Posts Tagged ‘athens’

Jul
13
2010

Athens – National Archaeological Museum

Mask of Agammemnon


Today was the first day we’d seen any effect from the recent economic unrest here in Greece. With all of the striking that’s been going on, we’ve been lucky, but today we got to the National Archaeological Museum about 10:30, only to find out they were closed until 12 because the guards were on strike. We wandered the streets to kill time and eventually went back around 11:30 and joined the masses sitting on the front steps. While waiting in line, a man asked us if we’d been to any of the other museums and asked to look at our Rick Steves Athens book to look up a few others. Turns out he is a writer (of history) from Moscow Russia. We talked for a little bit and he explained that he was doing research for a book. He was very nice and introduced us to his wife as well. Went our separate ways in the museum but ran into them as we were getting close to leaving.

This museum turned out to be overwhelming and large, but at the same time fascinating . We got to see some of the oldest artifacts found, dating as far back as 5000 B.C. The museum is laid out in a timeline so you can watch as sculptures, vases, and things evolved over time. A couple highlights were the supposed mask of Agamemon and some really old bronze statues of Zeus (or Poseidon). They even had some artifacts and frescos from the ancient city of Akrotiri on Santorini which we are going to tomorrow. We got tired and hungry after about 2 hours (we hadn’t eaten and it was close to 2pm now), so we breezed through the last part and glanced at things as we made our way out.

Our time in Athens is about at an end, but I’m really looking forward to our time on Santorini.

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Jul
11
2010

Athens – Monastiraki Market, Ancient Agora and Lykavittos Hill

The Flea Market


This morning we got up to visit the largest flea market in Athens. Sundays were supposed to be the best day to visit, which is why we went today. Down then narrow street there were stores on either side. It seemed like most of them were selling shoes until we got down towards the end of the street. There you got into more of a “flea market” feeling with people just selling stuff off tables in a large open space. There were guys selling pirated DVD’s for $3 euros. Apparently Amanda didn’t want to see the new Twilight movie bad enough to pay $3 euro for a greek subtitled copy :)

We saw a large group of illegal bag (think fake luis vitton and gucci) sellers running from the cops in the middle of the market. We’ve seen these setups in every city we’ve been to: a blanket on the street with bags or sunglasses set out on them for sale. As soon as the cops come, the blanket is very quickly picked up with all the goods already inside it. Then the folks RUN. It was quite comical actually.

After the market we were right next to the ancient roman forum/agora area. This is where a Roman forum had been built, similar to the one in Rome, but on a smaller scale. After a while ruins start to all look the same, but it was fun to see nonetheless. Plus it had another great view of the Acropolis.

After resting for a bit, we set out for Lykavittos (spelling) Hill, which is the highest point in Athens. It’s even higher than the Acropolis. The plan was to take the funicular, which is sort of like a tram that was tunneled thorough the hill and takes people to the top. After climbing a lot of steps to get to the funicular, we found out it was out of order. Joy. We were not to be denied the view from the top, so we hiked. We climbed a lot of steps again. I think by the end of this trip, we’re going to have amassed 10,000 steps. It sure feels that way :)

The view from the top was well worth the effort. Looking down on the Acropolis with the sea in the background was fantastic. There are a couple cafes at the top that hang out over the cliff which would have been fun to eat at as the sun was setting. Also a small church greets people at the top of the hike. It’s painted all white and can be seen from the city below. We’d seen the shining white from the ground, and now got to stand right in front of it. Headed back to the Plaka for dinner.

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Jul
10
2010

Athens – Acropolis

Parthenon


Got up early today and hiked up to the Acropolis to visit the ancient sites. The view from up there over the city is incredible. We didn’t realize how large and spread out the city actually is, especially when most of the main “sites” are all within walking distance of our hotel. But the city extends as far as you can see. From the top of the Acropolis you can see all the way to the Port of Piraeus and further out into the Aegean Sea.

