We flew to Athens yesterday afternoon. It’s another culture shock, a whole new alphabet that makes no intuitive sense. We barely managed the train to our apartment near the Acropolis, taking a few wrong turns along the way.
There are stray cats everywhere! I think Eli is trying to catalog each one he encounters, for his Instagram. It’s also unseasonably hot here and by the time we arrive at our apartment we are dying of thirst and the homeowners had nicely stocked the fridge with cold water. We all chugged water and breathed a sigh of relief.
I went out onto our balcony and sure enough you can see a bit of the Parthenon in the distance.
We found dinner at a nearby restaurant. Eli has been learning Greek over the past year (and making tons of Greek salad) and he ordered his meal in Greek which surprised the waiter. Eli was grinning ear to ear when his salad arrived and he conversed with the waiter. “Nostimos” (very tasty)
Darkness fell and since it was now below 90 degrees (!) at 10pm we took a walk around the neighborhood to check things out. We stumbled on this 2000 year old arch in the midst of what is probably the busiest intersection in Athens.
This morning we headed out early for a guided tour of the Acropolis. We weren’t too excited about not getting to sleep in but it’s our only chance to beat the heat. It’s supposed to reach 101• today!
The tour guides give you a tiny wireless receiver and single earphone so you can hear everything they say, without all the guides shouting over everyone else.
We slowly wound our way up the slopes past a 14,000 seat theatre and a separate ancient music venue, then an ancient hospital, before reaching the grand entrance to the Acropolis at the very top. This used to be the only way in when it was a Greek citadel in 5th century BC.
Once up top the first structure we visited was the Erechtheion, a temple to the goddess Athena. The porch features six statues of women that function as columns.
Turning around we found the giant columns of the Parthenon towering over us. One side was completely wrapped in scaffolding as restoration work continues (since the 1980’s).
This is the good side, the other was bombed by the Venetians in the 1600’s and most of the columns are missing in the middle. The lighter colored marble indicates areas that have been restored:
The top edge of the Parthenon, all the way around, used to be wrapped in large friezes carved in marble, depicting stories of the gods. Those that still remain have been moved to the nearby Acropolis Museum (at least the parts that weren’t stolen by the British Museum).
It’s not noon yet bit it’s already baking so we headed back down the mountain. Here you can see the crowds approaching the main gate of the Acropolis (where we were a few hours earlier):
I decided to hike to another nearby hill to get a look at the city, while the rest of my family hiked home.
At home we cooled off, refueled, and took a short nap before visiting the Acropolis Museum. I was impressed with this museum. It’s a modern building with great lighting, and many of the exhibits have a free audio guide to teach you about them.
Remember the six statues that acted as columns for the Erechtheion? They were all replicas up top on the Acropolis. Inside the museum they had 5 of the originals on display. The British Museum refuses to return the last one.
My favorite part of the museum was the top floor, where they have reconstructed every known carving, in life size, that once wrapped around the entire perimeter of the Parthenon. Many of them have a short story explaining the Greek myth that they depict, and you can walk around the entire structure.
And then you turn around and look out the windows up to the Acropolis itself. Really well designed, it puts everything immediately into context.
I think we’re going to try get in a hike early tomorrow. It’s too hot to do much in the afternoon!