Greece - Athens

Greece - Athens - July 19-21, 2008

Snoozing a bit on the ferry from Mykonos, Tom and I woke with a start when the kids in front of us started screaming. Didn't they know we'd been up all night in a club? How rude.


So sleep continued to escape us and we disembarked at the lovely Rafina port on the mainland where we had spent our first night in Greece. The bus trip this time involved less gazing out the window at the charming white buildings, all complete with solar panels on top, and more gazing into space just trying to keep it together. We were tired.

Under normal circumstances, the approach and curiosity of the young bus conductor (that's right, Greek buses have conductors) would have been more than welcome, but his interest caught me at the wrong time and I could only muster a tenth of my normal happy chatter. But still, he was entertaining.

"Your American elections are very interesting. I really wanted John Kerry to win four years ago. I think he is great."

"Really, why is that?"

"He is a war hero. He fought very well in Vietnam."

"So do you like John McCain?"

"No no. He has bad ideas. More wars with John McCain. Barack Obama will be the best thing for America."

So there you have it. A man who idolized Kerry for being a war hero seemed to not have the same appeal for McCain. The Democrats should have gotten him to speak at the convention.

His knowledge of the details of American politics was overwhelming. He knew how many days till the general election, listed off most of the likely VP candidates (a few that Tom and I had to admit we didn't know ourselves), and even spoken in detail about Bill Clinton's 1999 visit to the country, the first for an American president in a long time. In checking this fact, I came across the following article, apparently the lead up to this trip was quite eventful, so perhaps many Greeks remember it well. Do any of the Americans out there? I certainly didn't.

Regardless, it was mostly facts and figures that he focused on, clearly the area where he was more talented, but his enthusiasm was charming and he kindly walked us to the subway when we arrived in Athens. As we said goodbye I gave him my most generous smile in hopes that our exhaustion and sour moods didn't dampen his idealism, and we headed down to the brightly lit subway. Coincidentally, it was build for the 2004 Olympics, a foreshadow of my upcoming visit to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.


When our train arrived, we clamored on board a car that had most seats filled, but not many people standing. I attempted to bring my massive backpack to a bit of space away from the door, but a bulky young Greek in front of me clearly wanted to stay put. So I squeezed on, with Tom finding a bit more room off to my left.

I didn't notice the hand in the left cargo pocket of my shorts for a second, but quickly my security reflexes kicked in and in a flash I realized I was in the middle of the "unnecessary crowding" scam that I'd read about before. The unmovable man was the accomplice, holding me in place and generally looking imposing enough to keep my attention. His smaller, less obvious associate to my left was the pickpocket, and they used my confusion to their advantage.

This flash turned into a reaction, and I swiped my hand down in an attempt to grab his wrist. I missed. But since he was standing so close, I found instead his crotch and figured his balls were the next best thing.

It worked, because when I gave him a firm squeeze, his hand shot out of my pocket and he started spewing Greek in my direction - obviously saying the Greek version of "you just grabbed my balls," which I'm sure gave the other passengers on the train plenty of entertainment. I pretended to not understand, I checking myself over - camera, money, etc all still in tact (my passport and credit cards are always in a money belt), I shrugged, tapped the bigger one on the shoulder and gave him a look that showed I'd won and he was going to move.

Not quite sure how they'd messed up such an easy target, he obliged and at the next station we all departed, where Tom finally was able to ask what the hell was going on. "Well, I guess I grabbed his balls. And he wasn't too happy about it."

Relieved, we checked into our hotel and slept for 15 hours straight.

Athens - For Real This Time

The next day, we did the speed tour of Athens, starting with the slightly odd changing of the guards at Parliament.


After, we wandered through the city, stopping quickly at the Panathenaic Stadium built in 1896 for the first modern Olympics (see pic above), Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of the Olympian Zeus. But the highlight was definitely the Acropolis with it's magnificent Doric temple - the Parthenon.


This hilltop structure towers over Athens and can be seen from nearly every neighborhood. Our Lonely Planet tells us that inside are the remains of the golden Statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the original Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. Though we weren't allowed in, we felt we were close enough that we could tick off our second of the seven, after seeing the pyramids two weeks before.


The heat, however, was astounding, and knocked me out more than a typical day of touring would normally do. So we opted for a quick dinner and a treat that is unique to Athens - an open air movie theater. Nothing like an American drive-in, this theater was on top of an old building and had a stunning view of the Parthenon, all light up in the night sky. And, to our joy, it was showing the new Batman film...in English! Outstanding.

Also, I have to say thanks a million to Tom for joining me on the first five weeks of my journey. He was the best imaginable travel companion, and I don't think I would have made it through Africa without his humor and impressive patience. Best of luck in the new job buddy!!


The next morning, Tom headed for the airport and I hopped on another high-speed ferry bound for the Greece/Turkey border expecting adventure at every turn.