Believe it or not, that concrete path snaking through the houses is a public street. The Anafiotika district of the Plaka. Athens.
February 6
We awoke at around 5 a.m. While it might seem like we were out of bed early because we were anxious to get a start on the day, it was actually just our bodies getting adjusted to the 10 hour time difference. Still, the early wake up was fortuitous. We had plenty of things that we wanted to see and do. However, 5 a.m. was a little early. So, we lounged around until about 6:30 a.m. and then got ready.
We headed downstairs for breakfast. Breakfast was included in the price of the room. I was expecting the usual toast and coffee layout, but this turned out to be entirely different. There were a variety of breads, several types of fruit, different varieties of yogurt, and freshly squeezed orange juice. Best of all, it was a buffet setup, which meant that we could eat all we wanted to eat. We filled up in anticipation of our busy day.
We set off at about 8 a.m for the Acropolis. We slowly climbed Plaka’s streets on the way to the Acropolis. The amazing thing was the total lack of noise in the area that early in the morning. We both wondered if we were really in the largest city in Greece.
It was only about a 10 minute climb to the ticket office at the foot of the Acropolis. We bought our tickets and proceeded to climb the Acropolis’ steps. Just before we crossed the Prophyla, a man sitting on the steps asked us a question in Greek. When it became clear that we didn’t speak Greek, he asked us in English if we wanted a guide for our visit. We declined his offer. That sent him off into a tirade about how we wouldn’t understand what we were looking at, and that our trip up there would be a waste because we were ignorant of the Acropolis’ splendors. I wanted to tell him that I had read several books on the Acropolis’, and had a guide book with me which detailed all the features of the remaining temples. Instead, we just repeated that we appreciated the offer but would go it alone. However I was starting to get irritated with this Greek tendency to be pushy sellers.
We spend an hour marveling at the Acropolis’ architecture and art. We then began our decent to the Ancient Agora. Along the way, we made a slight detour to climb Aerophagus Hill. Aerophagus Hill is noted as being one of the places where St. Paul preached while he was in Athens. The hill is not very big, maybe 100 feet at best. However, it is VERY slippery. 5,000 years of people trudging up and down the hill have made it as smooth as glass. Add a little water from a rainfall or even the morning dew, and you have a climb that is not without challenge. I should stress that you won’t need gear to make the climb. But, you will need a good set of shoes and decent agility (although even those things might not be necessary. We saw a woman with a cane climbing the hill on her hands and knees). Still, the climb was worth it simply for the views of the Acropolis and Athens. Climbing Aerophagus Hill is something a visitor should do in order to feel as though one is part of the history that has occurred on the hill. However, such a climb should be done carefully.
We spent about an hour examining the various ruins of the Ancient Agora. After finishing our tour, we headed back to the hotel for a brief rest and to plot out the afternoon’s activities. We departed just a little after noon. The plan for the afternoon was to follow the Athens walking guide detailed in Lonely Planet.
Since the walk begins at Syntagma Square, we walked through the Plaka to it. Syntagma Square is the location of Greece’s Parliament building, which use to be the former royal palace. It is also the sight of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This tomb is guarded by the famous Evzones. They are not famous for any particular action they’ve done. Instead, they are famous for their attire. While I’m sure that their uniform has great symbolic significance to the Greeks, to an uninformed Westerner (or ugly American like myself), it looks like a man is wearing a short dress, white tights, and wooden shoes adorned with pom-poms over the shoe’s top. One might be tempted to tease the “manliness” of these soldiers, but their guns provide a strong deterrent from taking this action. Instead, we camped ourselves across the street from the Tomb and took pictures of the Evzones marching around the tomb.
We then proceeded to the National Garden, which is next door to the Parliament building. While it wasn’t on the walking tour, it was a refreshing break from the urban griminess of Athens. After finishing there, we crossed the street again to Syntagma Square. We decided to check out the new subway station that was built below the square. Now, we’ve been in quite a few subway stations. But, we hadn’t seen one as incredible as this one. The flooring and walls were in various colors of marble. Shiny stainless steel banisters and support beams could be seen in many places. However, the most impressive feature was the wall of artifacts. Construction workers creating the new station found several artifacts from the golden age of Athens. Many of these were put in display cases within the subway station. But, the architects decided not to remove some relics, and instead put a glass wall in front them. The result is a fascinating look at a cross section of Athens history. There are graves (with a couple of skeletons still in them), old sewer lines, and a few pieces of pottery to be viewed. It’s a great way to remind the tourist as they use the subway station that this area has been tread upon for a long time. The Syntagma subway station is a must visit for any tourist, even if you are not trying to catch the subway.
We exited the station and proceeded to the western edge of the Plaka. The area around Syntagma Square is filled with mid-rise (five to ten story) buildings. However, they slowly disappear as one proceeds deeper into the Plaka. The buildings begin topping out at five stories, with most buildings at three stories. By the time we had reached the pedestrian mall (or as close to a pedestrian mall that there is in Athens) of Kymathedian, we had emerged into an area that was a pleasant mix of residential and commercial structures. Since many of these businesses housed restaurants, it didn’t take long for us to get hungry. Unfortunately, if we even glanced in the direction of some of these restaurants, we would be set upon by a tout that would strongly encourage us to enter. I was getting very tired of being hustled by (what seemed like) every Greek that was trying to sell something. Instead of getting angry, we just strolled down a street that didn’t seem as crowded with touts. We found ourselves at a quiet restaurant at 4 Farmaki called Trattoria. What a find this turned out to be. We ended up ordering the special for two, which was two Greek salads, a medium pizza, and two big slices of baklava. The cost for this meal was 5,800 drachma. The water cost 360 drachma per glass and the basket of bread was 180 drachma. While it wasn’t particularly inexpensive, it was very delicious and filling (we actually took part of the pizza and most of the baklava back to the hotel). Plus, the setting just outside the restaurant was an especially relaxing location to enjoy the meal. But, the best part of all was that we weren’t pushed into buying anything! That alone would earn Trattoria a recommendation. But, the food also makes Trattoria a place to visit.
Feeling fully refreshed by our late lunch, we continued with the rest of the tour. I highly recommend the tour outlined in Lonely Planet. It lays out a wonderful path that gives the tourist a chance to truly experience the uniqueness of the Plaka. I didn’t realize how interesting the walk was until we got to the Anafiotika neighborhood of the Plaka. The Anafiotika, which is the highest part of the Plaka, nestles up against the north east base of the Acropolis. What’s amazing about this area is that the streets become little more than pathways for people to walk single file. It honestly felt like we were walking through someone’s backyard (which I still suspect we were). It’s tough to find a more neighborhood feel than you get in the Anafiotika. We were very glad that Lonely Planet had pointed out this wonderfully unique neighborhood.
We finished the walking tour at the Athens Cathedral. Since there are a number of shops around the cathedral, we went inside of some of them to do a little souvenir shopping. After about an hour of this activity, we succumbed to jet lag and our exhaustion from so much walking. We trudged back to the hotel, watched CNN for an hour, and went to bed.
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