| More about the Munich trip. (I was feeling somewhat ill when I wrote the description in the previous blog so, now that I'm better, I decided to add more detail.) Some time in the early 1990s when I was repairing satellite TV receivers and selling components, I "met" a young man on the section of Internet called "Usenet". He was in Warsaw, Poland, and had his own repair business. I'll call him "Tom". For a few years he bought components from me. His father would come to nearby Manchester on business; I would meet him at his hotel and exchange components for cash. Later, Tom applied for a job in Germany and eventually moved to Munich with his family. They all had to learn German (and they all speak Polish and English). Many years later, Tom visited Crete with his wife and daughter. They contacted us and we spent several hours with them in Rethymno. It was the first time we'd met in person. When Iliana decided that she wanted to visit some Christmas markets in Germany, she emailed Tom to ask for recommendations of where the three of us (including Maria) might stay - meaning a guest house or hotel. Tom replied to say that, as his daughters had grown up and left home, he had spare rooms and we could stay in his house for free! Iliana dealt with the flight booking. A couple of weeks before we were due to fly, Tom contacted us to say that he and his wife had been invited to a Polish friend's wedding in Austria on the Saturday of our planned five-day holiday. Did we want to go with them? Iliana checked with Maria, who was delighted, so we informed Tom and he persuaded his friend to add us the the guest list! He provided very explicit instructions regarding bus and train tickets and recommended that we buy the combined tourist ticket that allowed up to five people unlimited travel by bus or train within the entire Munich area, which is huge. Some years prior to moving to Crete, we had visited Köln/Cologne to see the Christmas markets. We were on a coach tour, which took us alongside the Rhine to see other Christmas markets and a museum of musical instruments. We also did a short Rhine cruise as far as the Lorelei and back. There was no snow. I mention this because I'm of the opinion that when you've seen one Christmas market in Germany, you've seen them all. Had it not been for Tom's insistence, I would have stayed at home this time. I really hate everything about flying and it stresses me greatly, but The flights from Haniá to Athens and Athens to Munich were uneventful. I didn't even get pulled aside to check for explosives this time! Unfortunately, just before we departed, I had a sore throat and felt the beginnings of a cold. However, Tom had pleaded with Iliana to make sure that I didn't "duck out" for any reason, so I felt obliged to go. I was already taking Hydroxychloroquine for my IBS and this did nothing to stop my cold's progression. However, I had two 6 mg Ivermectin pills with me. I took these on two successive days and they appeared to stop the cold for several days. In the last blog I mentioned various visits to the city and I have little to add. Tom was working mostly from home and couldn't join us. His wife, "Mary", walked with us to the local outdoor ice rink. She had her own skates and lent me her daughter's skates, which were in beautiful condition. As I hadn't skated in over fifty years, I was expecting to fall over continually but I actually managed two circuits of the outer loop and one of the smaller, beginners' circuit in the centre. I was not as graceful as I used to be in my early twenties but I got round without falling. Iliana sat it out and took a short video: Me, ice skating. https://youtube.com/shorts/OIE3PYUeJNM Maria (red hood) can be glimpsed walking in the wrong direction! By the Monday when our return flight was cancelled, my cold had returned with a vengeance and all I had was a saltwater nasal spray, a "Sinex" spray and lots of tissues. If I'd had more Ivermectin, maybe it would have fixed it. It's a very strong antiviral. I spent the Tuesday sniffling and watching movies. OK, on with the diary... |
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| Friday, December 8, 2023 Iliana was out of bed before me and did a load of washing. As it was still raining, she hung the clothes on the dryer on the veranda. I took a bunch of vitamins plus another Ivermectin pill. My left nostril and sinus had been excruciatingly painful overnight so I also took a "Sudafed" capsule and used the salt spray. |
| Yesterday, Thursday, I felt really bad. Apart from a painful nose, I was shivering, sneezing, felt nauseous and really wasn't in the mood for compiling a week's worth of blog. But I did it anyway. I had been up at 3 pm, inhaling menthol vapour. I visited our German neighbours to collect a bottle of sheep's milk. I didn't stay because I don't want to pass this virus to anyone else. Iliana seems to have escaped it so far. In the afternoon I took a hot bath and thought it would be a good idea to sprinkle menthol crystals into the bath water so I could breathe the vapour. Here's a tip: if you decide to try this, be sure to wrap your private parts in a polythene bag. |
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| The rain stopped and the sky cleared. Iliana decided to drive to town and I asked her to buy me another nasal salt spray as I'd just emptied mine. By 2 pm my nose was less painful and I had a bath - this time with magnesium salts instead of menthol. Iliana did some floor scrubbing and then went across the road to chat with our neighbours. |
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| I haven't been further than the workshop today. Although we have intermittent sunshine, the wind is gusting strongly and it's chilly outdoors. So, it's a day of alternating salt spray and "Synex" spray for me. Drinking fluids, inhaling menthol and watching videos. I don't feel motivated to do anything. I'm pleased to report that the freezer seems to be working normally. |
| Saturday, December 9, 2023 I remained awake till around 4 am as I was coughing. Then I slept till 6.30 am, ate some porridge and took another Augmentin antibiotic. It rained all day. I spent most of it in bed. Iliana went shopping. The antibiotic has got rid of most of the face pain but my nose is still sensitive. __ Sunday, December 10, 2023 I woke myself with coughing around 1 am. Went downstairs to inhale menthol vapour. Slept until 9 am! Iliana had already done a load of washing. The rain had stopped, it was sunny and she'd hung the clothes out to dry. I made porridge, took my antibiotic and then rode to the supermarket to date-stamp the mail with Tuesday's delivery date. Better late than never. At noon I rode to the café in Litsarda for the first time since our holiday. 
