Athens, Greece
As many times as I’ve traveled to Europe, it still seems
hard for me to believe that it took me until I was 56 years old to make it
Greece and Athens. Athens is a place I
was fascinated with for a while when I was a kid, mostly because of a Benji
movie I saw when I was about 8 or 9 that was set there. It took so long for me largely because it was
out of the way on my earlier trips to Europe when I was traveling by rail and
then got cancelled a few years ago when I made firm plans to make it a stand-alone
destination.
The city’s ancient sites aside, I would not characterize
Athens as one of Europe’s more attractive cities. The views from high points in
the city like the Acropolis and Lycabettus Hill show a desnsely-packed city
that sprawls between the Mediterranean and a number of hill and low mountains
with rather little green space in between.
At ground level there are relatively few notable historic buildings of
the modern era since Athens became the capital of independent Greece two
centuries ago. The city’s Orthodox
Cathedral is small by the standards of those in Catholic countries.
Ditto for
the city’s other churches, even though some have opulently painted interiors.
Greece’s parliament stands in the center of the city and is monumental in size
but looks like a big box. Tourists can’t
go inside.
And Athens has to be the world capital of graffiti. Such unauthorized
street art has become a blight all over Europe and not just in its large cities,
but in Athens it’s a class all its own.
The Metro trains look like those of New York City in the 1970s. Much of it, of course, makes no sense to me
since it is written in Greek, but there’s plenty in English advertising itself
as the work of Antifa and other left-wing extremist groups. Athens has a reputation as a hotbed for
radicalism, especially since the financial crisis for 10 to 15 years ago.
One of fAthens best attractions is its central market a
little north of center. It is earthier
and less touristy than some of the other famous ones in Europe such as La Boqueria
market in Barcelona. The produce, meat, and fish on sale are impressive and the
food at the small stalls and cafes authentic and reasonably priced.
What may be Athens best tourist spectacle is the changing of
the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of parliament. The basic changing of the guard takes place
hourly on the hour and involves only a few soldiers in traditional Greek
military costume – tight leggings, a skirt, and big shoes with pompoms on them. The big event, however, takes place on
Sundays at 11:00 A.M. when a military band and a much larger contingent of such
uniformed soldiers marches down the street through the square for the ceremony
and then repeats on the way out after the changing has been completed. The dress of the guards is unique to Greece.
2025-05-23