actually had two options, Anek or Superfast - curiously Superfast was not faster than Anek, both took exactly the same time, at least according to the schedule, so I chose the one that was to leave Ancona the earliest possible.
The trip was supposed to take 24 hours. We left at 13:30, and arrived in Patras at 12:50 the next day. Considering that there was a 1-hour difference between Greece and Italy, the total trip took 23:20 hours. The boat was very comfortable, except for the most important place: the seats. They offered the trip for 89 Euros + 10 Euros for 1 Air Seat. It seemed as an upgrade for the regular trip, so I took it. At the end, the Air Seat is less than an intercity bus seat. Less comfortable, less reclining, less space, less everything. It would be better not to order anything and to stay all the night sitting in the bar chairs. Anyway, the ship had 2 very good restaurants, 1 very good bar (and probably other bars in the other decks, a very nice reception, and a very good lounge with another very good bar inside of it. The lounge is where I spent most of the trip, and from where I took the pictures above of the view. The problem is that they close from 23:59 to 06:00, so I didn't wait for it to close and went to find elsewhere to seat. I did use my 10-Euro Airchair for about 2 hours that night, and it seems I wasn't the only one, the hall of the Airchairs was almost empty.
So, at 12:50, I leave the boat at Patras, and begin travelling in the direction of Derveni, the village where my hotel is placed. I had around 120 Km to get there. It took around 1hr, and I was in this nice place called Alissachni Luxury Apartments in Derveni. It was a nice apartments hotel, with a great smiling crew of owners/workers, who really made my stay very nice.
The trip was supposed to take 24 hours. We left at 13:30, and arrived in Patras at 12:50 the next day. Considering that there was a 1-hour difference between Greece and Italy, the total trip took 23:20 hours. The boat was very comfortable, except for the most important place: the seats. They offered the trip for 89 Euros + 10 Euros for 1 Air Seat. It seemed as an upgrade for the regular trip, so I took it. At the end, the Air Seat is less than an intercity bus seat. Less comfortable, less reclining, less space, less everything. It would be better not to order anything and to stay all the night sitting in the bar chairs. Anyway, the ship had 2 very good restaurants, 1 very good bar (and probably other bars in the other decks, a very nice reception, and a very good lounge with another very good bar inside of it. The lounge is where I spent most of the trip, and from where I took the pictures above of the view. The problem is that they close from 23:59 to 06:00, so I didn't wait for it to close and went to find elsewhere to seat. I did use my 10-Euro Airchair for about 2 hours that night, and it seems I wasn't the only one, the hall of the Airchairs was almost empty.
So, at 12:50, I leave the boat at Patras, and begin travelling in the direction of Derveni, the village where my hotel is placed. I had around 120 Km to get there. It took around 1hr, and I was in this nice place called Alissachni Luxury Apartments in Derveni. It was a nice apartments hotel, with a great smiling crew of owners/workers, who really made my stay very nice.
The room was beautiful, spacy, modern and very comfortable.
I got arranged and left to walk a little and see the town.
I got arranged and left to walk a little and see the town.
Derveni was a very simple town: one main street, some small streets crossing the main street, a narrow beach, the sea, and another small street parallel to the main street. I asked my hostess about places to eat, and learned that, at least at that time, the town had many coffee shops serving good coffee and pastries, but only two restaurants open: one typical Greek restaurant, and one Italian restaurant.
I chose to go to the Greek restaurant, and at 19:30 I was there, at the Restaurant I Mikri Plateia. It was a very nice place and, as all in this area, a family business with husband, wife, and probably the cousin, sister or sister-in-law of one of them, exchanging roles conforming to the needs.
I chose to go to the Greek restaurant, and at 19:30 I was there, at the Restaurant I Mikri Plateia. It was a very nice place and, as all in this area, a family business with husband, wife, and probably the cousin, sister or sister-in-law of one of them, exchanging roles conforming to the needs.
Probably due to initial shock, and since I would have another night to go there again if I wanted, I decided to go for the well known and asked for a Gyros. The Gyros is what the Israelis know as Shwarma, very common in Israel. I got a gorgeous plate with the Gyros, some french fries, Tzaziki (the greek salad made of yogurt with cucumber and some other things), tomatoes, purple onions and pita breads. It was perfect, one of the best portions of this food that I have ever received.
For dessert, the hostess suggested a typical Greek compote, and I accepted it. I received two plates, one with a preserved tangerine (or one of the tangerine genres, that they call pergamonde), and the second with a conserve of plum - both of them seemed to have come directly from heaven to me.
For dessert, the hostess suggested a typical Greek compote, and I accepted it. I received two plates, one with a preserved tangerine (or one of the tangerine genres, that they call pergamonde), and the second with a conserve of plum - both of them seemed to have come directly from heaven to me.
