A few days in Athens

[BonVivant]

I've recently spent a few days in the Greek capital, alone. One of us couldn't make the trip.

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First thing I wanted to eat on my first morning in Athens was yoghurt. Stani is a small dairy shop, one of the last dairy specialists in Athens, that has traditional, real Greek-style yoghurt with quality milk sourced from small producers not far away.

 

Small portion of cow's milk yoghurt

 

Sheep's milk yoghurt. Rich and milky, and sheepy (tasting).

 

I already had coffee before heading out but still wanted 2 cups of double Greek coffee. A "single" Greek coffee is tiny. 2 sips and it's done.

The dairy shop is not easy to find as it's hidden in an alley.

The central market is also in the area so of course I hit it next. The fish and meat sections are big, wet, and loud.

Same snails I have eaten from northern to southern Greece, only what other things that go into the dishes are different.

Interesting crab-like crustacean

Shellfish specialist

 

First lunch some time later.

 

Had to eat it at least once. I'm in Greece, after all.

 

Souvlaki Leivadia is not in the city centre. It's popular with locals, and tourists who don't mind walking or taking the metro to reach it. It's an easy 15-20 minute walk from my hostel.

 

Finally it cooled down just a little in the evening...

 

First visit to this small craft beer bar where I enjoyed a few nice beers.

 

The moment my childhood dream came true... A sight to behold. The floodlit Acropolis (behind Erechtheion, parts of the Parthenon is visible from where I was standing).

Such is the thrill of rediscovering ancient Greece in modern Athens. You'll be seeing photos of Acropolis again in the coming posts so be warned. Unfortunately for me, every waking moment was very stressful as silence simply does not exist in Athens. Massive crowds of tourists and Athenians pack the streets at all hours of the day and much of the night as well. I needed horse blinkers/blinders to limit the impact of distraction.

It's very hot already (25C/77F), can't imagine being here in high season/summer when temperatures hover round 35C/95F and the sheer volume of tourists, not to mention the higher prices. I'd go bonkers.

Edited April 14 by BonVivant (log)

[Kerala]

Looking forward to this.

I went to Athens Inter-Railing as a teenager lo, many moons ago. My budget was tiny, and there was a heatwave so it was 30C at dawn, but the souvlaki I had on the street has stayed with me as a highlight and reference point all these decades later.

[Kerala]

The only time I ever got sunburnt. I'm sure dehydration and salt depletion played a part in making those souvlaki and plastic bottles of water amongst the most beautiful things I've ever tasted!

[AlaMoi]

my favorite Athen's street vendor:

[BonVivant]

Here's one of the thrills of rediscovering ancient Greece in modern Athens... archaeology in metro stations. The construction of new metro system in the 90's unearthed new ancient treasures. Actually, it was Greece's biggest archaeological excavation project, the staggering depth of 50 thousand artefacts . I've only checked out 2 stations (on purpose), saving the rest for future returns.

 

The next station is Ancient Cemetery (Evangelismos station)

 

There's a dairy shop in the same area where I wanted to eat something. Fresh goat's milk, sheep's/goat's yoghurt with quince spoon sweet and barrel-aged feta.

 

It's a nice dairy shop where you can sit down and have a light meal that involves dairy products they sell, plus sandwiches etc. They also sell small-scale products from other places in Greece.

 

Instead of taking the metro to my next point of interest I walked there, about 20 minutes. Only 1 metro station away to Syntagma where the parliament is located. The flag of Greece is actually not that old. Blue and white represent the colours of the sea and sky. Apparently, the horizontal blue and white lines are the numbers of syllables in the motto of Greece: "Victory or Death".  Anything red on a national flag is out of the question as it evokes painful memories of the Ottoman occupation.

 

A war monument in front of the parliament, one of the top attractions in the capital. It depicts a naked warrior holding his shield and wearing an ancient Greek helmet, seemingly ready to arise again. This powerful sculpture commands and maintains the attention of every person who sees it. Here a tourist was making photos of the cenotaph.

 

The changing of guards takes place every hour. A formal and elaborate version is at 11am on Sunday. The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier (this monument) is guarded 24/7. I thought the slow-motion choreographed moves with lots of high kicks were rather comical. Every spectator was mesmerised, me included! 2 people, brother and sister, asked me right after the guard change march, if they could see the photos on my IG/FB/etc. But I am not part of that culture. We exchanged emails. I have sent them a bunch of their brother's photos later. Their younger brother is a new guard. They seemed most proud of him.  

 

Yes, that's a skirt, it has 400 plaits which represent the number of years under Ottoman occupation. I'm surprised the guards' caps are red. Pompom shoes with metal studs.

 

At ease position. The guards are an elite unit of the Greek military.

 

Meanwhile across the street from the parliament... we have learnt nothing from history. (I shall keep my critical opinion to myself)

 

I spent a lot of time wandering round and round and finding many things interesting (to me). A leafy park next to the parliament where I ran into this turtle.There are no fences and no zoo in the park.

 

Then I took another path...

 

Ancient Greece in the city. A ruin near the park. Next year I will get a combo ticket to visit several sites, including this one.

 

Golden hour meal at a nice restaurant known for their grilled lamb rib chops. They have 2 locations on the same street and both were full. Unfortunately, my table was in the shadow with strong spots of bright sun. Boiled greens (a lot like weeds in my garden when uncooked), aubergine dip/spread and portion of lamb rib chops. It was a Saturday afternoon, the place was full of Greeks who came with the whole family or group of friends. Even if there's just 2 Greek, they usually order a whole kilo. They take it home if there's leftovers, but I don't think so. Mostly bones and fat but it's so good.

 

At home I use a Weber and cook the chops outside (smoke and fat spatter) like this...

 

The views at night are just as nice. A row of beer taps (at another craft beer bar). Only metal music played here (metal music is fine but the volume though, it's senselessly loud).

 

And the sight of my beer

 

Unfortunately, the music level was too much (I wore earplugs) so I fled so fast to the safety of my hostel room.

 

This is why it's near impossible to use the pavement or foot path in Athens. Meanwhile at home people walk on bike path. So why did I pay for the foot path then?!!!

 

Seems if there's a suitable (or not) surface it'll be used to set up a table or splatter with graffiti. After weeks of feasting my eyes on empty streets and graffiti-free surfaces in Japan this is a sensory overload.

 

I was this close to Acropolis today during my walk. Seen here is the back of the Parthenon. You know it because it's still under scaffolding. They say it probably takes 40 years till the work is done. I've read it was briefly scaffold-free only once, years ago.

 

On 4/17/2024 at 8:47 PM, Kerala said:

went to Athens Inter-Railing as a teenager lo, many moons ago. My budget was tiny, and there was a heatwave so it was 30C at dawn

 

First time to Greece was Corfu in 1997 via Brindisi, also interailing. Money was still the Drachma.

The partner has been to many places in Greece interailing as a youth, when things were still free and so much cheaper. Greece is still cheaper than a lot of places in Europe. Besides, I just love visiting/being in Greece!

 

Edited Wednesday at 03:46 PM by BonVivant (log)