The Cold ‘Ruined’ Everything, Get It?

Hello people! It’s been a few days since my last post because I’ve been pretty busy so I’ll do my best to catch you up to speed on everything I’ve been up to! We had a free day on Sunday and our professor invited us to join him on an

If you look at the remaining pieces of the band you can see the Amazons!

excursion to Athens’ harbor, to go to the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus and to see the ancient ship-sheds the Athenians used. I, of course, decided to join and had a great time walking through the museum and along the coast, despite the fact that it was only around 30 degrees. The museum we went to was full of things found in the harbor, which I thought was pretty cool. My personal favorite monument was one that depicted the Amazons because that is what my mother always called me growing up and it also happened to be one of the biggest and most impressive in the building. My only complaint is that wish the outdoor part of the museum was open so that I could check out the Theater of Zea.

We spent around an hour at the museum  and then started the very long walk all the way around the coast to follow the wall that used to protect the harbor and take a peek at the ship-sheds.

Those big blocks under me are whats left of this portion of the wall.

The strange thing about the sheds is that there are buildings built on top of them, so in order to see them, we had to peek through dirty windows into a basement. I did my best to take a picture, but all I could really get was a reflection of myself, so I had to give up on that endeavor. (I know it can’t only be me that has trouble wrapping my head around the way new things are just built on top of or right next to the old, but in a way that you’re able to use or admire both… it really is crazy to me.) I say this, not only because of the ship-shed situation (try saying that three times fast), but also because of how the ancient wall we followed along the coastline was incorporated into whatever it happened to run into apartment buildings, around restaurants…literally just anything. We walked about 10 miles on this little trip to the coast, which is a lot for someone who complains about a 3 minute walk to the caf, but I had a great time so I guess it was worth it.

These past 2 days have been spent exploring the Acropolis area. We spent a lot of our time huddled together with numb hands and runny noses listening to lectures about each of the building’s histories. It was very interesting, but also very, very cold. I was most excited to see the Erechtheion which is one of the temples up on the hill. It’s impressive because it used to house the sacred wooden statue of Athena, it is apparently where the salt water spring was given to the Athenians by Poseidon, the olive tree that was given by Athena grew right outside AND the Caryatids stand holding up the roof and eternally pouring libations over the grave of the mythical king of Athens, Cecrops. So much in one building, that’s why I love it! The Parthenon is magnificent as well, but I had much more fun exploring the caves on the North Slope and climbing all over the Areopagus. That could just be that it was slightly windy and I was able to move around and stay warm. As I mentioned earlier though, I really enjoy the myths about the Amazons and it just so happens that the Areopagus is where they set up base to fight the Athenians in order to rescue their queen. Pretty cool right?! In later times, the Athenians used the hill as a court for intentional homicide and if you’re familiar with the bible, Paul also delivered a Sermon while standing on top. That’s a lot of history for it just being a giant rock. I ended my day with a glass of 7 star Brandy from Brettos, the oldest distillery in Athens. It was a very small, cozy bar. Two of the walls were  covered with different  colored bottles from floor to ceiling, while the other had barrels of brandy sitting in front, it really was something else. Oh and the brandy…that was something else too. I can’t even begin to describe the taste, all I can say is to come try it yourself one day. I was intrigued when he said they make it right there but he caught me when he said there were hints of chocolate. And just to let you know, I’m a pretty big girl who’s done her fair share of drinking, and that one glass had me sitting at a perfect level. I can only imagine what would’ve happened if I had drank anymore, but I’m a responsible human so I decided to call it a night and raced through the cold back to the apartment.

The Caryatids I spoke of? That’s these ladies. (They’re actually casts, the real ones are in museums for protection.)

A “cave” on the North Slope.

Pondering what happened to those who commint unintentional homocide.

This morning I arose to a beautiful surprise of a snowy city! Being from Texas, I’m required to be amazed by snow and as we were struggling to walk to the Acropolis Museum, I couldn’t have been any happier! As it turns out, even the natives were somewhat intrigued by the snow and they kept stopping and taking pictures too. Which made me feel like I looked much less like a tourist than before.