I must say I went to sleep that night very happy and satisfied.
The next day was my free day at the Peloponnese. This was a Saturday, and the ship that would take the motorcycle to Israel would leave only on Monday, so I could arrive to Athens on Sunday afternoon to be at Lavrio port on Monday morning at 10am.
In the morning, the hotel brought me to the room my breakfast, which was extremely big:
The next day was my free day at the Peloponnese. This was a Saturday, and the ship that would take the motorcycle to Israel would leave only on Monday, so I could arrive to Athens on Sunday afternoon to be at Lavrio port on Monday morning at 10am.
In the morning, the hotel brought me to the room my breakfast, which was extremely big:
There was food here for 5 people.
After eating what I could and saving some sandwiches in the refrigerator for an afternoon snack (suggestion of the hotel hostess), I left the hotel to ride to Kalavryta.
Kalavryta is the Pelloponese sky resort. For arriving there, I had to ride back around 30Km to Diakopto, and from there go up the mountains nearly 20Km in a small, twisty, and beautiful road.
I arrived there around 11:00. Since I had no intentions to do any skiing, and there was no cable car up to the mountain, I decided to just walk around the town, which reminded me very much mountain towns which would host us at summer vacations in my childhood in Brazil.
However, it was winter. And it was 1 degree Celsius there. I was very well dressed, so I could cope with the weather, which was cold but beautiful. I walked around the city streets for nearly two hours, and stopped at a coffee shop in the center of the town for a coffee and croissant.
After eating what I could and saving some sandwiches in the refrigerator for an afternoon snack (suggestion of the hotel hostess), I left the hotel to ride to Kalavryta.
Kalavryta is the Pelloponese sky resort. For arriving there, I had to ride back around 30Km to Diakopto, and from there go up the mountains nearly 20Km in a small, twisty, and beautiful road.
I arrived there around 11:00. Since I had no intentions to do any skiing, and there was no cable car up to the mountain, I decided to just walk around the town, which reminded me very much mountain towns which would host us at summer vacations in my childhood in Brazil.
However, it was winter. And it was 1 degree Celsius there. I was very well dressed, so I could cope with the weather, which was cold but beautiful. I walked around the city streets for nearly two hours, and stopped at a coffee shop in the center of the town for a coffee and croissant.
Well, did I say that the road to Kalavryta was extremely beautiful? Well, taking the same road down back to Diakopto was even more:
I could see down to the sea, a distance of approximately 15 Km from here I was.
It was already 14:00, and when I arrived to sea level it was a very nice temperature there. I decided to take some minutes to visit Diakopto.
Diakopto has a beautiful sea shore, and is possibly very busy during the summer. But it was quite dead in the winter. Actually, the only place in the Peloponnese that showed movement of tourists was Kalavryta. I took some pictures, since the site I stopped was a beautiful site for a picture of the motorcycle, and continued.
It was already 14:00, and when I arrived to sea level it was a very nice temperature there. I decided to take some minutes to visit Diakopto.
Diakopto has a beautiful sea shore, and is possibly very busy during the summer. But it was quite dead in the winter. Actually, the only place in the Peloponnese that showed movement of tourists was Kalavryta. I took some pictures, since the site I stopped was a beautiful site for a picture of the motorcycle, and continued.
While exiting Diakopto, when I was about to take a right turn to the freeway, I noticed a sign pointing to Athens both to the right (the freeway), and straight away. I understood that probably this was the old road to Athens, going by the sea through the villages, and decided to take it.
The result was a beautiful trip of about 40 minutes, from village to village, until I got back to my hotel in Derveni.
In the evening, I returned to the Greek restaurant Mikri Plateia, and then decided to have something that I had put my eyes on it already in the first night, but couldn't understand what it was: the Kontosouvli.
The result was a beautiful trip of about 40 minutes, from village to village, until I got back to my hotel in Derveni.
In the evening, I returned to the Greek restaurant Mikri Plateia, and then decided to have something that I had put my eyes on it already in the first night, but couldn't understand what it was: the Kontosouvli.
The Kontosouvli is a very interesting Greek Typical plate. What we see here is the Peloponnese version of it. We can see it in a lot of formats in Greece, made from Pork, Beef, Lamb or Chicken, but in the Peloponnese the option is Pork or Chicken. They cut the meat in large "balls", wrap each piece in aluminum foil, and stick it in a barbecue stick over the fire. The meet cooks in there for a long time, and as people order it, they remove the balls, one by one, and serve it cut in smaller pieces. While it is over the fire, it looks like in the first picture, on the plate like in the second. Taste of heaven, the meat is tender and juicy.
