An Athens Adventure

Athens, Greece November 11, 2011

We left the Silver Wind with a bit of sadness this morning, went into the port terminal, collected our luggage and headed for the taxi stand to find a cab to take us to our hotel in Athens. Lynda negotiated a fare of 15 Euros and we were on our way. Our cab driver, Eunysis, almost immediately started to make a deal with us to show us the sites of Athens this afternoon. Our plan had been to find our hotel, reconnoiter the area and then tomorrow take a get on-get off bus to all of the major sites. Eunysis told us the weather was suppose to be cold and rainy tomorrow and that he would show us the sites today for 20 euros an hour. After much discussion between Tim and Lynda it was decided we would take Eunysis up on his deal. So after dropping our luggage at the hotel we got back in the cab and headed for the Acropolis.

On the way he explained that we could buy one ticket for each of us that would get us into all the major sites. When we arrived at the parking lot below the Acropolis Eunysis pointed out the direction we should go to get to the ticket office but first there was something he needed for us to do. He asked Tim to take a package to his cousin who was waiting about 50 meters up a path by the parking lot offering to knock 10 Euros off the price of our tour. His cousin, Arestes, would be waiting in a small opening wearing a brown leather jacket. We agreed to deliver the package. Little did we know that Arestes name would be so prophetic. Tim found the opening in the trees and Arestes without a problem. However, as he handed the package to Arestes, a small but sinewy built man jumped out from behind a tree and grabbed at the package. Tim saw the flash of a long stiletto the intruder was holding and, with speed that he did not know he possessed, kicked at the attacker’s arm, sending the attacker to the ground and the knife skittering across the ground. Before Tim could react any further, Arestes grabbed the knife and slit the throat of the attacker. Tim fled back down the path towards the cab. He was met about half way down by police. With an immense sense of relief he stopped to explain the situation but before he could two police officers grabbed him and roughly carried him the rest of the way down the hill to the waiting taxi that was now surrounded by police cars and officers. We were loaded in one police car, Eunysis, now hand cuffed, was put in another. We were all taken to a police station where we were told to wait and Eunysis was led away, never to be seen again. The police separated us and began questioning us, ignoring our pleas for the right to call the U.S. Embassy. After several hours we were brought back together, released and taken back to our hotel with no explanation as to what had happened. Needless, to say we needed a drink so we headed to the nearest taverna and were shocked when we entered and saw Arestes sitting on a stool at the bar, smoking a cigarette and nursing a bottle of beer.

The above paragraph was for our beloved son, Jeff, who was convinced that our description of the ride through the old town of Alexandria with our driver, Mustafa, sounded straight out of a Robert Ludlum novel. Here is what really happened. We did, in fact, catch a cab at the port driven by a driver named Eunysis and he did offer to show us the sites in Athens, an offer we accepted. We spent a wonderful, albeit, tiring four hours visiting some amazing places. The first stop was the Acropolis. The Acropolis sits on top of the highest hill in Athens and was the seat of the Greek government when it was built in 430 B.C. The surviving buildings are immense and we were in awe of the views looking out over Athens from the Acropolis. As with the Pyramids in Egypt, one cannot begin to comprehend how these structures could possibly be built over 2000 years ago. It took us over 45 minutes to walk to the top of the Acropolis, wander among the various buildings and climb back down to our cab. From the Acropolis we went to the Temple of Zeus, which is also the site of Hadrian’s gate. When built, the Temple of Zeus contained 104 columns of which 16 are still standing. Hadrian’s gate separated the old, original part of Athens from the newer city. We’re talking thousands of years ago. Fortunately the Temple was on fairly flat terrain and easy to walk about. Eunysis next took us to the stadium that hosted the first of the Modern Olympic games in 1896. The stadium has a seating capacity of 60,000 people and by present day standards is not very impressive. 116 years ago we are sure the Olympic athletes of the world thought it to be quite something. From the stadium Eunysis took us to the Roman Agora and the Tower of the Winds. The Agora was the first major market built by the Romans in Athens. The Tower of the Winds was a combination clock and weather station. There was once a bronze weather vane atop the Tower that showed the direction of the wind and the tower itself acted as a sundial. There was some sort of water device inside the Tower that showed the time of day on cloudy days and after dark. At this point Eunysis pointed out a nearby square where we would find some shops and cafes and told us to take an hour to browse about. We took advantage of this time for a welcome beer and glass of wine and a light lunch. After lunch we did drive by’s of the University of Athens (the original Spartans? J), and the Parliament building and then drove through Plaka, a wonderful neighborhood of small streets filled with many restaurants and shops. We plan to head back there tonight for dinner. Our last stop was the Ancient Agora, the Temple of Hephaestus and the Stoa of Attalos. These were all on one site and very impressive ruins. In one of the displays here we saw examples of devices for timing speeches, a system for selecting jurors and an explanation of the system of ostracism where the citizens of Athens voted for the person they did NOT want to hold an office. These people were sent away from Athens for 10 years. Maybe we should use this system in the States then all of the politicians would be sent away for 10 years. Couldn’t hurt.

Our hotel, while attractive and comfortable inside, is not particularly well located. We are right in the middle of the Central Market area which during the day is abuzz with activity but after dark may not be quite so exciting. We will use a cab to get to where we want to go tonight. Who knows? Maybe we will have another adventure!

Good Evening. It is 8:30 and we are back in our room after a lovely evening out. We walked to the Plaka area and found a little pedestrian street with lots of enticing little shops. After a bit of window shopping and buying we went to dinner at a restaurant recommended by one of the shopkeepers. After the extravagant four course meals we have had on board our ship, a simple dinner of moussaka, Greek salad and wine was wonderful. While at dinner a guitar player came in and started playing and singing near our table. Lynda, as she is want to do, started flirting with him and, of course, he ended up at our table. We assume he was playing and singing Greek folk or popular songs. We couldn’t tell. It was all Greek to us! (Insert groan here.) The guitar playing was very good and it was understated. Unfortunately, he blew it because he started singing Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” as he left our table. After dinner we did a bit more shopping and walked back to our hotel in a brisk wind. Probably mid to low 50’s. When we got back to our room we were treated to a spectacular view of the Acropolis, lit at night, from the window of our 8th floor hotel room. How spectacular is it? Tim thinks it is even better than watching Keith Nichol catch a “Hail Mary” pass from Kirk Cousins as time expires in the 4th quarter against Wisconsin. We will see what tomorrow brings. We would like to see the changing of the guard at the Parliament Building, but it depends on the weather.
The next post has more pictures of Athens.