Athens – A Blast from the Past

The Acropolis from Filopappos Hill

The next stop on our Honeymoon was a short three night stay in Athens, Greece. We were excited to get to Europe and enjoy some Western comforts like espresso coffee in outdoor cafes, chocolate chip muffins and drinkable tap water.  Just 10 days prior to arriving in Athens we were seriously considering cancelling our trip there due to strikes and rioting going on in the city. Fortunately for us the civil unrest ended well before we arrived, this also seemed to thin out the tourists a bit for we didn’t find the sites all that crowded.  We loved Athens and saw so many sites over two full days that both of us were konked out each night early.

Looking up at the Acropolis from the Temple of Olympian Zeus

Acropolis Museum
The new  Acropolis Museum, completed in 2009, was our first stop on Sunday morning. Just a three minute walk from our hotel and 5 Euros ($$7 USD) a piece later we were in.  The museum itself sits over an 1000+ year old Christian settlement that is still being excavated. Much of the floor of the museum and entryway is transparent which allows you to see down into the old settlement. The museum itself contains many of the original sculpted pieces of the Parthenon which have been moved to protect them from the elements.

Atop the Acropolis. The Parthenon

We recommend starting your visit to the Acropolis with the museum. It provided us a good background on the area and the 2400 year old remains of the Parthenon structure. A couple tips before your visit: Unfortunately the museum does not allow cameras or large bags but there is a cloakroom on the ground floor where you can leave your bags, also the 3^rd floor restaurant is a good place to sit outside and enjoy a great view of the Acropolis during the day or night.

In front of the Acropolis Museum

Acropolis
Definitely the highlight of our visit to Athens, the Acropolis or “Sacred Rock” is the highest and largest monument of the city and has been continuously used since Neolithic times. Meaning it’s really-really big and really-really old. We paid 12 Euro ($16 USD) each for a ticket to the Acropolis. Thankfully your ticket to the Acropolis also includes a ticket to 5 other archaeological sites in the area including the Agora, Roman Forum, Temple of Olympian Zeus and Theater of Dionysus. We bought our Acropolis ticket first then went to some of the smaller sites.

The Parthenon

Unfortunately while we were at the Acropolis the Parthenon was under major renovation, although from the look of the equipment it might always be under renovation, so don’t be upset if there are cranes in your pictures. While up on the rock we were treated to some amazing views of the city all the way out to the sea. We didn’t use a tour guide but found a certified guide willing to lead us for 10 Euros each.

Agora
The Agora, Athens Ancient Marketplace, was our second favorite site in Athens. The Temple of Hephaestus looks like a smaller, but more intact, version of the Parthenon and the Agora Museum, included in the ticket price, contained a really good exhibit with artifacts dating back to 3500 BC. I (DW) especially liked the bronze Spartan shield which was used by a Spartan back in 425 BC. The shield itself is gigantic and I can’t even imagine how strong the person who wielded it must have been. Also of note is the Stele of Democracy which is an inscribed marble statue detailing the first democratic form of government. This was the time when democracy was born, kinda cool. Pamela had a good time checking out the jewellery and other ornaments dating back 3000 years.

A bronze shield used by the Spartans in battle.

The Temple of Hephaestus at the Agora

Statue of Nike at the Agora Museum

Other Sites
We only had two days in Athens so we were really limited in the amount we could see. If you’re also short on time then I would plan on 90 minutes each for the Acropolis and the Agora and two hours for the Acropolis Museum, I’m sure we took longer but we also like to take a lot of pictures.

We can recommend the following, all nearby the Acropolis:

- Watch the sunset from the top of Filopappos Hill – great view of the Acropolis and the city of Athens to the sea.

Sunset from Filopappos Hill

- Climb atop the Areopagos Rock – This is the site, mentioned in the Bible (Acts 17 22-34), where Paul converted the first Greeks to Christianity.

Pamela reading Acts:17 (22-34) on the rock where Paul delivered this very speech nearly 2000 years ago.

- Visit the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrians Arch 

At the Temple of Olympian Zeus

-  Have dinner at a local Taverna in the Plaka – A nice 19^th century neighborhood just below the Acropolis.

We enjoyed walking around the streets near the Acropolis.

Getting There
We flew into Athens airport and took the Metro line to Syntagma station then changed to the red line for Akropoli. The trip took about 50 minutes and cost 14 Euro ($20 USD) for two tickets. The Metro line, built for the 2004 Olympics, looks/feels new and has frequent trains around the city with airport trains every 30 minutes. From the Akropoli station we walked about two minutes to the Airotel Parthenon hotel where we stayed for three nights ($115 USD a night). The hotel was pretty nice with its best features being its location, 5 minutes to the Acropolis, and a really good buffet breakfast.

While in Athens we really enjoyed viewing the archaeological sites and enjoyed learning more about the very interesting and colorful Greek history. The people seemed friendly and we felt really safe walking around at night. This was a nice change of pace after spending so much time in Asia. We would definitely come back to Athens, hopefully next time we’ll do a trip out to the islands and see more of Greece.

All of our pics from Athens can be found here: https://picasaweb.google.com/117257906652666550268/AthensGreece?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Cheers for Now -

Pamela and Dave