Athens, Greece

I arrived in Athens after my short flight from Istanbul around noon. Getting through customs was quick and simple, and I went straight to the train station only to discover that all the workers were on strike and everything was shut down. Apparently strikes are very common in Greece. Because of this, I had to take a bus which unfortunately took almost two hours because of another problem: a big demonstration near Syntagma square (where the Greek Parliament is). I had to walk through Syntagma square, which featured an army of riot police with guns and shields lined, up on the street ready to confront any violent protestors. It's pretty clear this country is still suffering from pains of the austerity measures the government has taken in response to the Greek debt crises (which was entirely their own doing).

Anyways, I eventually made it to the hostel which seemed quite nice and was even better-situated than I imagined - basically right in between the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Acropolis; a five minute walk from either. By now it was almost 3:00 PM, and I immediately set out to tackle the city.

First I went to The Acropolis, the massive hill in the center of Athens that was the focal point of life in ancient Greece. Still standing at the top, in some form, is the Parthenon, described as "the most important surviving building of Classical Greece". The view from the top of the acropolis was just as awesome as were historical relics contained therein.

After The Acropolis I visited the Ancient Agora of Athens, or "place of assembly". Unfortunately not much was left here, just a bunch of broken relics on the ground, but the temple of Hephaestus was still standing. For some odd reason I ran into several turtles roaming around freely in the walkways.

From here I spent a lot of time walking around the pedestrian area just north of the Acropolis which was host to a little of side-streets, shops, and restaurants. Unfortunately much of this area was very touristy - reminded me of Rome with all of the t-shirts and postcards for sale.

I then continued back to Syntagma square and walked down towards the Temple of Olympian Zeus, a (once-magnificent) structure surrounded by a vast open field. There was a great vantage-point here which included the Temple of Olympian Zeus in the foreground with the Acropolis in the background. I can only imagine what this all must have looked like in ancient times; it's unfortunate so much of it was not well-preserved.

After resting a bit at the hostel I set out on foot again to roam around, and made my way into some decidedly non-touristy areas which provided for some great people-watching. I ate dinner at a small cafe with a jovial Greek woman (owner of the cafe) for my host where I had a delicious greek salad and Moussaka (eggplant baked with minced meat).

I retired early after being exhausted from an day of extreme walking and to prepare for visiting some museums the next day (since the weather called for rain, and so much else in Athens is outdoors). Overall this city is very beautiful and has a great European vibe, despite the touristy feel and protestors.