Greece
Athen Bath of Diochares, Greek Bath

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    • Day 15

      Travel to Athens

      October 16, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      We slept in, ate a late breakfast, and then drove to Athens. We took the back roads for some of the way, driving through villages and a big town or two. It’s fun to see how life happens for normal people— saw a lot of little market stands, people navigating chaotic traffic on bikes, and lots of old men sitting outside in cafes. Not much in the way of urban planning or traffic planning that we could see. About 100 km out, we got on the toll road and dropped the car at the airport. You would need nerves of steel or a death wish to drive in Athens.

      Our hotel is a notch above our normal level, but the bar, pool, and restaurant have a view of the Acropolis and the elliptical is the best one of the entire trip by far. Seems like a good splurge so far.
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    • Day 16

      First day in Athens

      October 17, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      Today we decided to see a few of the “minor” sites and also visit the National Archaeological Museum. Hadrian’s Library, the Roman Agora, and the museum took up most of the day. We ended with a great dinner in a restaurant near the hotel, which we found by just poking around. Tomorrow, the Acropolis!Read more

    • Day 17

      Plan B

      October 18, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      Well, I could not get Joe out of bed early enough for a trip to the Acropolis. The cruise ship groups start arriving around 9 or 10, so getting there by 8 is one way to avoid the hoards. So, on to Plan B. Luckily, there is no shortage of things to visit in Athens!

      We went to the Ancient Greek Agora, with one gorgeous temple, supposedly the most perfectly preserved of any Doric temple in Greece. We also saw a “jury selection” machine — the citizens put in a credit-card-size engraved stone, and then with some balls rolling around, the jurors are selected. Wonder if it was more efficient than sending letters out to random voters.

      After lunch, we went to the new Acropolis museum. Opened about ten years ago, the Greeks had hoped it would be the perfect place for displaying the Elgin marbles, if only the Brits would send them back. Ha, fat chance!

      Though I did not retain the details of the many times Athens was destroyed by invaders, it did stay with me that the glory days of Athenian democracy lasted from about 490 BC to at the very latest 146 BC when they finally lost out to the Romans. Some current events lead me to wonder whether Athens will continue in first place or whether the US will hold on long enough to beat the record. As the Washington Post says—democracy dies in darkness.

      And we somehow snagged a table at the oh so trendy Nolan Restaurant, which is a Japanese-Greek fusion place and the best meal we’ve had on this trip!
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    • Day 18

      Acropolis or bust!

      October 19, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      So once again we changed our plans. Last night at dinner, the manager of the restaurant suggested that we consider a mid-late afternoon Acropolis trip. If we took the “back door” entry, we would walk up past some of the less-visited sites, like the theater of Dionysus, and by the time we got to the top where the Parthenon and other crowd magnets are, most of the tour groups would be gone.

      That meant late breakfast and morning gym workout, to mix things up a bit.

      First stop, back to Hadrian’s arch (dividing Ancient Greek Athens from Ancient Roman Athens) and the remaining 15 Corinthian columns of what must have been a pretty fantastic temple to Zeus. After a light lunch, a slow stroll (so as not to wear out the old guy before he hit the Acropolis hill) and some ice cream. Finally, at about 3:00, we started up the “back side” of the hill so we could see the huge theater. When we got up to the main sights, the crowds were still pretty heavy, so Joe promptly found a bench and took a nap, while I walked around. At about 4:30, we ventured up the steps and enjoyed the temples. The late afternoon sun was just beautiful. There were people there, but no crushing crowds.

      After sunset, we made our way back down, very happy to have visited such an important and beautiful place.
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    • Day 19

      Last Day in Athens

      October 20, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      For our last day in Athens, Joe had just one thing he wanted to do — walk through the ruins of what is (probably) the site of the Lyceum where Aristotle taught. This is the place where Aristotle supposedly used the “peripatetic” teaching method, walking through th grounds discussing with his students. On our way, we saw some crowds down the street, so we turned in that direction. Lo and behold, it was the weekly ceremonial changing of the guard at the site of the tomb of the unknown soldier, which is right in front of Parliament. We had a great position by some struck of dumb luck, and we were thoroughly impressed with the exaggerated strides of soldiers dressed in traditional military uniforms. Marching, music, all the trappings.

      The ruins of Aristotle’s school leave a lot to the imagination, but there are signs to indicate layout and purpose of buildings. And imagine our surprise to see that right next door was the Medieval and Byzantine museum. Now who could resist that, especially after a quick glance at Michelin saw that it has two stars.

      It is a fabulous place, especially the rooms dedicated to early Christianity up through the fall of Constantinople. We saw shoes from the 5th century! Clothing from the 4th! Lots of beautiful pieces from the early days of Christianity in Greece.

      After a leisurely lunch in the very good museum café, we walked back slowly through the National Gardens, blending in with the many crowds out for their Sunday walk in the sun.

      Tonight we may finally take a stroll through tourist-shop heaven, the narrow pedestrian streets of Plaka, which we have been through only in transit. And then tomorrow, bright and early, off to the airport!
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    • Day 3

      First night in Athens

      May 16, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      After a day of travel, we made it to Athens and our cool Airbnb, complete with balcony jacuzzi. We wasted no time in ordering some Greek wine and popping a bottle of champagne to start the vacation.

