A Walk through Paradise In Mystical, Magical Mani By Aurelia, Special to the Hellenic News of America
Promoting the beauties of Greece
Set in a stunning landscape of a perfect harmony of mountain and sea, the sixteen-bed Mani-Sonnenlink Hotel offers its guests an escape from the ordinary and an opportunity to rejuvenate one’s mind and body. The word “idyllic” is not adequate to describe this splendid “organic hotel” which is the brainchild of Burgi Bläuel, a classical violinist formerly from Vienna.
You will find the hotel in the magical area of the Peloponnese known as The Mani. It is a jewel in a rugged, landscape surrounded by the majestic Taygetos mountains and the crystal clear, sparking blue, Messinian Bay. Poets are at a loss to describe its unspoiled beauty.
Guests are invited to come here for “inspiration, relaxation, and regeneration.” They are offered workshops in yoga and meditation and served healthy and delicious organic, vegetarian and vegan food prepared by Mrs. Bläuel and her staff.
In addition to the workshops, a series of twelve superb concerts are offered during the summer months by classical and contemporary artists, both instrumentalists and vocalists. The concerts are in a mini-amphitheater fashioned after the ancient theatre of Epidaurus. Its symmetry is similar with stone seats cascading from on high to a round stage in the center.
The hotel is open year round and guests are encouraged to use the walking trails and to take the five minute drive to the sea and short drive to nearby attractions, tavernas, and shops. It is just a five minute drive to Stoupa, with its sandy beaches, and a fifteen minute drive to the charming Village of Kardamyli, a place not yet discovered by the masses.
Burgi Bläuel is a woman–an artist–of unusual creativity and vision. When she first came to Mani from Vienna, she was immediately seduced by the beauty and tranquility of the area and knew then and there that she would never leave. Here is her statement:
“When I visited the Mani for the first time and entered the house where I now live, I understood that I would never be willing to leave that quality of life and go back to my previous one. Such joy, such purity, such awakening. Literally, a walk through paradise. Everywhere in the magical landscape of Mani–in the foothills of the Taygetos mountains–the eyes meet flower-covered slopes and deep blue waters. The grand finale of each day is the glorious sunset. I want to share this heaven in my small, green hotel.”
Burgi, as everyone calls her, admires the philosophy of John Lennon. She has her favorite Lennon quotation on her brochure. It reads:
“When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “Happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment. And I told them they didn’t understand life.” John Lennon.
Please visit the hotel’s website at www.mani-sonnenlink.com. Photos are by Andreas Elbert and the Bläuel family.
TELOS
Aurelia is a professional travel writer specializing in the Greek mainland and its islands. She is the author of two novels, “A Lone Red Apple,” a tale of mayhem and mischief on Mykonos, and “Labyrinthine Ways,” about life and love in the mountain villages of Crete. Her website is www.sweetspotsofgreece.blogspot.com and her email is [email protected]
Aurelia is spending the month of June in an apartment at Hotel Anniska-Liakoto, Kardamyli, in the Peloponnese. Please visit the hotel’s website at anniska-liakoto.com. For further information on Kardamyli and the Mani, contact View Travel at [email protected]
