Five months traveling in Central America was wonderful, but by fall that year I was ready for another adventure, this time Athens and Rome book marked with a Windstar cruise between these cities. I am reporting on this trip in three posts: 1. Athens and Greek Islands 2. Windstar cruise and 3. Rome/Hadrian’s Villa/Villa d’Este
Athens and Greek Islands
Athens
From our hotel, Electra Palace Hotel, we were only a 10-minute walk from the Acropolis and could even see the it glowing from our balcony!!!!
There were many wonderful things to do in Athens, but I will only mention my favorites.
The Acropolis: As we walked up the hill, we were amazed at the first structures of the Acropolis. But even more so, at the next level, when we were greeted by the Parthenon. Yes it was not all there and yes it suffered greatly from years of mistreatment, but what was there was magnificent.
The columns were immense and so incredibly beautiful. Each column was a bit different in design. Today the marble has a tan/pink tint but when new, it was white. I can only imagine what it looked like with the sculptures and painted figures.
The building across from the Parthenon has six beautiful ladies acting as the pillars. The ones at the Acropolis are replicas, with 4 of the originals in the Acropolis Museum, one in France and one in England. They suffered a lot over the last 50 years and are safer in a museum.
On the Acropolis grounds there is a terrace with a flag pole with a sad and moving history: When the Nazis came, they told the soldier on the terrace to take down the Greek flag and put up the German flag. He took down the flag, wrapped it around him and jumped to his death. A few days later, a couple of boys climbed up the wall (it is incredibly steep) and took down the German flag and put back the Greek flag. That was the beginning of the resistance.
The Acropolis Museum was terrific. It is built over excavations of ancient Athens and you can still see the excavations when walking into the museum.
There were wonderful exhibits of the remains of the Parthenon statuary. The statues are so lifelike – how do they make marble flowing? What’s missing are Elgin marble statues, they are in the British museum.
We were lucky to be in Athens for a very special concert at the museum given on my birthday, by the Hungarian embassy. Two young ladies played Hungarian music, mostly Jewish Hungarian music on the piano and violin. It was just beautiful. When the concert was over, we followed everyone to the level below – the one with the lovely statues. Everyone stopped and turned around to look at balcony where the concert had been held and the ladies played an encore above us. It was magical. We were able to hear a concert and re-visit the artifacts.
Agora: Is the town center where all the greats like Socrates and Plato hung out. Our first stop was the little museum, which is housed in a re-built old market place.
The museum had artifacts as far back as 3,000 BCE. There were a number of unique items that we had never seen before; a child’s potty seat, a water clock that timed the political speeches (it took 6 minutes for the 1.7-gallon jug to drain) and the Grecian ballot box and voting chips.
We continued in the Agora to look at the drainage system and then to the almost perfectly preserved Temple of Hephaistos. It was built about the time of the Parthenon (450 BCE) but was a much smaller structure. It is a Doric temple with the heavy columns and an inner structure.
Because it was less important, it was left alone. It did convert to a church when the Christians came but unlike the Parthenon, it was never a mosque. There were still some reliefs on its parapet.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a must, if only to watch the Evzone infantry soldiers dressed in traditional dress, march around in a bizarre fashion with legs raised high. Their kilts have 400 pleats to represent the 400 years under Turkish domination.
A walk down Ermou Street, a pedestrian walkway, with lots of lovely shops and tons of cafes on the side streets was fabulous. About half way on Ermou Street we ran into a charming medieval church (11th or 12th century) in the middle of the pedestrian street, I mean literally in the middle of the street.
The Church of Kapnikarea’s exterior blocks were pilfered from earlier buildings, including the Parthenon. Like most churches in Greece, this is an Eastern Orthodox Church. It is square and very small, with the dome in the center. The parishioners stand up during the church service; there are only a few seats for the infirm.
Just outside the church is a statue to Archbishop Damaskinos. He spoke up for the Jews against the Nazi’s and was almost executed. Jews built the statue, as a thank you after WWII.
Hydra, Poros and Aegina – 3-island tour from Athens
We took a 3-island tour. The top deck of the boat had Greek dancing between stops.
Hydra was my favorite island – it is an enchanted place. The approach to the port, was extremely picturesque. The tiny port was busy with a freight boat being unloaded on the backs of donkeys. Donkeys are a must because this small rocky island does not seem to have any roads. We visited the fort, watched port activity, and walked along the quay. The allotted hour was spent very pleasantly in the sunny morning.
In Poros, we climbed up to the clock tower. The view from the top was spectacular.
Aegina was quite large, and to see the sites, we had to join a tour. We visited the Temple of Aphaia and the Monastery of Agios Nectarios. The Temple, though smaller than the Acropolis, was large by any other standard. The columns were beautiful. The monastery is a required pilgrimage for the Greeks.
Final Comments
- Athens is a wonderful city to visit on your own. I used the Rick Steves audio and it really did its job.
- Seeing the replica statues in the acropolis and then in the museum was terrific.
- The islands are just so amazing. So beautiful.
- Greek food in Athens is even better than Greek food in NYC
Nili's Adventure 
Thanks, reminds me why I want to go back someday! Sent from my iPad
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