If you look in some of the trees to the left, you’ll see those oranges I’ve mentioned!

We spent a few hours ambling around the museum, looking at the amazing artifacts all found on the Acropolis. Not only were the items in the museum breathtaking but the architecture of the museum itself was incredible. The floors were see-through so that you could stand directly on top of a dig site and look at all the ruins. The top floor of the museum, which contained the Parthenon’s metopes, pediments and frieze was oriented exactly like the Parthenon, with the sculpture work wrapping around the room so that you could see exactly how it sat on the building. The design of the building was so helpful in picturing how things once were. To see the size of many of the sculptures was really surprising to me. Deep down I knew they were big, but you don’t really feel it until it’s sitting right in front of you. The time and effort it took to make everything is just astonishing and there was so much detail and artistry in every single one, I honestly can’t even comprehend it.

Aside from constantly being amazed, I spent the rest of the day doing laundry, grocery shopping and writing this. So congratulations you are now all caught up with my adventures thus far! As a little side note, mostly for me to remember this later. The top three things I’ve brought with me on this trip have been my hiking boots, scarf and selfie stick (cringe worthy I know, but they are handy.) So shout out to them..I would not have survived the Greece snowpocalypse without them and been able to take a selfie to prove it! We’re about to spend three days visiting various archeological sites, so stay tuned!

A lioness from the pediment of Hekatompedon.

A lego model of the Acropolis which even included the many cats and dogs that roam freely roam the city.

A quote that was written in the museum in Piraeus that I think sums up the entire reason the Athenians gifted us with the likes of the Parthenon:

“The human race tends to remember the abuses to which it has been subjected rather than the endearments.

Whats left of kisses?

Wounds, however, leave scars.”      -Bertolt Brecht

Cats, Coffee & Pottery

Have I mentioned just how close we are to Kallimarmaro?!

Well, it’s evening here on my second day in Athens and I have already seen and experienced so many things! What I’d really like to dive into first are just the little things I’ve noticed while walking around the city that are pretty different from home. There are four that have really caught my attention. The first is that there are orange trees that line the streets. Before you get too excited, I asked someone what they were called and if you were allowed to eat them and the answer was a really long Greek word that started with an ‘n’ and that they were very bitter and I probably wouldn’t want to…Not quite the answer I was hoping for, but hey, they’re still very pretty and smell really good!

As we started to explore more of the city (and by exploring, I mean getting lost and walking around for a very, very long time) I noticed that there is graffiti literally everywhere. Some of it’s good, some, not so much, but it really is all over the place! I just don’t know what to think when I see these huge, old, marble buildings covered in spray paint but, overall, I really think this mix of old and new is what makes Athens the city that it is. The last thing that caught me off guard and honestly, even after day or two still makes me uncomfortable has got to be the staring. At first I thought I was being paranoid, until an American lady told our group that that’s just how the Greeks do it. I found it a little unsettling to have complete strangers making prolonged eye contact with me but since it’s apparently the norm, I try to push through the awkwardness. Sometimes I even try to see if I can stare at them longer than they stare at me… I usually lose.

With those three out of the way, we’ve come to my favorite one and that is that there is coffee everywhere! There are at least three coffee shops on every block and it’s honestly the best thing ever. The man working at the shop next to my apartment is already able to recognize me when I come in. So far I have tried Nes Cafe, Greek Coffee and their cappuccino. While I do like all of them, the strangest tasting one is definitely the Greek Coffee, I can’t even really describe it’s flavor, but it’s very strong. My professor also thought it would be funnier if I learned the hard way not to drink it all the way down because it gets very gritty and kind of feels like your drinking mud… he got a kick out of watching my face when I finally made that discovery.

