Two Playmobil in mount Parnassos

παρνασσος φωτογραφια playmobil

Two Playmobil in mount Parnassos [photos]

Playmobil’s life in Athens was flowing with the fast pace of big cities.

Since the summer vacation spent on a beautiful Greek island had been almost six months, so Playmobils were looking for an opportunity to escape the capital of Greece.

– Do you want to go for Ski and Snowboard in Parnassos? the kid Playmobil asked.
– Wow, this is a very nice idea, Mommy Playmobil replied. Mount Parnassos is near Athens. This fact means that we do not have to get up very early on Saturday to get on Parnassos ski resort, 2 hours is enough, as the road is very good.

Daddy Playmobil did not seem to enjoy the conversation.

– I won’t be able to come for Ski on Saturday. I have planned a job and I must stay in Athens. For a moment he thought that he might have to postpone his job and enjoy with his skis the snowy slopes of Parnassos.

However the other 2 Playmobils were already planning their trip.

Mommy Playmobil had entered the Arahovameteo.gr group on facebook in order to read the latest news about the weather, while at the same moment the kid Playmobil was looking for his nice red Snowboard at the store.

The Saturday was expected to be sunny, a quite common weather for Parnassos, which has more sunny days than other ski resorts of south-eastern Europe.

– Weather will be sunny, Mom Playmobil said, while closing the last post of Arahovameteo.gr. God Apollo will again put his hand on. The last time they had gone to Mount Parnassos, Mommy Playmobil had explained to her child that Parnassos is supposed to be the mount of Apollo, who is the god of the sun!

– Take the chains with you, Daddy Playmobil said. Even a 4×4 jeep needs chains on the snow sometimes.

On Saturday morning the 2 Playmobils got underway to Parnassos. The 200 km trip was quite short. The only stop was for a few minutes in Arachova, a beautiful picturesque village just before the Ski Center, where they bought coffee, cheese pie and chocolates, to eat on the mountain.

Fortunately, the road to the Parnassos Ski Center had been devastated the day before, so they arrived without any other problems and especially without a delay for putting their chains on the wheels of the car, so as not to slip on the snow.

They get wore their equipment quickly, boots, gloves, goggles, etc., and went to the ticket offices where they bought their daily ticket and immediately embarked on a modern 8-seat closed lift, which would take them from the parking lot to the main chalet where the foundations of most lifts are found.

playmobil στον παρνασσο

Mommy Playmobil will Ski while the kid Playmobil will make Snowboard. At Ski sport, you descend the snowy slopes with 2 footpals on your feet. Keeping the shoes in parallel and changing the body weight between the two legs, with appropriate movements, the body consecutive turns so as to cut the increasing speed caused by the slope. At Snowboard the legs are firmly on a board that turns on the slope by swapping the weight from the heel to the toes and vice versa, with the help of the trunk.

Ski is easier on the basics but it’s harder to get a good technique. On Snowboard on the other hand, if you acquire the basic technique, you can quickly reach a very good level. Kid and Mom Playmobils are both very good Skier and Snowboarder respectively.

Without any stops, from the central base of the Ski Center located at an altitude of 1,950 meters (this is why it’s called 19-50) the 2 Playmobils embarked on the new modern 6-seat lift to Gerontovrachos, where the chapel of Prophet Elias is.

Παρνασσός Playmobil

From the beginning, the kid Playmobil was impressed by the names the ski lifts had: Hercules, Hermes, Bacchus, Zeus, Hera and others. Mommy Playmobil had explained to him that these names came from the Greek mythology.

– Mommy what was Bacchus? the kid Playmobil asked, while the modern dismantled “Bacchus” lift raised them to Gerontovrachos.
– Bacchus was a name of God Dionysus, the god of wine, Mommy Playmobil replied. Bacchus was also the god of mysterious night and the god of winter.
– Then Bacchus was the opposite of Apollo, who is the god of the day and the sun, the child said.
– Exactly, Mom replied. That is why in the winter Delfi, Peanas, which was the hymn to Apollo, was silenced, and his place was taken by Diptyram, the hymn to the god Bacchus.

Παρνασσός Playmobil

However, the fast lift lane had almost reached the Playmobil in Gerontovrachos, at an altitude of 2,250 m. In addition to the names of the lifts, another thing that made the child Playmobil excited, was the myth of Gerontovrachos.

