Throughout our travels it has been jarring to change countries – new languages, cultures, currency and other idiosyncrasies which often unveil themselves over time. Landing in Athens, Greece in the early evening, however, was weird in that it was a totally different experience – we were immediately enveloped in familiarity. Never mind that it constitutes a return visit to Greece for each of us (Jess was here as a small child and I visited as a teenager), but it was also the first country in our travels where either of us spoke even a bit of the language, where we were confronted with first world luxury (Europe!) and where we didn’t immediately stand out like crazy as white folks traveling around. Strangely, while this familiarity brought a degree of comfort, it was also jarring in its own right as a new set of changes for us to adjust to.
After we navigated the metro (super useful and efficient!) into the city, we managed to find our AirBnB in a quiet section of Athens just outside of the bustling (aka: expensive) hotspots Monastiraki and Plaka. Fortunately, it was quite adorable; even though there was no living room (only a bedroom), it had a quiet balcony and a tiny little kitchen where we could prepare basic meals. It was mostly perfect for us, since it allowed us to enjoy our new favorite morning tradition in Athens – making Greek coffee in a little briki on a hot plate and enjoying it on our balcony along with yogurt or cereal. Such a great way to start each day! [Editor’s note: Luckily Rorie knew how to make Greek coffee, and with a tiny New-York-like mini mart right across the street where we could buy milk and yogurt, we were all set. It was really nice to be in a slightly quieter neighborhood that didn’t feel like a touristy area at all, but be able to hop on the metro and head anywhere we wanted within just a few stops.]
Our morning tradition, which rapidly became one of our favorite things about Athens.
For our first activity in Athens we decided to properly orient ourselves to the city by joining a free walking tour, which met in the morning at Hadrian’s Arch (Hadrian was a Roman emperor who paid for a ton of reconstruction/development of ancient structures throughout Greece – we’d cross paths with him frequently in the city). Though a bit disjointed and inefficient, the walking tour was super helpful in giving us background information about the city and took us past a bunch of sites that we may not have seen otherwise, including the National Park, Zeus’s Temple, Hadrian’s Library, the largest Greek Orthodox church in the city, a bunch of other small churches and various other sites. [Editor’s note: This walking tour was great, and while it did lag on a while (supposed to be 2.5 hours, ended up at 4) it’s hard to complain when it’s free! As part of the tour we also watched the changing of the guard with the Evzones soldiers, an elite group of Greek soldiers who have an incredibly exaggerated, tradition-filled walk where they kick their legs really high in a slow motion “horse-like” gait while parading, and apparently have some of the strictest behavioral rules of any soldiers. It was bizarre, but fascinating to watch.] All in all, for the low, low cost of free (plus tip, of course), it did a great job of preparing us for the city. After the tour we wandered through the aforementioned Monastiraki and Plaka a bit before doing one of Jess’s favorite activities in any big city: finding a cute cocktail bar. We ended up at The Clumsies in the Psyri district of Athens for a super delicious (and extremely creative!) cocktail, followed by dinner and World Cup soccer at the outdoor garden/seating area of a taverna (note: not a typo, that’s what they’re called) in our neighborhood.
Meeting with our walking tour group in front of Hadrian’s Arch.
Juxtaposition of the (new) largest Greek Orthodox church in Athens against an older church remaining on the premises.
At the Olympic stadium in Athens (the first of many to come in Greece).
Wandering around Athens isn’t complete without a cheap baked good and a Frappe.
Changing of the guard by the Evzone soldiers, including their exaggerated leg kick.
Jess decided that leg-kicking like an Evzone and/or suppressing a smile at all times was hard, but she could definitely stand still like them (plus, you weren’t allowed to make any other poses!).
