Overcoming Agoraphobia in Athens

From Amsterdam, I took an Aegean Air flight to Athens and started my ~2 weeks in Greece! It was a transportation heavy day, as both sides of the journey required a train to/from the airport.

The hostel in Athens had a great location right near the Acropolis and the Plaka neighborhood. However, it was a bit shocking emerging from the metro station into the crowded Monastiraki square, which I later learned is one of the social hubs of the city. An eclectic mix of locals and confused tourists. Walking with my backpack and messenger bag, I had to be careful not to bowl over the distracted shoppers stopping in the middle of the path. After all that complex navigation, I enjoyed the simplicity of a no-frills gyro plate.

The next day, I took to exploring Athens in earnest. I headed straight to the Acropolis, the city's signature site, lining up before it was open. When the floodgates opened at 8:00am, I made a beeline for the top, weaving through the clusters of guided tours. I was rewarded with light crowds around the Parthenon as it soaked up the morning light. I listened to the free Rick Steves audio guide for background on its history and construction. For example, some of the columns are slightly angled or tapered to compensate for an optical illusion that would otherwise make them look off. Also, the conservation efforts involve replacing some pieces with marble chunks that currently are a different shade of white, but over time they will fade and blend in with the existing marble (perhaps you could call them "editorial columns?") But the Acropolis had much more than just the Parthenon - there is a grand entrance, several temples, and a theater that's still used for events today. It's awe inspiring to walk around something that has been around for 2500 years! Especially one that only took 10 years to build originally.

Escaping through the viscous Acropolis crowds, I dispelled any agoraphobia and entered the Ancient Agora. It was once the political, commercial, and social heart of Athens but now is mostly a field of rubble. Once again, I turned to Rick Steves for a history lesson. The two most interesting sites were a reconstructed stoa (a long hall) and the well preserved Temple of Hephaestus, god of metallurgy. There was also a museum with neat artifacts, including coins, cooking tools, and a device for randomly selecting jurors. Apparently ancient Athens had jury duty!

I walked down to the Central Market, expecting a mix of shops, but quickly realized it was exclusively a meat market with many raw displays. I found a restaurant nearby and ordered a half rack of ribs, figuring they would be fresh. The ribs were served with a BBQ pomegranate sauce and crispy zucchini fries, quite a treat.

To beat the afternoon heat, I visited the Museum of Folk Instruments. I loved learning about the different types of drums, clarinets, violins, guitars, and bells used in traditional Greek music. Outside, a few street musicians were playing so I stopped and listened. I complimented their playing and told them I was a guitar player myself. To my surprise, they handed me one of their guitars and asked to hear a tune! I obliged, and made some brief but friendly conversation before heading on my way.

One downside of backpacking is building in time for laundry, but I used the downtime for a coffee and a baklava gelato. It also gave me time to stop and admire some cute street kitties - Athens is definitely a cat city.

For my final outing of the day, I stopped by the Temple of Zeus, or at least what's left of it. One of the columns was knocked over, and separated into its individual rings like a giant Lego set. Then I hiked up Philopappos Hill for sunset views. Athens is very pretty at night, especially near the illuminated ancient sites. I passed by multiple classical guitar players on my walk back towards the hostel. One was quite good, so I got a takeout falafel wrap for dinner, backtracked, and continued listening while I ate.

The hostel had a rooftop bar with nighttime views with the Acropolis and cheap beer. It was fun chatting with other travelers, and swapping travel stories. We all commented on how surreal it was to be there with the Parthenon as the backdrop! I thought back to my 6th grade history class, where we did a Greece simulation. My group represented the city-state of Athens and we built a replica of the very same Parthenon. How crazy to be in Athens and have the gift of an entire day revolving around it.