Our Trip to Greece Summer 2000

Okay, this time around I will just try a running commentary here taken from our trip notebook! Maggie and I had decided in Spring that we wanted to go and visit Athens in Greece. Maggie has a friend form the University up in the UK(Dominiqui) that lives in Athens and she had said we should come visit. Maggie had never been to Athens so we said hey, lets just go. We selected 23-27 August as the time to go and we decided against flying since it was not that far (with the Ferry of course) and our car would offer mobility. Okay, those of you that know us know well know that no matter where we go in summer, it is usually the hottest in a long time (on record, in 50 years, etc.) Well, I went to work the 23rd (Wed.), met Maggie around noon and we were off... After deciding we would skip getting ice for our cooler since it was hot but not THAT hot... Ooops is all I can say. 35 kilometers out of Naples Maggie is looking at me. We are trying to to laugh since the side of the highway is on fire for about 5 kilometers. The temperature outside is about 110 degrees, inside is about 115... we don't have air conditioning :-) It is VERY HOT. This heatwave continued until we returned... If you recall all the fires in August 2000 in Southern Italy and Greece, the ones that were sweeping through entire villages... this is the time we went.

So here are Maggie and I driving down to the port in Brindisi which is about a 4 hour drive. We have been forewarned about traffic around the cities and planned the drive in the early afternoon (read HOT) to get there in time for the boat and allow for traffic... For future reference, if you travel to Brindisi in the "early afternoon" the only car on the burning highway will be yours. When you get to Brindisi you will realize that everyone is drinking beer in cafes and not driving...We must have set the world record for driving to Brindisi but I digress. We passed several structures along the way that are like round huts. They are found in Southeastern Italy and I forgot the name but Maggie snapped a picture of one here. Arriving in Brindisi we went to the port and got our boarding cards for the 11:30 PM ferry. I looked like a wet cat and literally made a wet spot from sweat when I got out of the car. At this point Maggie was mentioning something about 1 more vacation and divorce... We went into town to wait and found a really nice cafe that had nice service and refreshments. We passed time in town and then went and boarded the ferry. After 3 false starts our boat finally docked, we loaded and went to find our cabin (2 minutes) 15 minutes later we got the keys, went in (Air Conditioning) and took cold showers. We were both thankful we had gotten a cabin so keep that in mind when making this trip. After showers we went to look around the boat and ended up by the casino in the discothèque sipping on Gin and Tonics and enjoying life. We turned in and woke up in time for breakfast while passing alongside Islands and the coast. We docked about 9 am in Patras. Patras is 2 hours West of Athens on the Northern coast of the Peloponnese. At 1000 or so were unloaded the car and headed off. For those of you that have traveled this route in the past, note that

Peloponnese For those of you history and Geography buffs you will recall that several places of significance to civilization are located here; Ancient Olympia(100 AD), Mycenae(1700-1100 BC), Corinth(100 AD) and Mystras(1249 AD) just to name a few. For Tom Heinrich Schliemann the self-educated German Archaeologist who found Troy, found a gold death mask here in 1874 He falsely attributed it to Agamemnon and it has since been dated to 300 years older than any Trojan warrior.

The new highway is finished in preparation for the Olympics. Some comments in the frame on the right from this area since we did not have a chance to look around. Maggie and I will be returning in the future just to travel around and see the sights on Peloponnese. The terrain here is rather dry and scrub like but there are wooded areas scattered throughout and there are some beautiful pine-like trees that are tall and thin. We are still trying to figure out what they are called.

So, where was I? Oh yeah, 2 hour drive to Athens was no problem at all. It <was> starting to get hot though. The excitement grew as we arrived in Athens and spent TWO AND A HALF HOURS trying to find the hotel downtown. In the process (It is easy to laugh now but with + 100 degree weather in a sweltering city with bumper to bumper traffic and no A/C it was not fun) we met the ONLY PERSON IN ATHENS THAT DOES NOT SPEAK ENGLISH when we stopped to ask for directions. The 70+ year old man did manage to explain to us that a) We were completely off the map we were showing him and b) Our best bet was to get to a tourist attraction and ask a cab driver. We followed the old mans directions and after about 30-35 minutes we were at the hotel (Holiday Inn). I must say though that the people of Athens should be proud. As a foreigner we were treated well and the folks were very patient with us and our lack of Greek language skills. All but one (the man) even spoke English and were willing to use it! The major problem we had was our map was written in Latin and once you leave the tourist areas the street signs are in Greek... An example, "Athens" is spelled "A0HNA" except the 0 has a line straight through it. I think one can understand our confusion. Add to that the fact that map makers come up with three ways to translate every street name and one is best off memorizing the entire inner city.

