regensburg

this is in the Czeck Republic, in a bathing sanctuary for people seeking mineral fountains of youth.
and here's Regensburg...



a boat on the Donau...

innsbruck

over-cast days in Innsbruck.  nevertheless, beautiful mountains.

taking a picture through a train window gives a 1970's vintage look to it, doesn't it?

munich

the weather has been not favorable lately. however, yesterday the sun came out a little, and i decided to stroll on a bicycle through Munich, A bicycle friendly city.
in Pasing, on route to English Garden.
Marienplatz.
the most important, the beer garden...

Santorini

The architecture here is organically shaped to mold the landscape. Very cool. We'll see how long it all lasts.

more Tripoli

this is where Dad's mother has property. It's about 8km outside of Tripoli. Here's the land. To the left is George's wife's land. To the right has been partitioned to the rest of the family.
The front part, up to the road where the house is located, is what was given to dad.

Dimitsana

Beautiful medieval Dimitsana, in the Arcadian mountains, about one and a half hours by bus from Tripoli.

greece

Athens sprawl.
Prison of Socrates.
Everywhere in Greece, far from the sea, i've been running into these turtles. This one was walking around the Acropolis.
Napflion, from atop the Palamidi fortress.
The Aegean Blue.

Tripoli: Dad's old house

Poppies are blooming everywhere in Greece.Here's the old Theodoropulos household. Boy, it sure needs a lot of work to make into a functional house. I wonder whether it's better to start from scratch, or sell and buy a new place?

Greece

So, i'm not going to post photos of the usual scenic parthenon acropolis stuff right now, because it takes forever to upload right now. But, i 'll have lots to show in person.

here's my first days in Athens...Easter, around midnight, people are spilled out onto the streets, fireworks are exploding, and the candles are lit. Sorry for the blurry shot, just too much chaos around me. It's as if someone has woken from the dead, or something.
This is what i consider an ideal meal, at a taverna, along the coast. The best meals i've had have been eating out. The Theodoropulos sisters are bad cooks. I'm told the only one who cooks good meals is Pia, but she's in Chicago. oh well...
This is Elli, a cousin. She drove me to some ruins along the coast where i took this photo. She's been very generous during my stay, and very empathetic for my times spent with only older people. But, not to worry, my last few days i will escape to Santorini...
Here's the infamous orthodox extremist, Sulie. I walked all day around the Acropolis with her, drank coffee, smoked extra-slim cigarrettes with greek coffee, and visited EVERY church in the area. I told her that I question the meaning, like the writer Nikos Katzanzakis. Apparantly, the orthodox Greeks don't like him. "He's a very bad man, no good man."
Afterwards, I spent SIX days with her in Tripoli. I think 40 days would make me the son of god. But im okay with the six days, in which i'll be martyrized as a saint. I'm going to write a one-act play based on this experience.

I do have to say, the churches have a nice style to them. A mix of eastern and western style, which is the definition of Greek.

family

A family insignia, in color.  Perhaps this would make a nice tattoo on my arm.  Just kidding...

in Heidelburg having coffee with my two over-generous aunt and uncle who have gone out of their way to make my stay pleasant and hospitable.
There are about 10 framed prints and paintings of my father's, Spyros Theodoropulos, hanging in the Scharf home.  It's a pitty he lost the motivation to do any more art.  There are a lot of other households that can use some good art...

Wachtenburg

Took a little afternoon trip to the Pfalzerwald , which borders along the wine country. Here, we stopped at an old castle from the 1200's , which overlooks a valley below filled with vinyards and villages. A beautiful area. There's something more endearing about having a drink in a place like this, going back 800 years, than sitting in a modern pub from the 1980's.

From the Technik Museum in Speyer. A great museum of technology evolution, from cars to airplanes, to submarines. After the war, these little Porsche tanks were used by farmers.a very nice Mercedes...
and the Dom. Amazing. Enormous. The first stone was laid in 1030, under Emperor Conrad II, of the Salien Empire.

Germany

I took a train from Holland and to my delighted suprise, the train followed along the Rhine. It was a relief to see some hills, because the flatness of the Netherlands can be a bit monochromatic and disorientating. Along the Rhine, you get to see lots of castles and quaint little villages that are reminding of old fairy tales (probably because a lot of fairy tales come from around here.a view of Heidelburg from the castle...