Impressions of Athens

My three and a half days in Athens were pretty much spent exploring different parts of the city centre visiting historic sites, exploring markets and less-travelled streets, and discovering local restaurants and shops. Below are a few impressions and pictures from my brief time in the city:

• Contrary to the opinion of many visitors to Athens - many of whom are only stopping over to continue on to the Greek islands - I didn't find the city particularly dirty or busy compared to other major European cities. That said, my visit didn't take place during the height of tourist season, in the middle of summer.
• Athens is full of wild dogs and cats. The dogs ('skilos' in Greek) are mostly tame and are often seen sleeping in the sun; the cats ('gata') are... like cats anywhere.
• Marble or marble-type sidewalks are damn slippery in the rain. Watch out, grandma.
• Greece's economic problems to not seem to be affecting the bars and cafes, which are often busy. The one Starbucks I visited in the shopping district was full of young people who didn't seem to mind paying over $4 for a regular coffee. Espressos elsewhere are generally around $2.
• Motorcycles and scooters are very popular, but there are few cyclists in Athens (maybe because there motorcycles and scooters everywhere). I've biked in many major European cities, but the style of driving in Athens made me think twice about renting a bike.
• Greek food is, so far, very wholesome and delicious. Nothing complicated so far (e.g. stewed veal with mashed potatoes and bread; gyros; or cabbage stuffed with meat and rice), but very good and not expensive. Beer is also cheap and available everywhere. As I write this I'm sampling a $7 bottle of Greek wine (not bad!).
• All the Greeks I've met so far are very friendly. I help that I try to speek a bit of Greek to them at first, but I've had conversations with waitresses, taxi drivers and shopkeepers (including staff in a heavy metal record shop, where they knew all the prominent Canadian metal bands).
• I'm surprised at how many tourists haven't tried to learn any Greek at all beyond 'thank you' (efharisto). Learning how to say basic things like 'hello' (yasas), 'do you speak English/French?' (milas aglika/galika?), 'how are you?' (ti kanis?), 'how much is this?' (poso kani?) and 'delicious' (nostimo) is not hard and will get you a lot farther.
• Toilets don't seem to accept toilet paper. You gotta put it in the bin. Make sure you don't drop anything in the bin!

Odeon of Herodes Atticus, at the Acropolis

Overlooking the Acropolis

Arch of Hadrian (also how they'd say it in Quebec)

Some ancient shit

Tourists

Great lunch!

 

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It's All Greek to Me

Saturday, November 23

After two years of financial planning and several weeks of intense preparation, on November 22 I left Toronto to embark on a four-month trip that will take me to Greece, Poland, India, Thailand, Singapore, and/or Myanmar and Malaysia.

Am I excited? Yes.

In Athens I'm staying at a small boutique hotel called the Athens Green Apartments. The hotel has seven studio apartments and is run by a very nice couple, Yiannis and Fotini. Upon my arrival, Yiannis showed me to my apartment, which for the first two nights is actually a larger one than the small studio I'd reserved. This larger room is very modern and comfortable, with a kitchenette and a balcony that overlooks a small courtyard with lemon trees.

After a deep two-hour nap (Jérôme, you'd have been proud), Yiannis provided me with an orientation of the neighbourhood and the surrounding area. I then ventured out to buy some basic groceries and have dinner at a groovy nearby resto called Colibri Pizza. I sat at a counter outside that overlooked the kitchen area. From there I watched the cooks do their thing as I enjoyed a delicious pizza with spinach and goat cheese. The waitress even offered me a complementary beer, which she said they give to 'nice patrons'. A good start to the trip, I'd say.

At around 10pm I got into bed quite tired, yet quite satisfied with my first night and looking forward to the following day.

Sunday, November 24

After a night of moderate insomnia due to the time change, I awoke at 9:00 and prepared myself some coffee and a breakfast of Greek yogurt (it's even called "Greek yogurt" here) and eggs. As it was raining pretty hard throughout the morning, I spent my time plotting out a few things to visit. At noon, the rain stopped and I set out to begin my discovery of Athens.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

The hotel is located right beside Panathinaiko Stadium, which is the site of the first modern Olympic games in 1896. This was my first stop. Not far down the street, I visited the Temple of Olympian Zeus (!), which was dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods, and constructed between the 6th century BC and the 2nd century AD (they took a break in between). This I really enjoyed, partly because there was almost nobody around, but mostly because it just looks impressive standing alone in the middle of a park.

After Zeus, I lunched on a delicious stuffed cabbage with cream sauce at a small taverna called To Kati Allo. This gave me the energy to tackle the recently built Acropolis Museum, which documents the history of the Acropolis and houses hundreds of its artifacts.

Given the lousy weather, I decided to leave the Acropolis itself to the following day. Instead, I explored the winding streets of the surrounding area known as Monatiraki. Being Sunday, most shops were closed and the streets quiet on account of the persistent drizzle, but I can see how they would be very charming and busy on a wam summer day.

Parliament of Greece

As dusk approached, I began to tire and made my way home, stopping briefly by the Parliament of Greece. Once home, I thought that I would go out again for dinner and a drink, but found myself too tired to face up to the challenge of finding a decent place, etc. So began my first night of loneliness as a solo traveller. I've experienced many of these nights before and they're to be expected after extended periods in one's own company. Still, as I write this, I'm a little bored, but also a little tired, so I'll retire shortly, knowing that tomorrow will be sunnier.

 

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