Day 6: Athens

In front of the Parthenon
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Our ship arrived in the port city of Piraeus, Greece a few minutes before 7:00 a.m. We had to adjust our clocks one hour the night before, so we are now 10 hours ahead. The weather is unseasonably mild today, it is clear, and the high temperature is expected to remain under 80 degrees. We are docked in Piraeus, however, our main attention is focused on Athens, just minutes away by car or bus.

Athens, named after the Greek goddess, Athena, was settled sometime between the 7th and 8^th centuries BC. It is rich in history, influential in early philosophy, science, and literature, and is considered the center of democracy. Its historical sites span four millennia of civilization. Athens is the capital of Greece.

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Since our time in Athens is limited, we decided on a quick tour of the city by bus and arranged through our cruise ship. The first stop on the tour is appropriately the Olympic Stadium, site of the 1896 modern games. Excluding the field and track, the stadium is made completely of marble. Imagine how much that must cost. The tour also includes a drive-by of the Parliament building, and Presidential Palace, residence of the president of Greece.

Our next stop, the highlight of our tour, is the Akropolis. Dating back to the 5^th century, it is Athens’s most famous archaeological site. After climbing about 150 steps, we pass through the Propylaea to get our first glimpse of the white marbled Parthenon. This truly amazing massive structure has survived numerous wars and conflicts spanning over last 2,500 years. As you can imagine, it has seen a lot destruction and deterioration. A full-time staff of archaeologists has been restoring the Parthenon and the other ancient historical sites of the Akropolis for over 20 years and scaffolding is ever present on most of these historical structures. Our tour guide gives us about an hour to walk around the area before we have to meet her again at the bottom of the hill.

The Parthenon
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Although the tour is supposed to end back at the ship, we are offered to be dropped off in the downtown area and my mom and I accept. Our main reason for doing so is to go the Lykavittos, the highest hill in the area. The Lykavittos, offers a panoramic view of Athens from the mountains to the sea. We flag down a taxi who takes most of the way up; however we are required to climb the remaining 100 feet. At the top, we are amazed of the mass of buildings. There doesn’t appear to be any remaining open space for Athens’s 4 million residents.

The hill on the far right is the Lykavittos which we later climbed to get a better view.
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On the way down, we come across an outdoor sports bar. The Sunday crowd is out in mass. It’s the European basketball finals between Greece and Spain. Sadly, for the Greeks, they have an “off” game and are beaten badly.

Because we are visiting Athens on a Sunday, we’ve been told that the traffic is much lighter than what it would be on a work day. Taxis are very inexpensive here. Our 20-minute trip back to the ship is under $10—a real bargain.

Next stop: Santorini