From Olympia I took the bus over the Peloponnesian Mountains. Even though I'm a Scandinavian and quite familiar with mountains, I must say it was a stunning experience to drive along the slopes and suddenly find yourself in a small mountain town where the local market forced my bus to a sudden stop. Or the horror experience of meeting a fully loaded lorry on a narrow mountain road with a 300 meter sloap just half a meter outside your window.

Having survived this close-to-a-heart-attach-experience I reached the relatively uninteresting town of Sparta. Some remains from an amphitheatre is about it on the archaeological menu. Instead the major sight is about 5 km west of the town, on a mountainside - the Byzantine town of Mystras - founded by the French crusaders and then developed into a major centre of culture and trade in the 13th and 14th century. I recommend you strongly to take a taxi as far up as you can, then climb the remaining 150 meters to the crusader castle and then take a slow walk down the remains of ancient Mystras. Small monasteries, churches and houses flanks the way down to the entrance, some 200 meters downhill. Beautiful frescos and excellent Byzantine architecture will make your day before you return to one of Sparta's better establishments for a nice Greek dinner.