Athens Part 1 - driving through the city, the Acropolis

I was really excited about seeing Athens for the first time. Whenever I think of Athens I think of the ancient Greeks and their rich culture, their philosophers and their mathematicians. This was the society that gave us the principles of democracy, as we learned on Rhodes, and the Olympic Games. And I know from my Greek friends and other Greeks I have met in Australia, they prize learning, as I do. 

It has been really disturbing to follow the news of the problems with the Greek economy in these modern times. And it was very sad to see the number of villas in ruins on our drive from the port to the Acropolis. Clearly there has not been enough money to renovate and restore them to their former glory. It is so different here in Nuremberg, which we just visited this morning, with extensive renovations going on everywhere. Wherever you looked, there were cranes and scaffolding. 

However, work is still being carried out on the ‘crown’ of Athens - the Acropolis. It rained lightly just as we were arriving very early in the day, making the lovely pink and cream marble rocks a little slippery to climb. And what a climb it was from the bus park - 175 tall steps I believe. I huffed and puffed with asthma but was determined to make it. And I did, albeit as the last one in the group to reach the top. It was very worth all that effort too. It was so awful to hear how invaders had all but destroyed these beautiful, majestic structures, but reassuring to know that they are valued so highly a great effort is being made to restore them as much as possible, a great challenge given the position and steepness of the site and the parlous state of the economy. 

Later on, as we drove through the busy streets of Athens, we saw glimpses of other ancient sites such as the original Olympic stadium. I took photos as best I could from the coach. After a very long visit to a museum, which I will talk about in my next post, we returned to the site of the Acropolis for a very tasty Greek luncheon in a restaurant opposite the hill leading up to the ruins. We had a great view from the windows as well - what a backdrop! I have included a photo from the window.

We were given about 45 minutes free time in an old market area, but I do wish we could have seen even more. I must admit, though, that after climbing up to and picking our way around the ancient site, and then standing listening to our guide wax lyrical for a couple of hours in the museum as she walked us from one exhibition room to another, I was very tired and ready to go back to the ship.

I cannot really identify all the structures in these photos, since there are several structures up at the Acropolis, including the Parthenon, the largest temple in Greece. One shows the view of the city from the Acropolis, another a view of the Acropolis from the coach when driving through the city. The old Olympic stadium is also shown (viewed from the coach).

View from the restaurant.