Ports, Psirri and Pops

Friday
We spent the morning exploring Pireaus, the port of Athens. We walked to the three different harbors and the city got increasingly beautiful the further along we got. The first harbor, where all the ferries come in, is pretty grungy. On our walk to the other two we saw remains of shipsheds and arsenals and visited the Pireaus Archaeological Museum. It's pretty hilarious, and a bit sad, but most of the remains now have condos on top of them. To see the arsenal we had to walk into a parking garage, and to see one of the ship sheds we peered through dirty glass windows beneath an apartment building.

Tomb, Pireaus Museum

The last harbor was lined with fancy restaurants that I would definitely take my parents to (well, I would have my parents take me to) if they were visiting :). One of the restaurants reminded me of an I Spy book...

Cute restaurant

Last night a group of us went to a Taverna in our neighborhood for dinner. Afterwards I went into the city with a few friends and sat on the giant rock near the Akropolis (whose name I can't remember) and enjoyed the beautiful view of Athens at night. The Akropolis was completely lit up and spectacular. Plus you could see the moon and some stars, which was completely unexpected given the smog that covers Athens. I was also surprised at the lack of light pollution. Yes, there were lights throughout the city, but in general the buildings keep their lights off--for example, in our apartment, the light in the stairwell is not always on, but there's a button on each floor to press that turns the lights on for about 20 seconds. What a novel, energy saving concept...why not jump on the bandwagon, U.S.?

Saturday
This morning I went to synagogue (well...I slept in, took my time getting ready and missed services), but I went to Chabad for lunch which was lovely. There weren't as many guests as the last time I was there but I still enjoyed it a lot. There were two other American women, both from New York (no surprise there). One was here for archaeological purposes and the other is a food blogger who is exploring Athens for the weekend before heading to one of the islands for a weeklong cooking course! So exciting, interesting and fun to chat with her :) If you're interested: http://kitchenconundrum.com/

Went out to a bar in Psirri in the evening. I love that neighborhood!

Sunday
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
Got my dad a Dhani Jones Michigan bow tie. Other gifts included a new Tilly hat and a seltzer maker (that looks like a penguin!)

Dad

Slept in :) and worked on my paper for most of the day, then finally made it to the traditional Greek dance performance after getting mildly lost.

I hate Sundays...or at least Sundays filled with school work...I thought this was summer?Papers? What is this nonsense?

The dance performance was interesting though. The costumes and moves were silly but it was fun!

Traditional Greek Dance

Lesson of the Day
Greeks don't share beer. You order a liter and they bring it out in a gigantic mug.

Photo of the Day
Why is my smile crooked? The beer is still full...

Mach's Auf Deine Weisse!

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 101
Archaeological museums visited: 9 in Greece, 1 in Italy
Liters of bier drinken: 4.75, give or take
Photos taken: 3201

Tomorrow

• Back to the Agora for a special tour by one of the archaeologist working on the excavations as well as the author of many of the books we use for class, John Camp
• Finishing my paper

Corinth

Today

Temple of Apollo, Ancient Corinth

Such a beautiful and exhausting day. We started off at 8 AM and took the bus to Corinth. We stopped at the Corinthian Canal (which I had seen over the weekend), and then continued to the ancient city of Corinth to visit the archaeological site and museum. Corinth is known for it's long history of disasters such as earthquakes and invasions; most of what we saw were remains from the Roman rule of Corinth so we noticed a lot of Roman architectural features such as arches. In the museum we saw many statues and a lot of pottery (as usual). It was nice that the museum was small because it was easier to see, understand and stay focused on everything. I enjoyed this site because it was similar to the Agora we visited yesterday--you could see and walk around most of the ancient Roman city of Corinth--from roads, stoas and temples to baths and fountain houses.

This was one of my favorite pieces in the museum. We didn't talk about it at all but I liked that he is wearing a crown made of the city.

Head of Tyche

After exploring and learning on site, we ventured up to Acrocorinth--the acropolis of ancient Corinth.

View of Acrocorinth from the archaeological site

We took a bus to the gates of the acropolis. At first it looked like we couldn't climb all the way up because they were doing work on site, but it turns out the sign only said "Danger," not "Do not enter," so while most of the class stopped at one of the first landings to enjoy their lunch, I ventured up to the highest point (building? castle?) and ate my lunch overlooking the sea, mountains and farmland...pretty spectacular.

View

Just for reference, I was leaning against the front wall of this castle. This photo was taken 2/3 of the way up to the top.

Lunch spot

I sat there for awhile and then hiked up the neighboring hill for another excellent panoramic view. So many panoramas...I'm not sick of it though and will definitely miss them when I return to the flat, snowy wonders of Michigan.

