Athens
October 15
Every journey comes to an end. How many unforgettable, vivid impressions we gained from visiting various corners of Greece! The final chord of our trip was a visit to Athens.
The ferry arrived from Crete early in the morning. From the port in Piraeus, we took the metro to Athens and, after dropping our suitcases at the hotel, set out to explore the city. We had purchased combination tickets, which allowed us to visit not only the Acropolis but also other interesting sites: the Roman Forum, Hadrian's Library, and the Agora Archaeological Site.
Buying these tickets saves a lot of time, money, and stress. Our attempt to get to the Acropolis early was unsuccessful, as we had a fixed time slot. Oh well, we'll go somewhere else.
We take pictures of Athens in the morning light from a hill near the Acropolis, then head down to visit the ruins of the library and the Roman Forum, and have breakfast at a cafe.
Then came a long, hot day filled with people, sunshine and a variety of historical information.
Yes, yes, we've visited everything we planned. After all, this is our last day in Greece, after all, the tickets have already been bought, after all, we need to load ourselves up with antiquity to the brim, otherwise, when else will such an opportunity present itself?.
And we arrive at the Acropolis at the appointed time, where by ten in the morning such huge crowds of tourists have gathered that you simply wonder where so many admirers of Ancient Hellas come from.
The Parthenon is impressive! Even more astonishing is the fact that it was rebuilt (and continues to be rebuilt) from "ruins of ruins." By this, I mean that this temple has been vandalized repeatedly. It has been destroyed and rebuilt again.
At various times, it was transformed into a Christian church, a harem, a mosque, and even a gunpowder store. This was its final end. During the Ottoman-Venetian wars, the Parthenon was bombarded with cannonballs, and one cannonball struck the gunpowder store.
Soon after Greece gained independence, restoration work began on the temple, but an earthquake struck and everything was destroyed again. Serious restoration work only began in the late 19th century.
Then on to the Agora. It's quite a large archaeological complex. There's no point in describing everything you can see there.
In those ancient times, Northern Europe still lived in dugouts or, at best, in huts, but the Greeks already surrounded themselves with beauty on such a scale that one is amazed at how high the level of ancient Greek civilization was.
We're tired after a long walk around Athens' iconic sites, but we also have plans to visit the Kerameikos neighborhood. It would also be nice to eat and relax.
On our way to the next archaeological site, we came across a nice restaurant with an ivy-covered veranda. This time, we didn't complain about the waiters' sluggishness. We just wanted to sit and relax in the shade. After our lamb ribs arrived, cats began to flock to our table. They had been scurrying among the diners before, but now they were clearly hinting that we should share.
The Kerameikos quarter is an interesting place.
Initially, as you can imagine, potters lived there, and then the area was designated as a city cemetery. It was here, for example, that Pericles was buried. You can still see the dilapidated gates and the paved road where ritual processions took place. A large number of crypts, urns, and tombstones, as well as the Street of Tombs, make up the incomplete Athenian necropolis.
Guidebooks don't always mention that potters lived alongside the porni. Those accessible ones. Walking through the ancient ruins and gazing at the bas-reliefs, Denis kept exclaiming, "Where are the porni here?!"“
But only pious young women from wealthy families looked at us. We finally stopped by the small museum at the archaeological reserve and went back to the hotel to rest.
But we can't relax for long; we need to see Aristotle's School. Half an hour later, we're already walking along a bustling street toward our destination. Unfortunately, the school turns out to be closed, despite the information on the website that had given us hope. However, on the way back to the hotel, we find ourselves in a city garden. Perhaps only in Greece can you find such a garden: with ancient marble columns, the ruins of a Roman villa and a mosaic-lined pool adjacent to it, fountains and sculptures, most likely genuine, ancient ones. I would have liked to wander there longer, but it's getting dark, and I need to return to the hotel.
When it got dark, we climbed up to the hotel roof. From there, we had a wonderful view of the city lit up at night. In the center, beautifully illuminated, stood the Acropolis. In the yellow light of the spotlights, it looked like a giant sponge cake. And so we got a slice. Well, let's consider the plan accomplished.
The trip to Greece was a success.
The next morning we quickly pack our things, have our last Greek-style breakfast in the hotel cafeteria, and take the metro to the airport.
There's a special luggage rack in the metro. We slid our suitcases under it. The train suddenly picked up speed. The woman in blue standing next to us suddenly said:
- Your suitcases are on their way.
- Oops!
- They'll be back soon.
As the train picked up speed, our wheeled suitcases rolled away, but came back.
We caught them and recorded them. Thank God, no one was hurt. I tell that woman:
- It seems you have more experience in moving with luggage.
She smiles and nods.
Later, we met the same woman as we were boarding a plane to Copenhagen. We recognized each other and, like good acquaintances, smiled and nodded again.
Go to Greek Trip Homepage.
