Athens is in the ruins

Typical of this year, I had not done much research before arriving in Athens. I had realized beforehand that the time of year wasn´t conducive to island hoping and the weather report back up that theory. So I dedicated myself to the ancient ruins, museums and local flavours.

Athens is a series of producthoods. Each area of the city is specialized by what the stores sell. There is the park of a million carpets (reminiscent of Turkey and Morocco), back alleys of bookstores, hubs of flower stalls, meat markets and more. The neighbourhood I choose to stay in did dual duty: prostitution and cocaine. Nice combo. I knew before I got there that both were rife in the downtown core, but was still taken aback by it. The street walkers were of little concern. I wasn´t of interest to them, unless I lingered too long looking at my map. Then the dirty stares came flying. Note to self: don´t stand on the actual corner when reviewing which way to go!

The police presence came and went without doing much to stem the tide of drugged out coke heads. One morning I watch two guys casually draw up two lines of cocaine on the saddle of a motorbike in front of my hotel. They finished off just as a cruiser swung past.

Despite the "local colour", I did enjoy my time in Athens. The ancient ruins were impressive. Not so much in their scale or abundance, but in the way they define this quite modern city. Atheans take a lot of pride in their unique historical perspective. Unlike many places I have visited the pride doesn´t have an arrogance to it.

I am also constantly amazed at how these tremendous sites are open so completely to the public. There is little more than a rope between the public and centuries old relics. However there were the occasional shrill whistle blows heard. These were from guards and researches working the ruins to stop visitors from reaching over the barriers to nip a sample of history. Can you believe it? Some people actually think it is acceptable to walk off with a bit of the Parthenon!

Parthenon, Athens

One other highlight was the changing of the guard in front of parliament. I had been told to not miss it by a few previous travelers. It is a good thing that Greece is not likely to go war anytime soon. These guys are hilarious. They have a fantastic ´funny walk´ to rival Monty Python and the giant pom poms on their shoes do nothing to instill a sense of furiousness.

Changing of the guards

The National Archaeological Museum was surprising good as well. There were lots of statues and an excellent exhibit on "Women and Worship: Ancient Goddesses" exhibit. I speed through the vase and pottery section. I still can´t get excited about clay pots. It must be linked to my lack of interest in cooking.

Athens was a good stop along the way, no regrets. But I can probably bypass it next time and head straight for the islands!

PS: I saw my first christmas display in a store window today. Ahhh! Time is flying by so quickly.