Blogs from Attica, Greece, Europe - page 11

The way home was very long. That was partly also my own fault. When I booked the flights home (half a year ago), I thought it was a brilliant idea to add 3 more days of Athens to my trip. The cheapest flights I found were: Bali to Singapore (where I had to wait for 10 hours until my next flight), Singapore to Athens and from Athens to Eindhoven. That last flight was going either the next day or in 3 days from my arrival. Like I said, it was a brilliant idea back then. I was still convinced that I would have lots of time with my dad and the rest of my family once I arrived, so I wasn't too worried about it. My host (Orestis) didn't live very close to the city, but ... read more

There is no getting away from the fact that the big draw in Athens is the Acropolis. It looms over you from most points in the city centre, as a self-advert that says "come up and see me sometime". By day, it glistens in the sunshine. By night, the uplifting lights mark out the form of the main structures. The majority make a bee line for the place on arrival, but as I said in my last blog we opted for the slow approach. A visit or three to the lesser sites will make you appreciate the place a whole lot more. We were up bright and early and out of the hotel by 8 am. Visiting the Acropolis needs planning. The crowds tend to arrive from their cruise ships docked in Piraeus harbour by mid-morning, ... read more

Greece - The Antiquities . We've called this Travelblog 'Greece: The Antiquities' for two reasons. One, we're describing our journey through the ancient Greek icons. And, two, after the heat and the go,go,go, we feel quite antiquated. We'll let you choose the 'source' for the description. As always, if you want to see the picture in a larger size, just click on it. Day 1 - Friday 7 June; Arrival After departing Istanbul early, we arrived in Athens and made our way via metro to Monastiraki a central suburb close to the sites of antiquities. Compared to our experience of other airports and public transport on this particular trip, Athens is light years in arrears. On a different note, the Athenian graffiti offers more colour than the (quite scruffy) city proper. Having secured an apartment for ... read more

Cestovna horucka pokracuje aj noc pred odletom. Prakticku cely tyzden poriadne nespim, mam taky divny pocit z tejto cesty. Nieco podobne sa mi tusim este pred ziadnou cestu nestalo. Rano moj odvoz na zel.stanicu zaspal ale vlak stiham v pohode. V galante menim osobak za rychlik. Ten riadne napraskany (je rano a pondelok). Vdaka blbosti ludi sa mi uchadza miesto v kupecku. Boli tu volne 3miesta ale nik z ludi co stali v ulicke si tam nesadol. Fakt nepochopim zmyslanie ludi. V ba na ubohej hlavnej stanici tiez kopa ludi. Listok na mhd kupeny v pohode, 61tka prisla za 15min. Ta tez narvana ale cestou sa to vyprazdnovalo. Pred letiskom hliadkujuci policajti. Kedze som mal este tekute zasoby (nealko dzuse) ranajkovanie pred security. V batohu objavene navyse 2zemle. To ma dost nasralo, bo som sa tesil ... read more

I am now in Athens, Greece. I spent much of the day yesterday in airports or airplanes. The flight from Dubai to Athens is over five hours, but I was comfortable in my Emirates business class seat. I checked into the hotel and went out to dinner fairly soon after that. I went to a place near the Acropolis Museum and had Greek vegetarian food that was delicious and inexpensive and I don’t know the names of any of it. Then I spent the rest of the evening in the Acropolis Museum, which is open until 10pm on Fridays. I wasn’t there quite that late but I got to see statuary, metopes, friezes, scale models, and explanatory signs. I found it all quite interesting and, to top it off, the Acropolis itself was lit up and ... read more