Nafplio

Greece is recognised by most for its beautiful islands and glorious beaches. Unfortunately, the mainland is somewhat neglected, which is a great shame given how much natural beauty there is to discover. Whether snowy mountains or golden sand, like most European countries, Greece has it all. Consequently, seeing as it's not island hopping season, I've decided to take the opportunity to see as much of the countryside as possible.

Last weekend I visited Nafplio, a town set in the heart of the Peloponnese mountains, surrounded by a stunning landscape of orange, lemon and almond trees. Although not famous for any food or local produce, Nafplio holds great significance for the Greeks. From the years 1821-1834, Nafplio was the original capital of Greece, before the head of state was overthrown. In fact, original elements from Nafplio were taken to new capital, for example, Nafplio's central square is called Syntagma square, just as there is a Syntagma square in Athens.

The old town of Nafplio has some of the most beautiful architecture of the mainland, which stems from past Venetian and Ottoman influences. It's extremely colourful and romantic, and, situated only 1.5 hours from Athens, is the perfect weekend getaway for Athenians. What I love about small towns like Nafplio is how personable they are. You go into a little art gallery and the artist is there to tell you about his or her work. You go for a coffee and have a conversation with the shop owner about everything and nothing. It just gives you a break from the hectic and somewhat anonymous life living in a big city.

The pictures below are taken all around Nafplio, including one from the top of a castle (which I had to climb 999 steps to reach!). Fortunately, spring finally decided to make an appearance that weekend, after one of the coldest and greyest winters Greece has seen since 1965!

Food

Food is one of the most celebrated attributes of Greece. Traditions and customs are, and have always been, heavily based around eating and drinking, but with the food being so delicious you really can’t expect otherwise!

One of the reasons that the food here is so rich in taste is the seasonality of recipes; Dishes are prepared in conjunction with whichever fruits and vegetables are in season. Villages also often have specialty dishes for which they are famous, which differ from place-to-place according to the specific ingredients produced in the region. Regardless of the season, however, tavernas will always have the basic table mezes such as tzatziki, choriatiki (Greek salad) and so on, available. What changes, are the main dishes. Because of this, locals generally don't even look at the menus and, instead, ask for what the cook has prepared that day. Although you might be able to order a normal Greek salad in winter, tomatoes are not in season, so a preferred winter salad might be the marouli, or lettuce, salad consisting of lettuce, parsley, spring onions and dill.

I had an interesting experience the other day when I went to a taverna in my area. It is famous for its incredible quality of food, but what’s most interesting about it is that you don’t actually order anything yourself! The waiters count how many people are sitting at your table and bring out a variety of dishes they’ve cooked that day, according to the number of guests. It was brilliant, and so delicious!

Another wonderful quality about eating in Greece is that most of the time restaurants will offer you a treat at the end of the meal. A common offering is a dessert consisting of yoghurt, honey and caramelised fruits. The caramelised fruits are known as Glyko tou koutaliou, meaning sweet of the spoon (because it’s so sugary you can’t have anymore than a spoonful!). Years ago Glyko tou koutaliou was a way that women demonstrated their capabilities in the kitchen. The more extravagant and creative was their sweet, the better cooks they were. Some villages have been so inventive with their desserts that there exists things such as caramelised zucchinis and olives, if you can believe!

Alternatively, restaurants might offer a digistif, an alcoholic drink served after food. A well-known drink to serve is Masticha, a liqueur taken from the mastic tree. The word mastic actually derives from the Greek word to chew, as it was the mastic tree years ago that provided the resin from which chewing gum was made!

For a bit of fun I’ve included below a recipe for tzatziki, as it’s a very easy and I know so many people outside Greece who love it! You can see what caramelized grapes with yoghurt look like on the last photo :)

Recipe - Tzatziki:

2 pots of Total yoghurt (or a big pot of any Greek yoghurt)
2 garlic cloves
1 cucumber
1 juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper

Put the yoghurt into a bowl. Crush the garlic cloves and squeeze the lemon juice into the yoghurt. Slice your cucumber so you can remove the seeds in the middle, and then grate the cucumber into the yoghurt. Mix everything together well, add salt and pepper to taste, et voilà!

Tyrnavos

Carnaval this year, and all over Greece, was noticeably toned down. With the current economic tensions, the usual period of celebration was reduced to reflect the mood of frustration and disappointment. One village, however, which did not seem to show any sign of backing down, was that of Tyrnavos. The usually sleepy town came alive for the carnival weekend, celebrating Dionysos, the god of wine and festivity. 

The specific festival that takes place there is known as Bourani and involves the cooking of lentils and beans. To commemorate the meal, men dress up as villagers once did, chant poems while circling the food, and carry phallic ornaments to represent fertility. The festival in general was crazy and random. As I entered the town, I walked past a stall where I was grabbed and made to drink chipouro (a drink similar to, and as lethal as, ouzo!) out of a phallic shaped bottle! People were dancing, eating, just having a good time, and you could hear the exclamation of "Kales Apokries" everywhere (the Greek celebratory wish for a happy Carnaval season). It was definitely an experience I’ll never forget!

Below are some photographs from the festival. Tyrnavos is not famous for its parade or floats, so there were fewer decorations than expected, but there were some that did stand out, including one involving Angela Merkel (as seen on the second last photograph)

I've tried to include pictures I deemed "appropriate", which was rather difficult seeing as you were literally surrounded by phallus', including a balloon shaped one floating in the sky!! (You can see that on the last picture)

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