The Wake of Empire-March 29 on Corfu

A long overnight on the ship brought us through some easier waters to the far northwest corner of Greece and our last stop in that country, the island of Corfu. It was hard to get my bearings that morning, as we couldn't see the sunrise, and I didn't realize at first that we were on the east side of the island, in a harbor nearly surrounded by land. In the very distance we saw some snow covered mountains, which we learned later were in Albania.
The Greeks call the island Kerkyra from the nymph who was the daughter of the river-god Asopos . Posideon, the god of the sea fell in love with her and made love to her on the island, giving birth to the race of the Phaeacians. This was the island where the shipwrecked Odysseus was said to have been rescued by the princess of the Phaeacians, Nausikaa, who convinced her father to help Odysseus on his way back home to Ithaca. I'm so glad that I had recently read "The Odyssey" and remembered the reference. To this day the Kerkyrians are noted for their hospitality.

We began the day with an excursion to the Achilleion Museum, a palace built by the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, wife of Franz Joseph I, in 1891 as a summer refuge. She had a difficult life, despite being an empress, and apparently was an anorexic and prone to depression. But she was also very independent and a great lover of the Greeks. She named the place after Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War. The lovely house includes a private chapel where "Sissi" prayed to be relieved from her private demons, while being inspired by the fresco of the trial of Jesus, painted on the apse. After Elizabeth's death by assassination, her daughter sold the place to German Kaiser Wilhelm II, who also used it for summer getaways. It has been used as a hospital (during WWI), an EU summit meeting place, and a movie set ("For Your Eyes Only"). Elizabeth installed a sculpture of the dying Achilles in the beautiful garden. Franz Joseph, on the other hand, installed a huge bronze statue of a victorious Achilles. Nothing could further illustrate the different temperaments of these two owners.

Of course the site of the palace is the most salient characteristics. Views are spectacular. Spring flowers blooming everywhere. The countryside of the island is laid out before our eyes. Elizabeth's troubles must have been great indeed not to have been assuaged by such a location.

After another harrowing bus ride down the hill, with inches to spare on the turns between buildings, we were taken by our guide into the largest town of Corfu. Our tour guide narrated more about the island and what it's noted for: music, the game of cricket (from its British occupation days, 12 out of 15 cricket teams in Greece come from Corfu), late-harvest olives with high acid content, and a wine named after the most prominent wine making family Theotoki.  We drove past Corfu's one airport, where a stop light stops traffic so that planes can land on its one runway. The bus let us out on a great esplanade, near the waterfront and the old fortifications.

Walking across the large green space we noticed many children. Our guide told us it was a special outing day for schools. Once a month schools visit special sites around the island in the morning and then allow the children to run and play. And so they were. Their teachers were sitting in the shade having coffee.

 The next walking tour stop was a kind of "living history museum" occupying one of the old town mansions, decorated to recall a typical great 19th c. merchant family's life style. As we walked through each room the guide narrated a story of that family's life. Corfu's life at that time was controlled by the descendants of the great Venetian families who were invited to come defend Corfu from the Ottomans. They did and they stayed, taking many of the native Greeks as indentured servants when they couldn't repay the loans granted to local farmers. 
Our next walking tour stop was to the church housing the relics of a 3rd century Christian saint, in fact, his whole body. St. Spyridon was a bishop from the island of Cyprus who took part in the first council of Nicaea and was recognized for his cogent theological arguments, particularly the ones discrediting the heretical Arius. Since St. Spyrion's death in old age, his buried body has only been moved and reburied twice--once to Constantinople and again to Corfu, hence its remarkable degree of preservation and the certainty around its authenticity. In the catholic church where it now occupies a place of honor behind the altar, we saw many pious people kissing the silver casket (closed). He is the patron saint of Corfu.
Several of our guides over the past two days have remarked on the religious sensibilities of the Greeks. Some say they are superstitious, and refer to their use of the Greek "eye," the blue colored stone with a central dot, in jewelry and other emblems. 
We decided to emulate those teachers we saw earlier on the square by sitting and having a little refreshment. The cafe we chose was full of young people, most under 30 and very smartly dressed. We also saw several moms and friends with children in strollers. It seemed to me that there were many more children in this town than we have seen in the other towns. While waiting outside the old fort for the bus back to the port, we saw one of those Corfu musicians wheeling his string bass into the fort which now serves as a music school.