Sunday, March 29 - Daytrip to Delphi

Delphi is ground-zero for Greek mythology located about a three-hour drive northwest of Athens. I picked Sunday to go in hopes that the legendary traffic mess might be minimized, which was partially the case. However, the universal problem of road construction manifested itself here as well, becoming a bit more of a nuisance on the return trip to Athens; but, after a robust lunch, that merely provided more opportunities to catnap. The street signs are kind of interesting (if "busy") in that they give the destinations in Greek in yellow and in English using white letters.

Delphi is located high in the mountains near Mt. Parnassos, Greece's highest point. Unless I heard him incorrectly, the guide said that ninety-percent of the country is mountainous and that the more than 3000 islands are all mountain tops.

There were several colorful instances of mountains which had provided materials for building through the centuries alongside the National Highway going from Athens in the general direction of Delphi.

According to myths, Zeus released two eagles in different directions from the universe, the point where their paths crossed was deemed to be the center of the world: Delphi. Reconstructed remnants of the original marker of this juncture from about 400 BC are in the museum and a duplicate marks its original spot adjacent to the Temple of Apollo.

museum piece

hardly a museum piece

The Oracle of Delphi would supposedly fortell the future, but he/she/it always gave rather evasive and unspecific answers to questions (sounds as if it was the beginning of school administrator training sessions). But, since the Oracle had set up shop here, this naturally became a pilgrimage destination. Various cities and states from around the world played it safe just in case this might be the real thing and brought huge treasuries to offer to the Oracle in hopes of favorable treatment (it might not be too late, Bernie Madoff). Partially reconstructed is the temple built there by the city of Athens; any decorative elements of the temples/treasuries have been relocated inside the museum.

the Athenian Treasury

Examples of pieces from the Treasuries now in the Delphi Museum.

A temple was built to honor Apollo who had assumed responsibility for the Oracle. Only a few columns remain, principally due to the numerous earthquakes and rockslides in this region over the centuries.

Paradoxically, the 4th century BC theatre at Delphi is among the best preserved outdoor amphitheatres in all of Greece. It could seat 5000 people and is used several times a year for public concerts and events.

Our knowledgeable guide kept us on time and generally on task and we left Delphi about 2:30, stopped for an ok pre-arranged lunch at a nearby restaurant, briefly paused for "last-chance" shopping at a souvenir store, and then headed back to Athens down the same winding roads through the mountains.

It was 7:30 by the time we arrived back in the central section of Athens and the driver could only get within four blocks of my hotel because of the narrow street. I grabbed a Greek salad and a small bottle of what turned out to be TERRIBLE uzo and ate in my room. Later I went back to Constitution Square and tried calling home with mixed results.

Friday, March 27 -- the first full day in the city

Started the day with what was to have been a three-hour walking tour (shades of "Gilligan's Island) of the central part of Old Athens that ended up being more than five hours. The first part was a tour given by a guide who said his name was Aristotle (maybe yes, maybe no; I think on the next Greeter Service tour I give I'll adopt the name Harold Washington) who took a group of seven Americans through the city.

The first stop was outside the Parliament Building in Syntagma Square (the central area of the city) and Greece's Tomb of the Unknown Solder. We happened to arrive just in time for the ceremonial changing of the guard, which occurs every four hours.

















The soldiers performed a sort of native dance when changing the guard. Another Greek army officer was always around to move along aggressive sightseers who moved within six inches of the guards. The guide said that if a guard feels as if someone is acting disrespectful, all he has to do is hit his gun's butt on the ground and the other office removes the offender.




We then went through the adjacent National Gardens, which began in 1839 as the Royal Gardens, initially contained over 15,000 exotic plants. A row of royal palm trees were the gift of the United States just after World War II when the gardens were opened to the public and almost totally replanted.










Our ultimate destination was the top of the Acropolis, but that entailed walking through the city's oldest neighborhood, the Plaka, which is now the city's tourist center with lots of restaurants (think Navy Pier plus Old Town plus River North, all in blue and white). The tiny St. Catherine Church still stands near the base of the Acropolis and is -- wouldn't you know -- popular for lots of upscale weddings.









We then tackled the ascent to the Acropolis (note to self: contact Disney people to develop an easier way to reach the top with stops along the way). In our group were two early-twenty somethings from Indiana University who were studying business this semester at college in Florence (did I miss the memo about Florence being a hotbed of business expertise?) and seemed only interested in having their pictures taken and the guide's narration seemed as much a real inconvenience to them as did their choice of heeled footwear.
















We went up the path with stops for panoramic views of the city and at the Dionysus Theatre where the first Greek plays were presented at festivals.











Finally, at the top of the Acropolis was the famed Parthenon which has been undergoing almost constant repair in the last decades, principally because of the effect of Athens' air quality. Every homeowner can relate to 'always something to do,' especially every couple of thousand years.

View of the Temple of Zeus which is..............Perspective from the top of the
about a mile away from Acropolis. ...............Acropolis toward the Aegean.