Brian & Karen have sold their house and returned to the UK. Someone has flattened the surrounding land with an excavator! |
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| Chris, Billy & DD were already at the café. Billy had brought his dogs. He mentioned that his wife had been to hospital with an infection and that his electric mobility scooter had been delivered but it had flat tyres. It came with a tyre pump but that had to be lugged into a cigar lighter socket, which Billy didn't have in his shed where the scooter was parked. |
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| Back home, I took a bath to warm up, while Billy took his afternoon nap. Then I rode to his house with a battery charger and cigar-lighter socket. When I arrived, my mobike fell over and crushed the neighbour's wire fence. So I got another neighbour to help me pull the mobike upright. Then I inflated Billy's mobility scooter's tyres and advised him to ask the mechanic to fit new inner tubes. |
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| On my way home, I noticed dark clouds approaching over the mountains. Iliana had gone out for lunch with friends. |
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| Iliana bought a paper origami DIY "star of David" from a Christmas market. I wired up a 3 Watt LED bulb, socket and cable for it. It looks more impressive in the dark. |
| Monday, December 11, 2023 With rain forecast but sun shining, I set off for Kalyves on the mobike. I didn't have long to wait in the doctor's waiting room. He was attentive, friendly, helpful and prescribed more of the same antibiotics plus probiotics and also a nasal spray with three ingredients, which, he said, the pharmacy would make for me. The pharmacist was friendly, helpful and excused herself for two minutes to mix up the spray. "Shake before use," she told me; "squirt once in the air to ensure that it's working and then put one squirt in each nostril. Do that three times a day." I rode home and arrived just before the rain began. I sprayed my nose, ate a slice of bread with cheese and then took the antibiotic pill. Then I checked emails, watched a short Youtube video and then donned my waterproof clothes and rode to the cafe. I was the only foreigner there. I chatted to the locals over a cappuccino and admired the new metal frame for an outside sheltered area. DD paid for my drink and then his niece arrived in her car to collect him. |
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| A police car pulled up outside. Michaelis, the father of Petros who runs the Café, went outside and there ensued a shouting match. Apparently, it was just friendly banter and Vangelia leaned outside to ask if the policeman wanted a drink. He didn't but he chatted for a further five minutes before driving off. |
| (Some days later I found out that someone had complained about the metal frame and the police had determined that it was illegal. As with everything here, it's only illegal if you get caught. If nobody complains then you can pretty much do whatever you please.) At 1.10 pm I donned my dripping waterproof clothes and rode home. Iliana left in the car to drive to Kalyves for her weekly "knit & natter" group meeting. I had a hot bath while I listened to a Youtube discussion about Elon Musk on my phone (see "Miscellaneous", below). 4.10 pm. I hear church bells. The clouds are very dark but I think it's stopped raining. I edited 25 pages of a book that an American author just sent. __ Tuesday, December 12, 2023 I awoke at 8 am and made porridge. I ate it and took an antibiotic before driving to Kalyves to buy sun-dried tomatoes and bananas. I called on Babis, the auto electrician, and described the problem with our Honda Jazz. Ever since the catalytic converter ("cat") was replaced, the engine warning light comes on when we drive on the National Road and my analyser displays the message: - P0420
- Raw code: 0420
- ECU: 10
- Status: Confirmed
- OBDII: Catalytic converter system, bank 1 - efficiency below threshold
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| Babis told me that he couldn't diagnose the cause and it would be best to take it to a Honda dealer. So I headed for Haniá. I pulled on to the National Road and stopped at the "Kalami Parking" taverna to phone Iliana and let her know what I was doing. Interesting to note that the embankment reinforcement has been completed and so has the road resurfacing - but no white lines. |
| The Honda dealer isn't far from The National Road and I was there within twenty minutes. The Service department receptionist was friendly and persuaded a mechanic to test the car right away with the diagnostic computer. It produced the same code and message as mine. I explained the history as best I could (he didn't speak English) and he told me his opinion of what the problem was. It was something to do with the lambda sensor on the output end of the cat, but he used a word that I didn't know. My phone translated it as "scored". So maybe he was telling me that the sensor was scratched? He saw my puzzled look and asked me who had fitted the new cat. I told him and he asked for the mechanic's phone number. I found it on my phone and handed it to him. He called the mechanic and walked away as he chatted to him. I couldn't tell whether the discussion was heated or friendly. He