      We spent most of the afternoon and evening relaxing with a nice trip to dinner to meet up with Charles's parents. We had a delicious 3+ hour dinner outside with some live music and perfect weather.

      Best food of the day: octopus & calamari over some type of couscous

      Other foods included: gyros, seabass, fried Halumi cheese, sea bass carpaccio, and beef curry with fluffy bread.

      We're starting our morning off the next day with a cappuccino and some fresh yogurt!
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    • Day 3

      Die Evolution alter Steine: alte Straßen

      May 23, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      Nach unserem mittagsstopp bei "Veganaki" machten wir uns wieder auf den Weg. Unser Ziel: Anafiotika. Ein kleines von Einwanderern von der Insel anafi gebautes Viertel direkt unterhalb der Akropolis.
      Schlafenden Katzen, Touristen und schnuckelige Restaurants säumen unseren Weg durch die engen Gassen.
      Wo Touristen sind können die Touristen Shops und die auf der Jagd sich befindenden Restaurantbetreiber nicht weit sein.
      Wir können uns Ihren Sirenen-artigen Annäherungsversuchen aber erwähren.
      Fussläufig von Anafiotika liegt auf das Touristen Viertel Plaka und Monastiraki.
      Durchzogen von einer großen Shopping-Straße, kleineren Nebenstraßen, vielen Menschen und abgedrehten Bars liegt das Viertel da.
      Wir organisierten uns 1,5kg Erdbeeren - kleiner Tipp: Sagt bei den Obsthändlern vor Ort nicht, dass ihr eine tüte Erdbeeren wollt, außer ihr habt großen Hunger - und durchstreiften die Straßen.
      Danach war nicht nur bei uns die Luft raus - auch die Akkus waren am limit- so entschieden wir uns für eine Pause bei Jette bevor wir gemeinsam in Pangrati essen gehen wollten. Im "vegan Vandal" schlugen wir uns die Bäuche voll, bevor es in den wohlverdienten Feierabend ging.
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    • Day 12

      Bisher das beste Essen in diesem Urlaub!

      April 12, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

      Fürs Abendessen hatten wir uns das Restaurant Winners Vegan rausgesucht, was im Nachhinein eine sehr gute Entscheidung war! Bisher war es das beste Essen in diesem Urlaub. Das Restaurant ist rein vegan, somit hatten wir freie Auswahl. Nadine hat sich einen veganen Cheeseburger mit Kartoffeln genommen, ich mir veganes Chicken in Knuspermantel mit Reis. Dazu gabs auch noch Mac n’ Cheese. Bei Nadine waren vor allem die Kartoffeln ein Highlight. Ofenkartofeln mit Trüffelöl und Gewürzen. War insgesamt sehr gut, preislich nicht ganz günstig aber hat gepasst. Sehr gut gesättigt ging’s dann zurück zum Hotel. Wir werden, wahrscheinlich, wieder kommen!Read more

    • Day 34

      Athens again

      October 14, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

      Disembarked in Athens.. Our cruise director made an observation that stuck with me, having been to several countries that are in constant conflict with their neighbours and within their own borders.. On board we had 900 passengers from 33 different countries, with crew of about 450 from 30 different countries.. all living together in peace and harmony for a week. With a bit of tolerance and understanding it's amazing what can happen.

      On our last day in Athens we went to see the Changing of the Guardians, which happens on the hour, every hour at Parliament House, and also at the home of the President. Quite hard to keep a straight face... Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks came to mind 😂
      We also visited the Olympic stadium where the first modern Olympic Games was held in 1896 (the ancient stadium is in Olympia.. about 2.5 hours drive from here).. Wandered through the Botanic Gardens and ambled through the backstreets, stopping for a traditional moussaka and local wine.. to end up at Mars Hill, where we sat and soaked up the view until sunset ❤️
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    • Day 11

      Erste Runde durch Athen

      April 11, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Nach einer kurzen Auszeit im Hotel ging’s los auf unsere erste kleine Runde durch Athen. Ein paar wenige Ziele hatten wir vor dem Abendessen auf dem Schirm. Für heute war aber insgesamt nicht viel geplant, nur ein kleiner Umweg zum Abendessen. Auf dem Weg sind wir durch viele schöne Straße und an vielen wirklich schönen Gebäuden vorbei. Schon unser erster Eindruck von Athen war sehr gut! Gefällt uns! Athen ist die Hauptstadt Griechenlands und die bevölkerungsreichste und flächengrößte Stadt des Landes. Die Gemeinde Athen im Zentrum des gleichnamigen Ballungsraums ist mit einer Fläche von etwa 39 km² dabei relativ klein. Offiziell hat Athen knapp 4 Millionen Einwohner, es wird jedoch eher von circa 5 Millionen Einwohnern ausgegangen, da es hier keine offizielle Meldepflicht gibt. Die Stadt ist seit der Jungsteinzeit kontinuierlich besiedelt und damit eine der ältesten Siedlungen und Städte Europas. 1985 wurde Athen die erste Kulturhauptstadt Europas. Die Akropolis ist Teil des Weltkulturerbes der UNESCO. Auf die Akropolis freuen wir uns schon sehr! Heute haben wir sie bereits vom Balkon aus gesehen und auf unserer kleinen Tour. Am 13.4. steht dann der direkte Besuch an.Read more

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    Athen Bath of Diochares, Greek Bath

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