 Cretan donkeys |
 The middle of nowhere |
 Malia |
 In a village |
| In 1996 we went to Crete on our honeymoon and we fell in love with the island, so we knew we'd be back. And we were, two years later. Both times we went to the same place, Kritzas Beach in Gournes. Crete is the biggest and most southern island of Greece. If you go there just to lie on the beach all day, you miss out on a lot! Rent a car and just drive across the island, through the mountains and tiny villages. Experience the Greek hospitality and enjoy the numerous tavernas, that's Crete! |
 Old-Chersonissos |
 Mountains on the way to Matala |
 Ierapetra |
| Gournes is a small village between Heraklion and Chersonissos. Kritzas Beach's appartments are directly by the sea. The first time we went alone (it was our honeymoon after all...;)), but the second time we went with our friends Maurice and Els. We rented a car (and got a jeep sometimes to drive through the mountains) and saw a big part of the island. At night we enjoyed the delicious Greek meals and drinks (raki!!!) at the numerous tavernas. There are a lot of stray cats on Crete, at the tavernas you never have to eat alone, and also Kritzas had a bunch of "house cats":) We loved it, of course! |
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 The swimming pool and the pool bar are the... |
 ...heart of the beautiful appartment complex |
 The house cats |
In '98 we also went in September, so we could celebrate our wedding day and my (Marlies') birthday there |  Appartments | |
 Happy birthday!! |
 Nice palmtrees! |
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| Just outside the coast lies Dia, a desert island. You can go there by boat to fish and dive. The other pics are at the sea, just outside Kritzas Beach. |  ...as the sunrise! | ||
 Kokkini Chani and Dia |
 Isn't the sunset... |
 ...gorgeous? As well... |
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 Male bonding?? |
During the day we went places or lied at the beach and Els and Maurice even rented a bike for a day. At night we went out to eat and... ehm... pee:))) | ||
 At Galini's |
 Rent-a-car:) |
 Rent-a-bike:)) |
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 Matala |
We visited places like Matala, where hippies used to live in the caves, and Knossos, the remains of Minos' palace. |  Knossos | |
 View from a cave |
 Air view on the remains |
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| We went to Agios Nicolaos a couple of times, to go to Spinalonga, to shop or just to eat and drink a beer:) The pic of the breathtaking view was taken in the mountains near the southcoast! | ||
 The lake in the middle of Agios Nicolaos |
 Way to go, Els, hmmm! |
 View on the Libyan Sea |
 View on Bali |
Two of the most beautiful places we saw were Bali, in a bay between Heraklion and Rethymnon, and the lake of Kournas near Rethymnon. | ||
 A taverna in Bali |
 This is perfection... |
 ...at the lake of Kournas |
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 Spinalonga |
The most impressive trip we made was to Spinalonga. Victor Zorba's boat took us from Agios Nicolaos to the former leper island and he told us about its history. We also went swimming in a bay and yes, the water is really that blue!!! |  View on the island |
 The main street |
 An old house |
 The fortress (part) |
 Beautiful colour! |
 The bay |
