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We went to Greece last October 2024 to bike in the countryside but first we had to visit the capital.
Here’s my favourite photo which happened to be a fluke, a mystery of sunshine or maybe an unknown iPhone watercolour setting. Whatever it is, I always like a happy accident.
The backdrop below looks fake but no, the view of the Parthenon from our hotel rooftop is real. With two happy Saskatchewan boys sipping their first ouzo.
All roads lead to the Acropolis.
We could see a glowing sliver of the Parthenon from our hotel balcony. Let me know if you need a recommendation for a nice hotel in a great location. The building across the street was either a hotel in progress or a project gone bad. We weren’t sure.
We walked and explored, a group of seven longtime friends from Swift Current, Saskatchewan enjoying the streets and hidden corners of Athens.
Refreshments were plentiful and Greek cuisine was wonderful!
Then on to the market neighbourhood where the streets are less tidy and the people less fashionable. It’s the heart of a city where workers work and housewives buy goat heads or pig feet for their evening stew.
The floors were slippery in the Fish Market but we tiptoed carefully. I like these sculptural sea creatures, so slithery and slimy you’re tempted to touch them.
Now back to what Athens is really famous for: Classical Greek Sculptures. And who stole them.
The Acropolis Museum, one of the few modern buildings we saw, opened in 2009 and is full of marble sculptures all moved from the Acropolis. Only about half are original, and are easily identified by the aged yellowish colour. The other half are white plaster casts made to replace the original artifacts that were stolen and have been housed in the British Museum in London for the last few centuries. The plaster copies of figures and fragments are waiting to be replaced by the real thing when the “stolen goods” are eventually returned to their country of origin.
The priceless original marble sculptures carved in the 5th century BC were carefully hauled down from the Acropolis by the diplomat Lord Elgin and shipped to England in 1802-1812. He knew their value and they are still a prized collection in the British Museum.
Talks are ongoing to have them returned but Britain is not giving up the antiquities without a fight. One excuse has been that Greece did not have a proper museum to display the ancient artifacts.
But now they do.
The City Bus Tour took us 12 km to Piraeus on the Aegean Sea, the largest port in Greece and the largest passenger port in Europe. Densely packed seaside condos line the marinas; other areas accommodate cruise ships, container ships, oil tankers, ferries to the famous Greek Islands, luxury yachts and little sailboats.
The gang isn’t bored on this double-decker, just dozy from walking and beer breaks. Tourism can be hard work as you know.
Thanks for reading if you got this far. It’s a pleasure taking pictures and trying to weave them into a personal impression of a city.
Coming soon is Chapter 2, “Biking on the Peloponnese Peninsula”.