returned the phone and told me to go back to my mechanic who would fix it for me! So I paid my twenty Euros test fee in the office and then drove directly to Pantelis the mechanic, who said that he understood the problem and asked me to bring the car to his workshop tomorrow morning. Before leaving, I spoke to his brother, Manos, and arranged that he would go to Billy's house, when he had time, to remove the wheels from the mobility scooter in order to replace the inner tubes. I arrived home in time to swap over to the mobike and ride to the supermarket to date-stamp the newly-delivered mail. I bought a carton of milk for Iliana, who was spending the day at home, baking, and took the milk and our neighbours' mail home. By now I was running late and headed for the Café where Billy and Chris were waiting. I handed Chris his mail, which I'd collected, and told Billy that Manos would come to take his wheels and he should make sure that he had four blocks or bricks available beforehand. Billy started to argue about the need to replace all four inner tubes but I cut him short and explained that if one was perished then they all needed to be replaced. Replacing an inner tube on a mobility scooter is not a roadside job and if he got a flat tyre he'd be stranded. In the afternoon, Iliana went to visit the neighbours and I settled down to watch YouTube videos. I'm still coughing and still have nose and sinus pain. Frankly, I can't be bothered to do much - hence the lack of photos. Sorry. By 6 pm I was falling asleep and went upstairs to lie down. I napped for an hour and then came downstairs to eat the dinner, which Iliana had prepared, and then took an antibiotic. Iliana read bedtime stories to the grandchildren via Skype during the evening. |
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| Wednesday, December 13, 2023 I put more clothes into the washing machine. We had breakfast - I had the antibiotic and then hung the clothes out to dry. At 9 am we drove to Likotinará to leave the car at the mechanics' workshop and then headed home on foot. I'm still somewhat breathless so we didn't rush. |
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| We had a cloudless sky overnight so it was still quite cool but the walk soon warmed us up. You can tell how low the sun was, still, at 9.30 am. |
| I rode to the Café at noon and sat with DD. Billy arrived late: "I lost track of the time!" Then Marcia and Ron arrived and, finally, Ron-the-plumber in his camper van. No sign of Chris. I pushed DD home in his wheelchair around 1 pm and tried to centralise the lever on the potentiometer on his mobility scooter. However, the combination of the locking tab on the pot and the flat on its spindle caused it to be slightly off centre when the grub screws were tightened. The result was that the motor wouldn't run unless pressure was applied to the lever at switch-on - a manoeuvre that I could manage but DD couldn't because he lacks dexterity. I rode home, quickly soldered wires at a multi turn trimmer and then rode back to DD's house to install it. I connected it in one leg of the accelerator pot and adjusted it to cure the problem. However, now the scooter goes backwards at 25 km/h and forwards at 5 km/h. DD told me to leave it like that for now so I returned home. I was thinking about taking a hot bath when a message arrived on my phone; it was from Chris: "No electricity since last night. Still awaiting engineer." I grabbed my multimeter and rode to Chris' house. First we walked to his electricity meter which, for reasons unclear to me, was 100m away in a neighbour's garden! it's a modern meter and the "Alarm" LED was lit. I know nothing about modern meters but it looked bad to me. Anyway, we walked back to the house and I unscrewed the 35 Amp main fuse from the consumer unit. My multimeter indicated that it was open-circuit! So I swapped it with the secondary fuse and the lights came on. I could hear the 'fridge humming. The secondary fuse was feeding a circuit with three 40 Amp breakers. I guessed that these were for the electric oven and, probably, the pool pump and something else that took a lot of power. I rode to the supermarket and found it closed but with a phone number on the door, so I rang it. The lady owner answered and sounded full of cold. "I'm sick but my husband will come in ten minutes to open up." I phoned Chris to let him know that he could come and buy a replacement fuse. Back home, I was editing the latest book when Iliana returned from the neighbours' house. The doorbell rang. It was our German neighbours' daughter with the loaf that I'd ordered! I was supposed to collect it at 2 pm but had forgotten and now it was 5 pm. I apologised and handed over 5 Euros. Iliana had sore hands from peeling chestnuts. She cooked a risotto but I didn't eat mine until 7 pm as my antibiotic had to be taken after food. |
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| I sliced, bagged and froze the bread. |
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| The mechanic sent me a photo and a message that translates as: "I will buy an adapter I can't make patent. It is very close to the chassis ". |
