FRIDAY JUN 15, 2012 - ATHENS GREECE - SIGHTSEEING
Our BA flight last night from Heathrow London to Athens left about 30 minutes late at 9pm and we arrived in Athens at 2:30am Saturday morning (3 1/2 hour flight). We were very tired but knowing that we would be arriving very late -we had reserved at the SOFITEL hotel right in the Athens Airport, no shuttle required. So after picking up luggage, there were no customs or immigration foks anywhere to be seen, we just walked the 100 yards across the road and checked into the SOFITEL hotel. We were in bed by 3:30am and after setting the alarm for 8:30 to ensure a full day in Athens sightseeing, we fell asleep about 4:30am.
Needless to say we were both fast asleep when the alarm went off just 4 hours later, but after a cup of coffee (maybe the caffeine would help wake us up?) and a shower we headed out at 10:30 and it was just steps away to the train station where we paid the 14E each for the return trip from the airport to central Athens - the train leaves every 30 minutes at 3 mins and 33 minutes after the hour. It was sunny, clear blue skies and very windy! It was already 33C and we wondered how much hotter it would get as the day wore on?
There are 14 stops between Athens International Airport on the blue line and the Symtagma station in central downtown Athens. It takes just 40 minutes - a few miles above aground watching the hilly, very dry countryside fly by. The train was very full by the time we arrived at Symtagma and most passengers disembarked at the same time as us - it was 3 elevators up to get outside and what a perfectly central spot to be in - the middle of all the action in Athens.
The first thing we saw was one of the carts selling the extra large bagels and donuts that appear to be a very popular snack here - so how could we resist? We chose a large sugar donut 70 cents and thoroughly enjoyed sharing that! While eating the sugary treat, just across the square, we saw the red HOP ON HOP OFF bus, so we headed for that and for 18 E could get a pass for Athens, but for 22E could get the pass for Athens and Pireas where the port is, and it was good for 2 days. So we paid our 22E each (cash only no credit cards) and were off on top of the double decker bus ready to see and explore!
The tour is quite slow in Athens as the bus navigates and negotiates the small streets with very tight turns at the corners. Along with our ticket we had been given disposable ear buds which you plug into the side of the seat and dial the number that you need to get the commentary in your language - 2 for English. The sound system was excellent and very easy to hear and understand as we drove along. The first piece of history that we passed was Hadrian’s Arch, proud and almost intact with the Temple of Zeus behind in a park. It felt wonderful to start to see history from my school day coming to life right here in Athens.
We soon arrived at the spot where I have been waiting for years to see myself - we were at the bottom of the hill where we could see the PARTHENON sitting on the sacred rock of the ACROPOLIS, the most important historical centre of the city of Athens - it stands so proud and erect even though there are now just a few pillars glistening in the sun. There is much history in this area from when the Parthenon was first built through various wars so we are very lucky to have anything at all left to still see today. The first traces of civilisation go back to the Neolithic period. In Mycenaean times it was the seat of the King. After the 11th Century BC it became the cult of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and patron goddess of the city that took her name. The Acropolis was built to honour Athena after she fought for Athens against Poseidon and his trident . The Parthenon, the Propylaea, the temple of Athena Nike and the Erechtheion were all erected between 447 and 406 BC, remaining to today when we visited Athens as witnesses to the Greek Classical civilisation. Not withstanding that the Persians burned the Athenian Acropolis, and in 1687 the Turks blew up the Parthenon with a grenade!
The Classic Greek civilisation, from 2500 years ago, impacts everyone of us in the world today - they questioned all the power being held in the hands of the powerful few - they felt that every man should have the right to democracy and freedom, an equal share in running the state. Given that on Sunday there are major elections to be held in Greece to determine who will run the country, and whether or not Greece should remain in the European Union following the mandates of austerity set down by the European Union - it will be interesting to see the results! Their stamp is everywhere in the Western world today - their belief that art, drama, architecture have a place along with the administrative functions required for a civilisation to be orderly.
As we walked up the marble steps to the Acropolis entrance, we had a sense of awe and history - how could we not? The marble steps and walkway are so shiny and smooth it takes a little awareness to ensure that you don’t slip and fall. The first breathtaking piece of history that we fell in love with was the ODEUM of HEREODES ATTIKUS - a huge open air amphitheatre with stage overlooking the huge valley and hills surrounding Athens. I could just picture being here listening to amazing voices serenading the crowd - I was quite disappointed when I saw that Verdi’s Il Travattore had been played here for the last 4 nights - we had missed the most amazing experience by just one day! Our entrance fee of 12 E each was good for 2 days (which also includes access to Ancient Agora, Roman Agora Ardian’s Library, Keramikos, Temple of Zeus, and Theatre of Dionysuos). We continued our walk up the hill towards the Parthenon.
I must tell you that it was even hotter now (mid 30‘s Celcius) and very windy - we were walking quite slowly and we were faster than many folks who were struggling up the hill and stopping to rest and catch their breath - the heat just sucks the energy out of you. In addition the brightness of the sun and the reflection off the marble and sand felt like we were under a broiler!
