Discover Crete on a Touring Bicycle

Monday morning. We get up at four o'clock - it's dark and raining ...

Fortunately, we have been given permission yesterday from someone we met in our hometown the day before to use their big van for the eight kilometers to the next railway station. Many thanks for this go to Therese and Werner Kunz, and also to Mich Pietsch. He told us spontaneously the evening before to accompany us on the car ride and to bring the car back to our town then - at five o'clock a.m.! So dry we can enter the train departing at 05:25 in Grenchen to bring us to the airport in Zurich.

But the old wisdom stays true: The real problems always begin after getting off your bike and trying to use another means of transportation. Most of the staff of Air Berlin had no clue what to do with our two touring bicycles - two months in advance  registered and confirmed for transportation by their own company. From Check-In1 we are sent to check-in 2, from there to check-in 3, and finally from there back to check-in 2. After some struggle with the man there we are allowed at least to leave the bikes there for transportation. The whole process - the walks between these chek-ins in Zurich are rather long - used more that one and a half hour.

Next - back at check-in 1 - we are told that we are only allowed to take with one small cabin bag and one additional luggage piece per person. For our trip we have four bicycle panniers with us, each. We can take it with us this way, but have to pay 70.- Euro per additional pannier, a sum of 420.- Euros. So we put together twice four panniers and bind them with luggage straps very tight together. Such a packet  weighs way less than the maximum weight allowed for one piece of luggage. So far so good. But that's never happened to us before by using air transportation for bikes and panniers. But one never stops learning ...

Our first flight from Zurich via Vienna to Heraklion then runs smoothly. However, we are still happy to have arrived - both behind and in front of us sat from Vienna parents with small children who had declared their displeasure with the air travel almost the entire route with loud cried expression.

At the baggage claim in Heraklion we eagerly await our bike bags and our bikes. The lacing of both packages has gone -  probably so because of the careful handling - but all bags are here, and they are also undamaged. Relief!

The protection of our bikes with blister foils has proven itself. Apart from the fact that both brakes have been twisted at Therese's bike as strong to one side that both wheels cannot be turned, everything is ok. Second relief! And after the assembly of the pedals and turning back and securing the handlebars we are ready to start.

A few hundred meters after leaving the airport by bike, we are attaked fiercely by two medium-sized dogs. Snarling and barking they bite into Ruedi's front panniers and try to catch his legs. Shouting and kicking against them is useless. Ruedi gets off his bike, and threaten them with an imaginary stone picked up from the floor, and promise them some very nasty treatments in Swiss German to them. This helps. They go hide behind a car.
Puh, what a welcome!

After a short ride to the east we reach the Hotel Minoa Palace in Karteros. We have reserved a room for tonight from home.

There Therese finds a nice opportunity - this time in a pool with direct view to the sea - to test their current swimming skills (still great!).

The very good and generous buffet for only 15, - Euro including drinks, and not least the opportunity to finally be able to leave our bikes in the safe house after an obstinate insistence - first we should leave them overnight just in the busy parking lot in front of the hotel - saves our over all rather stressful first day of our trip.

And now we wish US really happy holidays!