Greece

The story of our Greek adventure begins in Athens. Rachel and I both flew Aegean Airlines from our respective cities and met up in the baggage claim of the Athens Airport. We were both impressed by the airline right up until they lost Rachel’s carry-on after insisting she check it while she was boarding because, according to the gate agents, it was a crowded flight and there would not be room for such a large carry on (Spoiler: there was plenty of unused carry-on space).

After an extra hour spent in the Athens airport dealing with the lost luggage desk, we taught ourselves how to use the Athens Metro in record time, making it all the way from the Airport to our Hostel at the base of the Acropolis in under an hour. We didn't do much our first night but unpack and wander the neighborhood surrounding the hostel until we found a restaurant with outdoor seating where we could grab some dinner.

We were up bright and early Monday morning for our free (but somewhat disappointing) hostel breakfast, followed by a much better walking tour of Ancient Athens by a local Archaeologist. We got a taste of Greek History, Art, Politics, and Archaeology. Plus, we got a good feel for the layout of the older section of Athens, which would come in handy over our next few days here. Directions in the ancient sections of Athens revolve around the Acropolis: you can figure out what neighborhood you’re in based on whether you can see the Parthenon, the Amphitheater of Dionysus, or the Erechtheion. To aid our sense of direction in Athens, we made a big loop around the Acropolis and saw all of these monuments from a distance on our walking tour, but we never went inside.

We saved all the excitement of the actual visits to these monuments for Tuesday, when we visited the Acropolis Museum, the Acropolis itself, the Ancient Agora, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian’s Library, and climbed a hill opposite the Acropolis with incredible views of the Parthenon and the Aegean Sea.

(Above and Below: Temple of Olympian Zeus)

 (Above and Below: The famous Parthenon of Athens)

 (Above and Below: The Erechtheion, located on the Acropolis)

 (Above: Temple of Athenian Nike; Below: Amphitheater of Dionysus)

 (Above: view of the a hill opposite the Acropolis; Below: view of the Acropolis from the hill)

 (Above and Below: Temple of Hephaestus, Ancient Agora)

We walked the narrow streets of the neighborhoods around Monastiraki and Plaka until we found a restaurant that looked like it would have good food on a college budget. Most restaurants here take advantage of the proximity to the Acropolis and locate their main seating areas on the roof. That way, even if their food isn’t the greatest or the service is too slow (it is), you can’t complain too much while sipping a drinking and looking at one of the world’s best known monuments.

On Wednesday we left Athens on a tour to the Argolis region of Greece. We stopped in: 

Corinth to see the Corinth canal, which connects the Aegean and Ionian Seas

Epidaurus, to see one of the largest amphitheaters in Ancient Greece

Nafplio, the first capital of the modern Greek State before it was moved to Athens,

And finally Mycenae, to see Agamemnon’s Palace and Tomb (Yes, the same Agamemnon from the Trojan War!)

 (Lion's Gate at Agamemnon's Palace)

 (Burial Circle one at Agamemnon's Palace)

(Treasury of Myceane)

We arrived back in Athens at about 730 and had dinner at the Sports Bar affiliated with our Hostel. I had my first real burger since leaving the states 7 weeks ago, and it was delicious (although it was definitely not on par with a McGuire’s or Monk’s burger!). Earlier in the week, Rachel and I had come here for Trivia night hosted by the same tour guide from our walk around the Acropolis. We teamed up with a couple Irish friends we made on the tour and got second place, although our guide told us we were the only ones who didn’t cheat by just googling the answers (why that didn’t automatically result in us taking the Gold and, therefore, the free drinks is beyond me).

We got to sleep in a bit on Thursday as we had already seen most of the major sights in Athens. The only thing left on our To-Do list was to visit the National Archaeological Museum. It was a little out of the way from the normal touristy area where our hostel and the Acropolis are, but it was worth the added hassle. The real artifacts from a lot of the major archaeological sites around Greece are located in the museum to keep them safe and in a central place for tourists to visit. The relics at the sites themselves are usually reproductions and copies.

(Ancient copy of the 40ft tall statue of Athena that used to stand in the Parthenon)

We saw the Greek Parliament building and strolled through the national gardens on our walk back from the museum to the Hostel. We got most of our packing done for our 830am flight to Prague (530 taxi ride from the Hostel!) and had a nice last meal in Athens.  And for the first time since I started this blog, I have finished an entry about a place that I’m still in! Let’s see if the trend continues in Prague…