05 Apr 2015

Athens

At least it’s warm…wait, no, it’s not

I left Trikala soaking wet but excited to finally see Athens. At the coach station I bid farewell to my Canadian travel companion and stepped aboard the coach for a well-deserved nap. The road to Athens was sneaking up over hills and mountain passes. The view from up there, I have to assume, must be stunning on a clear day. Alas, all I saw was grey: The same fog that had shrouded Meteora was now hanging over the mountain roads. Just as well, at least I didn’t miss anything once I went - you guessed it - to sleep.

Roughly halfway through the 5-hour drive I was woken by the bus driver turning up the radio. I’m sure the lyrics of Greek pop music are deep and meaningful and all that. And those music videos with very tan men and women looking all serious and longing while being surprisingly underdressed? Rich in symbolism and artistic depth!

Invigorated by the catchy tunes I was able to observe the vistas along the North Euboean Gulf:

I also observed an oncoming column of battle tanks, transported on heavy trucks. It’s a pity I didn’t manage to snap a good picture, because tanks are decidedly awesome!

Unfortunately, my enjoyment of Greek pop music was cut short: Since I had booked an AirBnB apartment in the northern part of Athens, the bus driver agreed to let me out close to that Area.

Good news: Short walk to the apartment. Bad news: Turns out I had screwed up my booking, as I learned from the following text exchange: “Alright, I’m in front of the apartment.” - “You arrive tomorrow, no?” - “Yes. Yes, I will see you tomorrow.”

This left me without a roof over my head, standing in a part of the city which a realtor might describe as “quirky, multicultural and lively”. I managed to find a cafe with wifi (and with a lot of coming and going in the backrooms). From there I booked a hostel. Apparently you can get passable hostels for 8 euro per night. Anything cheaper than that, you’ll have to provide your own cockroaches.

I spent the evening walking around Patisia. The evening was rainy, but marked by that special tranquility and peace that only lots of police in full-on riot gear bring about.

The next day I moved into the AirBnB apartment, all 18sqm of it. It was…economical.

Lesson 003: My impression is that AirBnB in Greece just isn’t worth it. The main argument for AirBnB would be the privacy of having a flat to yourself. That’s not what you get under 20 euros per night though. Instead, you’ll have a sofa in somebody’s living room. So if you’re going to share the space with others anyway, hostels provide a much cheaper and more flexible option. My favorites so far have been Little Big House (Thessaloniki) and Quinta (Athens), both of which charge around 15 euro per night. Small, friendly hostels. On a totally unrelated note, both of them offer free, unlimited coffee. Free. Unlimited. Coffee.

I spent the next 3-4 days exploring the area and taking in the many facets of this colourful district. As far as I’m concerned it should be burned, and the scorched earth then salted generously, but that’s just me.

Inspired to seek out other parts of the city, I also ventured into the city centre (a 15-minute walk) and had a look at Syntagma square and some of the more touristy areas. Mostly though I stayed indoors to escape the frequent rain. I got a lot of reading done, but there was no denying that I felt a bit cheated. Come on, Greece, get your act together!

Finally lobstered

Once my booking ran out, I checked out and hiked over to the aforementioned Hotel Quinta. ‘Twas a crisp, sunny morning and I found the place in a district much closer to the city centre. Located just 5 minutes walking distance from the foot of Lycavitus Hill, the entire neighbourhood is full of small, student-y cafes and bars.

After the somewhat dreary AirBnB the hostel was an amazing surprise: I wandered around a lovingly graffiti-d block twice before I found the entrance in an alley. After ringing the doorbell I was led into a beautiful house with sky-high ceilings and decorations that were so ornate that they almost felt a bit ironic. Just to give you an impression:

The lobby

The upstairs hallway

And the hostel dog (a million dog-years old and clinging to her furry life)

I stayed here for a week. During the first day, I went for a long walk in the city centre with another German guy I met at the hostel. Wandering around the ruins of the Ancient Agora and the Roman Agora we enjoyed the view of the Acropolis hill and the remnamts of the Parthenon up top. This decidedly touristy area is full of enterprising young businessmen (or annoying, shit-peddling cutthroats, depending on just how badly you want that guaranteed-to-be-original Rolex for 20 quid).

Wooden dicks, because reasons.