We entered the Acropolis from the West via the majestic wide staircase of the Propylaea (erected 437 - 432BC) and climbing up we could fee the sense of power and grandeur from when this was first built. Even though today there are cranes and scaffolding around the Parthenon and temples here - apparently previous restorations (in the early 1900’s) were not true to the original construction so much of the Parthenon and other monuments have been destructed so that they can be reconstructed to be true to the original buildings. Got that? There are rocks (and parts of pillars) everywhere - all over roped off sections of the Acropolis - and there are barriers to keep everyone back from actually being able to touch any of the pillars or rocks - which is a good thing! We wandered around and also absorbed Athens the modern city - from our vantage point on the Acropolis you can see for miles looking out to all the hills - there are millions, I mean millions, of white homes running down all the hills like waterfalls everywhere! I must find out the population of Athens! I am sure it is very big!
After about one hour, wandering slowly back down to the bus stop, we arrived just after the Blue line Hop On Hop OFF left for the port town of Piraeus. No problem - this gave us chance to buy a STATUS chocolate ice cream bar - 3.50E, while we waited. We had heard many folks talk about, and we had read about, how dirty Athens was and the area around the ACROPOLIS ruins - garbage and packs of stray dogs everywhere. We’re pleased to tell you that’s not what we found at all. There was no garbage anywhere, and we saw maybe only 6 stray dogs all day - lying in the sun and resting from the heat. There is a lot of graffiti everywhere - along every unoccupied building, walls along railway tracks - a huge amount - but I also have to say there are some excellent artists who are doing the graffiti - some of it is very impressive!
Much of Athens is 3 to 5 story ugly concrete buildings, nothing like the classical architecture that Athens was known for. The history is that 2 million refugees fled to Greece from Asia Minor in 1922 during the war. There was no housing to accommodate them and so very quickly the huge number of buildings were constructed to accommodate everyone - and it appears that construction has continued in the same manner ever since!
Athens is a city that is quite quiet during the day, the best ares for seeing daily life being early morning at the markets: Meat and fish, vegetables, fruits (melons, apples, nuts, oranges, olives, cereals, spices, cheese, canned and dry goods, dry fish and salami. With so much produce, you can understand why at night the city comes to life around 8pm and stays hopping at restaurants and bars until the early hours of the following day. In addition, I am sure the high temperatures during the day mean that everyone enjoys the cool breezes each evening and that is when to get out and about!
We saw evidence of this when we went out to Piraeus - this is the busiest port in Europe, and along with it being the main receiving port for all the goods from China arriving for all the European countries, it also has all the fast ferries that transport all the people and materials to the many islands that make up Greece - huge ferries everywhere in the port. In addition, as we drove along the shoreline it was beautiful - not only for the beaches and harbours with hundreds of huge luxury white yachts but also restaurants and bars side by side with tables, chairs and umbrellas - just waiting for the evening crowds to arrive. There was no one around as we drove by around 4pm but were assured that within a couple of hours everywhere would be hopping busy!
We made it back into Athens City Centre around 4pm and disembarked at the Acropolis. We walked down the main thoroughfare into town and could see folks setting up for the evening - artists with their canvas and pens and pencils, 3 small children with their accordion and other instruments, a single guy playing beautiful Greek music on his sitar(??) Obviously, everyone there looking to earn some funds with whichever form of art they were skilled at. We had decided to walk to the Hilton hotel which apparently had an excellent roof top bar and restaurant with wonderful views of the city and Acropolis. We had no idea where it was but headed back to the main square we had arrived on the train that morning.
We asked at one hotel and they said “behind the park” so we walked through the park and were just about on our last knees and ounce of energy by now. The park was quite large, and we saw a couple of policeman and asked again - just up here and turn right they said - so off we went. Suffice it to say, we did finally arrive at the Hilton at 5:30 and it was a long walk - when we sat on the rooftop bar which finally opened at 6pm, the Acropolis was a long way away - we had walked way further than we had intended. In fact we passed a metro station that would let us take the train back to the airport - so we had walked the length of about 2 metro stations!
The coffee was 7.50E for any kind of coffee (just black - 7.50E). We enjoyed a very nice glass of white wine and the bill was 19.50E including 23% VAT! It was so hot on the outdoor roof top bar that we sat inside in the air conditioning, but the views were spectacular! We walked back to the Evangelis Metro station and made it back to the Sofitel at the airport at 8:15pm - still light, the sun not set yet. We had enough energy to share a pizza and glass of wine in the outdoor bistro at the Sofitel - very nice set up in gardens with shrubs and flowering plants (42E plus tips) and we just about crawled into bed at 10pm! We had truly had a wonderful day and enjoyed every moment - Athens was very enjoyable, and even though we wouldn’t want to spend a lot of days there. most certainly it is worth a couple of days exploring especially if starting or finishing a cruise in the port of Piraeus in Athens
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