Athens, Greece!

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We arrived in Greece late Thursday night. We made our way from the airport on the bus to the center of the city (which is quite possibly the longest busride ever!) We literally stood in a hot, smelly bus at midnight for over 45 minutes before we reached Athens city center. Let's just say we were quite relieved we hadn't splurged on a taxi!! It would have cost a fortune!! We found our way to the hotel and went up to our room...which is when we were shocked to find out that 1) it was barely big enough for the two twin beds inside, 2) the big window did not have a screen leaving us 9 stories up with nothing between the waist-high window and the sidewalk far below! and perhaps worst of all 3) there was no air conditioning. With only one window and no fan, we were doomed! We opened the window as far as it would go and went to sleep.


Luckily sleeping wasn't too bad - it was the early morning wake-up call (the hot sun baking us through the open blinds) that was rough. We woke up around 7am and it was already getting hot and stuffy in our room. We got dressed and went downstairs to restaurant to eat breakfast. This is where we encountered "The Locusts" as we like to call them! They are a tour group from another country who all decided to eat breakfast at the same time. They ended up in an all-out competition for food: each person grabbing whatever he could reach and piling it high on his plate. There was literally almost nothing left on the buffet. We scrounged around with the rest of the tired, hungry guests but we had a tour of the Acropolis planned that morning and couldn't wait around for the staff to replenish the food. We ate whatever we could and started walking to the center of town where we would meet our tour.


We love walking tours and have really learned a lot each time. This tour was no exception. We met in the metro station and our tour actually started there! Underground!! When the Greek government decided to make a metro in Athens, they began what was to become the biggest excavation in their cities history. The subway stations are all actually museums as well, with artifacts and displays. This particular metro had an entire wall enclosed in glass. It was a cross section of all of the previous civilizations - each one being built upon the former. We learned from our tour guide that Athens has a stray dog population. Once a year the city rounds up the strays, vaccinates them, puts collars on them, and releases them back into the city. Over the next 3 days, we became accustomed to seeing dogs laying near (or on!) historical sites, on the sidewalks, one time even on the small median dividing a 4 lane road. At first I felt bad for them, but they spend a lot of time near tourist attractions and we saw them getting food and water from people. Romas said they lead great lives - who else can say they live on the Acropolis?? 😊


From here we made our way over to the Acropolis. The word "Acropolis" means high city and it was appropriately named. You can see the Parthenon from just about anywhere in Athens. It was built by Pericles starting in 480 BC (although people had lived there long before.) He rebuilt it after it was destroyed by the Persians and created a city of temples. Although there were damages created by the passing of time, most of the city stood intact until 1687 when the Venetians attacked the Turks and opened fire it, sparking an explosion in the Parthenon (where the Turks stored their gunpowder.) All of the buildings were damaged. There are major restorations underway on the Acropolis. The Greek government has estimated it will take until 2020 to complete the process! They have begun identifying and labeling pieces and will rebuild what they can. As they rebuild, they are careful to always show their additions, ones that are not original. They fill gaps and holes of missing pieces with slightly different colored filler, so everyone will know which parts are original.
On the Acropolis there is a large flag pole where the Greek flag flies. During WWII, the Greek flag was removed during Greece's occupation. One night, two teenage boys snuck up to the Acropolis and replaced the occupying flag with the Greek flag once more. The boys were national heros and one of them is today a senior member of the Greek Parliament.
Slightly lower than the Parthenon is the Odeon Theater, built in 161AD. There are still live performances here during the summer.

After our 4hour walking tour, we were STARVING!! We laugh that our trips always revolve around where we'll eat next - but it is very true!! We ate at a small restaurant in a courtyard, surrounded by other restaurants. Although the sun was hot, each restaurant has canopies and shade so eating outside is not a problem. We had Mousaka, greek salad (which oddly enough has no lettuce! It's just cucumbers, tomatoes, and a huge chunk of feta cheese), Tzatziki (which is served in a bowl without pita or anthing to dunk in it), baked feta, lamb, ouzo, ravani (not Rafiki as Andrea kept referring to it), Mythos and Alfa beers (both super weak compared to Germany at only 5% alcohol). What a meal!! We were pretty stuffed afterwards - but we can't help it when we see so many great new things to try!!

We made our way down to the Temple of Olympia Zeus next. This is the largest temple in Greece. The construction was started in 6th Century BC, but was abandoned due to lack of funds. It was completed in 161AD by Hadrian, a Roman Emperor. It took over 700 years to build. It consists of 104 Corinthian columns (17m high with 1.7m diameter at the base) - but only 15 remain. One fell in 1852 due to gale force winds. The other missing columns were raided by invaders and have been used throughout the rest of the world for other projects. At the entrance to the temple sits Hadrian's Arch.


