Athens - Warsawa - Amsterdam

An early start brought is to Nea Makri to have a freddo Capucino or freddo Espresso.

Nea Makri (Greek: Νέα Μάκρη), also Nea Makris is a town located in the northeastern part of Attica and the peninsula.

Town layout

The street system is gridded aligning within Petalies Gulf connecting the Aegean Sea to the east. Nea Makri is linked with Marathonos Avenue (GR-53) that ends at Marathon to the north, and which added two more lanes between 2002 and 2005 and became a divided avenue to the west which stretches up to Nea Makri and GR-83 to the north. Other main streets include Poseidonos Avenue.

History

The area was once known as Plesti, but following the 1922 Greek military disaster in Asia Minor and the subsequent repatriation of Greeks from the town of Makri, it was renamed Nea Makri (New Makri).

Location

The Penteli mountains that are covered with forests lie to the west and southwest while farmlands are within Petalies Gulf and to the north except for the downtown part of Nea Makri. Beaches cover the eastern part and restaurants, hotels, and tavernas cover the area within the shoreline. Nea Makri is located NE of Athens and the Attiki Odos (number 63), NNE of the Eleftherios Venizelos Airport, SE of GR-1 and SW of Grammatiko.

Population

Until the 1970s, most of the population was rural. As housing developments came to the area, the population boomed and filled into the settlements. Housing developments continue to this day.

A American naval communications base used to exist from mid to the late 20th century north of Nea Makri. The outbreak of the disease of 1996 did not affect Nea Makri, but the July 28, 2005 forest fire affected the southern part as smoke blanketed the southern part during the evening hours. The fire did not threaten Nea Makri at all. The threat was floods on November 24, 2005, and flooded streets and residential buildings, destroying properties as well as their homes, which was rare and caused traffic chaos as some automobiles were stranded.

We had a vry nice fishy lunch at Rafina

Rafina (Greek: Ραφήνα) is a town located on the eastern coast of Attica in Greece.

Geography

Rafina lies east of the Penteli mountains and northeast of the Mesogeia plain with an area of farmland near the coastline to the north. The Cephissus River lies to the west. It is located E of Athens and the Attiki Odos (number 63), S of Nea Makri, NNE of the Eleftherios Venizelos Airport and N of Loutsa. Rafina is about 30 km E of downtown Athens.

The Municipality of Rafina contains, besides the city itself, a large portion of the surrounding area, which is mostly woodland and farmland.

Road and sea access

The town can be accessed through Marathonos Avenue (GR-54) to the west. Other roads link with the town of Artemida, also known as Loutsa, to the south and Nea Makri to the North.

Rafina is a port town serving ferries to the southern part of Euboea as well as most of the Cyclades. Its port is the second largest of Attica, after that of Piraeus, but it will probably be superseded by the one in Lavrio, which is currently being expanded.

History

Rafina was established in the 1920s by refugees fleeing from Anatolia after the end of the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922). Its name is an anagram of the name of an ancient Greek city which was located roughly in the same location as the modern town. Until the 1960s and the 1970s, most of the population was rural. As housing developments came to the area, the population boomed and moved into the settlements.

The beautiful small church of Agios Nicolas overlooks the blue sea just North of the town. The chappel was built after World War II by men who were to be executed but spared at the last minute. The town commandant had been assassinated and the Germans rounded up townspeople in retaliation. Another group of men were executed and those at the present site of Agios Nicolas were spared.

July 2005 forest fire

On July 28, 2005, a forest fire began near the area of the hills southwest of Rafina at 11:00 EET (8:00 a.m. GMT). The fires expanded quickly with windspeeds of 60 to 70 km/h, threatening forests around the hills and the small mountain range that runs from north of Spata to near Rafina, consuming most of the forest and burning homes in two settlements including Kallitechnoupoli. The fires also threatened Neos Voutzas near Penteli. As a result of property damage, a large number of people were displaced. Traffic was redirected or halted as Marathonos Avenue was shut down from its junction near Pikermi. Thick smoke covered the area until about 5 p.m. EET, when the wind calmed down and changed direction to the northeast near Rafina. A massive mobilization of fire departments across the region of Attica followed, and eventually most of the region's available personnel were deployed to the area. Firefighting efforts were assisted by water bombers and helicopters. The gradual decrease of windspeeds in the area slowed the spread of the fire. The fire was put under control in the afternoon and was fully extinguished by nightfall. The flames did not reach the city itself. On the same day another forest fire began in the area of Neos Voutzas at 13:00 EET (11:00 a.m. GMT).

After lunch my friends droppe me at the airport for a long flight or better a strange one. This time I was going by Warasawa in Poland which took me a much longer flight total to get to Amsterdam as I also had to stay 3 hours in between flights. I arrived in Amsterdam at 22.30.