Current time in my woods
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Chania – charming city on the north of the Crete. Actually, they pronounce it as “Hania”, but the English version sounds softer and somehow more suits Chania – charm is her colour…It is the second largest city on Crete. It is also quite old – they found evidences of Chania’s existence in Minoan times…centuries later and still the city is standing on its grounds. Literally. Despite being heavily bombed during World War II Chania's Old Town is considered the most beautiful urban district on Crete. Well I cannot say for the whole of Crete, but for the part of it that we did see, I’ll vote for Chania to be The Most Beautiful City Of All.
We stayed in Chania 3 nights. Our last days of vacation and it was meant to be filled with relaxing beach-type activities. And just my bad luck this year – all 3 last days of our vacation Crete experienced the meltemi - north-west cool wind which, apparently, was normal for this time of year. What they called a wind, we’d call a storm here, with the waves washing over the pier and the marina, trapping tourists in the seaside cafes as the waters often reached the entrances…But at least it provided some sort of relieve from the heat that usually makes travelling a miserable affair…
Chania has the most charming place and the most touristy place. The most touristy place is undoubtedly the old Venetian harbour. Featuring Lighthouse that was first built by Venetians but then re-built during Egyptian occupation…it does have that distinct Egyptian touch - the minaret-like shape and the elegant steps that lead to the balcony and the glass tower. The old harbour might look too tight, but it used to be an important navy base and they have some interesting displays in the local museum of the navy history.
The whole fringe where the sea meets the city filled with the restaurants and taverns. Whatever the Crete might be lacking of, but there is always plenty of places with food…To my personal liking old harbour, although sentimentally charismatic, was too much of a “tourist attraction” then a lively local place.
More I enjoyed our walks in the old town. The whole area is very picturesque, with many narrow alleys and old buildings, a lot of which have been restored as hotels, restaurants, shops and bars. They did make me feel stepped out of time a bit…and the shops…tourist’s heaven…mind you, I couldn’t find anything special for myself (as I always do), but I did buy all the souvenirs for my friends there.
We did have better plans for Chania, of course, but the wind messed them up and we didn’t get to see sea-reachable places, for of course, the stormy weather, though was a good thing overland, but cancelled all the boat trips and got us stuck in the city for unplanned extra day. We decided to pay a visit to a local historical museum, but it wasn't in our cards this year to be entertained in museums - the same like in Heraklion, in Chania the museum was unreachable. However, we did find where it was, but when we did, the door was locked with the old-faded sign "closed for restoration". and no other information whatsoever about possible re-opening date...oh well. We also spent a long time by the sea...just watching waves raging about...and despite of the nature fury, the sea was still too beautiful for words...I felt like I could watch the waves for eternity... and when the wind finally truly got deep into our bones we strolled the streets again…and again…mind you it was still very nice anyway…Chania is that one of a city where you can wander around the same street few times and do not recognise you’ve been there already…Pictures will tell the rest…
More to come...
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