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Published: September 21st 2007
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A Love Affair With Craziness
The more one travels it seems the more one empathizes with views that are different from their own. When we started on this trip, I was pretty myopic in my view of the world. Americans, or Westerners in general, seemed more courteous and polite, while “others,” whoever they might have been, were rude or abrupt. While there was nothing wrong with my world view, it was pretty naïve and very one sided.
As we have traveled my views have changed considerably. While we may not have been through some of the more difficult places in the world, such as China, India, Africa, etc., we have had a chance to experience many vastly different cultures. By time we had finished with South East Asia I had been exposed to more than my mind could handle. Now that I’ve had some time to reflect back on Asia and allow for even more experiences in Europe, I feel like my view point is really blossoming and growing/changing at a much more rapid rate than when I started out as a inexperienced American.
Temperature Dilemmas We had been given an extensive warning
about Athens before we left Santorini. Jen, Jeff and Tracy had already spent a couple of days in Greece’s gigantic capital city and had some negative things to say about their experiences. Their main gripe was that Athens was, capital H, HOT!! During their stay Athens spent an unbearable couple of days hovering near 107 degrees Fahrenheit. Their hotel, as well as every other place they went to during their stay, could not cope with the heat. Every place in Athens had their A/C on high and still were unable to put a dent in the oppressiveness. Needless to say, we were a little worried that our experience was going to be equally miserable.
Man, were we lucky!!
As we arrived in Athens, a cold front hit and temperatures plummeted into the mid to upper seventies. The lower temperatures in concert with a rare breeze made Athens into a delight for us with blue skies and happy people. I would love to say that my impressions of Athens would have been the same if the temperature had been 30 degrees hotter than it was, but I’d probably be lying to myself if I did.
Our friends’ other
comments were more focused on cultural differences between Greek hotels/restaurants and the US. None of these issues were big, but they all added up to a disappointment in cleanliness and customer service. As Americans, we are used to a high set of standards in service, cleanliness, accommodation, etc. that we are accustomed to when we travel as well as at home. Being in a place where the price is still high but the bar is low can be a real shock to the system.
The Mighty Athens Based on my reading of other people’s blogs and discussion with people we met during our brief stay, it seems that many people are a bit disappointed with Athens. The words you hear often repeated are: dirty, run down, hot, scary. We completely understand where people are coming from when they say that Athens is “crazy” but after traveling for this long we have learned to dig a bit deeper before coming to a conclusion.
Athens is dirtier and wilder than almost any other European city we’ve been to, but compared with Asia, it’s pretty tame. The streets are not always clean and the people are not always
friendly, but everywhere you look there is a certain passion that you only find in Mediterranean cultures. The more time we spend in this part of the world, the more I seem to fall in love with everything that is Southern European.
As you walk around Athens you notice that cars zoom about with reckless abandon, people get into arguments right on the sidewalk and whenever an opportunity rises, people are quick to take a break. There is a certain love of life that you find here that you often don’t find in the more rules based cultures of Europe and North America. In Germany, like America, people work during working hours and find little time to sit and enjoy life. On the other hand, for Greeks every day is a chance to stop and smell the flowers.
It can be a pain as a tourist to be caught in a situation where your waiter is taking a break during your meal, or where you need something and a store has closed early for an afternoon, but at the same time, if you relax, you find that there is a sense that you can take your time and
enjoy a dinner or an afternoon drink in a way that you just can’t at home. Greeks know how to relax and want you, as their guests to relax too. At any dinner they allow you as much time as you want to pay for a bill or, even order your meal. At home you are constantly rushed, so much so that you become accustomed to everything happening fast. Here, take your time, it’s a theme of Greek life.
After a period of adjustment, what once was bothersome or annoying becomes a welcome difference with the way things are done at home. I welcome a chance to just sit in a café and enjoy an afternoon, or to not feel rushed to leave my table when I’m done eating. At the very least, some of the cultural differences are a source of amusement. We found check in for all of our Olympic Airlines flights to be a comedy of errors that was more funny than annoying (more so after the fact). I guess every experience you have is only as fun, or funny, or upsetting, as you make it.
A Land of Ruins Much like
Rome, Athens is a land of ancient history. In one day you can easily see the more important historical sites like the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora, but Athens has so much more to see that it is definitely worth spending more time if you have it. During our two days exploring Rome’s sights we got a chance to see more ancient ruins, be them recreated or original, than we often see in whole countries.
While I enjoyed the Acropolis and other sights, such as the Temple of Zeus, I really enjoyed the Roman Agora, with its still standing Tower of the Four Winds, and the Ancient Agora with its multiple ruins and statues. But of course no matter how much we enjoyed the sites, our main attractions were the two dinners that we spent with old and new friends alike.
Our first night in town we hung out with Jen, Jeff and Tracy before they left to head back to the good ole US of A. We ate dinner at their hotel, the Marriot (very nice hotel, by the way), and stuck around having drinks until they needed to get to bed. It always so much fun
spending a night with friends, the only sad part is having to leave at the end of the night. Kel and Jen really had a blast and, as best friends, will miss each other until we get home and see her for Thanksgiving.
Our second night in Athens was spent with a couple we had met on our way to Santorini. By dumb luck they were staying in the same hotel with us so it was easy to get together once they got into town. Carey and Jason, who live in Washington D.C., were traveling through Europe as a celebration of Carey’s Birthday (Happy Birthday Carey!!). We headed into the Plaka district and found a nice café for dinner. After a couple of hours and couple of bottles of wine we headed back to our hotel as new friends. While it’s always a little stressful to have dinner with new friends (kinda like a couple date) it was still a blast. Thanks so much for a great time, guys!
Well, that’s enough from Athens. Hope you guys are great back home, we miss you tons! Thanks for reading!
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Diane
non-member comment
Mind and Heart Expanding Education
Kelley and Mike, isn't it true? Your travels had broadened your minds and your hearts. My prediction, and confirmed in this blog where you related how your perspectives have been majorly changed, is that you are now travelers for life! Welcome! And how exciting it has been for us to follow the changes and see it through your eyes and senses, so honestly. Thank you both for writing! Love and kisses, Diane