17 Mar 2011 Athens (Thurs)

We woke surprisingly at 8:30 so we logged about 7 ½ hours sleep.  We both felt good as we got up started our day.  However, it was not long before we both mentioned how ‘drained’ we felt.  But in the interest of resetting our bio rhythms we determined to be active and sightseers.  We had booked the room at the airport for 2 nights in case we really did need a 2^nd night to get our feet planted firmly on the ground.  However, neither of us felt that we needed that second night, but the decision had been made and the room booked.

We also learned that today the subway and trams workers were on a strike.  Greece is having political issues and there are rotating strikes occurring.  Today was the trains and of course that is the best way to travel from the airport.  The second best way is by bus and fortunately there is an express one that goes from the airport to Syntagma Square which is central downtown.  We were told about this option to a taxi by the front desk of the hotel.  To catch the bus we needed to go to the arrival level of the terminal.  We noticed in the brochure that there was a 3 day transit pass we could buy to be used on buses, trams, subways and trolleys.  When we got to the ticket booth we were informed that they do not sell the 3 day pass but that the ticket booth for the subway (which was still open even though the subways were not running) would sell them. 

So we walked over to the subway ticket booth (took about 5 minutes) to learn that they do not sell these tickets but we would need to buy it at the downtown office.  So we decided to just buy the one way ticket (we did ask for a day ticket or for a ‘return’ and learned that each ticket could be used for transferring up to 90 minutes and that a return ticket would cost $10 euro so no savings).

This is our first view of the countryside of Greece as the airport is almost 30 km from city center.  The first part of the ride was really very country the trip took just over an hour to get to city center.  The countryside near the airport really reminded me of the area around Los Vegas (with the very flat valley with little vegetation stretching out to a low row of ‘mountains’ in the distance).

We landed in the city and like so many others on the bus were confused by the street names which were all Greek to us (ok, not really funny) but they were in Greek.  We knew which stop we wanted which is in central Athens.  However, at one point one of the other country guests asked the bus driver and he said this was the last stop so everyone hopped off.  We learned soon that we had been misinformed and that we still had about 1 km to walk.  But before we could figure out which way we needed to walk we had to figure out what street we were on and then work on the direction we need to walk.  With the help of a policeman we soon figured out the street and then we vaguely knew which direction to head off.

The next encounter we had was to discover two police buses crossing the road we were walking up blocking traffic.  As we neared the buses we watched policemen with full riot gear coming off the buses.  Needless to say we felt a strong urge to pick up the pace and get out of that area.  We could see no reason for the show of force but were sure something was going to be happening.  We learned that the building we were passing on that street was the country’s Parliament building and there was an expectation or  some form of protest or riot.  We had already noted that there are very noticeable presence of police on all streets and street corners.  However this was a bit nervy to see riot police setting up on the street you are walking down.

We finally managed to find Sindagma Square where we had decided to start our explorations.  Needless to say we did not realize that just finding downtown Athens was going to be a form of exploration.  Our first stop on our tour was the Temple of Olympian Zeus. 

The Temple of Olympian Zeus is a colossal ruined temple in the centre of the Greek capital Athens that was dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD some 638 years after the project had begun. During the Roman periods it was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world.  The ruins today show only a small portion of the temple construction.   The diagram shows the original layout of the columns and darked dots represent the current standing columns.

After walking around for a bit we left and headed out for the Arch of Hadrian which is a monumental gateway resembling – in some respects - a Roman triumphal arch.  It spanned an ancient road from the center of Athens to the complex of structures on the eastern side of the city that included the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It has been proposed that the arch was built to celebrate the adventus (arrival) of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and to honor him for his many benefactions to the city, on the occasion of the dedication of the nearby temple complex in 131 or 132 AD. There were two inscriptions on the arch, facing in opposite directions, naming both Theseus and Hadrian as founders of Athens.

From admiring the Arch of Hadiran we headed over to the Acropolis Museum.  The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on its feet, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies on the archaeological site of Makrygianni and the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens.

In the entrance there are several models showing the Acropolis at different times of history.  I took photos of these models but unless you actually see the site, they would not be too impressive.   While we were looking over the models we were surprised how many schools were having tours and it was very busy and noisy.  Having said that, the museum is so large and covers 4 floors we really did not notice them very often.  What was disappointing was to discover that there are no photos to be taken in the museum.  So I do not have any pictures of the incredible array of pottery, sculptures, and carvings.  The most amazing thing for use was to watch the video on the Acropolis and then walk around looking at the statutes and carvings that have been ‘rescued’ and restored.  We will be going to the Acropolis site to study it closer soon.   Then I hope to be able to describe more with pictures.  The museum is a must if you plan to go to see the Acropolis since it fills in so much of the history, design and evolution.

By the time we finished touring the museum we both felt it was time to head back to the hotel, especially since we were not even sure where to catch the bus.  We decided it would be best to backtrack the way we had walked until we found a bus stop with our bus number displayed.  We walked all the way back to where we had got off the bus (and had been told it was the last stop for the bus) but learned that the bus did not go that way.  It was suggested that we go back to the center of Athens and catch the bus there which is close to where we had been.  So back we went and finally got passed by the bus that we wanted a ride on so we figured if we followed it eventually we would find the bus stop to catch it on.  Since it was rush hour we walked faster than the bus travelled so eventually we found the start of the bus line and got on for a ride back to the hotel at the airport.

One think I should mention is that as we walked back pass the Parliament buildings we noticed the ceremonial guards on duty and had a chance to watch some of their marching around.  Very interesting garb and style of moving which looked like slow motion.