On the road again

We stopped in Georgioupoli, a fairly small resort town, situated at the mouth of a river. There are lots of sandy beaches and relatively few tourists at this time of the year.

Georgioupoli and its river

Based on an Eyewitness travel recommendation, we also went to the tavern Sterna tou Bloumofisi in Vamos to test its rating of being the #1 tavern on Crete. We had Saganaki (good), yogurt with fruit preserves (excellent), and fried snails (good). Service was excellent as well. The prices were reasonable.

The owner of Sterna tou Bloumofisi (taken with his friendly permission)

The restaurant is hidden behind this stately tree

We are sitting in its outdoor part… where else in 37 C weather?

And then we were off to watch the final European Championship soccer game: Germany versus Spain. We watched it in a local tavern right here in Gavalochori along with the locals and two other tourist. We were the only ones rooting for Germany in this place… but they let us. Had it been a game against Greece, we would not have dared to do so. Even though Germany lost the game, we still had a good time with wine and Souvlaki and Greeks occasionally shaking their heads in our direction.

Gavalochori village

Yesterday after a one-hour drive back to the airport, it took us another 45 minutes at the Olympic Airlines desk to make a new reservation after our initial return flight had been canceled by them.

When I asked for a hotel accommodation (sponsored by OA) due to their cancellation of our flight, the clerk was very surprised and wanted to know who told me I could get this service. I just told him to read the EC 26 regulations.

And – they will call our rental home proprietor in case there is a change….

At the moment Olympic Airlines spells = All flights are subject to change

Nevertheless, our holidays have now begun. After having to go to Chania anyway, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon there. We had a very good lunch at a seaside restaurant and also went to the beach. Found a good spot in the shade, because in this heat, sitting in the shade or water are the only tolerable places for me to be.

Driving around on Crete

The courtyard of our rental home

Morning and evenings are best around here. We are in a little village called Gavalohori with hardly any tourists at all – the way we like it. The ocean is beautiful, the cicadas are abundant, restaurant prices are fair, and our rental home is perfect.

Looking up into the sky above Crete

Another drive along the coast

View from our seaside restaurant in Chania

This restaurant owner advertised fresh fish…

Another walk through our village

Yesterday evening I tried calling:

1) Olympic Airlines Reservation at 801 -11 44444 for 11 minutes, but did not get through.

2) Off to the next one – OA in Athens: (30) – 210 – 96 66666 for 19 minutes of “Please hold the line”.

3) Then I tried OA in Thessaloniki (30) – 2310 – 36 8666, where the line was free initially, but got disconnected after three minutes.

This morning we actually have to drive all the way back to the airport in Chania to book our flight face-to-face with a probably disgruntled OA employee. The drive takes one hour, the transaction will take at least an hour as well and then another hour driving back.
This is our third day of holidays here so far and we are still trying to find a way to get back by July 6h.

Good luck, stranded passengers, if you try calling Olympic Airlines.

We started our journey on June 25 (Wed) and got to Chania/Crete after 27 hours.

At Frankfurt airport we were informed to contact the Olympic Airlines counter as soon as we get to Athens, because not only our last leg Athens – Chania got canceled, but also our return flight on July 6th.

At the Frankfurt counter a post advised passengers to get a copy of the EU 26 regulations which informs us of our rights. Strangely though, none were available. Then I was told to go to another counter, waited for a few minutes, the lady informed she had to make a copy first, and waited even longer for her to return…

Both flights, Frankfurt-Thessaloniki and Thessaloniki – Athens, left with delays and without apologies. Service was the worst I have ever experienced. One flight-attendant spilled Coke on me by handing me cracked plastic cup. No apology, just a tiny napkin. My top and bottom were covered with sticky Coke spots.

On the second leg we remained seated and more passengers got on. We asked for water but were ignored.

In Athens, we stood in line for one hour to confirm our new flight for the next morning. Then we stood in line for another 30 minutes to get our hotel. The employees seemed more agitated than us – when I finally inquired why flights were canceled, we were told this was due to technical problems and after a few seconds, she gave the real answer: “It may be a strike.” Quite frankly, most of the staff seemed overworked and underpaid anyway.

Then we were taken to a very nice hotel by the beach where we got a few hours of sleep before we had to get up at 3:00 to catch the 3:30 bus to take us to the airport once more.

Our little patio overlooking the ocean

Our first impression of the Aegean Sea

Again, the next morning’s flight was delayed by one hour and sitting in a very hot parked aircraft without ventilation is not a good way to start your day.

So, our return flight is canceled and I have to make phone-calls and send e-mails on my very first day to rearrange our return. For passengers with canceled flights, check out your rights as a traveler

This sheet of information is available in every EU language.