So now that you know some random things about what it’s like over here, at least, from my perspective. I’ll give you a run down on some of the things the class has been up to. The main thing we’ve been doing is spending a lot of time at The National Archeological Museum. While it is very interesting and there are a lot of cool things to look at and read about, it’s kind of difficult for me to write about because there is just so much that goes into it. I will say though, that if you like pottery….there is an endless amount in that museum and believe me when I say, that I’ve seen all of it. While in the museum, I only took a couple of pictures, that are all of sculptures, just because I was very busy trying to listen and take notes. Also there are just so many pictures you can take of a bunch of pots and vases, no matter how interesting or beautiful.We have one more day at the museum tomorrow to see the sculptures and whatever else we’d like, so I’ll try to get some shots and add them to the next post. I spent most of the rest of the day roaming around the city (that was when we got a little lost) but we found some pretty cool things. We stumbled upon the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, something that was on my Athens bucket list to see, so that was a pleasant surprise. I was even able to take a very uncomfortable and awkward looking picture with one of the guards. Later we were able to watch the changing of the guards which was interesting albeit not super exciting.

I struggled with the thought of taking such a cheesy picture but the threat of regret ultimately won me over.

We strolled through the National Garden of Athens behind the Parliamentary building, hoping it was a shortcut back to where we’re staying (which thankfully it was) and ate dinner at a place called Poco Poco which, believe it or not, had hotdogs, waffles, burgers and crepes. It was a little disappointing because I really didn’t want to eat “American food” but it was still really good and the food in general is much cheaper here. Then we turned in, ending our night at a decent hour (still recovering from jetlag). My favorite part so far, other than meeting the cutest, friendliest cat ever, was climbing up to see the Philopappos Monument. We had a short class up there and then we were set free to explore. The view from the hill was AMAZING! You could see the Acropolis, the harbor and the entire city. It was a little cold and breezy, but I spent so much time trekking around to see every possible view that I was actually pretty sweaty by the time we made our way down. Fun fact, my professor told us that Philopappos was actually such a philanthropist, that he was allowed to be buried within the city limits of Athens…which is very uncommon. We walked back to the area we’re staying at and I spent a couple of hours doing mundane things like grocery shopping and going to the pharmacy to find some sort of medicine for my knee. After eating a dinner that wasn’t really all that impressive, we spent a few hours at the bar across the street drinking and talking. We’ve been told that, unlike Americans, the Greeks, even the young ones don’t really drink like we do. They’ll nurse maybe one or two drinks over the entire night. I’ll probably do that, not because I want to, but because drinks are not cheap. Which, if we’re being honest, is probably for the best anyways. Even though you won’t really see a drunk Greek stumbling around, there is a really great night life around here. The bars and clubs are open much later and are always full of people. I know for sure the one across the street is because I hear the noise from it all night long. (I don’t really mind it though because it makes my dreams really interesting.) There are also plenty of food places open 24 hours. One of these is Poco Poco, which also happens to be very near the apartment.

All in all, I’m having a great time, in a great place, with great people. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s in store. I’m sure I’ve forgotten something or didn’t quite fully explain some of the things I did write about. (I know I’m not the most experienced writer.) So if I did and you’re confused or have any other questions, please feel free to comment!

View of the city from Mouseion Hill.

The Philopappos Monument

He thought the sights were pretty, but I thought he was prettier.

I took this in the garden as we were strolling through.

Bronze Statue of what is assumed to be Zeus in the National Archeological Museum. .

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

A Little Reintroduction

Hi guys, I’m sitting in the airport waiting to board my flight, so I thought now would be the time to just write a short introduction of what I have going on here! For anyone who’s seen my blog before, you know that it was done for a Psychology class which ended quite a while ago. I’ve decided to continue using it by turning it into a place to write about my trip to Greece throughout January. This is for an abroad Janterm class for Austin College called A Walk Among the Ruins. I’m doing this mostly so that my friends and family can keep up with everything going on and to try to get a little more writing experience, but if you happen to have stumbled upon this while surfing the web, welcome stranger! To catch you up to speed a little, I will be staying in apartments in Athens for most of my trip, we’ll be spending several days at the National Archeological Museum and many other sites around Athens. We’re also taking trips to other cities as well like, Nauplio, Tiryns and Corinth to check out all of the interesting archeological sites. Again, just to remind you, this blog is just the rambling thoughts of a small town East Texas girl who’s (hopefully) having the time of her life running around the beautiful country of Greece. It may not be much, but I hope you guys enjoy and feel free to comment if you have any questions. Thanks for reading!

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin