feldmanlarry

About 6:05 AM, I had some conflicting feelings.

On the negative side:

• I was behind schedule to finish packing and would have to rush to check out in time to meet Christos at 6:20 for the drive to the airport
• My stomach didn’t feel great
• My shoulder didn’t feel great
• It hurt to be awake after only 4-5 hours of sleep
• I wouldn’t be able to have any coffee or food until after the 40 minute drive to the airport, checking in, and going through security and passport control in Larnaca, Cyprus
• I had a 1 hour 40 minute flight with its stresses
• The burden of being away for 3.5 weeks was getting to me

On the positive side:

• When I got to the airport, I’d have plenty of coffee, free internet, and food in the Business Class lounge
• There would be a massive breakfast and plenty of coffee on the plane
• I could nap later in the day
• In a few hours, I’d be climbing the Acropolis to see the Parthenon
• I’d be home in 2-3 days

I realized that this balanced to about 90% positive and 10% negative.

In conclusion – “Stop whining, you lucky SOB!”

Last view of Cyprus, I’ll miss it (left). Thanks to iPhoto’s GPS, this is Crete (right)

 

When I mentioned to Michael V., who lives one block from us in Indiana, PA that I would be in Athens, he recommended that I use his favorite taxi driver in Athens. Michael is of Greek ancestry and visits Greece a lot. I had called the taxi driver, Tolis, a couple of months ago and got his email. We had made various arrangements partly with suggestions from Michael.

A quick shout out to Michael V. Tolis was a great find and made my two days in Athens much better. THANKS!

Tolis was there with my name on a sign as soon as I cleared passport control in Athens. I had been warned in Cyprus that there is almost always some kind of strike or big demonstration going on in Athens and sure enough there was a mass transit stoppage planned for Monday (tomorrow) from 11-3. This impacted the travel plans. I definitely would go out of town tomorrow when the stoppage is going on rather than today. If there was a problem with seeing the Acropolis and the Parthenon on Monday, I would be heartbroken. It was crucial to see the Parthenon first thing. Since it was too early to check in to the hotel, Tolis left me off at the foot of the Parthenon and he waited in his taxi for me.

Greece has been trying to repatriate some of the Parthenon relics that were taken by the British and now stored in the British Museum. Greece had been criticized for not having a big enough museum to display what they wanted. So now they built a much bigger museum. The most interesting feature to me was that when they discovered an archaeological site below the building, they put in glass floors. I’m not sure why they put these annoying dots on the glass. Maybe it keeps people from thinking they are magically flying above the ground or something stupid like that.

Standing on top of a working archaeological site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only part without the glass and dots. I wonder which ancient era the table and chairs come from (I’m guessing the 1970’s), right.

The museum was very spacious and the pieces were high up with plenty of room to see each piece. There was so much to see that I quickly got overwhelmed. Instead of really enjoying the experience I got eager to go and see the Parthenon. I did get everywhere in the museum but only a few times did I just stand and stare for a while. Maybe this had to do with the fact I didn’t have a guide telling me which pieces were the big deal. I hadn’t realized before this how much my guides had helped with focusing my attention on a few pieces that were especially important.

 

The museum had a no camera rule, probably because of the danger of flash on the relics. Other museums allowed cameras but no flash. Probably they didn’t trust people to turn off their flashes. Margaret criticizes me for deciding on my own which rules to follow and which to break, without knowing the reason for the rules. It felt right for me to actually obey this rule though.

New Acropolis Museum from the top of the Acropolis

I’m pretty sure “Acropolis” means something like high city. It certainly involved some elevation change. I rediscovered the effect of gravity on one’s energy. Fortunately, the effort was many times more than worth it.

Later I discovered that I was sweating so much from the climb that my passport got a little wet. Fortunately, there’s no real damage. I need to get a plastic passport cover, although it will be annoying given the number of times you have to show your passport. The passport is used instead of airline tickets, they just scan it to bring the flight up. I needed it multiple times for each flight and repeatedly at border crossings and a few times inside Israel. Every hotel makes a copy of the front page. I usually never put in anywhere except my front pocket or a couple of times in the hotel room safe.

What a thrill to be at one of the man made wonders of the world. It is as impressive as you would think it is.

Athens First National Bank (also known as one of the seven wonders of the world)

I promise never to take a picture again with the front camera, sorry for posting this

Other views of the Parthenon, truly wonderful to be there

The Erechtheion, another amazing building on the Acropolis

The Propylaea, still another building on the Acropolis. I’m trying to get a guy I recruited to take my picture to get the whole column rather than taking the picture so low. It didn’t work.

I asked Tolis about getting lunch at a place where he would go rather than at a tourist place. He took me to his favorite taverna in the area of Athens he lives in called Pagrati.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tolis outside his favorite tavern, called Tzimes, or Jimmy’s (Demetri’s), left.

Grilled pork, tatziki, and grilled peppers (right).

As we were finishing, we ran into his best friends who had just been hanging out with his sons and wife. He told me the next day that they found me “cute and nice.” I loved being called cute. I wonder if that’ll be the last time anyone ever calls me that. I have a memory of being called cute when I was very young and asking my parents what it meant. I remember them taking a long time to explain it and I still didn’t get it until they used it in other situations. Why I would remember that is beyond me.

Tolis’ friends who called me cute

Tolis’ wife is Turkish I guess makes it official that a theme of my trip is the relationship between Turkey and Greece. That relationship is at the heart of modern Cyprus. The comparison between Istanbul (where I had been that morning) and Athens to me was significant. To Tolis, there wasn’t that much of a difference. I’m not sure if it was the difference between the Muslim culture of Istanbul and the Greek Orthodox one or the feeling of being in the two big very Asian feeling markets (Spice Market and Grand Bazaar) that made Istanbul feel less European than Athens.

His wife is still a Turkish citizen and owns property in Heybeliada, one of Princes Islands in the Sea of Marmara, just outside Istanbul. She would have to sell her property if she became a Greek citizen. Their kids are Greek citizens but if they serve in the Greek army, they could also become Turkish citizens without having to join the Turkish army. It was good to see one of these classic hatreds being overcome in a healthy way. His wife makes a living giving private Turkish lessons.

After lunch, I was ready to go to the hotel and relax a bit. At check-in I accepted their offer for a room with a view of the Acropolis for 19 euros beyond the 105 euros I was already paying. This turned out to be an excellent choice. Not only did I have a stunning view of the Acropolis from my balcony but the Parthenon stared at me while lying down in bed.

View of Parthenon from my balcony (left), from my bed (right)

 

After an extended nap, I got up to go to the corner of Mitropolos and Aolo where two of the most interesting areas meet called the Plaka and Monasteraki. I had no idea which area I was in but I just kept walking around. There seemed to be very few tourists out, mostly Greeks in their 20’s. I went into a bar that was really hopping, people dancing on the tables, live music, people singing along. I clearly didn’t fit with that crowd and wasn’t in the mood to try. Someone could have made a good film at this place about the mating rituals of the local species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monasteraki and / or Plaka, not sure which.

I had no idea where I was, but just kept on walking. My goal was to keep going until I had almost had enough, then start looking for a taxi. Before that happened, I had to stop for a gyro or souflaki, not sure what the difference is. A couple of servers at the place I found kept leaving the place with food and coming back in a few minutes. I saw them outside when leaving and they were bringing food from this cheap take out place to the fancy restaurants in the area, probably for twice the price.

 

The cook and a server at the souvlaki take out place in the Monasteraki or Plaka

It wasn’t bad finding a taxi and I went to sleep looking at the Parthenon. Another intense day.