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| Thursday, December 14, 2023 I was up before the sun. No clothes to wash today, for a change. I boiled eggs and ate them with tuna before taking my antibiotic. Iliana had breakfast and then had a hot bath. I peeled, chopped and blanched parsnips. The sky is currently overcast and the outdoor temperature is about 15°C. The forecast is for 22°C by noon. |
| At 10 am I rode to the mechanics' workshop in Likotinará. Manos said his brother was on holiday. He would discuss my car problem with me on Saturday. He said that he'd drive our car back to us presently. He hadn't arrived by 11.45 so Iliana got our neighbour to drive her to the workshop to collect our car and then they both drove to Haniá in our car to go Lidl shopping. |
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| I rode to the Café and sat with Billy and DD. The latter moaned at me because his mobility scooter goes forward so slowly but backwards rapidly. I told him that I could swap the wires over to reverse that but I'd have to bring a soldering iron. |
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| Chris arrived. He'd managed to buy a fuse, plus a spare, for his house. The road by the supermarket was being noisily trenched by a "pecker" and an excavator so conversation was difficult. |
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| Iliana received a message from a friend in England who owns a house here: could we check for mail? I rode all the way to Exopoli, only to discover that Iliana had given me the wrong door key! |
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| Ignore the lens flare. There's a distinct aeroplane trail over the mountains. I predict rain within 48 hours. Back home, Iliana had gone to chat with the neighbours. When she returned at 5 pm, I took a two hour nap. Definitely getting old. I made my own dinner, took antibiotic, etc. |
| Friday, December 15, 2023 Iliana washed clothes, hung them out and then drove to Rethymno to visit Maria. The weather was extremely windy but mostly overcast. I read emails and watched videos until 11.30 when I brought the clothes in, folded and put them away and then I rode to the Café to fix DD's mobility scooter. |
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| The "pecker" was opposite, trenching the road and making a horrendous noise. I snapped a wire and had to return home to get my soldering iron. |
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| With the job completed, I went inside where my cappuccino was waiting. There were no other customers apart from DD. I ordered sausages and, having eaten them, I was about to leave when Mrs B. arrived. I listened to her for about 15 minutes and then headed home to have a hot bath. Later, Iliana texted to say that she was on her way home so I opened the gates and put the outside light on. |
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| Saturday, December 16, 2023 We got up just after 6.30 am. It was still dark. I cooked breakfast and took my antibiotic. At 8.15 we took a walk but Iliana wanted to do a long one and I didn't. So we parted at the top of our road and I did the short circuit of the village, observing the approaching rainbow. |
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| Halfway round I met a woman with two children. I greeted her in Greek: "Morning. Looks like rain; there's a rainbow!" She looked at me blankly. "Sorry, I'm English." Oops. I repeated what I'd said in English and she stopped to chat. She said that she'd lived here only a few weeks and now discovered that she can't legally stay so she's looking for an immigration lawyer. I gave her my card so she can email me and I'll give her some suggestions. |
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| As I reached home, the rain began to fall. At noon I rode to the Café to fix DD's scooter again. Nothing really wrong with it but I made a fine adjustment to stop it from creeping forward. In the afternoon, I edited a couple of book chapters and then took a nap while Iliana visited the neighbours. |
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| Sunday, December 17, 2023 A shitty day with temperature no higher than 11°C. We drove to Almyrida, dropping off rubbish and recycling on the way. |
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| We ordered English breakfast at "Francoise" Café. |
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| The news was reporting 1.5 metres of snow in a famously picturesque mountain village of northern Greece (Nymphaeum of Florina). |
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| We returned home in time for me to drive to the Café in Litsarda where Ron, Billy and Chris were waiting. Sadly, we were told that a local man, Panayiotis, had just passed away in hospital with covid. He was 83 years old and had lived for many years in Canada. He was a frequent customer at the Café. |
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| Monday, December 18, 2023 We were up early and headed for the Peninsula at 8 am. Despite roadworks delays, we arrived early so Iliana had a walk around the block while I corrected the car clock, which loses a minute per week. While I was waiting for my turn in the chair, I received an email from the book author, urging me to finish editing his book as he needed to get it to the publisher today! |