– Gerondovrachos, Mommy Playmobil had said, means “the rock of the elderly people”. This name was taken because old people were thrown from this rock when they could not work anymore. They wrapped them in a blanket and threw them on the cliff. Once upon a time, a child brought his father to throw him from the rock. While he was wrapping him with the blanket, old man said to him: “Dear son, keep the blanket, I do not need it.” “What to do with it Papa?” the child replied. “You will need it when you get older and your child bring you here to drop you” the old man said. The child regretted -by fear- of throwing his father and they both returned home. People after this, stopped throwing the elders from the Gerontovrachos.

Παρνασσός Playmobil

Parnassos Ski Resort has been renovated since 2015 and it has acquired a new lifts arrangement, whereby skiers and pedestrians can visit both sides of the mountain. The most organized southwest side is called Kellaria while the north is called Fterolaka.

The 2 Playmobils had already made several downs and the Kellaria were beginning to be filled with people.

Παρνασσός Playmobil

– It’s time to go for a little down in Fterolaka, Mommy Playmobil said.
– I very like the view when we are on the Mercury Lift, who is taking us to Fterolaka,” the kid Playmobil said, and Mommy Playmobil smiled as she was enjoying the endless view to the Peloponnese as well as to the Maliakos bay.

Παρνασσός Playmobil

Fortunately, the Parnassos Ski Resort has 23 slopes, 7 ski runs and 7 trails, with a total length of about 34 kilometers pistes, so no matter the number of people gathered there, there isn’t any wait.

The kid Playmobil particularly likes the 12 off-piste “black” routes with really deep fresh snow and Fterolaka is ideal for such rides. His favorite track is the Iniohos, the number 6 pist of Parnassos.

παρνασσος φτερολακκα ηνιοχος 6

But the time had passed. It’s time to take some rest in the chalet of Kellaria, to drink some coffee and water, and eat a little chocolate.

The ski day is coming to an end. The Playmobils are tired as they made their way down until 4:30 in the afternoon, when the lifts closed.

They will go to the parking lot to get their car, stop eating traditional delicious dishes at Livadi and stay in a nice guesthouse in Arachova for the evening. The next day they will return to Athens.


Playmobil

Playmobil was designed by German Hank Beck (Hans Beck, 1929 – 2009). Beck was hired by Brandstätter in Zurndorf, Germany, to build toy figures for children.

Beck has decided to design a toy that will not be too complicated, but it will nevertheless be flexible. The toy, 7.5 centimeters high, would fit into a child’s hand, and the features of his face would be based on the children’s paintings (big head, wide smile, no nose).

“I would like to put these little figures in their hands without saying what they were,” said Beck. “Playmobil accepted by the children the way I expected, they created small scenarios. They will never get tired of playing with them.”

Beck worked for three years to do what Brandstätter asked him to do.

The company has until then been producing hula-hoop and other large plastic toys.

However, a random situation at that time made Playmobil a viable product, as well as Brandstätter’s main product in the next years.

In 1973 the oil crisis caused the rise of oil prices. This has prompted the company to turn to products that require less solid plastic materials!

So Playmobil began to be sold worldwide in 1975.


About the story of Playmobils in mount Parnassos

My involvement with Playmobil as an adult started a few years ago, when I began to buy and create stories while playing with my nephew Stergios (he still calls me a friend rather than a sage <3).

For quite a long time I was thinking about creating a story for Playmobil and Parnassos and putting it online.

This story would be accompanied by photos of Playmobil in action, in some of my favorite spots in Parnassos and specifically at the Ski Center, whose I have been a customer for the last 31 years, doing Ski in winter and other sports activities in the summer.

Through a story, I wanted to show at one hand on Playmobil buyers the mountain beauty, the Parnassos, the winter tourism and sports, etc. On the other hand, I wanted to present to the mountain sports and Parnassos lovers, the beauty of Playmobil.

I hope the result will achieve this twofold goal up to a point.

P.S. The Playmobil who participated in the story are the Playmobil Family Fun: Cargo Squash. The photos were taken with my Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Snapdragon) and you can read my review regarding this at Skroutz.gr.

George Katsiampas
email: katsampukas [@] gmail.com
02/2018

Pansion Arahova

Photos are copyrighted. It is prohibited to record, reproduce, adapt and edit without the author’s consent and without explicit reference to their source (© 2018 Giorgos Katsiampas)..


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