April 12th through yesterday gave me 6 flights, 6 countries, 16 or so cities, 18 international border crossings, and somewhere around 600-700 photos. It did not give me, however, decent access to the internet.
I flew from Berlin to Athens on what I expected to be the pinnacle of my six months. I took a lot of photos and saw a lot of culture, but other cities/countries will top my list of favorites.
Athens is a massive city that boasts of being the birthplace of democracy. Within Athens there are still a few temple ruins that rival the greatness of Rome. The sacred sites are bunched together within endless apartment buildings that look as if they were designed by the communist block.
The picture atop this blog is of the Greek flag on top of the hill that houses the Parthenon and other temples. The second photo is of Hadrian's Arch and the above photo is the Ancient Agora. The Agora is in excellent condition. It is the only Athenian relic that stands without scaffolding.
It was warmer in Greece than it had been in Germany. Their wildflowers were already in bloom.
Major renovations are saving the integrity of nearly everything. This is the Temple of Athena Nike, looking towards the Parthenon.
A few other half fallen temples stood on the same mount but I did not see what they were called or who was worshipped there.
After much effort and a few laps around the Parthenon I managed to find this angle that shows the least amount of scaffolding possible. The 10 yards or so around the entire temple are filled with pieces that the contractors have pulled off the temple, then numbered. I assume they will re-piece together everything that they have dismantled once they have figured a way to strengthen the structure and maybe earthquake-proof it.
Below the temple mount are a few amphitheaters. This one is still in great condition.
This one, which they let us climb on and lounge around, is in a slightly worse repair.
From the Parthenon mount, I could have walked to all four sides and taken pictures of endless apartment buildings. They didn't stop until they faded into the haze.
Below the temple mount is another site, the Temple of Zeus. Unlike the others above, it is at city level (the Parthenon sits on a big flat-topped hill). Anything below the Parthenon is subject to the thousands upon thousands of wild dogs that are running around. It was actually difficult to get photos without random, ugly dogs in them.
Beyond the sites, Greek culture, while dirty and loud, lit up at night. Their dinnertime (around 10:00pm) was when they were in the best of spirits. I'm not sure when the city slept.
After a few days in the big city, I took a local's advice and took a long fairy ride to one of Greece's prized islands,
Santorini. I'm working on a few of those photos so check in say in two days or so and enjoy. I'd like to blog each of the cities I've been in the past month so check back often.
After accepting a local's advice I took a long ferry ride to the island of Santorini. It is a crescent shaped island that once was a rim of an active volcano. All that is left is sun-heated rocks and some Greeks that thought white houses would look good on the cliffs.
The ferry stopped a few times along the way; this island (I can't remember its name) was the first stop. Given my short time frame it may have been wise of me to choose an island that was close to Athens, but onward I went.
I spent a good portion of the ride inside bogging my way through The Confessions of St. Augustine. I recommend the book, it's great; not all great books are easy to read though. I managed to step out into the wind a few times. Sunset was particularly nice looking over the hazy endlessness of the sea. (The photo above is actually a reflection in a window).
Athens was dirty, so I found a very nice hotel on Santorini that was only €5 more per night than the hostel had been back on the mainland.
This was the evening view from my room's balcony. It was very nice to have a private space after living for a few weeks in hostels, which are little more than bunk beds jammed into any open space.
Much of the island's buildings are white. It really made me wish that I had remembered some sunglasses. Unfortunately, the Greeks version of style is a bit wild and I couldn't find any new shades that suited my no-so-blingy taste.
Santorini is an island where one would take their bride on an anniversary. There is little to do but sleep, shop, and dine. I am glad to have visited, but I would not again choose to go alone. Due to time constraints and ferry schedules I booked a nighttime ride back to Athens where I hopped a flight back to Berlin - I had a party to attend, a weekend to enjoy, and a mother to pick up after her transatlantic flight.