Afterwards we bussed down to the sea and had beach time before coming back to the bustling wonders of Athens.

Beach time!

I know that yesterday I said we were also visiting Perachora today, but the teachers decided to give us more time to explore Corinth, which I am thankful for.

I am completely exhausted. We decided to wait until the weekend to go to the Greek dance performance.

Photos of the Day

Sheep and goats at the gate to Acrocorinth

Crack

Just your average lunchtime view

Lesson of the Day
At the end of the day, it's well worth the hike.

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 98
Archaeological sites visited: 11
Archaeological museums visited: 8 in Greece, 1 in Italy
Castles climbed: 3
Photos taken: 3158

Tomorrow

• Morning in Pireaus
• Kolonaki (fancy neighborhood nearby) for the Friday afternoon market and exploring
• Synagogue and Chabad?
• Dance performance?

Agora and Anti-Austerity

Today

The Agora was open so we went there this morning. The Agora is the ancient marketplace that served as both a political and commercial center. We explored different democratic buildings including the Tholos (circular temple) and both the old and new Bouleuterion (building that housed the council of citizens): the old one had square bench seating while the new one was more rounded, like a theater. We also saw various living quarters, the supposed jail where Socrates drank his poison, and the Stoa of Attalos. The Stoa has been entirely and almost precisely reconstructed and while it used to hold various shops, now houses many sculptures as well as a museum. This is the site of the Hephaisteion Temple which we visited on one of our first trips, but there are lots of other remains located throughout the Agora. One of my favorites was a roof panel. Boring, right? The reason I liked it so much was because it was an example of standardization. The panel on display showed that the Greeks had transitioned from having a various shapes and arrangements of tiles for roofing to one specific design so that it was easier to replace missing tiles. Pretty cool that standardization existed in the 5th century B.C...or pretty sad that we're still perfecting it today?

Bouleuterion, Hephaisteion in the background

Statue of Emporer Hadrian

Standardized Roof Tile

Luckily it was pretty overcast today so it wasn't too hot and sticky of a morning. Unfortunately, I spent a majority of the afternoon inside because of the strike and protests going on around Athens. Up until today, they've been relatively peaceful, but this afternoon they got violent. I am safe and was safe all day but there was a bit of excitement as protestors marched down my street and near the school. Policemen were blocking the end of our street for awhile but I felt safe the entire time. I was sitting on my balcony watching for a bit, but the distant tear gas started to bother my eyes so I decided it was best to lay low inside for the afternoon. Even though everything was happening just 4 stories below, it still felt very surreal and distant. Looking at photos and reading about the protests online, it didn't seem like that was happening right down the street from me. I'm not sure what that says about me or the situation, just an observation.

Things have calmed down since this afternoon and apparently the protests have become peaceful once again. I decided not to go to the Greek dance performance tonight, though, and will try again either tomorrow or over the weekend.

My street

Photo(s) of the Day
At one point, a police officer walked up with a big box and I was trying to figure out what it was, thinking he was bringing weapons of some sort...turns out it was just water bottles and sandwiches. Even in the middle of a riot, ya gotta eat!

Lunch Break

Lesson of the Day
Photoshop trials take a long time to download

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 97
Archaeological sites visited: 10
Archaeological museums visited: 7 in Greece, 1 in Italy
Photos taken: 3158

Tomorrow

• Day trip to Corinth and Perachora
• maybe going to the Greek dance performance if I have any energy left
• should probably start thinking about paper #2 for class

Day of the Holy Spirit and West Attica

Monday

Today was some holiday so my random wanderings of Athens were much more crowded than usual. It was fun to see Athenian youth out and about, but as always there were also mobs of tourists especially because some Athenians took advantage of the long weekend and travelled. Fushia and I explored the neighborhood of Gazi, located west of the center of the city. Gazi is the former home of The Athens Gasworks (The Gazi Factory), which ceased operation in the 1980s. Since then, they have repaired and restored the buildings and turned Gazi into a fun neighborhood lined with parks, cafe, restaurants and bars The main building that belonged to the factory, The Technopolis, now hosts outdoor concerts. Walking around, we saw lots of Greek 20-somethings playing backgammon and hanging out in cafes; we hope to go back some time this week to see a show!

The Technopolis

Sculpture at The Technopolis

Close up

We wandered around Psirri and Plaka a bit before settling down at the Aegli cafe in the National Gardens and having an afternoon snack worthy of Dave and Christina's Saturday cheat day.

Waffles

Today

Our first stop was Eleusis, where various myths related to Demeter and Persephone occured. (Google it for details.) We wandered around the site, saw the (supposed) Gates to Hell, the well at which Demeter mourned the loss of Persephone to the underworld as well as some other remains. There was a museum on site that held some interesting statues and pottery.

