Our whole family is fascinated by Ancient Greece. For as long as we can remember reading stories linked to Greek mythology and enjoying movies associated with Greek legends was a treasured pastime. But yet only Fiona had been lucky enough to visit Greece in the past. So, as one can imagine, when the opportunity of visiting Greece presented itself to us we all got very excited. A few days in Athens, on the way to the family's Christmas in Gdynia (Poland), meant that finally we were able to see parts of world history with our own eyes. Little that we knew, not only did we manage to wander through ancient Athens, but thanks to the generous hospitality of Jurek and Poppy, we had the pleasure of visiting Corinth, Mycenae, Epidaurus (Ancient Theater of Asklepieion), Nafplion, Sounio (Temple of Poseidon). On top of it, we managed to squeeze a few walks along Voula Beach, enjoy panoramic views from the hills near Voula and to celebrate Dawid's acceptance to the School of Architecture in a local Greek Taverna. A very busy four days.
Day 01
The day in Greece started with a series of phone calls to check what was on strike. Rubbish collectors, school teachers and the ferries, it seemed. So any thoughts of a day trip to a Greek Island were put aside. Poppy dropped us off at the Piraeus metro station with comprehensive instructions on how to use Athen's public transport and what to concentrate on in our sightseeing. Athens is finally here. What a smorgasbord of options. Where to start? What to see? The obvious choice for us was to start our adventure with the walk to Acropolis to see the famous Parthenon, Old Temple of Athena, Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Theater of Dionysus and many, many other fascinating archeological remains. On the way down from the top of the Acropolis we stopped at the New Acropolis Museum. We loved their exhibits indicating that the illegally obtained originals are held in such and such museums and are waiting to be returned to Greece. After visiting the museum we visited Ancient Agora with its Temple of Hephaestus and Holy Church of the Holy Apostles of Solakis. We started to slow down. Too much excitement for one day, and we urgently needed some lunch. Fiona had a great idea to leave the tourist area and try some local eateries located on a side street. We managed to scoff two big trays of meat and chips, between the four of us, for a fraction of the cost on the main street. We loved the Greek street food but were struggling to finish it all. Just as we were almost finished, they generously added more food to our trays! Not wanting to be rude ( and it was really delicious) we only just managed to eat it all. Little did we know that we were expected to manage another big meal later that day, compliments of Poppy's delicious cooking.
Day 02
We were told in the morning that today we were going to visit a few places outside Athens. In all that excitement we, or at least I, missed the names of those places. After an hour of driving and enjoying the Greek countryside we arrived at the Corinth Canal, one of the most important projects of modern Greece. Completed... 25 centuries after the conception of its idea. The next stopover was - the Archeological site of Mycenae with its Grave Circle, Cyclopean Walls, Lion Tholos Tomb and of course, Treasury of Atreus or Tomb of Agamemnon. Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae and leader of the Greek army in the Trojan War. Totally unreal. A quick visit to Nafplion, to see the 19th-century Fortress of Palamidi, helped us to realise what we had just seen at Mycenae. But Jurek had another surprise for the day. Epidaurus, famous for the Ancient Theater of Asclepieion and Ancient Stadium, constructed in the 5th century B.C. to host nude athletic games. On the way back to Athens we stopped at Isthmia to have a look at a truly unique submersible bridge.
Day 03
The original plan was to spend three days in Athens on our way to Poland through Munich in Germany.
Fortunately for us, maybe not for our hosts, due to flight re-schedule we had gained an additional day in
Greece. Our hosts decided that we would spend the morning in Athens and in the afternoon we would travel to
the bottom of the Attica Peninsula. Once again, in the morning Poppy dropped us off at the Piraeus's
metro station where we took the train to Athens to see more of the historical sites as well as some modern
parts of the city. A must-visit to Hellenic Parliament took us much longer than planned. We watched the
change of the Guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Quite a fascinating spectacle. From
Syntagma Square we walked Ermou Street towards the Ancient site of Kerameikos and the Roman Agora.
Early afternoon we travelled back to Piraeus to meet with Jurek who took us to Sounio. Cape Sounio is the
southernmost tip of Attica and it is famous for: the Sanctuary of Poseidon, the Fortress and the Sanctuary
of Athena.
After the sightseeing, we finished the day back in Piraeus, at the local Greek Tavern. It was our way to say
thank you to Poppy, Jurek and Stefan for their great hospitality, as well as to celebrate Dawid's
acceptance to the School of Architecture.
Day 04
Our last day in Athens was also very busy. In the morning Poppy took us to the surrounding hills for a
relaxing walk. From the top of the hills, we were exposed to fantastic views. In the foreground, we could
see the local suburbs, with some very impressive properties, and far in the background, the sea completed
the picture. Later on, we went again to Athens to see Karameikos Cemetery and do some souvenir hunting in
the proximity of Syntagma Square. Karameikos was a settlement of potters and vase painters, and the main
production center of the famous Attic vases. The earliest tombs at the Kerameikos date from the Early Bronze
Age. The cemetery was used incessantly from the Hellenistic period until the Early Christian period (338 BC
until approximately the sixth century AD).
We couldn't leave Athens without a small collection of local memorabilia. Besides, just visiting the
local shops is an attraction on its own. In the end, with a few miniature, fake paintings in our bags, we
had to say τα λέμε αργότερα to the great city.