Since we took it relatively easy our first day in Athens, we decided to really get after it on the second day (our last full one in the city) by waking up early and walking to the National Archeological Museum of Athens. This 150 year old museum houses many of the primary historical artifacts from the city and was set up really effectively to walk visitors through the entire history of Ancient Greece in a surprisingly coherent manner, from the Myceneans to the status of the country under Roman rule. In all sincerity, it was really well done and interesting. After the archeological museum, we walked down to another of Jess’s personal favorite activities when we visit a city: seeing their market. For this we went to the Athens Central Market, which was cool to see and quite a bit more orderly/clean than the markets we’re used to, but also much smaller. We bought some fresh apricots and cherries as snacks/breakfast treats, while also sampling some of the almonds and other treats in the market. [Editor’s note: It’s primarily a fresh fish and meat market, which we of course could not participate in. It was cool to compare to some of the other (less hygienic) fish markets we’ve seen on our travels.]
An early depiction of wrestling in the museum.
My favorite statue in the museum. Basically, a faun (goat-man) is trying to put a move on Athena, so she took off her shoe to whack him while an angel rests on her shoulder being like “oh no he didn’t!” It’s great.
Wandering the museum, pondering which of the busts bears the greatest resemblance to me. When asked, Jess responded that they all had too much hair, which is simultaneously true and sad. Fiancés are the worst.
After an afternoon siesta back at our apartment (seriously, Jordan turned me on to this glorious way of living), we headed back out in the evening to visit the most famous monument in Greece: the Acropolis. [Editor’s note: Rorie has now gotten to the point where he gets grumpy if we don’t build a nap into our day. Preparing me for future motherhood? Early senility? You be the judge.] Perched atop the city, the Acropolis dominates the skyline and has a way of luring visitors there, since it seems like all the roads lead in that direction. We waited to visit until later in the afternoon in the hope that the tour buses and cruise ship patrons would’ve left by then, leaving it comparatively empty for our enjoyment (moderately successful!). As we trudged up the marble-paved hill (all notable sites in Athens/Greece are just dripping in marble, from the pathways to the structures; it’s ridiculous), we were treated to awesome views of the city and we were also able to get a sense of just how many structures existed both in the Acropolis and on the surrounding hillsides. Very impressive. Though many of the artifacts and statues were removed from the Acropolis for safe-keeping and part of the Parthenon was covered in scaffolding, the entire area was still a sight to behold. Additionally, it was fascinating to see the efforts of archeologists to catalogue and reconstruct the Acropolis from the array of scattered pieces strewn around the site.
The amphitheater nestled in the hills of the Acropolis.
Pillars lining the gateway as you enter the top of the Acropolis.
What’s the hallmark of the Parthenon? Pillars on pillars on pillars…
Obligatory selfie at the Parthenon.
What’s better than the Parthenon? The views of Athens from atop the Acropolis.
Additional excellent Athens/Jess views.
While the city deserved more of our time, we were unfortunately limited to just these two full days in Athens. Thought it wasn’t enough to see everything it offers, we found that we really enjoyed the city and that it reminded us a lot of NYC, including its useful metro system, tightly packed stores, mini markets (bodegas, by NYC slang) on each street, walkability and dirty grittiness. [Editor’s note: I agree – as soon as we identified that Athens felt like New York City, I couldn’t help but see it everywhere. Even our AirBnB neighborhood felt right – like the kind of slightly dirty, quieter street that others might deem “slightly sketchy” but we felt was authentic and comfortable, as opposed to the glittering tourist-filled streets of the main districts. Combined with the adorable old neighborhoods and the ancient ruins around every corner, Athens is a city I could definitely see living in (in another life; don’t worry mom!).] While it would’ve been great to see more, our schedule is tight and we had to head to the airport on the third morning to pick-up our rental car and head to our next adventure – the cliff-perched monasteries of Meteora!
How is Athens similar to NYC? Gritty, graffiti-filled streets.
How is Athens dissimilar from NYC? Adorable, whitewashed alleys in Plaka that lead to the Acropolis…
…and the fact that there are literally 2000+ year old ruins under the streets/buildings in the city.