For desert, they served me this time the Greek dumplings. They are like small pancakes made of a different pastry, deep fried, and soked in honey. Again, very tasty! In general, if you are in the North Peloponnese, try to visit this restaurant for a dinner. Again, the name is I Mikri Plateia, in the main street of Derveni.
Next day I woke up to a smaller breakfast, as I had requested. Instead of food for 5 people, they (the hotel staff) brought me food for 3.
But it was time to go and leave the Peloponnese to Athens. So around 10:00 I left the hotel, heading to the Corinth Canal.
I had a debt to close: 5 years ago, when I bought Sapphira, my previous motorcycle, I met my friends Shmil and Eitan with their wives for a tour of Greece. At the last day of the tour, in our way to Athens, we went to visit the Corinth Canal. We looked for it for many minutes, but couldn't find it. At the end we had a lunch in Loutraki and continued to Greece.
This time I decided that I was going to see it. I put the spot in my GPS (the Corinth Canal old bridge) and travelled to there. After some 40 minutes of travelling, I suddenly find myself over a steel bridge and spot the Corinth Canal on both sides of it. "Well", I said to myself, "it is time to park and take some photos.", and crossed the bridge to the other side to park. Then I found myself in a square which was well-known to me.
That was the moment in which the understanding struck my mind, I have been there 5 years ago, at the same square, looking for the canal, we went back and forth there and did not understand that we were 20 meters from the canal, all we needed was to park the bikes and go to the bridge by foot, or cross the bridge with the bikes.
Next day I woke up to a smaller breakfast, as I had requested. Instead of food for 5 people, they (the hotel staff) brought me food for 3.
But it was time to go and leave the Peloponnese to Athens. So around 10:00 I left the hotel, heading to the Corinth Canal.
I had a debt to close: 5 years ago, when I bought Sapphira, my previous motorcycle, I met my friends Shmil and Eitan with their wives for a tour of Greece. At the last day of the tour, in our way to Athens, we went to visit the Corinth Canal. We looked for it for many minutes, but couldn't find it. At the end we had a lunch in Loutraki and continued to Greece.
This time I decided that I was going to see it. I put the spot in my GPS (the Corinth Canal old bridge) and travelled to there. After some 40 minutes of travelling, I suddenly find myself over a steel bridge and spot the Corinth Canal on both sides of it. "Well", I said to myself, "it is time to park and take some photos.", and crossed the bridge to the other side to park. Then I found myself in a square which was well-known to me.
That was the moment in which the understanding struck my mind, I have been there 5 years ago, at the same square, looking for the canal, we went back and forth there and did not understand that we were 20 meters from the canal, all we needed was to park the bikes and go to the bridge by foot, or cross the bridge with the bikes.
Well, I took my pictures and - mission accomplished - continued my trip to Athens.
I chose the Museum Hotel, considering it was part of the Best Western network, and the price was good. Price was really OK, but Best Western, not anymore. But in general, the hotel was OK. Not anymore the big rooms of previous hotels, but clean, with comfortable beds and a decent breakfast. And most important, an easy 25 minutes walk to the Placka and 35 minutes to the Acropolis. So I spent my afternoon at the Placka.
Athens is at a crazy situation. Almost every day you see demonstrations, either by immigrants from Syria and Iraq, or by local people against the presence of the immigrants. The police is spread through the city just like an army, with equipment that you see only in very problematic areas. Traffic is closed and directions are changed according to the places of the demonstrations. It took me more time to get to the Placka with the motorcycle than it took in the next day to do the same way by foot.
The Placka is a nice place to be, full of shops and restaurants, like a street market. I already knew the place from 5 years ago, but my wife asked me to find a jewelry store there where she bought them, and without knowing (she couldn't remember) the name of the shop or the name of the street where the shop was, it was a difficult task. My wife could only remember that the owner was a tall blonde woman.
Since his wife also bought there, I asked Shmil about the shop - maybe Louisa knew the name or the street. He answered to me "it is in the continuation of the street where we had our beer the two of us at the time the girls did their shopping".
Well, great, now I had two problems - to find the place we had the beer and then to find the shop. I tried and tried, no success, so I left it for the next day and went back to the hotel to sleep.
Next morning I left early to the Lavrio Port, to leave the motorcycle at the ship.
I chose the Museum Hotel, considering it was part of the Best Western network, and the price was good. Price was really OK, but Best Western, not anymore. But in general, the hotel was OK. Not anymore the big rooms of previous hotels, but clean, with comfortable beds and a decent breakfast. And most important, an easy 25 minutes walk to the Placka and 35 minutes to the Acropolis. So I spent my afternoon at the Placka.