Gates to The Underworld

Woman column

Next we traveled for about an hour into the mountains and hiked up to a Gypsy Castle where we sat overlooking West Attica and ate lunch. Apparently there were rattlesnakes and scorpions on site, but everyone came out alive. The view was pretty but a lot of the farmland is turning brown and dying due to the immense heat. Luckily, however, it wasn't too hot today--there was some wind and cloud cover which was much appreciated. On site we learned a bit about the ecology and fauna of Attica.

On top of the castle

View

Next we drove to Porto Germano where we hiked up to another castle and an old Byzantine church. Then we walked down to a beautiful stone beach in a cove where we played for a bit. The water was crystal clear and I loved being seaside as well as surrounded by mountains.

Beach at Porto Germano

Photo of the Day

My photoshop trial just ran out :(
I haven't been editing too much but I like to on occasion and there were some photos from today that I wanted to play with, but oh well. I'm attempting to install a different trial version but it currently says there are 8 hours remaining. For now, subpar photos.

Moss on marble

Lesson of the Day
Stone beaches are surprisingly comfortable and in fact much more enjoyable than sand beaches because you and everything you have on/with you doesn't get completely covered in sand.

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 95
Archaeological sites visited: 9
Archaeological museums visited: 6 in Greece, 1 in Italy
Castles climbed: 2
Photos taken: 3136

Tomorrow

The city of Athens on strike so it's questionable what we will and will not be able to do. We are supposed to visit the Agora but if that doesn't work I think we are going to walk up Lykkavetus Hill for an excellent view of Athens.

Tomorrow evening I hope to go to a traditional Greek dance performance at the Dora Stratou Theater, but that depends on how many people are actually on strike and what is open.

Lazy Sunday

Today

Biggest thunderstorm ever. I think someone is dumping buckets of water on my balcony. It's a good excuse to be have a lazy day though and catch up on some blogging and reading :)

Friday

National Archaeological Museum, Day 2. I really am learning a lot--I like being able to recognize mythological gods and characters based on what they're wearing, holding or doing. I still haven't seen all of the museum but I've enjoyed what I have seen. My favorite from Friday was the bronze room, especially the display the sculpture-making process. See, I still like processes!!

Bronze statue making process

In the afternoon I did some shopping with my roommates. We walked down Ermou to the market, then back through Plaka on the way home. Finally bought some sunglasses, got fresh fruits and veggies and a pair of fun island pants! Friday night I laid low and went to bed early because I had to be up at 7 AM on Saturday.

New pants!

Saturday

Peloponnesian adventure with Fushia!

We left from Athens in the morning and drove to the Corinth Canal for a brief photo opportunity, coffee stop and bathroom break. The Corinth Canal separates the Peloponnese from the mainland of Greece, connecting the Saronic Gulf with the Gulf of Corinth in the Aegean Sea. We are going back to this area and visiting the town of Corinth with class this week.

Corinth Canal

We then continued on to Epidaurus, where we visited The Ancient Theater of Epidaurus, famous for it's acoustics. The theater was designed in harmony with the wind patterns, so that the wind blows from the stage to the audience. There is also an (imaginary) isosceles triangle formed from various lines of the amphitheater inside which voices carry most effectively: you can hear someone speaking with a regular voice inside this triangle from the top row of the theater. Epidaurus is also well known for it's medical center, the remains of which still remain. It was interesting to see the ancient hospital floor plan with separate rooms and waiting areas with benches. The serpent medical symbol is called "The Serpent of Epidaurus on the staff of Aesculapius" because Auesculapius was the god in Epidaurus and serpents were held sacred to him.

Theater of Epidaurus

Next we drove to Nafplio for a much too brief stop. We literally pulled into a parking lot, took some photos, then got back on the bus. I would've liked to explore the town more because it was absolutely beautiful: right on the water with a castle in the sea and a fortress on a nearby mountain. I guess I'll just have to come back :)

Castle in the water, Nafplio

After the brief stop we continued on to Mycenae. Just before we got to the site, we stopped for a lunch of moussaka, greek salad and lamb. Not as good as the lunch I had on the organic Tuscan farm when I did my tour of Tuscany, but it was still nice. After lunch we toured the ancient citadel and then went to The Tomb of Agamemnon. This was my favorite view of Greece so far. I may have said that about Delphi on Thursday, but this was better. We walked through The Lion's Gate to the top of the citadel and explored the remains. Some of the other students on my program had gone to Mycenae last weekend and they told us to bring a flashlight and go down in the cistern. Of course when we got to the cistern, we realized we had left our flashlight on the bus :( We went down a little but it was pitch black, terrifying and smelled like pee...so we gave up rather quickly. On our way back down from the top we ran into a random guy (who looks like Waldo) we had seen touring Delphi on Thursday...what are the chances?? Then we went down the street to one of the many claimed Tombs of Agamemnon. This specific one is where they found the mask of Agamemnon, which is now in the National Archaeological Museum here in Athens.

