Advertisement
Published: July 28th 2013
Zeus
The progression of statues towards realism, but still stiff and uprightOur wake-up call was at 6:00 a.m., but as Kriton forecast, it was unnecessary due to the noise of other people’s departures. Our breakfast was arranged on-board, in the same formal environment as the dinner. The hard-boiled egg made me cringe, but I ate it with a brown crusty roll and butter. I am still drinking hot water and honey, as it really seems to contribute to healing in the throat. Later, in the museum I almost fell asleep on my feet listening to Kriton, presumably due to the Dramamine. At the coffee break I took an espresso – the caffeine jolt woke me up for the whole day!
Our disembarkation was a little late, around 8:20. I managed to snap a couple of quick photos of the ferry – we have been well herded on the ferry rides. We drove into Athens to the Titania Hotel again, but only to drop the luggage. Then off to the National Archeological Museum. Kriton was still coughing but had his energy back. He gave us a detailed, chronological tour reviewing our visits in other places, from the Stone Age through the Minoans and the Mycenaeans to the beginning of the Classical golden
Horse and child jockey
Full three-dimensional realism, all the way to the fear on the little jockey's face age of Greek civilization. His developmental approach brought every artwork to life, set in its own times. The most obvious example of this was his contrasting the severe and symmetrical Zeus (or Poseidon) bronze, created in a period of confidence, and the dynamic horse-and-child-jockey bronze, showing the power of the horse and mortal fear of the child, created when power was overtaking classicism. (All misinterpretations are due to my own faulty memory.)
We ended more or less where we started the tour, with the Cycladic portion of the museum, pleased with how much we had learned in two weeks. This “review” showed me that the coffee mug I bought from the potter’s shop was the Mycenaean shape, with the more mathematically balanced dolphin motif derived from the dynamic Minoan originals. Now it is especially precious as an all-encompassing souvenir.
We could either return to the hotel with the bus or stay at the museum on our own. Mary and I wanted to spend more time at the museum. First, however, we were both hungry, although it was barely noon. The outdoor café attracted our attention, even though we needed jackets. So many of the sandwiches and pasta included
Funerary items
Intricately decorated gold ornaments and vessels in marvellous condition! cheese that I settled for a tuna sandwich – a lot of ciabatta bread and very little, salty tuna salad filling. Still it was fun chatting and people-watching. A sprinkling of rain sent customers scurrying for the umbrella-sheltered tables.
Back in the museum, I more slowly walked approximately the same route as this morning’s, taking the time to look at more pieces and to read the signage. The collections in the showcases are well done, because they make sense with minimal interpretation. Here, as everywhere in Greece, the museum is careful not to state or imply anything that is not known through evidence. The array of finely worked gold pieces makes me wonder how so much could survive in such beautiful forms. This treasure was found by Schliemann when he was excavating his identified site of Troy, and he was not allowed to remove it.
A fun exhibit to one side was called “Myths and Coins”. For each god or mythic figure, a display case held a statue or figurine, the story of the god, and a range of coins with the god’s likeness on them (just as we now use the heads of monarchs).
A bit
Greek Dancing
After the inspiring displays of country dances, I joined in for the group dances later. after 2:00 we were ready to walk to the hotel for a rest. The streets were busy, pulsating with hurried pedestrians and streaming cars. Remnants of May Day signs and graffiti were on one university building we passed.
After checking in, I went out again to get a very large cup of tea from the Costa Coffee about four blocks away. I really miss tea in Europe. Then I rested, tried taking a nap (in preparation for no sleep tonight), packed yet again to add my rug to my suitcase and judge the weight of my checked bag, showered, wrote travel notes, got dressed and arrived in the lobby at 7:30 to get the bus to dinner. The dinner itself was disappointing – minimalist leafy salad, pork souvlaki, frozen mixed vegetables again(!), and fried sweet dough for dessert (I declined).
The evening was lots of fun. The taverna featured Greek musicians, demonstration dancers and dancing. Only a couple of us from our group joined in the dancing, and Suzanne deserted me after a couple of minutes. But I was having fun and at last learned to do the step (Zorba-the-Greek step – very common). I danced the whole
Our Group
Kriton, at the centre, our fearless leader! song with about ten other people, a mixture of tourists and Greeks.
At the winery on Santorini, Joi and John had bought Vin Santo for this very evening, because Kriton really likes it and he doesn’t usually drink on the job. He joined in and we all indulged in nostalgia. Finally back at the hotel, I organized a group photo on the spiral steps in the lobby.
Of course it was impossible to wind down enough to go to sleep quickly. Plus my room was extremely hot and air-less, even with the window open. In fact, I was semi-awake for wake-up call and the alarm at exactly 3:00 a.m. What we do for airplanes! Happily, there were five of us in two taxis going to the airport at this ungodly hour. Easier to stay awake if you can chat. John and Nancy were on the same plane to Frankfurt as I was, so we stayed awake at the gate too.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.064s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0428s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