Athens is at a crazy situation. Almost every day you see demonstrations, either by immigrants from Syria and Iraq, or by local people against the presence of the immigrants. The police is spread through the city just like an army, with equipment that you see only in very problematic areas. Traffic is closed and directions are changed according to the places of the demonstrations. It took me more time to get to the Placka with the motorcycle than it took in the next day to do the same way by foot.
The Placka is a nice place to be, full of shops and restaurants, like a street market. I already knew the place from 5 years ago, but my wife asked me to find a jewelry store there where she bought them, and without knowing (she couldn't remember) the name of the shop or the name of the street where the shop was, it was a difficult task. My wife could only remember that the owner was a tall blonde woman.
Since his wife also bought there, I asked Shmil about the shop - maybe Louisa knew the name or the street. He answered to me "it is in the continuation of the street where we had our beer the two of us at the time the girls did their shopping".
Well, great, now I had two problems - to find the place we had the beer and then to find the shop. I tried and tried, no success, so I left it for the next day and went back to the hotel to sleep.
Next morning I left early to the Lavrio Port, to leave the motorcycle at the ship.
This is the Alexo, the ship that brought Circe home to Haifa. I left her there at 10:00, together with some cars, to be loaded by the company to the boat, and went back to Athens by bus.
The bus also surprised me, with its final station being 500m from my hotel. Real door-to-door service, which I didn't expect. I only decided to go to the final stop because all parts of Athens look alike to me, so I believed that the final stop would be an easier place to get another transportation to the hotel. When I left the bus and opened Google Maps for looking for the hotel, I was surprised to see it just at a 5-minute walking distance.
The following afternoon was spent again at the Placka, looking for the jewelry store - with absolutely no success - until I gave up, had dinner and went back to the hotel.
On the last day, I woke up late, got organized, and left to the airport. I spent my last hours at the Aegean Airways lounge, and flew back to Israel. At 19:00 I was already at Ben Gurion airport.
Two days later, the Alexo arrived bringing Circe. At 8:00 I was already in Haifa to get the documentation and release the bike. The process 5 years before, which was all manual and relied on paper, took one and a half hour. I was happy to see that since then they had made progress and the process was now fully computerized. I expected to release the bike in half of the time now. Really? Big surprise. It took me 5 and a half hours in the Haifa port until I sat on the bike and travelled home. Every interaction with the customs system took 15 minutes to be transmitted to the other side (my customs agent), and from him back to the customs, the same time. And I, an old-time computer professional, still thinking that computers were made to agilize work... well, not in the Israeli government, anyway...
But the good part is that Circe is home now, and I have already been riding it for the last days. There are still some small things to do to close the cycle, but she already has an Israeli number and insurance, and I can ride her as much as I want.
The bus also surprised me, with its final station being 500m from my hotel. Real door-to-door service, which I didn't expect. I only decided to go to the final stop because all parts of Athens look alike to me, so I believed that the final stop would be an easier place to get another transportation to the hotel. When I left the bus and opened Google Maps for looking for the hotel, I was surprised to see it just at a 5-minute walking distance.
The following afternoon was spent again at the Placka, looking for the jewelry store - with absolutely no success - until I gave up, had dinner and went back to the hotel.
On the last day, I woke up late, got organized, and left to the airport. I spent my last hours at the Aegean Airways lounge, and flew back to Israel. At 19:00 I was already at Ben Gurion airport.
Two days later, the Alexo arrived bringing Circe. At 8:00 I was already in Haifa to get the documentation and release the bike. The process 5 years before, which was all manual and relied on paper, took one and a half hour. I was happy to see that since then they had made progress and the process was now fully computerized. I expected to release the bike in half of the time now. Really? Big surprise. It took me 5 and a half hours in the Haifa port until I sat on the bike and travelled home. Every interaction with the customs system took 15 minutes to be transmitted to the other side (my customs agent), and from him back to the customs, the same time. And I, an old-time computer professional, still thinking that computers were made to agilize work... well, not in the Israeli government, anyway...
But the good part is that Circe is home now, and I have already been riding it for the last days. There are still some small things to do to close the cycle, but she already has an Israeli number and insurance, and I can ride her as much as I want.
Well, this is the way it ends. An adventure into which I was forced before its planned time, from one of my worst moments and up into my best moments within two months. With much help and encouragement of my wife Lily, to whom I thank for the support, which is not taken for granted, specially because she was also involved in the accident and had to be removed by ambulance to the hospital.
I wouldn't say that some of the pains of the accident are not still present in our bodies, as well as the trauma of the accident. They are both there, the pains and the trauma. But as people say, all is good when it ends good. And at this moment, the whole story seems to have taken the direction of a good end.
I wouldn't say that some of the pains of the accident are not still present in our bodies, as well as the trauma of the accident. They are both there, the pains and the trauma. But as people say, all is good when it ends good. And at this moment, the whole story seems to have taken the direction of a good end.
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