A Rethymno transfer is a trip by road to or from the town of Rethymno on Crete. This page moves from the airport bus to the chauffeur, the seat belt, the number plate, the toll road and the Koules fortress, then closes with four short answers. New terms are defined as they appear. See more trips at Greece tours.
What does a Rethymno transfer mean?
A Rethymno transfer is a trip by road to or from the town of Rethymno. Rethymno stands on the northern shore of Crete. This section looks at the airport bus, a long-used kind of ride, and the words used for it.
An airport bus carries passengers to and from, or within, airports. A Rethymno transfer brings up this kind of bus only as a name. Airport buses have larger luggage space and special branding. Branding means a clear colour scheme and a logo on the bus. The first ones date from the 1960s.
A nationalised operator used buses with luggage trailers to reach Heathrow Airport. Nationalised means run by the state. Airport buses carry passengers between terminals and remote aircraft parking positions. A terminal is the main building of an airport. Remote means far from the terminal. Transfer buses have minimal or no seating, so passengers stand.
Shuttle buses carry passengers between terminals, aircraft parking and car parks. In the United States, shuttle buses move users between airports and city centres. Airport hotels offer a complimentary airport bus service to attract guests. Complimentary means free of charge. Airport buses are also called airport shuttles or airport shuttle buses.
- Meaning: A Rethymno transfer page notes that an airport bus carries passengers to and from airports.
- Since: Airport buses have been in regular use since the 1960s.
- Names: Airport buses are also called airport shuttles or airport shuttle buses.
An airport bus is a bus built for airport trips, with room for luggage. A Rethymno transfer is only the heading here, and the bus is a theme of the page. Milan Bergamo Airport has official buses. The next section looks at the chauffeur.
On a Rethymno transfer, what does the chauffeur add?
A Rethymno transfer brings up the chauffeur. The term implies a driver of an elegant passenger vehicle, such as a luxury sedan or a limousine. The word comes from the dominance of French motor makers in the 1890s.
The chauffeur was the one who maintained the platinum tubes and also drove the car. Platinum is a rare, costly metal. A tube is a hollow pipe. From 1900, owners employed chauffeurs rather than driving themselves. The car was still a new machine then. A Rethymno transfer touches the word only as a name.
The role grew into driver, mechanic and maker of running repairs. Running repairs are small fixes made along the way. People can employ chauffeurs full-time to drive them in their vehicles. Limousine companies require their chauffeurs to undergo specific extra training. A limousine is a long luxury car driven by a hired driver.
The legal requirements for being a chauffeur vary by local jurisdiction and class of vehicle. A jurisdiction is the area where one set of laws applies. In other places, an additional professional licence sets minimum standards for age, health and criminal record. A licence is an official permit. Here, class means a type of vehicle.
- Word: A Rethymno transfer page notes that the word chauffeur dates from the 1890s.
- Job: The role grew into driver, mechanic and maker of running repairs.
- Rules: Legal requirements for a chauffeur vary by local jurisdiction and class of vehicle.
A chauffeur is a driver of an elegant passenger vehicle. A Rethymno transfer is only the heading here, and the chauffeur is a theme of the page. The word starts in the 1890s. The next section looks at the seat belt.
On a Rethymno transfer, what does the seat belt add?
A Rethymno transfer brings up the seat belt. A seat belt is a vehicle safety device that secures a driver or passenger against harmful movement. This section covers its history and its make in plain words. All facts come from a reference article.
George Cayley, an English engineer, invented seat belts for his glider in the mid-19th century. A glider is a plane without an engine. Benjamin Foulois, a pioneering aviator, first used a simple strap in 1910. Aircraft were required to carry seat belts by 1928. A Rethymno transfer touches these dates as a name.
James J. Ryan, a University of Minnesota professor, invented the automatic retractable lap safety belt. Retractable means able to pull back in. Swedish inventor Nils Bohlin developed the three-point seat belt to its modern form. Bohlin’s study of 28,000 accidents in Sweden demonstrated the effectiveness of the three-point belt.
Modern seat belt webbing has a high tensile strength of about 3,000 to 6,000 lb. Tensile strength is how much pull a material can take. Seat belts are 46 or 48 mm wide with a 2/2 herringbone twill weave. These sit on spring-loaded reels called retractors that lock during severe deceleration.
- Cayley: A Rethymno transfer page notes that George Cayley invented seat belts for his glider.
- Bohlin: Nils Bohlin developed the three-point seat belt to its modern form.
- Law: The first compulsory seat belt law took effect in 1970 in the Australian state of Victoria.
The seat belt has a long story, from a glider strap to the three-point belt. A Rethymno transfer is only the heading here, and the belt is a theme of the page. The next section looks at the registration plate.
On a Rethymno transfer, what does the vehicle registration plate add?
A Rethymno transfer brings up the vehicle registration plate. This is a metal plate that carries the number of a vehicle. This section follows the first plates, how plates are made and the common European Union design. The facts below come from a reference article.

France was the first country to introduce registration plates, with a Paris police ordinance in 1893. An ordinance is a local rule. The Netherlands first issued a national plate, called a driving permit, in 1898. A Rethymno transfer touches national plates as a name. Massachusetts was the first American state to issue plates, in 1903.