Lion's Gate, Mycenae

Inside the Tomb of Agamemnon, Mycenae

Next we made a quick stop at a handmade pottery store for those who wanted to buy souvenirs. I have no extra space in my suitcase so resisting the urge to buy things is surprisingly easy. Then it was back to Athens!

Once back at our apartment, Fushia and I had some re-coop time for Facebook, e-mail, Skype, relaxing and eating dinner. After a few hours of rejuvination, we ventured into the center to the neighborhood of Psirri, which we had never been to but had heard good things about. It was so fun! Psirri is typically described as the "Soho" of Athens and I loved it. The streets were lined with cafes, bars and kitschy shops. A friend of mine had suggested we go to a place called Beer Academy and we had looked up how to get there before leaving the apartment, but managed to forget all the street names and just walk around aimlessly. Just as we felt like we were leaving the main area of Psirri and were thinking "Okay, well now what?" we looked up and there was Beer Academy!

We got in a little over our heads and ordered a 1-meter beer sampler. It was excellent, though. The weather was really mild and we sat outside chatting and people watching for 2-3 hours. :)

Before

After

Photo of the Day

Asian trying to help keep our tour guide out of the sun

Lesson of the Day
I love the diverse terrain of Greece. There's green farmland, rocky mountains and the sea all in one glance.

View from Mycenae

The Count
Glasses of wine drinken: 93
Bus tours taken: 2
Number of times found Waldo: 2
Meters of bier drinken: 1
Photos taken: 3003

Sunday and Monday
Not so sure what's on tap for the rest of the weekend. We don't have class tomorrow because it's some holiday related to Pentecost and Jesus or something. I would like to try to go to a nearby beach and maybe the Jewish museum as well.

It finally stopped raining but I need a lazy day. This week has been so action-packed, I'm in the mood for some down time. I think I will read and maybe go out to dinner tonight.

Finally feeling truly settled here in Athens and liking it.

Field Trip!

Today

Wow what a full, long and exciting day! We left school at 7:00 this morning and drove North-West for 2 hours and stopped at the monasteries at Ossias Loukas. Driving through the green mountains reminded of the Tuscan countryside and visiting the monasteries took me back to the mass amounts of churches I visited during my time in Florence, making me very happy :) The monasteries and scenery were beautiful, though, regardless of the fact that they reminded me of Florence. It was nice to visit a church and learn about its different features from someone who actually knows instead of just looking around and making my own inferences and judgements. The most spectacular feature of these monasteries were the mosaic ceilings.

Monasteries of Ossias Loukas

Mosaic domes

After this brief stop we continued for another 45 minutes to our main destination: Delphi. History Lesson (from Wikipedia): In Greek Mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphi Oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god Apollo. We had lunch in a shady area at the foot of a rocky mountain overlooking more mountains and valleys. After lunch, we trekked down to the old gymnasium and saw the Thelos (circular temple), bath house and running track.

Thelos

Then we climbed back up and hiked through the main archaeological site of Delphi. We saw various treasuries, the Temple of Apollo, theater, and at the very top, the stadium. Then we made a quick descent and flew through the museum in order to get back on the bus and make it back to Athens by 7PM. Today was a scorcher but there were so many remains to see both on site and in the museum and I enjoyed the trip very much.

I am utterly exhausted.

Treasury of Athena

If you look closely, you'll notice there is Greek inscribed on all of the rocks making up the wall.

Polygonal Wall

Temple of Apollo

This is one of my favorite pieces I've seen in a museum in Athens. I love the reality and clarity of his facial expression.

Charioteer of Delphi

Lesson of the Day

I love the countryside

Photo of the Day

Chairs in the monasteries

The Count

Glasses of wine drinken: 89
Churches toured: 13 + 2 synagogues

Men's restrooms used: 2

Photos taken: 2924

Tomorrow

National Museum, Day 2--finishing up what we didn't get to on Monday...the museum is gigantic!

And then it's the weekend!

I hope to do some shopping in the afternoon (I desperately need new sunglasses...I finally threw mine away today: the tape wasn't holding up any longer).

Saturday Fushia and I are taking a day trip to the Peloponese, making stops in Mycenae, Napflion and Epadaurus. I hope to make it to the beach at some point over the weekend as well.