So, we arrive right downtown at the Holiday Inn and park in the garage. Entering the lobby we notice everyone staring at us as if, "You don't really expect to get a room in this place do you." I realize suddenly that I am in shorts, flip-flops and a tank-top stained with ketchup courtesy of McDonalds. No longer resembling a wet cats but wet rats, we pulled out the platinum card and showed ID, letting them know we had reserved a room. Thank God for online reservations, we had not been able to get through on the telephone before departing!!!! After convincing them we would not skip out without paying, we checked in and went to take another shower. Did I mention we were soaked again from driving around Athens in the heat? After quick cold showers we went up to the rooftop bar, ordered drinks and I crawled into the <rooftop> swimming pool overlooking Athens. Nice is the only way to describe it. We rang Maggies friend to let her know we arrived safely and found out she was a little ill. She was better the next day but it was for the best since we were not ready to trek around the city just yet. One minor inconvenience of note is that the American banks were not available at all ATMs (even ones that advertised being compatible) We found one later but the first two days this was annoying. Dinner that evening in the hotel was okay but nothing to write a web page about!

 

 

25 AUG. 00

We woke up totally refreshed and ready to start the day. We went to breakfast and waited on Dominiqui to arrive. At 07:30 it was already over 35 (90) so we ate light and dressed the same. As we are walking downtown we let Dominiqui know what sites we were interested in so we could combine that with what she wanted to show us and come up with a plan. Although Dominiqui lives in Athens she had not been to several places on our list so we really had a good time. Our first destination was the Acropolis. On the way Dominiqui pointed out sites of interest. We came from the South side of the Acropolis (not where the tourist go!) and went into the Theatre of Dionysos(342-326 BC). (left: Dominiqui right: Maggie) The theatre is the birthplace of Greek Tragedy. The entire theater is built from stone and was the first of its kind. Stone "Thrones" are still visible today as is the stone figure of Seilenos the comic satyr. (In middle on knees, looks like he is holding up the stone) The Thrones in the front row as well as the mosaics were added in the 1st century AD by Nero. After looking around the Theatre of Dionysos we headed west about 250 meters to the Odeion of Herodes or Theater of Herodes as is is known in guide books. This 5000 seat theatre is still used today for classical concerts and plays as you can see and was originally covered with a cedar roof. The theatre was built by Herodes Atticus, the Roman Consul between 161 and 174 AD to honor his dead wife. After this theater, we turned the corner and went to get tickets for the Acropolis.

----Short break at the ticket counter for water (not allowed to take cans up!). Take small water bottles with you when traveling around. There are plenty of fountains you can fill them up with cold water at and save money at the same time.

On to the Acropolis! On the way up, it can get a little crowded but it is worth the short climb. Okay, I will go back into history buff mode again :-) The Acropolis was the center of Athenian public life <period> This is where the whole idea of democracy came from. The "Acropolis" is the area encompassing the temple of Athena Nike(Not the tennis shoe founder but the Goddess of Victory. This is the spot where King Aegeus threw himself into the sea from after he thought his son Theseus had been killed by the Minotaur in Crete ...in Legend), the Temple of Erechtheion (where Poseidon left marks on a rock w/his Trident), Parthenon, Beule Gate (named after a French Archaelogist who found it in 1852) and many other buildings in the "Temple Complex". The most well known of the buildings is of course the Parthenon. Built as a Temple to Athena Parthenos (Maiden) it took 15 years to build. It is one of the most famous buildings in the entire world and was dedicated in 438 B.C. Maggie and Dominiqui (both architects) were pouring over this site!!!! I learned alot on this day. The whole building was built to "look" symmetrical which means the perspective is screwed up a bit. Being so large this is a difficult trick. The whole thing is built with little illusions or tricks... The columns lean inward just a little and have bulges in the middle so they look straight. The base or bottom of the Temple is higher in the middle than the edges as well! The steps even curve up in the middle. The Parthenon was used over the years for many purpose and in 1687 it was used to store ammunition for the cannons that protected the city. The Venetian General Francesco Morosini laid siege to the city and in the end the Parthenon and the Venetian cannon fire set off a massive explosion that just about totally destroyed the Parthenon. On the porch of the Temple of Erechtheion are the famous statues of the Maidens Caryatids. The photo of ours shows the casts, four originals are in the museum.

