We were supposed to be flying home today on Monday June 9th. But due to our carelessness, we are stuck in Athens until Wednesday. What a let down from such a great trip. I told Bill we probably deserved to be taken down a notch or two – getting too confident about traveling smoothly.
Well the hotel I had picked out of the air, The New Hotel, turned out to be pretty nice. A bit more expensive than I had planned but extra nice service, close to Plaka area and quiet with great breakfasts.
Before we started our day we popped into a church across the street from the hotel as there was a morning service. I was wondering why it felt a little different than the others we had visited – turns out its a Russian Orthodox church. Most of the women were wearing head scarves which isn’t common in Greek churches. They were wandering all over lighting candles, kissing icons – just a few people were sitting. Called St. Nikodemos and is relatively new – having been rebuilt in 1850’s by the Russian government after previous churches on the site had been demolished. Athens is full of ornate Byzantine and Ottoman era churches – some tiny and surrounded by new buildings, others large and ornate. Many of these churches were built between 1500’s and 1800’s right in the middle of the Ottoman occupation.
We walked to the Byzantine and Christian Museum which had been on my to-do list for Athens. It was very appropriate to see this museum at the end of this trip. We have been reading a lot about the history of Turkey and Greece with much of the focus on the Byzantine Empire (from 330 AD to 1453 AD).
The exhibits were well laid out in somewhat chronological order, looking at religious and secular life, as well as the political and geographical impact. Of course my favorite is always the icons – such beautiful pieces of art that have lasted so many centuries.
Many of the icons were two sided, including the one below believed to have been painted in the 13th century.
After the museum we walked through the so-called upscale neighborhoods of Kolonaki on our way to the funicular which takes people up to the top of Mt. Lycavettos – a top ten must see sight in Athens, say the guidebooks. I might disagree – or maybe seeing the views on a clear day at the beginning of the trip would have a different perspective.
A month of walking 10,000 to 20,000 steps per day has strengthened our legs – I remember that in Istanbul we were in pain by the end of a big walking day. Now it’s not a big deal.
Lots of steps up and up just to get to the funicular – which is not like the gondola’s in the mountains – just a tram inside the mountain that costs 7 euros. At the top there are 360 degree views of Athens. The day was a little hazy but all you can see are buildings from the sea to the mountains – and how dense and ugly the city as it sprawls into the hills. Most of this development was done after World War II and much of the old architecture was demolished before historical preservation movements of the 80’s became fashionable.
We had a quick take-away lunch up at the top – splitting a chicken souvlaki (and they do not serve tsaziki dressing with chicken – pork only) and an Amstel beer. As you can tell food is an important part of each day when you are on vacation!
The city has been very quiet on Sunday and Monday. All the smart Athenians left for the islands since it was a holiday weekend. Sunday was Pentecost and Monday is known as Whit Monday, Pentecost Monday or Monday of the Holy Spirit and is always the day after Pentecost. Interesting that the American Embassy celebrates the Greek religious holidays AND all the American holidays.
Back to the hotel because we are desperate for a good nap. In the evening we headed into the Plaka area which was fairly busy. All of Bill’s clothes are dirty so he bought a pair of shorts for the trip home for 10E! We chuckled the whole way home about his traveling on an international flight wearing shorts. All during this trip I would remind the guys that in Europe adults dress up a bit a night and that they should change out of their shorts into “big-boy” pants. So for Bill to wear shorts on a plane just felt a little odd for him.
We ended up choosing at a little cafe at 37 Adrianou in the Plaka area strictly because they had live music – Dioskouri. This turned out to be a great choice. We had a Greek salad, wine and split the daily special – a marinated lamb shank cooked in parchment in the fourno (oven). It was falling off the bone good. The server explained that the dish is called Arni Kleftiko which means lamb of thieves. The name is derived from the stories that bandits who stole the lambs would eat until they were full and then store the rest of the meat in the ground to keep it safe from predators and then cook it the next day.
Here is a recipe I plan to try at home: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lamb-kleftiko
The two man band was actually pretty good. They started out playing modern Greek music. A group of young women from Cyprus were seated in front of the band singing along As they drank more wine, they got more involved in the performance – clapping, then getting up to do the circle dance, then the belly dance and when we left they were up singing with the band.
On the way home we walked back through Monistiraki Square – where lots of people were just hanging around, street performers were out. I shot this picture that captured the many faces of Athens – a Byzantine church, a Mosque, the Parthenon, the metro and today’s youth hanging out.
Overall not a bad day for being somewhere we didn’t want to be. Tomorrow we got to get the passport replaced so we can go home.