The Acropolis: Adventures and Misadventures

After an exhausting day in Delphi, we reluctantly got another early start on Sunday, to head into downtown Athens to see the Acropolis and the Plaka. Since we're in a quiet suburb of Athens, transit into downtown involved taking a bus to the metro station and then the metro into Monistiraki (the district which is home to the Acropolis, Agora and Plaka). Take a group of college students, most of whom have lived in Florida their entire lives, where transportation is achieved by car, or not at all, and you've got a clueless bunch, save for the few lucky souls who have traveled enough or even lived in a place where metros are a popular form of commute. After listening to Mr. Dr. Kaplan explain how the tickets worked, the 90 minute expiration time, the process of "cancelling" (which seems like a terrible name for activating a ticket), the different stops, transfers from bus to train and vice versa, I was a little confused. But once we were actually in transit, things started to make more since. We hopped on the B5 bus around 9:30 which took us to the metro station. From there we walked straight through the ticket booths and scrambled onto a train. This was not only my first time on a metro, but also my first time using public transportation of any sort save for a few taxis in New York City. Up to this point, my knowledge of metros consisted of what I've seen in movies. And since Greeks don't strike me as the type to jump up and start dancing and singing on a fast-moving train (which when you think about it must be really difficult) as Collins so exuberantly does in Rent, the images, I'll reluctantly admit, that were running through the back of my mind during the twenty minute train ride, were those from the final scenes of Final Destination 3. Okay, so, more than likely, the train I was on wasn't likely to speed up to unstoppable speeds, running out of control through the tunnels of Athens, just before it derailed, split into a thousand pieces and decapitated every passenger. But the shakiness of  our car, accompanied by the occasional dissonant scraping of metal on concrete certainly didn't help erase those images from my mind. Morbid thoughts aside, I actually sort of enjoyed the metro. It's quick, it's efficient and it got me from point A to point B without any difficulties. Not to mention, it was pretty cool to go underground in one neighborhood and come back above-ground right smack in the middle of downtown Athens.

From the central square of Monistiraki (which means "little monastery" for the little churches that can be found in the area), we could see the acropolis just peaking over the smaller buildings and shops that surrounded us. As we began our ascent, I immediately thought of the infinitely long and exhausting climbs we endured in Delphi just one day before and wasn't exactly thrilled to do it again. After fifteen minutes of steep hills and ginormous steps, we came to the Aeropagus (a giant rocky hill, named for Ares, that was used as a court of appeals in ancient times) which after a few more loathed stairs, offered an incredible view and an extremely rejuvenating breeze.

The view from the Aeropagus

While we waited for the Kaplans to purchase our tickets for access to the acropolis, I decided to get a refreshing drink. Let me just say that there is nothing like fresh-squeezed orange juice in Greece, on a hot day. So I ordered my orange juice from the drink stand next to the ticket booth and asked the vendor how much I owed him. There have been few times in my life when I've considered cussing someone out. But when this guy poured me a relatively small glass of terrible, watered down orange juice and told me I owed him 4,50 € (approximately the equivalent of $5.60), I momentarily wished I knew how to cuss in Greek. I guess I felt like since he poured it, I had to buy it, but the more I think about it, the more I wish I had shoved it back and told him to keep his jenk orange juice. I guess I got sucked into the tourist trap that is the acropolis.

While we're on that, let me just say that since I have been in Greece, I have never seen so many tourists at one place, as I did at the acropolis. And that was also the first time I'd run into any American tourists (aside from our group). To be honest, the amount of people on the acropolis was overwhelming. Still, I ignored that and enjoyed exploring the ancient acropolis. It was incredible to see the Parthenon, still standing, thousands of years later, after surviving explosions, imperialism and the everyday wear and tear of nature.

The Parthenon!

 

The Theater of Dionysus

The Pandroseion

We have seen so many ruins since we've been in Greece, but I honestly can't even begin to describe how breathtaking they are. I mean, I always thought it was cool that something so old was still in tact, but now that I'm seeing them in person and actually learning about them and the history that surrounds them, it's just incredible to see these things and to imagine what they were like when they were first built, to be able to walk on that ground. What's so intriguing is that these ancient ruins, which represent thousands of years of history and an Athens that we can't even imagine, are just blended in among the modern buildings and streets of Athens. You could get off the metro climb the stairs and find yourself surrounded by 5-6 story buildings, taxis going every direction and people walking around like crazy, but look off to one side or another and you're likely to see some sort of ancient ruin. It's surreal but it serves as a reminder that there is more history to this city than just about any other in the world.

After the acropolis, we made the descent back down the mountain, away from the cooling breeze, crazed tourists and overpriced orange juice, and stopped for lunch at a traditional Greek family-style restaurant. The Kaplans explained that it was their favorite restaurant in Athens and even offered to pay for lunch for the entire group (that's about 24 people, just so we're clear). Greek style dining involves everyone at the table sharing and eating off a bunch of different plates. So our table of six got to choose fourteen traditional Greek dishes to share including fried zucchini, dolmades, tzatziki and my personal favorite, mousaka. It was without a doubt the best meal I've had since arriving in Greece...and believe me, that's saying something. 

The one thing that went untouched? Greek salad. Go figure.

After our amazing lunch, Mrs. Dr. Kaplan gave us a tour of the plaka and then gave us some time for shopping at the flea market. I didn't really care for shopping at the time because I was too tired, so after I bought a much needed bag, I made a beeline for the shade. I spotted a periptero, which is like a little booth on the street that sells bottled drinks, snacks and magazines.

I went to buy a cold bottled water before I grabbed my slab of cool marble metro station steps. As I was getting out my wallet to pay for my water, a guy (let's call him Stan) came up to me shouting in Greek, holding a small bowl out as if he was begging for money. I immediately shook my head to make clear to him that 1) I didn't understand and 2) I wanted him to go away, and turned back to the cashier. He then switched to english saying that he had cancer and had nowhere to go. Since Stan wouldn't leave me alone, one of the periptero cashiers came out and stood between me and him, which quieted Stan but didn't ward him off. After I got my change, I turned to walk away and the cashier that was standing out there immediately stopped me and told me to put my wallet in my bag and close it before I left the stand. Meanwhile, creepy, stinky Stan was standing by. So, I listened to the courteous periptero worker and put my wallet away. The second my wallet was in my bag, Stan turned and walked away immediately. It was then that I realized that I'd just had a close encounter with a pickpocket and, if it weren't for the extremely nice periptero worker, I would have probably had my wallet stolen, and maybe even my entire bag. As freaky as that experience was, it was definitely a good wake-up call to have. It's a reminder that you can never be too careful. Still, I hope I don't get a reminder again.

Finally, after a long day at the acropolis, it was back on the metro and back to our quiet, suburban neighborhood to prepare for the first day of classes. Tourists, tourist traps and pickpockets aside, it was another incredible, if not exhausting, day in Attica.