Mountains near Athens 2: Penteli

After Parnitha, we decided - with help of our French neighbour - to visit Penteli mountain, just north from our home. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pentelicus
Previously we drove over it at night, returning from the Marathon beach, few weeks ago, and view to Athens below was magnificent. It showed to be so also during the day.
The mountain itself is not rocky-until 1995 it was under forest, then it burnt completely. Now it is spacious hill with the magnificent views to Athens and surrounding. "Thanks" to the (stupid) Greek law, which protects forest and not specific area, after there was not forest any more, they started to urbanize the mountain, and the city is seriously approaching it.

Kids had fun.

Me and the City

Driving down, we could not resist not to try to catch a distant, but sunset lighted Parnas, some 100km north-west.

Middle of January, and almond tree in our neighbour's garden already finished flowering...beautiful tree, I love it for such early flowering, also in Pag it was gift from Heavens in the end of winter.

Bandiera Rossa

s-tri-junfera ("s" from "sranje"=shit in Croatian, tri junfera=as there were lots (more lots than 3) of young chicks, OK, probably not really jungfrau ones, but politically for sure).

Going from work yesterday I had to pass the biggest reddies manifestation I saw since...well, 20 some years. And I am from former communist country, yes?, and communism fell in 1990 in Europe, yes? Shit. In Greece it seems to be well, healthy, fat and alive, and, as I saw lots of young people among the crowd, with red flags, it seems it is to be well feeded in next few ten years.

Also in the Physics Department it seems they are pretty strong, this pic is from today in student caffeteria there:

Hm. I wish all of them to be sent by the Greek maoist (or stalinist or papa-something-ist) oberstumbanfuehrer (or rather Tovarish) party secretar (comes from some secretion, in medical sense?, where from? - hehe) to some nice people's 'voluntary' work to help building the Greek Great Wall between Greece and ...anything... in the RED Mars.

Sure, in more earthly terms, to be sent as enemy-of an enemy (means friend , yes?) to help rebuilding the missing parts of the Great Wall to China. To enjoy their Big Brother friendship as much they want. But leave us in peace.

I am a bit leftish, U know well, but to go out with red flags, it is a "bit" too much, (un)fortunately my stomach reacts to it the same as it would react if there'd be swastikas on these flags.

Sorry guys, I am speaking only from the position of an experienced survivor of the Yugoslav communist governments. Try it (=go to China, and be sure to stay there :-D ), and then speak. Good luck!

Miki d'France

Last week I was hard, hard working... Villard de Lans, below Alps near Grenoble, oh poor me was digging the field of Science. And all for the money of european tax payers. Thanks to them, about 80 astrophysicists had chance to join forces in hard work. See http://www-laog.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr/~ferreira/JETSET/school.html for more about it, one thing is obvious: I became part of the JETSET :-). Well, I did not have Lacoste t-shirt, but all the rest was JETSET :-D .
This is the view to the Alps, mmmmmmmm!

We were in the "Grand Hotel du Paris", it was Grand some half century or more ago, now it is just...good for such events.

The town itself (village?) is cute, little, boring alpine place. Atom bomb falling at 9PM, as usually in such places, nobody in the streets. But it is cute.

And it has one nice toilet:

Notice the roof endings, this is characteristic in this part of the Alps, it seems. In the centre is a museum, looks as a Rathaus:

One afternoon we had free, so I decided to refresh my cross-country skiing abilities. Some views were nice:

I found the place quite expencive, but in the other side, it is middle of the winter in the most popular part of the Alps, Chamonix and Albertville are close, facilities are good, snow is omnipresent. Very pleasant place, albeit a bit too quiet for my taste. Cross-country track was very well prepared, pure pleasure.

When I was flying back, I was flying above my island in Adriatic, Pag. It was night time and I saw lights of Pula, Cres, Losinj, Olib and Silba clearly, so I knew where I am. Strange feeling. Also, view of Vlora (Albania) and Brindisi (Italy) from both sides of Adriatic in one sight, when 10 km above them, gives a hack to brain, it is really close, Doors of Otrant is really not some big waters to cross!