Watsons Do The Cruise? No Way!...Heraklion, Crete Where We Learn About The Minions...I Mean, The Minoans.

Our second port in Greece was Heraklion on the island of Crete. It welcomed us with gloomy skies and drizzling rain. The port looked uninviting and commercial (this picture was taken in the afternoon after the rain stopped). 

Our original plan was to take the bus down to the Knossos Palace in the morning and then find a nearby beach in the afternoon. It all didn't go as planned, but we still had a good day (just not our favorite stop). 

We and the Alleys took a bus to Knossos Palace (maybe 20 minutes) and then stood in line for a while to get tickets. A random American woman approached us asking if we wanted to join their family on a tour with a guide as they needed to have at least 6 adults in the group, kids were free. So we decided since usually guided tours are much more informative than roaming on our own and we were paying just for the grown ups, it would be worth it especially since all you see for the most part of the exhibit is this:

The palace is gone. Gasp! Well, of course! It was built around way back in 1700 BC during the rule of the Minoan dynasty. The palace was multi-layered with a very complicated design. Have you ever heard of the legend about the Labyrinth and a Minotaur? This is the place that is connected with that legend since the palace's plan was like a labyrinth. But it's all a myth...or is it? In any case, don't try to get all that juicy info out our very Greek guide. Katarina was very knowledgable in all the historical facts and she was determined to make sure we all learn lots. That's why when our friend asked a question about something that interested her, Katarina had to start her answer by saying, "I have already told you about that...". It was funny and so Greek. 

So between 1700-1450 BC, the Minoan civilization was at is peak. Knossos was actually not just a palace but a whole city-state. The crazy thing is that during those years, the city suffered from two big earthquakes when everything was destroyed and then rebuilt.  

A few rooms remain intact and many replicas are found at this sight. One of the original pieces is this oldest throne in Europe--on the right. People back then were only 150 cm tall, Katya's height.

To be honest, the whole site, in my opinion, did not look like much, but learning about the ancient history and amazing things that Minoans did was quite fascinating. 

Only a few of the original pictures remain. In fact, now I can't remember if this is a replica or the original. Where is Katarina when we need her!?

This building is one of the prettiest ones that remain standing. Looking at this "sample" only lets you imagine a little bit better what sort of city was standing here centuries ago.

Our tour lasted about an hour and a half. Most kids did great considering it was rainy and a bit crowded (since you are just one of the hundreds of people from the ship who had the same idea of visiting the palace). We took a bus back to the ship as we wanted to eat lunch on board. The weather was getting a bit better but it was still a little wet, cloudy and chilly. Our lunch went a bit too long and then we were pretty much out of time to go to any sort of beach. Instead the kids opted for another go at the pool.

Thus ended our not-so-exciting day in Crete. I wish we could go back sometime when it's warmer and when we don't have to stay close to the port because I hear that this island is just gorgeous!

Lyana.