I’d long wanted to visit this land so rich in history and culture, and so organised a trip to Athens. It was also exceedingly hot.
A flight direct to Athens was suprisingly expensive, so opted for a cheap flight from Birmingham to the package holiday desination of Kefalonia. With the cost of a stay and onward travel to Athens probably not overall cheaper but a chance to see a wider part of the country.
So an stupid early start to catch the national express to Birmingham and the 07:15 TUI flight. Stepping off the plane and the heat hit hard, the european-wide heat wave had already caused the tragic Attica wildfires. A local bus gets me to the Irinna hotel, nothing special but good enough. And near the Ai Helis beach so head there and just flop to prove I’m actually on holiday. Perhaps staying ‘off package’ inadvertently meant avoiding crowds so the beach was quiet and peaceful.
In the evening catch the same bus (its basically one road loop around the island) into the main town of Argostolion which was much more geared for tourists. Invested 1 in a straw hat and enjoyed a meal at one of the many eateries around the central square.
Next morning it’s a taxi back to Argostolion, catch a bus round to Sami and the ferry across to the mainland Patras. Explored the Castle overlooking the city then down to the rail station and bought a ticket to Athens. There was a coach replacement for part of the journey so I just followed the crowd who knew where they were going. On arrival bought an ‘Athena’ metro ticket and found my way to the Best Western ‘My Athens’ hotel. The hotel was nice enough, the surrounding area less so.
Saturday was the first full ‘arrived’ day, used the very nice metro into the centre and joined a guided bike tour provided by the excellent Athens by bike. A cycle tour is such a good way to orientate around the city and they had a wooden artwork displaying the motto:
Life is like a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.
So very true. The tour showcased the National gardens, a shady oasis in the heat, and the famous parliment guards in thier costumes for the choreographed changeover. Also the site of the first modern Olympics which by todays standards would be little more than a minor food concession stand. After the tour I visited the Acropolis museum at the base of the acropolis which is absolutely stuffed with statues. A point I learned was that those statues were originally colourful, fully painted and decorated and not the plain marble white we’ve come to recognise.
Next day was a walking tour including the Acropolis itself. Booking the tour means no queue waiting for a ticket and some interesting commentry. The Parthenon itself is in rather a bad state, past neglect and wars, looting 2 and modern pollution having taken thier toll. Actually quite hard to get a photo without scaffolding in shot. Even so it’s easy to imagine how impressive this temple was in all its glory.
A short break and then onto a coach to head out to Cape Sounion and the temple of Poseiden which to be honest wasn’t really worth the effort.
On Monday I made a visit to the war museum complete with an iconic F105 starfighter as a guardian. The entrance ticket was served by a young squaddie who obviously felt this wasn’t how he envisaged military service. The exhibits give a really good overview of what seems like a constant occupation and struggle for independence, first against the Ottomans in the revolution of 1821 then the Turks and finally the Nazis. Add in a spell of military junta and it’s been a fairly rocky path.
A mid-morning flight out from Athens to London and a coach journey back home meant another day effectively travelling. The constraints of booking time-off from work meant a lot packed into the week, but it was a wonderful trip and one to retread maybe with more time.