Previously I mentioned the Turkish name for Glykovrisi being Bisani. When the Turks took over they renamed all of the towns to names that suited them. When the Greeks got the country back they reverted in most cases to their original names. Some towns today still have two names depending on whom you talk to. Total confusion again.
We left the village and headed up to the Taygetos Mountains behind the village to where Reinhardt’s house is perched. It overlooks the village; Laconia Bay and the snow capped Parnon Mountains, rising 3,000 meters high to the west. Magnificent panorama to behold as you sit on the balcony having breakfast or that late afternoon beer. Very peaceful and harmonious if you disregard the occasional dogfight between Greek Air force jets whizzing up and down the valley below.
The upper village is a collection of about 20 stone cottages of which half are only tumble down shells. Five of the houses occupied are owned by Germans, quite a little community. Reinhardt’s olive grove is located a little higher up near the top of the mountain. He has 180 trees in total, which produce about 800 litres of oil each year. As it is an organic grove the oil is of a very high quality and he regularly has offers from pharmaceutical companies who want to buy the entire lot. He only sells to family and friends though and gets about AUD$20 per litre for it. He has a variety of citrus trees there as well and his brother Zigfried (Ziggy) is currently building his own house on the boundary of the grove.
He bought the entire grove with its 200 year old trees plus his house and land for about AUD$5,000 in the 80’s. All the locals thought he was crazy and went about the village telling everyone that there was a loco Germans in town paying huge money for old houses and bits of land with a few trees on it. Initially he only had half the olive grove but the guy who owned it knew the owner of the other half, gave him a call and within days Reinhardt was offered the remainder of the block for a song. He has never looked back.
Having lived there on and off for 20 years, Reinhardt speaks fluent Greek which was a huge advantage to us in the tavernas at night and on our sightseeing trips. His knowledge of the history behind the country is astounding. He never stopped giving me dates and names and stories of who conquered whom and why this civilisation failed or succeeded. Great memory! His being a geologist was also a big plus as he was able to tell me loads about the Greek islands formation and types of stone used in different constructions. Having an avid interest in geology myself it was a nice bonus.
His house was only a shell when he first purchased it but he has rebuilt it to include a ground floor self contained flat which is where Bettina and I stayed, a first floor housing his kitchen, lounge, bathroom and laundry and then in the A frame apex his own bedroom. The house has a lovely big open fireplace in the kitchen, which we lit almost every night. Just magic to sit back whilst playing cards, having a beer or splitting olives in preparation for marinating beside a roaring hearth. Even got around to doing some cooking in the coals, which I’ve not been able to do for quite a long time. Spuds in foil and that type of thing.
The hills around the house are predominantly limestone and when he was excavating the cellar he cracked into a small cave complete with its own stalactites and stalagmites, which certainly makes for an interesting cellar. In the intense heat of summer he will take a camp bed down there to sleep at night in the blissful coolness.
No comments:
Post a Comment