The view from atop the Acropolis over the Agora is fantastic. Many sites are visible from up top including the massive Temple of Zeus. The Temple to Olympian Zeus is the biggest in Greece and is bigger than the Parthenon. Hadrian dedicated the Temple in 132 A.D (It took 650 years to finish!!!! THE Olympic(Panatheniac) Stadium and of course Ancient Agora. Here is the Agora area again. The Agora is important because it encompassed the Acropolis, the Law Courts, the Council and was where people practiced democracy in "open meetings." The prison here is where Socrates was indicted and executed (oops). The Stoa of Attalos is also located here. John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated HUGE amounts of money in 1953-56 to have it restored. Built by King Attalos of Pergamon around 156-138 B.C. it was burned down in 267 A.D. Today it is a museum. Inside exhibits include a text of the Law "Against Tyranny" and voter cards (stone tablets actually)

From the Acropolis we headed down through the Fleamarket area which had everything from jewelry to leather and live animals (buying natural sponges and Saffron along the way) to find a place to eat lunch. Maggie had stuffed grape leaves and Chicken Souflaki (SP) and I had Tsaziki and an awesome Moussaka. After the quick lunch we went looking for the Tower of Winds. This is one of the places Dominiqui had not been to. Naturally it was hidden away in a back street. After circling a bit we narrowed it down and found it about 30 minutes after they closed for the day :-) Built by the Syrian Astronomer Andronikos Kyrrestes in the 2nd Century BC as a weather vane and water clock, it looks really cool! You have to keep in mind that they didn't even have, like, weatherpeople back then! The eight different winds (I tried to get two per photo: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4) are in friezes on the outside and below them are sundials. After a short walk we went to the Panagia Gorgoepikoos in the heart of Plaka/Athens. The church is small (25 feet by 40 feet//7.5m by 12m) and was built in the 12th century. The name means "Madonna who Swiftly hears." Since I am interested in the various Knight Orders of this period I took some additional photos of interest. This one shows a frieze (Lintel) along the top of the photo. It is the long thin one. Notice the round crosses! These were added in the 12th Century. The Lintel frieze dates to the 4th Century B.C according to my guide book. This is believable since all over the church there are crosses (inside and outside) that have been added throughout. We were lucky and got to look around alot since the guy just opened and was pretty cool. After this we were pretty dead! We decided to hang out and drink Cafe Frappes until early evening. Note for Americans and Central Europeans here, the Greeks don't even start the evening until 9 or later at night! Don't bother trying to find a decent dinner at 6 PM... After the Frappes we did something that is highly recommended when in Athens... at least when you had one too many Frappes/Beers. We took the "Happy Train" through Athens in the evening... yup, tourist city here. Flashing lights, music, even other tourists staring at you! We waved at them naturally... laughing all the way. It IS CHEAP though and takes you all over in the early evening. Despite the silliness you should try it! At this point we were pretty worn out so we decided the best thing to do was take a cab over to the famous Lykavittos Hill and climb up :-) It conjured up memories of that Harley trip a few years back (Maggies first ride) when we went 2000 miles to England... I really thought she was going to kill me :-) Lykavittos Hill at 910 feet/277meters is the highest hill in Athens. There is a beautiful (food is okay...) restaurant up top. There is also a funicular in the center of the hill which we only managed to find when we got up top !! We hit the hill about 9pm and the city was lit up. We were burnt out and there was a nice light breeze. Here is Maggie looking beautiful as ever with the breeze in her hair and the lights of Athens in the background... It really capped off a great day in Athens. The name of the hill means something like "Wolf" because the ancient Athenians thought a) Wolves live up here and b) That the hill came from a stone that Athena dropped that was supposed to be part of the citadel for Athens. At the very top there is a small chapel which we checked out. The chapel is from the 19th century and built over an older chapel from Byzantine times which was dedicated to the prophet Elijah. We took the funicular after dinner down and then walked a ways. After that, Dominiqui headed home and Maggie and I went back to the hotel for a few drinks and then turned in. Did I mention that the night bartender at the Holiday Inn made the BEST BLACK RUSSIANS we had ever had? They were really good. I must say that this evening we slept very well.

We woke up, had breakfast and Dominiqui came by to get us... it was already 38.5 degrees in the car. (For Americans, that is hot for early in the morning) We headed to get a power adapter for the Digital Camera (I had forgotten it) and then went to the National Archaeological Museum. (One of those places Dominiqui had not been)

***Note for travelers to Athens, If you like museums and history then give this an entire day, if not, half a day. There is some SERIOUS STUFF HERE! We spit up a bit to head our own ways and follow our own interests and I found myself in front of THE REAL LIVE "LINEAR B" scripts. I like, could not believe it. The entry to the museum is only 2000 drachmas (5.87 Euros) and it is even cheaper (half or free) if you have a student card. The works here were located all over the place in the past. During the second world war the collection was spread all over and buried! The government has centralized the stuff in one AWESOME place and has finally put it back on display.

... and one last photo that I am not sure why Maggie wanted...

I will close by saying that we really enjoyed our trip and will no doubt return soon. Dominiqui, I hope I spelled your name correctly!!!!! Maggie and I thank you again for being such a wonderful guide in showing us your beautiful city, explaining your culture, and spending part of your summer with us.

Anton and Maggie, 2000