No offense to anyone else on the gorgeous isle of Crete, of course, as I have learned since traveling here that Cretans first take pride in their island, and then their country. But Heraklion is in desperate need of a face-lift. Luckily we were a good two hours away, in the remote village of Analipsi, Makrigialos.

We spent last Saturday in Berlin, Germany, checking out sites such as the remnants of the Berlin Wall, including the Topography of Terror which walks you right through the History of it exceptionally well. Then Saturday night we departed to the Heraklion airport on the southern Greek island of Crete. We may have landed at 11:00pm… But it was still a humid 25 degrees out, which gave us an idea of what to expect that week.

We then retrieved our luggage and left the terminal to a movie-like-moment of Dylan’s name displayed on a sign- and there waited our ride: an M&M-green, drop-top Chevy Matiz.

The drive from Heraklion (located on central-north Crete) to south-eastern Makrigialos took us just under 2 hours. We obviously couldn’t see too many sights in the dark, but we had the car all week to explore the amazing island.

We literally swam in the sea daily. We visited various beaches, each with their own character- from white to beige sand, rocky steep white cliffs, to multi-coloured pebbles. All located at the edge of the illustrious, clean and clear aquablue Aegean sea. I hate to have cheated on my beloved Pacific Ocean, but I truly fell in love.

The island of Crete is peppered with various small villages throughout the valleys beneath it’s multiple mountain ranges. Each area has at least half a dozen Medieval or Minoan sites, caves and gorges to explore.

One of the few we walked through was just north of Makrigialos, near Sitia, a Venetian Village from the early 1700′s called Etia. Most buildings including the church are still standing, it was incredible.

Villea Village Resort

Our hotel in Analipsi was an incredible last-minute find through work. Villea Village Resort was literally 100 meters from our favourite Cretan beach and had everything we could possibly need. We met the owner, Vasili, who takes groups out daily on gorge-walks, and samples local Cretan wines and olive oils at night.

We also got to know our bartender, Nikko, at Fisherman Jack’s Poolside Bar well, as they had a wide selection of board games, an array of available afternoon snacks, and a friendly team of staff to educate and entertain the guests. Amazing people and an amazing little village that I will definitely revisit in the future.

As for today, we found ourselves off Crete and exploring a few sites in Athens. At the moment we’re awaiting our (unfortunately delayed until 6pm) flight to Rome, Italy for a few days in the Ancient City. First thing tomorrow I’m hoping to check out the site of Caesar’s assassination, and the Colosseum, to name just a few spots. Until then… Here is hoping I’ll hold onto this tan I picked up in Greece!

In the past 3 weeks I’ve been to 4 concerts in as many cities. Radiohead in Vancouver, Beck in Victoria, Pennywise in Amsterdam, and finally, Metallica in Berlin. Now it was my very first Metallica concert, Dylan’s second, so it was truly something special. But it wasn’t an ordinary everyday show for them either.

Friday, September 12th was also the release date for their newest album (in about 5 years), Death Magnetic. They chose to launch the album, and open the brand new O2 World Arena here in Berlin. To top it all off it was one of two charity shows (the next on Sept. 15th in London) for only €10!

Metallica @ the O2 Arena in Berlin

Metallica opened with a string of a few new tunes before turning out the classics like Of Wolf & Man, The Thing That Should Not Be, Wherever I May Roam, Blackened, Frantic, Until it Sleeps, Master of Puppets, One, and so, so many more for an amazing two hours. The masters of metal then mixed in quite a few newer songs throughout, including the singles Cyanide and The Day That Never Comes. They ended it all with Jump in the Fire, right before Seek & Destroy. Pardon the French I picked up earlier this trip, but holy shit- that was unreal! Their stage presence is incomparable and their energy unmatched.

Now that my ears are ringing and my neck oh-so-sore, some sleep must be had. Tomorrow we will see as much of big beautiful Berlin, Germany (population 3 million) as possible during the day.

As for tomorrow night we are jet-setting to the southern isle of Crete, Greece for about 5, 6 days, we’ll see! I can’t wait and could really use the sunshine, sand and sea.

Not only are they playing in Berlin, Germany, but in London a few days later as well.  The only problem is the lack of information on just how to obtain tickets.  You do have to be a member of the official Metallica fan club, but other details are few and far between at this point. And time is counting down far too quickly… So, we’ll see if that plan flies or not.

One month until we fly out. 

So far we have our Eurail passes, they arrived a couple of weeks ago.  We’re free to bound across various borders throughout Western Europe for an entire month.  With the exception of a few minor obligations here and there- concerts namely- we haven’t many set plans. Only to not bog ourselves down with huge lists of must-dos/sees in one place or another, but to get up and go as we see fit.

1,000 person-venue Pennywise show, in Amsterdam? Far too good to pass up.

The Pennywise tickets for the Amsterdam, Netherlands show have also arrived, and now all we have to do is wait patiently, packed full of hope for (an official) announcement that Metallica will play the 02 World Arena in Berlin, Germany… Only then may we rest and anticipate take-off.

When we first started the planning process, some many months ago, we had to come up with the simplest way to organize the many minute details of this one huge trip.  Dylan came across a site to do just that, TripIt, which we’ve been using with much ease.  The iCal feed is a hugely beneficial feature, and this way we’re not fidgeting with a plethora of papers on the road, appearing more tourist-like than we hope to. We’ll have all necessary train schedules, maps, and tour information conveniently in one place. Maybe even as close as our fingertips, with the help of his iPhone.

I highly recommend travellers try out TripIt for future vacation planning, it makes a potential trip blunder much less likely.

70 days until Europe! I actually had to count, as I am not keeping track… it seems quite a ways away still.

Part way through the trip there’s an unannounced- therefore unofficial- show in Berlin at a multi-sport arena currently being constructed, the 17,000-seater 02 World. There to christen the freshly painted walls of 02 with it’s massive sound?

Metallica, September 12th.

When will we be privileged enough to have the “official announcement” to either debunk it or place it on the itinerary, I wonder. That would also allow more time to discover gorgeous Germany, pretty stoked on that.