Published in the Bucks County Herald on October 5, 2006
Bonjour, Europe!
By Anne Supsic
The Supsics are on the road again.
You may remember Anne and Frank from the Herald's Feb. 16th article describing their nine-month trip around the world. This year, Frank and I concentrated on Europe, spending a mere five and a half months abroad including in-depth explorations of Greece and Croatia, and immersion for a month in the French language and culture.
Starting out on March 14th, the first stop on this year’s journey was Greece where we spent a month exploring the Peloponnesian Peninsula. This peninsula is a treasure trove of antiquity including the theatre at Epidaurus with its remarkable acoustics (which Frank, always the engineer, verified by dropping a euro at center stage), and the massive “cyclopean” rock walls of the Citadel at Mycenae.
Another highlight was the medieval town of Monemvasia, carved from the side of an immense rock known as the Greek Gibraltar. We enjoyed a challenging climb to the top of the rock for a spectacular view of the dramatic southern Greek coastline.
Always looking for that off the beaten track experience, we toured an area known as the Mani, a starkly beautiful and romantic place, where we stayed in a Mani Tower House. For centuries, feuding families would retreat to their tower houses and blast one another with whatever weapons they had. The longest feud lasted for 40 years and the very last feud required intervention by 400 members of the Greek military.
In search of more ancient treasures, we hopped an overnight ferry to the island of Crete where we explored the Palace of Knossos, former residence of King Minos and legendary home of the Minotaur. The Archaeology Museum in the city of Heraklion was another top sight with an astounding collection of Minoan art including the colorful frescoes that once adorned the walls of the Palace of Knossos.
Easter is the biggest holiday in Greece and the Easter Saturday celebration was unlike anything we had ever experienced. At the stroke of midnight, the church went dark except for a single candle on the altar whose flame was passed from person to person until the light rippled through the church and out into the street. Then, the sky erupted with fireworks and a flaming effigy of Judas roared to life on the hillside.
The event was a combination of New Year’s Eve on Times Square and the Fourth of July, except that through it all, the Greek Orthodox priest could occasionally be heard above the clamor as he continued the religious ceremony.
Back on the Greek mainland, a visit to the monasteries of Meteora made Frank’s list of all-time top ten sights. These 13th century monasteries of Meteora are perched on top of huge, rocky monoliths in the most inaccessible locations. Frank explains, “In medieval times, supplies (and monks) were “airlifted” up to the monastery in rope nets, hanging precariously over the crevasse below, suspended only by a rope attached to a hand-operated winch.” Luckily, today’s visitors can climb steep, stone stairs to the lofty heights.
Next, we traveled the scenic Croatian coastline making our way south by public bus and ferry, eventually arriving in Dubrovnik, the “Pearl of the Adriatic”. Fifteen years after being pummeled with bombs during the Balkan War, the old town has been completely restored and a walk around the city walls revealed stunning architecture.
Another highlight was a day trip to the small, mountainous country of Montenegro. Five days before our visit, Montenegro had voted to become independent of Serbia (after the break-up of Yugoslavia, they had been part of the country called Serbia-Montenegro). The Montenegrin flag was flying everywhere and we were thrilled to witness this historic event.
From Croatia, they headed north through Ljubljana, Slovenia to Salzburg, Austria, Mozart’s birthplace. Big Mozart fans, were delighted to join in the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. Then, it was on to Munich. With the World Cup just days away, old town Munich was hopping and the Hofbräuhaus Beer Hall was party central hosting a multi-national beer-drinking crowd.
In June, we headed for France to the village of Le Puy en Velay, where we encountered modern-day pilgrims preparing to walk the famous pilgrimage route across the Pyrenees Mountains to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
Next, we embarked on our own adventure: a “French Immersion” experience in Montpellier, a lively university town in southern France. We went back to school to study French and lived with a French woman named Marie-Odile who did not speak English. We attended French language class for four hours every day and ate dinner with Marie-Odile every night.
Dinner conversation was always lively even though communication could be a challenge. We just brought our French/English dictionary with us to the dinner table.
What did we learn? Well, our French improved significantly, but we also learned that the French language is très difficile and will require lots more study. We thoroughly enjoyed living in a French household: shopping for fresh food at the outdoor markets, eating cheese for dessert (with a choice of both cow cheese and goat cheese) and, of course, drinking wine with every dinner.
Staying with Marie-Odile was a joy; she treated us like special guests and even took us on outings to nearby historical sights. Frank noted, “This French immersion was one of our best travel experiences and we look forward to doing it again someday.”
French school grads, we spent our last two travel months practicing our new language skills as we toured the French countryside from the little wine village of St. Emilion, through the Loire Valley, and on to the vineyards of Burgundy.
We love France and encourages others to see what France has to offer. Many Americans think the French are rude and dislike us. Nothing could be further from the truth. In our experience, the French are remarkably friendly people who constantly went out of their way to make sure that we enjoyed our time in France.
What lies in store for next year? Perhaps Russia. Maybe Egypt. Or, they may hike along that famous route of the pilgrims from France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Bonjour, Europe!
