I really enjoy watching the modern day Olympics, both summer and winter, so to go to Olympia, the original site of the Olympics and learn more about the history of the games was a thrill for me!
An early wake up and 2 trains down into the Peloponnese Peninsula, and we arrived in Olympia, a one-street wonder of a town. Our hotel was literally right across from the train station, or hut rather. Off to the museum and sites!
First of all, in the archaeological museum they had awesome artifacts. I was particularly enthralled by the abundance of Griffin pieces in the museum. Griffins have the body of a lion, head and wings of an eagle, and were believed to be powerful creatures. I have so many pictures of all the Griffins I saw.
Second, my absolute favorite part of the Olympia Archaeological site was running in the original Olympic Stadium. Below I am standing in the Crypt, arched passageway through which the athletes entered the Stadium. Even though I despise running, like a true nerd, I decided to run the length of the stadium to emulate the foot races held there centuries ago. While the stadium is nothing more than a oval shaped patch of sand, I got a kick out of lining up at the original marked starting line, and sweating my way across the dirt just like the original olympians!
Standing in the Crypt, mentally preparing for my run
Julia, the Olympian?
The finish line!
Unfortunately, victory was not so sweet. The wind and dusty field got the best of my camera, and sand got into my lens and burned my motor out. Not to be deterred on our journey, our last stop was at the Olympia Sports Museum where Nisha and I filled our head with even more knowledge about the Olympic games.
No comments:
Post a Comment