The emblematic Parthenon is the most familiar feature on the Acropolis and its history is fascinating. It was so painstakingly designed by what today would be called primitive means, but the blocks fit together so well that even today the seams between them are invisible (reminds me of the seams in the Cloud Gate -- "the Bean" -- in Millennium Park) and that the Parthenon is not constructed of straight lines, but instead is significantly bowed in two directions so as to APPEAR perfectly straight. While earthquakes, invaders, and vandals have done their share of damage, the most severe damage which entailed the entire roof collapsing and much of the interior disintegrated occured during a war with Venice. Seems that some Athenian genius thought that the west side of the Parthenon would be a good place to store explosives and powder as they defended the Acropolis from Ventian shelling; you can picture the rest. Remind anyone of "Good job, Brownie!"?














The tour ended at the Parthenon where we could stay for as long as we wanted; considering the steep walk up the Acropolis, I was fairly confident this would be my ONLY time there this trip so I stayed for more than an hour.


Unfortunately, all the museums and historical sites close at 3pm since high tourist season doesn't begin until April 1. Our guide indicated that the tourist office had just released a study that showed hotel reservations down thirty percent this year compared with last and that the Greek government hinted that these restricted hours might be extended through the usually busy summer and early fall.


I spent the rest of the day exploring the Plaka area around the Acropolis which has numbers of casual restaurants and a wide variety of shops (most overpriced, according to the guide).


Dinner was a chicken gyro and a Greek salad (lacking lettuce, interestingly) at a takeaway and ate in one of the city square parks.



Small Russian Orthodox Church in the busy shopping/nightlife area is an example of the hundreds of parish churches which at one time dotted central Athens; because of the damage from the Greek War of Independence in 1821 against Turkey and population boom following World War II, only about forty of these remain in this area.

Thursday evening -- in Athens

Both flights were mercifully uneventful. The seatmate for the trip into Frankfurt was a wine company representative from Montevedeo (sp?), Uruguay (again, sp?) who was on his way from a show in Chicago to one of Europe's largest wine expositions in Dusseldorf this weekend. Hmmmph, and we thought they only made mustard there.

The Frankfurt airport seemed at least as large if not more spread out than even O'Hare. The Lufthansana boarding process was most un-German; I expected something similar to that of Southwest Airlines where everyone is lined up. Instead, the check-in lane (THE check-in) suddenly opened and people rushed for it. Seated next to me on the full flight was an elderly Greek couple who brought onboard three irregularly shaped boxes of purchases in addition to their carry-on. And "carry on" they did; they were some of the last to board so overheard space was already limited. The flight attendants retained their composure through all the antics of the Greek couple trying to find overhead space, which they eventually accomplished. The flight had a couple of bumpy spots, especially when flying over the Alps, so the pilot activated the 'stay in your seats' lights. This couple apparently saw that as almost a commandment to get out of their seats and either: a) check on the security of each item stuffed into the overheads; b) seek out additional cups of coffee or cans of pop from the flight attendants; c) somehow squeeze into the lavatories;, or d) return service items the instant they were finished with them. In my mind, I thought that this couple had certainly already been banned from both Olympic and Aegean Airlines.

Approaching the Athens airport from the east over the Aegean.

Athens airport is relatively new, having been built for the past Olympics (2004?) But, the subway line between the airport and the downtown area is closed in sections in order to add new stations along the route. Apparently, some type of antiquity is found every time a shovel is put into the ground on these projects and that requires anthropologists to be called in to examine the scene. One of the station sites has already had to be moved and another had to be lowered to thirty feet below the surface rather than the typical ten feet in order not to disturb an ancient cemetery. Mayor Daley just moves 'em.

I took the bus downtown which afforded a much better view anyway. The destination was Sygmata Square, the center of Athens and near the hotel. But, the bus driver stopped before reaching the square because of the nasty traffic. One of the others on the bus said that he announced this was as far as he could go because he needed to start the return trip. Fortunately, all four of the police officers I asked for help along the way spoke English and pointed me in the right direction.

Seems that the same huge group of public employees who were demonstrating last week did so again tonight and tied up traffic for blocks and blocks. Actually, the police had blocked off the streets and were prepared for whatever with their numbers and most had riot gear, including those clear plastic shields. Not the place for me to be.

The hotel is just a few blocks from the square and there is a great illuminated view of the Acropolis out the window.

After settling into the room, I walked back to the Square where things were noticeably quieter and bought an international calling card since I had forgotten my cell phone at home. Actually, the cards are a much better deal than the $1.29 a minute AT&T charges.

That's all done and I'm dragging myself to bed in order to be able to complete a three-hour walking tour of the basic historical district tomorrow morning.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Heading out later tonight ...

It's an 8:35pm AA flight to Frankfurt, arriving about 11am on Thursday morning. Then, a 1:15pm Lufthansa to Athens, arriving about 5pm.

Could it be that "Mamma Mia" will be an inflight movie option?

Let's try this

Hi -- I'll try to log in every day while in Athens from March 26 to April 1, 2009 and maybe even include a few pictures. We'll see how this works out.