Jan 01, 2019: Athens

First blog post of 2019.
It started raining late in the afternoon yesterday and it did not stop until early this morning. I did not celebrate yesterday (cannot stay awake until midnight), but my tradition of running in the New Year still in place (last 20 years).
I will go out the door in 30 minutes, when it is light enough to see where the road is. I am not expecting many people or cars.
To everyone: Best wishes for 2019!

Dec 23, 2018: Merry Christmas!

There are not many street decorations in Athens (Greece being Greek Orthodox), but there is a Christmas tree on Syntagma Square

and on Venizelou street

 The American Embassy

and one short street round the Nutcracker store that goes all out.

Dec 15, 2018: Athens

Two days of clouds, but today, after I went shopping on the Panormou market, it was warm enough to keep the balcony doors all the way open....

Running is going well, hamstring injury is gone.
I am about 4 seconds per mile slower than last year, age, I guess.
I go to bed around 21.00, and wake up around 05.00 hr. Still dark, so with a big cup of Greek mountain thee (Vounou), I read the news on the internet.
Not many Christmas decorations in the city. There is only the Christmas tree in Syntagma square.

 And one store near Monastiraki.

Dec 09, 2018: Athens

I have been in the apartment 1 week now.
It is smaller than the the one I had last year, but I have a great view. And an elevator (Last year, no elevator) which makes a difference when, like yesterday, I came back from the Saturday market on Panormou Street with 3 kilos of oranges and 2 kilos of apples, plus a big bag of tomatoes and a bottle of olive oil.

There have been only 2 days of clouds and some rain, the rest of the week sunshine.
I got a cold which started 2 days ago, probably infected while being surrounded by people in the subway. Speaking of subways:

From day to day, I only have to use 1 line, the blue line from Megari Moussikis. Panormou is 2 stops,  Syntagma is 2 stops, Monastiraki is 3 stops. The blue line is the least crowded of the 3 lines in Athens. When I go running, which I do every other day, I walk 10 minutes to the American Embassy and I end at Monastiraki. From there 5 minutes by subway back to the Megari Moussikis stop to get back home.
I made yellow lentil soup yesterday. The recipe of my friend Ina which includes a piece of grated ginger is great.

Dec 04, 2018: Athens

Yesterday was shopping day: Groceries at the Agora Market.

 Freshly ground beef to make meatballs, sheep feta cheese

 Small tomatoes, large tomatoes, some kind of green salad, eggs and bread.

Today I went running, south on Leoforas Sofias, through the National Gardens and behind the Akropolis

to Monastiraki.

I took the subway back home and at the Skavenidis Market got dish soap, toilet cleaner and small trash bags. It has been sunny for 2 days now, about 18 degrees Celsius. I have a narrow balcony facing east, sun there until about noon.  The big balcony is just missing out on sunshine.....
I brought shorts, if it is sunny tomorrow I am going to meditate in the sun......

Dec 02, 2018: Athens

My apartment in Athens is a single. Big bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and a large balcony. The balcony is big enough to be another "room".

Lykabettou straight ahead, The Akropolis in the distance left off Lykabettou.

This morning I went running. From the American Embassy to Omonia Square. 

I needed to buy minutes for my Vodafone Greek sim card, but the office was closed. I'll have to go back tomorrow. I had Sunday at my friend Hara's house. Her brother was there, with his new girlfriend, Ira and another woman. When I left, I took the suitcase that I had stored at Hara's with me. It took 5 minutes from the Monastiraki subway stop to Megaro Moussikis where I have to get off. From there a 10 minute walk to the apartment.

My addres in Athens

I will be here from Dec 01 - Feb 28

Nov 19, 2018: Groningen

Most of the tree leaves have fallen on the ground now. Early morning frost.

Time to go to Athens! (On Dec 01).

Nov 09, 2018: Drone video of Groningen countryside

I used my Mavic Air drone to film the farmland around Groningen.

I used Adobe Premiere software to edit captured 4k video on a 720p timeline. That meant I could zoom in on the timeline without loss of resolution.

Nov 04, 2018: Wildlands (Emmen Dierentuin)

Went with my friend Ina to the Zoo in Emmen.
Very nice setup for the animals they have there.

 Elephant quarters

River Otters

Prairie Dogs

 Lions

Meerkats

 Girafs

 Baboons

Nov 02, 2018: The Hague - Gouda - Nijmegen - Groningen

After flying to from Phoenix to Holland on October 24, I stayed with my brother in The Hague.

My last run in the Hague was on Saturday

I took the train to Gouda on Sunday to visit my other brother. I rented a bicycle at the station and toured around the "Reewijkse Plassen" and in Gouda.

 Reewijk

 Gouda

On Monday I went to Nijmegen to visit friends.

I was there for 2 days and on Tuesday I ran my route when I lived there in 1998.

Yesterday I took the train to Groningen, I ran there this morning.