We also visited the Olympic Stadium. It hosted the 1st Modern Day olympics in 1896. The torch is lit here before the torch relays to commence the Olympic Games. The stadium is made of marble. By today's standards, the stadium is relatively small and would not be a proper venue for something so huge. It was impressive though considering the time period. They also have marble slabs which track each Olympic game, beginning with the first one in Athens.


On our walking tour, our guide pointed out a rooftop movie theater. There are many which have been preserved in Athens and this one sits almost directly on top of the square where we had eaten lunch. It had a full bar, snacks, nice seating, and a balcony. We saw Indiana Jones in it's original version, with Greek subtitles. It was a great experience - watching the sun set over the Acropolis as we waited for the movie to start. Not bad!!


The next morning (Saturday) we woke up early (who could sleep with no air conditioning and the sun beating down on you!!) went to breakfast (where there were no locusts today), and then walked the short distance to the National Archeological Museum. It was an impressive museum (although there was no air conditioning!) with 10,000sq meters of exhibition space. My favorite collection is the Cycladic art - I left on a mission to find a Cycladic souvenir 😊

We walked to the Ancient Agora - it seemed that no matter where we were, there were ruins to view! The city of Athens is an incredibly old place, with treasures from the 7th adn 6th Centuries BC still available for us to appreciate. It's remarkable.

We took a bus to the Tempe of Poseidon in Sunion. It was almost 2 hours each way in the bus, but we absolutely loved the temple. It was built on a hill above the water and the setting sun was the perfect backdrop. There were TONS of tourists everywhere, but we were still able to enjoy the fresh sea air and the gorgeous view. I wish we had the opportunity to stay in this area overnight to get out of the city atmosphere and spend time by the water. It made me even more anxious to visit the Greek Islands.... 😊
The bus arrived back in Athens around 10pm and we walked back to our hotel. On the way, we stopped to watch the changing of the guard. Every hour there is a changing of the guard outside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Greek soldiers wear very interesting uniforms - especially curious are the pom-poms on their elf shoes!! I took my picture with a guard who never moved nor made eye contact with me as I approached. Very serious job.

We never get to experience the nightlife in the cities we visit because we have so little time. We spend the entire day walking and walking and walking...and by the time 8pm rolls around, we're exhausted!! Athens was no exception as we headed straight back to the hotel to sleep.

The next morning we had breakfast and got another early start to our day. Unfortunately for us, the people of Greece don't function before 11am on a Sunday so we were out and about before anyone else. We walked around a little, had coffee in a cute cafe, and then walked back to the shopping areas to buy some souvenirs. I got my Cycladic guy just as I'd hoped!! Romas picked out a neat vase like one that he'd seen in the museum too. We wandered around for a while and then went to have lunch.

I had another Greek salad with no lettuce and we also had souvlaki. Romas had ouzo again - this time the waiter asked, "You STRONG man??" We've found that ordering local food and drinks (especially drinks) earns respect from the locals. They are so proud to share with us! There was a table of American girls a couple tables down from us. We saw them hanging out, eating and talking. The waiter brought the bill and walked away. The girls left money on the table and then left. The waiter was busy and when he realized they were gone, took off running after them!! He was yelling and chasing them but came back without having found them. The look on his face was priceless when he saw the money sitting on the table. In Europe, when the bill comes, you pay it immediately. They usually wait for the money, but in this case, the girls were pooling their Euros and he was busy with other tables. We were laughing because not only did they leave him the bill but probably unknowingly left him 10-20% tip as well!! It is a good lesson in learning cultural differences before you go to a new country!!

We were just getting ready to leave when people from a neighboring table started talking to us. They were visiting from the island of Crete. They asked how we liked Athens and if we had ever been before. They saw Romas' highball glass and offered him more ouzo from a bottle they had on their table. They told us that in Greece, no one drinks it like a shot. The glass if filled almost 1/2 way with ouzo and then 1-2 ice cubes are added. If not ice cubes, then water! The ouzo is good to drink when the water turns it cloudy. Who knew?!!? Well, we earned some more friends with Romas' ouzo drinking abilities 😊

We spent the rest of the day at the rooftop pool above our hotel. It was small and FREEZING cold, but the tanning was great. We showered and walked to Lykavittos Hill. We rode a funicular railway up to the top where we had the most amazing view of Athens. We ate dinner as we watched the sun set over the city. When the sun was just dropping below the skyline, we walked over to take pictures of the Acropolis. There was also a church and bell tower at the top which looked amazing in the changing light.

The next morning we were up super early to take the metro and local train back to the airport. We had an early flight back to Munich and a 2 hour drive home.

Athens was one of the most beautiful and romantic cities we have seen. Out trip to the Temple of Posiedon and the dinner on our last night was absolutely amazing. Each day we saw so many beautiful buildings, monuments, and sunsets. I would go back in a heartbeat - but I'd probably book a hotel with air conditioning next time!! 😊

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