Greece Is Great

Date: August 4, 2008
Location: Piraeus and Athens
Lat: 37° 56.31N Long: 023° 38.09E

Well, we’re finally at Athens. It’s kind of a rush to the head to think we’ve seen Rome, the Pyramids, and the Acropolis all in a two week period. This is truly an amazing experience.

After our ship cleared customs, some friends and I decided to wander around Piraeus. The town is the port of Athens and is thusly very close to the big time. Piraeus has a bit of a small town charm to it. There are a lot of friendly locals here who are willing to help you out if you have questions. Unfortunately, Piraeus is kind of ratty. There were no decaying dogs in the street, but everything was really dusty. However, the people all seem really relaxed.

We spoke with a local after he took a photo for all of us. We asked him about which were the best islands to visit and he gave us some good advice. This was all without asking for any baksheesh, changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, right.

When we had finished up with Piraeus we went back to the ship and grabbed some lunch. After that, a group of friends assembled and we headed to the Acropolis. We were going to take the metro into the city but since we didn’t know where it was, we thought it would be more prudent to take a taxi. This was an experience. We had four guys, including me, two of which were 6’3’’+ all crammed into the backseat where the small girl got the front all to herself. They say chivalry is dead, hah.

It was neat talking to the driver. We drove by a market and he told us we should stay away. Apparently, gypsies are not well liked by the other Greeks. He warned us that they were all pickpockets. It seemed interesting to see racial tensions that are so apart from our own.

We made it to the Acropolis. The annoying thing is that student discounts only work for students of the EU so we get kind of screwed over. We paid our Euro and started the climb up. It’s interesting but the stones on the paths were extremely slick. This led to some of us deciding to slide down the stones like they were ice. After a brisk walk to the top, we made it.

The Acropolis is really incredible. The Parthenon is a sight to behold. The funny thing is that apparently the building was pretty well preserved until the Turks stored some dynamite in the building. Apparently something touched it off and the whole thing exploded, destroying the building to its current state.

There were so many fascinating buildings on the Acropolis. However, the coolest thing was the street views. The Acropolis naturally dominates the entire city. This let us take some excellent photos. I have some really neat ones of my legs dangling off the wall of the Acropolis. It was kind of gusty so it was a bit scary but I didn’t fall, thankfully.

Another neat thing is that they have this huge Greek flag there. One thing is that the Greeks are very proud of their heritage. There are Greek flags everywhere. On a metro ride back to Piraeus today, I started talking to a local man. He was a bit older and spoke quietly. However, he said several times how everything is rooted in Greece, medicine, astronomy, democracy, and on and on. Clearly the people here are proud.

After we had finished on the Acropolis we walked down and descended into the Monastiraki. This is basically the flea market of Athens. There were a ton of neat shops. A lot of it was the ubiquitous tourist crap. However, it was neat getting a view of the city from the streets. We had our first gyros here and they were delicious. The tzatziki sauce was really good, but the topper was certainly the fact that they put French fries into the pita. Taste treats for sure.

Another thing that’s interesting about Europe is that there are no open container laws. One can just walk all over with a beer in hand and no one will give you a second glance. I guess its part of an idea that people are more responsible with alcohol. I don’t know, but it will be different when I’m back in the states and can’t just walk around shopping with a miller lite.

After we were done shopping we went back to the ship. After hanging out for a bit and grabbing dinner, we decided to go back to the Monastiraki. There were a lot of neat bars and things. We had a very large group at first, probably around 30. To be fair, it was more a group of people heading to the metro that all sort of pooled together. The metro is a 20 minute walk so company is always nice.

The metro is really the best way around Athens. If one pays €.80 you can ride for an hour and a half. The fare isn’t based on the distance one travels so one can move easy. We got to the street and started having fun. Someone had a bottle of ouzo so we passed that around. I wasn’t a big fan of it; it tasted like licorice which I don’t like, so the cards were stacked against the drink.

It’s kind of funny. We all sort of split up so I was with a group of around ten. I don’t think I actually went into a single bar. Mostly I just walked around and ordered beer from the street vendors. It cost around €1.40 for a tall Amstel or Heineken. When we got tired to walking around I hitched a cab back with a girl and went to bed.

After waking up the next day, some friends and I decided to hit the Athenian streets. The whole ship isn’t feeling too hot after the Egyptian food. I’m not hit too badly with the runs but some of my friends are, still we all have some symptoms. This made us not feel like walking around too much. We went back to the shops and I got two “football” jerseys, one of the Greek National Team and one for Panathinaikos FC. Panathinaikos FC had a really cool jersey, their color is green and their logo is a shamrock with some Greek writing, it is pretty sweet. Even better is that I got both for a total of €30.

When we got back to the ship we all sort of relaxed. Some friends and I gathered together and got some Greek food. I got a chicken and bacon gyro. It was very good, of course. We also got some baklava at a bakery. This desert was extremely tasty.

After this was over I headed back to the ship. The terminal we are docked at has free internet so I enjoyed that for an hour or two before boarding the ship. After that I played go fish with some people. I didn’t want to go out because I’m going to tour the islands tomorrow and I need to make the bus at 7:35 so it’s another early wake up call. Apparently the Greek islands are beautiful and I can’t wait to get my own perspective on the issue.