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Our flight out of HeathrowWednesday 26 May.
Well here we are in Athens after a routine flight with BA. Our 767 was completely full. We flew across the northern part of France, right across Germany (could pick out the Rhine River), and then across a broad stretch of the Alps, crossing Austria, and then the Balkan States. Greece looked very dry from the air, but pictureque with its many islands. Athens looked a sea of white buildings from the air and is well spread out towards the coast in two directions.
Athens airport is modern and efficient. We passed through immigration, getting a stamp in our passports, but, being another EU country, there was no customs. We got our bags very quickly and had no difficulty finding the Metro to the City, which left just as we boarded. The ride into the central city cost 5 Euro each ($10) and took about 40 minutes, with a dozen stops. It was quite crowded. The Metro is like a modern version (built for the Olympics in 2004) of London's Tube, starting above ground at the airport for about a quarter of the ride, and then underground. The stations are all modern, spacious and bright. At Monastiraki
A Busy Airport
We enter the queue of aircraft waiting to take-off. Station, where we got off, a large area of ruins dating from the 8th C BC were found during excavation work, and is preserved in an area partly inside the station. So far Athens has proved very easy for English speakers. Every sign and announcement is repeated in English, including (to our amusement) the train automated announcer warning passengers to 'mind the gap'! But don't ask us to say it in Greek! With its own alphabet, Greek looks very difficult to pronounce, let alone master.
Our hostel is very close to the Monastiraki Station, in a square which appears to be one of the main gathering places. It was a lovely night for a walk, which we did for more than an hour, getting something to eat. Hundreds of people were eating dinner at numerous cafes and restaurants, spilling out onto the streets. Local take-away food was also in abundance, something that we plan to try tomorrow ( hot shaved meat rolled in a sort of pita bread looked nice). Our body clocks of course are still telling us that it is 8.30 when in fact it is 10.30 local time. The centre of Athens is a lot smaller
than I expected, so very easy to walk around. We went up to the roof of our hostel (where breakfast is served in the morning) and got our first view of the Acropolis (the large rock mound nearby on which stands the remains of numerous ancient temples, theatres etc, of which the Parthenon, a big temple on the summit, is the most famous) . That will be our first destination in the morning. Our room is on the 2nd floor of 6 (as in Melbourne, the lift is temorarily out of order!). It is quite basic, but has a basic ensuite and air conditioning, so all that we need considering that we only want somewhere to sleep.
It is now 7 am Wednesday. Sleep was fitful. For me it was the dryness of the air. For Karen it was the noise made by other people in the hostel and the cold (we have a heat pump high on the wall set on 20 C which tends to waft cool air downwards). But strange food and strange sleeping conditions are all part of travel, and we will be up and into a long day soon. The plug adapter with the
Pireus
Athens' Busy Port, from where we will leave for our cruise in 10 days. two thin pins is working well here Tony
P&K
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pam
non-member comment
Hi, Wish you were here, you are missing out on our fantastic weather. We can get our wellies on and splash around in lots and lots of bigggggg puddles just think of all the fun you are both missing. Love Pam Great pics looking forward to seeing the boat.