Climbing the marble steps up into the site, it was already starting to get warm at 8:30 am. The sun reflecting off all the white was quite overwhelming. So glad I brought sunglasses. Otherwise I think I’d end up with something similar to “snowblindness”. The Parthenon was quite spectacular, minus all of the scaffolding sitting in the middle of it. Of course you can’t actually get within 5 or 10 feet of the main structure, but looking at it you can’t help but be impressed. We’d seen a lot of the marble friezes that had been taken off when we visited the British Museum. For those who don’t know, Lord Elgin( Elgin Marbles ) took a lot of the friezes and sculptures off of the Acropolis site on behalf of Britain during their rule. There’s a lot of controversy even today over whether they should be returned to Greece. Of course if Britain did that, they’d have to return a lot of other things they’d taken during their reign over many countries :)

After taking in all of the sites on the Acropolis, we climbed Mars Hill, also known as Aeropagus. Paul delivered a sermon (Acts 17) to the Greeks from this hill, and there’s actually a plaque with his speech on the hill. It was cool yet again to be standing in some of the same places as Paul. From the hill, you can see down over what used to be the Roman Forum and Ancient Agora which we plan to visit in a day or two. The stairs up the hill are VERY slick and I can imagine it would be hard to climb if they were even remotely wet.

We explored the “Plaka” area which is full of shops and cafes. Tried “souvlaki” and a gyro, which are both basically meat wrapped in a pita with tomatoes, onions and some sauce. It was actually quite tasty. After a bit of a rest at the hotel we visited the Temple of the Olympian Zeus. It had a similar structure to the Parthenon with massive marble pillars rising up, though most of it is no longer present.

Also visited the original Olympic stadium in Athens. It wasn’t used much in the recent games, but was quite impressive.

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Jul
09
2010

Rome to Athens, Greece

Greek Flags


Another travel day today. In the beginning of the trip these were nice because it gave us a chance to relax since we were constantly going. Since we got to Rome we’ve had a lot more time to relax so having the travel day isn’t as big of a deal. Somehow we scored emergency exit rows on the plane, so we had tons of legroom! It was quite nice. Landed at the Athens airport and was surprised there was no passport control. We went through the lane that said “arriving from other EU countries”, which we were, and there was no passport control. No stamp to add to the collection, and hoping we didn’t break some law. I guess we’ll find out when we try to leave. Pretty straight forward in getting on the airport metro towards downtown Athens. We lucked out because there was a 24hour strike yesterday which shut down all public transportation in Athens and caused a 4 hour walkout with the airlines. Had we travelled yesterday, our flight may have been cancelled and we wouldn’t have been able to use the Metro. Instead we’d have had to use a taxi which would have been FAR more expensive. As it is the metro is very nice and very clean. It’s relatively new, having been started when they were looking to host the 2004 olympics. 6 euros each and we made it into town. Our stop turned out to be about 80 meters from the hotel which was fantastic. The hotel itself is really nice. We got an online special for $87 euro a night and the inside is very nice. Free DSL, a gym, sauna and a rooftop restaurant with view of the Acropolis. For about the same price as every other place we’ve stayed, it’s a lot nicer.

After settling in, we went out for a walk, as we’ve been doing the day we arrive in each city. It’s good to get a map and start walking to get oriented with where your hotel is in relation to the places you plan to visit.

Stopped by the tourist information office and got a free, very nicely detailed map. Much nicer than the gimmicky “tourist” map that our hotel had. That one was full of advertisements for a hop on, hop off tour bus.

Got our first glimpses of the Acropolis which were awe inspiring. I think mostly it’s just surreal to be staring at some of these places that you’ve read about and heard so much about. Once you’re finally there and looking at them, it makes you stop and say “wow”. Went to a couple souvenir shops along the pedestrian walkway leading up to the Acropolis. On the train ride in, Amanda studied a few basic phrases and I tried hard to remember the word for “thank you” (efharisto). After purchasing a few postcards, I said it to the woman behind the counter. She got a huge grin, which made my night. One of the things I’ve noticed as we’ve travelled (and also read) is that the people of each country appreciate you at least trying to speak their language. Even if it’s something like a simple thank you. The look on her face was priceless as she knew we were obviously not from around here, and were making a bit of an effort. It made my day.

One thing we noticed is the relative calmness of the city. By this I mean from tourists. The streets are filled with cars and people driving, but the area around the Acropolis was pretty dead for 4 or 5pm. If this were the Colosseum or some other major site in Rome, it would be surrounded with people and very busy. Leading up to our visit, I’d been reading about the effect the strikes have had on the economy and the huge number of people who were canceling their trips. 1/5th of the Greek economy relies on tourism, and it certainly seems pretty dead, at least today. It was a nice change of pace compared to Rome where there were tourists EVERYWHERE.

Also, it’s still very hot here, though the humidity doesn’t seem high at all. It’s a dry heat compared to Italy :) Still a bit much for me, but at least a little more bearable and comfortable when your skin can actually breathe.

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