| On the way home, we stopped in Souda to buy a few items from the supermarket. Then we stopped in Vamos so that Iliana could collect a prescription from the pharmacy while I visited the bank. I waited a few minutes to see an assistant. She explained that our account had been blocked because we had to update our details. (Why couldn't they just phone me?) She needed my passport, tax return and a recent P60 from my private pension company. I actually wrote to the pension company to ask for the P60 before we went to Germany but I hadn't received a reply. Anyway, I made an appointment for Thursday to discuss the matter further, armed with at least my tax return. When we arrived home, the first email that I saw was from the pension company, with the P60 attached! Iliana found a copy of the tax return and printed it for me before driving off to Kalyves to her "Knit & Natter" meeting. I rode to the Café and discovered that an 83-year-old friend, Panayiotis, had just died in hospital. He'd suffered from diabetes and heart problems. According to his daughter, he'd contracted covid, which was the final straw. Back home, I edited a few book chapters but I'm nowhere near being finished. |
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| Tuesday, December 19, 2023 I woke just before 8 am, dressed and made coffee. Iliana was struggling to shut the cupboard door so I took it off to trim a little off the bottom. Using the wood plane was painful. For some reason it made my biceps hurt. So I switched to the angle grinder. In the end, I must have removed around 4 mm before the door moved without scraping on the drawer. I couldn't believe this and inspected the hinges. The screw holes were slotted vertically and each time I refitted the door, it slipped a little in the slots. So all that I really needed to do was to push the door upwards and tighten the screws! Iliana left in the car to visit a friend. |
| At lunchtime, I rode to the Café. It was empty apart from Vangelia. Everyone was at Panayiotis' funeral service. Even the roadworks noise had stopped. I chatted to Vangelia about life, death, religion and pensions, over a cappuccino before riding home. |
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| In the evening, Iliana wanted to walk to the square to photograph the nativity scene. My camera couldn't focus in the darkness. We went to the local Café but the owner didn't know how to operate the coffee machine, so we shared a "tetarto" of local wine and then walked home. |
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| Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Iliana was up early and hung the washing out to dry just after I got dressed. We drove all the way to "Jumbo" just to buy Christmas LED strings. On the way home, we parked in Kalyves and Iliana bought a USB memory stick to fill with Germany photos for Maria. We walked to a cafe for a coffee and sat with Nancy, whom we haven't seen for ages. I bought yoghurt and baked beans from the nearby supermarket. |
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| Jumbo car park Back home, Iliana brought the dry washing indoors and I rode to the Café, where I sat indoors with Billy and Chris. The noisy roadworks have stopped, for now, and a lone Bobcat ("skidsteer") was sweeping the dusty street. |
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| Back home once more, I installed the LED lights and then finished editing the book and emailed it to the author. Just after 2 pm it started to rain a little drizzle. |
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| This string was faulty - a few of the LEDs don't light. But it will suffice. |
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| At 6.30 pm, Iliana drove to Likotinará to host a quiz. It's raining a little drizzle. |
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| The Christmas tree and stair lights survived from last year. The paper star is from Germany. I added the 3 Watt LED bulb inside it. |
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| Iliana came home from her quiz and settled down to watch a video on her laptop. I filled a hot water bottle and went to bed to read. I'd just put the light out when I heard thunder. So, at 11.20 pm I ran downstairs to unplug the router from the phone socket. I fell asleep despite the bangs and rumbling. |
| Thursday, December 21, 2023 The rain continued all night but gradually died off towards noon. At 11.45 I drove to the bank with all my paperwork to get my online banking unblocked. The bank worker (Maria) explained that all accounts had to be updated with the latest information (passport, P60, etc.) because next year there would no longer be a counter service. All transactions will be done online or via the ATM. On the way home, I stopped at the Café in Litsarda. Chris, Billy, Ron, Mark and his wife were there. We sat outside in the sunshine. Kiki, the wife of the elderly man, Panayiotis, who had died in hospital, came up behind me, wrapped her arms around me and cried. I sympathised as best I could. She walked home with her daughter. Back home, I tried to log in to the banking website with my newly issued password. I watched the spinning wheel for some minutes and then gave up. I tried several times during the afternoon and finally managed to log in during the evening by using a different web browser. I paid our annual car tax and then logged out. For evening dinner, Iliana cooked meatballs with onion, tomato and cabbage in olive oil. |