Metal plates are made by one of two processes, embossing or riveting. Embossing presses a raised shape into the metal. A 1960 University of Illinois study recommended a standard American plate size of 6 by 14 inches. Germany developed the FE-Schrift typeface to combat registration plate fraud. The name means falsification-hindering script.
Vanity plates are registration plates that carry custom text. Novelty plates are not intended for legal identification of an automobile. The European Union issues white or yellow number plates in a common format and size. The common design has a blue strip with 12 yellow stars and the country code.
- First: A Rethymno transfer page notes that France introduced plates with a Paris police ordinance in 1893.
- Make: Metal plates are made by one of two processes, embossing or riveting.
- Europe: The common EU design has a blue strip with 12 yellow stars and the country code.
A plate is a small sign with a big history. The first plates came in the 1890s. A Rethymno transfer is only the heading here, and the plate is a theme of the page. The next section looks at the toll road.
On a Rethymno transfer, what does the toll road add?
A Rethymno transfer brings up the toll road. This is a public or private road where a fee is charged for passage. This section covers how tolls work and how old the idea is. These facts come from a reference article.
Tolls are used to recoup the costs of road construction and maintenance. To recoup is to earn money back. The toll amount varies by vehicle type, weight, or number of axles. An axle is the bar that joins a pair of wheels. A Rethymno transfer touches this idea only as a name.
At automatic toll points, a machine opens the gate once the correct toll is paid. Electronic toll equipment can read a transponder or a number plate and debit the account of the driver. Highway 407 in Ontario has no toll booths and reads transponders mounted on windshields. Ontario is a province of Canada.
Travellers on the Susa-Babylon highway paid tolls under Ashurbanipal in the seventh century BC. Toll roads have existed for at least 2,700 years. Greece made users pay for its motorway network around and between its cities in 1927. Italy was the first country to build motorways reserved only for fast motor traffic.
- Idea: A Rethymno transfer page notes that a toll road charges a fee for passage.
- Age: Travellers paid tolls on the Susa-Babylon highway in the seventh century BC.
- Greece: Greece made users pay for its motorway network around and between its cities in 1927.
A toll road charges a fee so that road costs are met. A Rethymno transfer is only the heading here, and the toll road is a theme of the page. The next section looks at the Koules fortress. Machines now read plates and transponders.
On a Rethymno transfer, what does the Koules fortress add?
A Rethymno transfer brings up the Koules, also called Castello a Mare. It is a sea fortress that guards the harbour mouth of Heraklion, on Crete. The Republic of Venice raised this fort in the early 1500s, and the walls still stand today.
Heraklion works as a key port for ships and ferries. The fortress was completed in 1540. Builders filled old ships with stone and sank them to form a breakwater. A breakwater is a wall that breaks the force of waves. A dock is a quay. A Rethymno transfer touches the port only as a name.
In 1630 the fort was armed with 18 cannons on its ground floor. The fort has two storeys and 26 rooms, first used as barracks, a prison and storage. Barracks are rooms where soldiers live. A storey is one floor of a building. Its walls are up to 8.7 metres thick in places.
Ottoman batteries easily neutralised the fort’s firepower during the 21-year siege. A siege is a long assault on a fortress. A battery is a group of heavy guns. In 1930 concrete pillars were added to the lighthouse. Art exhibitions and cultural activities are held at the fort from time to time.
- Built: A Rethymno transfer page notes that Venice built the Koules.
- Walls: Its walls are up to 8.7 metres thick in places.
- Rooms: The fort has two storeys with a total of 26 rooms inside.
The Koules stands at the old port of Heraklion. A Rethymno transfer is only the heading here, and the fortress is a theme of the page. Its ground floor held 18 cannons in 1630. Four short answers close the page.
What four questions does a Rethymno transfer raise?
A Rethymno transfer prompts four quick questions, and the plain answers are below. They cover the Greek language, the euro, a writer born in Heraklion and the regional unit of Heraklion. Every reply draws on a separate reference source.
Which language is spoken behind a Rethymno transfer?
Greece and Cyprus both use Greek as an official language. The European Union counts Greek among its 24 official languages. The Greek alphabet has been used for about 2,800 years. An alphabet is an ordered set of letters used to write down a language.
Which currency is used behind a Rethymno transfer?
Each euro is divided into 100 cents. The name euro was officially adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid. Euro coins and banknotes entered circulation on 1 January 2002. A banknote is a paper note used as money. A cent is one hundredth of a euro.
Which writer was born in the largest city on the island behind a Rethymno transfer?
Nikos Kazantzakis was born in the town of Kandiye, now Heraklion, in Crete. His novels include Zorba the Greek, Christ Recrucified, Captain Michalis and The Last Temptation of Christ. A novel is a long story in prose. The Nobel Prize in Literature named him as a nominee nine times.
Which regional unit lies east of the town behind a Rethymno transfer?
To the west the regional unit of Heraklion meets Rethymno, and to the east it meets Lasithi. Four regional units divide Crete, and Heraklion is among them. Eight municipalities make up the Heraklion regional unit. A municipality is a town council and the area it runs.