Sweltering in the Seat of Western Civilisation

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We had both been told (by guidebooks and fellow travellers alike) that Athens was not a city in which you would want to spend a massive amount of time - essentially the traveller's wisdom was that you should see the major sights and move on to the more picturesque island destinations that litter the Aegean Sea.  Our experience of Athens was quite the opposite - we loved it!  Great weather (finally - the intense summer heat we have been looking for!), incredible vibe (all-night cafes, bars, and attractions), beautiful people (super-tanned, finely featured, well-dressed -shorts, skirts and sandals make such a nice change - and quite friendly) and really (unexpectedly) clean.  True the Greek tourism facilities and authorities are a little disorganised - especially for a nation that has been welcoming travellers from the time of Plato and Socrates, but Athens itself is a gem.

We arrived on Sunday night after a short flight from Berlin's Schoenefeld Airport.  Athens is HOT!  Upon arrival at 11pm it was still over 30 degrees celsius! (While we were there they experienced a number of major fires in and around the city...we had NOTHING to do with them!!)  What a pleasure since we had been hoping for hot weather for some time (Germany was unseasonably chilly and wet).  The airport has a Metro link on site so we bought two tickets to Monastiraki and met up with Jordi (Welcome to our Blog!!) - an Aussie from Adelaide (seems we meet quite a few on this trip) travelling alone but meeting up with friends on Mykonos island.  She agreed to team up with us the next day to explore the sights of ancient Athens together.  We parted ways  and then got out at our stop.  It was a kaleidoscope of colour and sound - with a night market operating right outside the metro, hundreds of people milling around and eating at cafes, with the magical glow of the illuminated Acropolis looming large on its sacred hill over it all.  Athens at night is breathtaking.

After a very warm walk (backpacks make the perspiration pour!) to our hotel (see seperate review) we checked in, marvelled at the city view from our balcony (we have a direct view of the Acropolis) and headed back into town to look around (sleep seems so prosaic when the city you are in is buzzing).  We walked from Monastiraki to Plaka (the other busy night market and tourist hub) passing a number of impressive ancient ruins en route (we were to later discover that they were the ruins of the Ancient Agora).  On our way back we stopped at the Ice Dog Cafe, which is just around the corner from our hotel, and discovered the BEST ice cream in Greece (we had apple cinnamon and cherry - the first of many tastings!). 

One tip for travellers to Greece - bring LOADS of sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses and drink water until you can't anymore!  Despite waking early to meet up with Jordi and hit the Acropolis before the main crowds, the sun was fierce!  We approached the sacred hill via the ruined Theatre of Dionysus which, built between 340 and 330BC is still immense (in its heyday it could accommodate 17000 people.  The nearby Roman equivalent, the Theatre of Herodes Atticus, is in better condition, although on a smaller scale, and is today used for concerts and performances of the modern Greek state.  The higher we climbed, the warmer it got, and the more crowded.  You enter the main Acropolis area atop the hill by passing the Temple of Athena Nike (Nike means victory in Greek and Athena was worshipped as the Goddess of victory), which was under restoration so we could only view it from outside, and by then passing through the Propylaia (a massive marble gate).  The hundreds of millions of feet that have crossed these paths since they were built have buffed and polished the marble to an incredible shine (and made it really slippery to walk on).

If the Acropolis is the seat of Greek (and Western) civilisation, then the Parthenon is the jewel that turns it into a throne.  Completed as a temple to Athena in 438BC (or BCE to use the more PC acronym) it remains, even in ruins and under scaffolding, one of the most inspiring buildings ever erected by mankind.  Using every trick of design known to the builders of ancient greece (like ensuring that there are no straight lines - even the famous columns slant imperceptibly to emphasise its height) it is a sight to behold.  The superb surrounding views over the metropolis of Athens and the distant waters of the Aegean form a fitting setting. 

The wind was really blowing on top of the sacred hill - with dust flying everywhere and the crowds getting ever-more thick.  After passing the museum (closed) we saw the Erechtheum , the temple dedicated to both Poseidon and Athena, with its famous statues of the six Caryatids (maidens).  By this time the crowds had become uncomfortable and we realised that we should possibly make a move to leave since it was clear that the authorities were allowing unlimited numbers of visitors into a relatively  restricted space.  En route out we helped a lost French kid find his family, and also helped a girl who was fainting from the crowd and heat.  All in all our Acropolis experience (no audio guides, no medical station, only 1 water fountain, no queue control and no info/help desk) was quite representative of our Athens experience - great sights, nice people, but tourism infrastructure is in need of a major overhaul.

After the walk down we visited Ares Rock, the Ancient Agora (ruins of the large central area that was the 'heart' of ancient Athens) with its Church of the Holy Apostles, Stoa of Attalos (museum with artifacts from as far back as 4000 BCE) and the imposing Temple of Hephaestus.  After a quick lunch at a local restaurant in Plaka (with fans squirting a fine water mist over the tables - great relief from the heat) we found a travel agent and bought ferry tickets to our next stop - the island of Naxos.  We then walked the length and breadth of downtown trying to find a tourist office (hidden well away from the tourists!), picked up a city map, and visited the Temple of Olympian Zeus (massive ruined columns and Hadrian's Gate).  Another Ice Cream each (apple cinnamon, banana, cheese cake and Ferrero flavours) at Ice Dog saw us bidding farewell to Jordi.  Dinner (after a nap and shower) was a local Gyros Pita and beer followed by another visit to Ice Dog :)