Library near the university

The next day, I got up early and climbed up Lycavitus Hill. The hill is the highest point in the city and located smack in the middle of it. Having read about the view from up there, I grabbed a cup of coffee and started climbing the steep, steep roads up to the foot of the hill. From there, a circling path winds around the hill and through a light forest. I took a short break on one of the lower peaks to enjoy the view:

After catching my breath, I continued upwards to the highest point of the hill, which is - of course - adorned by a cafe. I passed through the cafe, empty at that hour, and reached the peak which is marked by a chapel and a huge Greek flag. The view from up there was stunning:

The next day I met up with my Canadian co-traveller and we went to see Acropolis Hill and the amazing ruins of the Parthenon. Standing there is every bit as impressive as the pictures would lead you to believe. That’s why I’ll refer you to Google Image Search once again, they have better quality shots. But here, have a picture of my sunburn instead:

Okay, maybe one or two pictures of the Acropolis, if you insist:

Finally, I was properly burned. What would a trip be without 2nd-degree burns? Fun fact: Sunscreen is a shameless racket in this country. 150ml of SPF 50 set me back 14 euros in Athens. On the islands, I would later see bottles of 200ml for 24 euros. So if any of you are interested in import/export, you should consider shipping sunscreen here. The margins would be worth it, I’m sure.

I spent the next 2-3 days exploring the city centre and catching up on my reading. This included the Acropolis Museum and the National Archeological Museum. Both museums are definitely worth seeing. The Acropolis Museum holds most of the findings from Acropolis Hill (the parts not stolen by Brits at least…) so many of the objects on display are statues and fresks from the Parthenon or the Erechtheion:

In one section displayed a little-known fact about most antique ruins and statues: They were brightly painted! While we like to imagine ancient Greeks striding through cities of white marble, the truth of the matter is that most buildings - especially religious ones - were decorated with paint, mostly made with mineral pigments which did not survive until today. The same goes for statues, which had painted clothes and skin. The Acropolis Museum had several examples of what these statues may have looked like and the effect is quite different from the serene-looking white images we tend to have.

“The Mycenean acropolis is conspicuous for its mighty Cyclopean walls that led Homer to name it “well-walled” in the Illiad.” That doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement, it sounds like old Homer’s version of “the walls were alright.”

The National Archeological Museum was vast, but at the time of our visit, almost completely deserted. It held exhibitions of Cycladic art and jewellery (including Agamemnon’s Death Mask, though archeologists seem to think that it might not have been his bling after all), Egyptian…stuff (I confess I skipped that one, so I don’t know what exactly was on display there), the Antikythera mechanism and truckloads of statues from various epochs of Greek art. Some of my favourites included:

The effect of Emperor Octavian's empty eyes staring down on you is quite startling...

Yes, I laughed :D

Going out

One reason I like to stay in hostels (or to avoid them like the plaque, depending on the mood I’m in) is the social aspect: You meet people so goddamn easily. The words “Hi” and “Any plans for tonight?” are usually enough to suddenly be surrounded by people. Of course I had read about this before, but I was sceptical of all those tall tales. Nope, turns out, it’s all true. Not that surprising, really, when you think about it: Lots of young people, no local friends, all looking for company.

So when a friendly guy from Spain told me he was meeting a friend who lived in Athens and asked me to join him, my answer was a resounding “No, thank you.”

In hindsight I’m quite glad I changed my mind to “Eh, why not?” quite quickly, because I eventually found myself bar-hopping with a crowd of 10-12 travellers and locals, wandering all over the centre of Athens. The evening was a lot of fun, especially talking to the local guys and girls. Overall, three aspects of the experience stood out:

Firstly, drinks in Athens are not cheap. 5-6 euros for a beer seems fairly normal. Maybe that’s the reason you don’t see many truly drunk people. It’s just too expensive to get drunk. (Some might argue that being half-drunk is a waste of money, of course…) The entire experience is very relaxed. No aggression, no tension, just people having a few drinks with friends. Beautiful!

Secondly, Athenians dress up properly before going out. Properly-properly. We didn’t, though. I dare say we stood out a bit.

Thirdly, a group that large will have an amazing mix of cultures and languages (“I’m from Morocco, sorry, I don’t speak English…”) but some things are the same everywhere (“…but I’ve worked for Daimler in Stuttgart for 4 years, so we can speak German if you like!”). Back at the hostel we counted that between us 6 alone, we spoke 15 different languages. Globalisation may have its ugly sides, but meeting people from all over the world is definitely not one of them.

Leaving Athens

Over the weekend, I met up with my friend Holger, who had come to Greece for a few days. After some relaxed sightseeing, we prepared to take a ferry to the islands and see Milos and Santorini!

Until next time,
Arne