By Anne Supsic
You may remember Anne and Frank from the Herald's Feb. 16th article describing their nine-month trip around the world. This year, Frank and I concentrated on Europe, spending a mere five and a half months abroad including in-depth explorations of Greece and Croatia, and immersion for a month in the French language and culture.
Starting out on March 14th, the first stop on this year’s journey was Greece where we spent a month exploring the Peloponnesian Peninsula. This peninsula is a treasure trove of antiquity including the theatre at Epidaurus with its remarkable acoustics (which Frank, always the engineer, verified by dropping a euro at center stage), and the massive “cyclopean” rock walls of the Citadel at Mycenae.
Another highlight was the medieval town of Monemvasia, carved from the side of an immense rock known as the Greek Gibraltar. We enjoyed a challenging climb to the top of the rock for a spectacular view of the dramatic southern Greek coastline.
Always looking for that off the beaten track experience, we toured an area known as the Mani, a starkly beautiful and romantic place, where we stayed in a Mani Tower House. For centuries, feuding families would retreat to their tower houses and blast one another with whatever weapons they had. The longest feud lasted for 40 years and the very last feud required intervention by 400 members of the Greek military.
In search of more ancient treasures, we hopped an overnight ferry to the island of Crete where we explored the Palace of Knossos, former residence of King Minos and legendary home of the Minotaur. The Archaeology Museum in the city of Heraklion was another top sight with an astounding collection of Minoan art including the colorful frescoes that once adorned the walls of the Palace of Knossos.
Easter is the biggest holiday in Greece and the Easter Saturday celebration was unlike anything we had ever experienced. At the stroke of midnight, the church went dark except for a single candle on the altar whose flame was passed from person to person until the light rippled through the church and out into the street. Then, the sky erupted with fireworks and a flaming effigy of Judas roared to life on the hillside.
The event was a combination of New Year’s Eve on Times Square and the Fourth of July, except that through it all, the Greek Orthodox priest could occasionally be heard above the clamor as he continued the religious ceremony.
Back on the Greek mainland, a visit to the monasteries of Meteora made Frank’s list of all-time top ten sights. These 13th century monasteries of Meteora are perched on top of huge, rocky monoliths in the most inaccessible locations. Frank explains, “In medieval times, supplies (and monks) were “airlifted” up to the monastery in rope nets, hanging precariously over the crevasse below, suspended only by a rope attached to a hand-operated winch.” Luckily, today’s visitors can climb steep, stone stairs to the lofty heights.
Next, we traveled the scenic Croatian coastline making our way south by public bus and ferry, eventually arriving in Dubrovnik, the “Pearl of the Adriatic”. Fifteen years after being pummeled with bombs during the Balkan War, the old town has been completely restored and a walk around the city walls revealed stunning architecture.
Another highlight was a day trip to the small, mountainous country of Montenegro. Five days before our visit, Montenegro had voted to become independent of Serbia (after the break-up of Yugoslavia, they had been part of the country called Serbia-Montenegro). The Montenegrin flag was flying everywhere and we were thrilled to witness this historic event.
From Croatia, they headed north through Ljubljana, Slovenia to Salzburg, Austria, Mozart’s birthplace. Big Mozart fans, were delighted to join in the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. Then, it was on to Munich. With the World Cup just days away, old town Munich was hopping and the Hofbräuhaus Beer Hall was party central hosting a multi-national beer-drinking crowd.
In June, we headed for France to the village of Le Puy en Velay, where we encountered modern-day pilgrims preparing to walk the famous pilgrimage route across the Pyrenees Mountains to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
Next, we embarked on our own adventure: a “French Immersion” experience in Montpellier, a lively university town in southern France. We went back to school to study French and lived with a French woman named Marie-Odile who did not speak English. We attended French language class for four hours every day and ate dinner with Marie-Odile every night.
Dinner conversation was always lively even though communication could be a challenge. We just brought our French/English dictionary with us to the dinner table.
What did we learn? Well, our French improved significantly, but we also learned that the French language is très difficile and will require lots more study. We thoroughly enjoyed living in a French household: shopping for fresh food at the outdoor markets, eating cheese for dessert (with a choice of both cow cheese and goat cheese) and, of course, drinking wine with every dinner.
Staying with Marie-Odile was a joy; she treated us like special guests and even took us on outings to nearby historical sights. Frank noted, “This French immersion was one of our best travel experiences and we look forward to doing it again someday.”
French school grads, we spent our last two travel months practicing our new language skills as we toured the French countryside from the little wine village of St. Emilion, through the Loire Valley, and on to the vineyards of Burgundy.
We love France and encourages others to see what France has to offer. Many Americans think the French are rude and dislike us. Nothing could be further from the truth. In our experience, the French are remarkably friendly people who constantly went out of their way to make sure that we enjoyed our time in France.
What lies in store for next year? Perhaps Russia. Maybe Egypt. Or, they may hike along that famous route of the pilgrims from France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
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