Piraeus and Athens - Wednesday
Today is another big trip - going to see the Acropolis in Athens. The bus leaves early so we grabbed an early breakfast and headed out. Dad didn't sleep very well. as he has been coughing every night. He decided to stay behind and relax another day. Besides, he didn't think he could manage all that walking.
Our tour group was unusual in that it had two guides - one for English, and one for the German participants. This quickly became a nuisance, as everything had to be explained in two languages, and riding on the bus we sometimes missed some points of interest.
The ship docked in Piraeus, a harbor city right next to Athens. Our first stop was the Panathenaic Stadium, a large all-marble stadium built for the first modern Olympic games. It was constructed in the late 1800s on the site of an ancient race track. It is the only stadium to be made of all marble, and can hold over 40,000 people..
We headed to the Acropolis, which is easy to see as it sits on top of a high rocky hill overlooking the city. We got off the bus and started the climb to the top. The Acropolis is a big attraction, and there were a lot of people there to see it.
The top of the hill is 500 feet above the city, but the climb wasn't bad. The walkways were wide and well designed - at least until you get to the top and into the ancient stuff. You enter into the Acropolis through a portal called the Propyla, walking up the steps, though giant stone columns. We got into the upper courtyard, to be greeted by a giant modern stone milling machine. This area is being renovated, and there was a lot of modern equipment being used. We understand the necessity, but it was a disappointment to us.
The ground up here was very hilly and uneven, with large pieces of granite polished to a slippery sheen by centuries of foot traffic. We saw more than one person slip on these.
To the left is the Temple of Athena Nike. It had some statues of women holding up one section of the roof. Our guide said it was once considered the most sacred temple in the entire region, if not all of Greece. To the right was the Parthenon. which was another temple for Athena. It was awesome to see such an iconic structure, even if it was partially covered in scaffolding and had a construction crane obstructing some of the facade. Due to the work being done, tourists can no longer enter the building, so we walked along the perimeter and admired it.
Before we headed back down to the bus, we enjoyed the spectacular view of Athens and Piraeus below. A great photo op, and we took quite a few pics.
On the way back out of the Propyla, our guide pointed to a very large rocky hill to the right called the Pnyx. In ancient Greece, the local population would climb this hill to hear government assemblies, or to cast votes on important issues of the day. The Pnyx is considered to be one of the earliest and most important sites in the creation of Democracy.
We got back on the bus and headed to the Museum to see the artifacts. Before entering, we all stopped at the museum cafe to use the restrooms and get some cold sodas. Thirty minutes later, and we were back on the tour and in the museum.
Like most museums we saw, this had a lot of statues and sculptures, pottery, jewelry and personal items recovered from the site. The big difference was the display cases filled with gold artifacts. They even had a sword with a gold hilt. Obviously this had been an area of great importance and wealth. We walked through as a group and enjoyed the beautiful and informative displays.
Back on the bus and on to the old part of town - Planka. This was basically a shopping area, and the last effort to get our money. It was semi-effective, as I bought some refrigerator magnets and Bruce bought some Olive Jam (?!?).
The trip back to the ship gave us one last look at the city as we wound our way through the streets. We re-boarded and ran up to grab a late lunch, then back to the room to rest before dinner.
The rest of the night was same as usual. The show was called Space Odyssey, and was another dancing and acrobat show. A good performance, but the shows are getting a little ho hum.
Goodnight.
Our tour group was unusual in that it had two guides - one for English, and one for the German participants. This quickly became a nuisance, as everything had to be explained in two languages, and riding on the bus we sometimes missed some points of interest.
The ship docked in Piraeus, a harbor city right next to Athens. Our first stop was the Panathenaic Stadium, a large all-marble stadium built for the first modern Olympic games. It was constructed in the late 1800s on the site of an ancient race track. It is the only stadium to be made of all marble, and can hold over 40,000 people..
We headed to the Acropolis, which is easy to see as it sits on top of a high rocky hill overlooking the city. We got off the bus and started the climb to the top. The Acropolis is a big attraction, and there were a lot of people there to see it.
The top of the hill is 500 feet above the city, but the climb wasn't bad. The walkways were wide and well designed - at least until you get to the top and into the ancient stuff. You enter into the Acropolis through a portal called the Propyla, walking up the steps, though giant stone columns. We got into the upper courtyard, to be greeted by a giant modern stone milling machine. This area is being renovated, and there was a lot of modern equipment being used. We understand the necessity, but it was a disappointment to us.
The ground up here was very hilly and uneven, with large pieces of granite polished to a slippery sheen by centuries of foot traffic. We saw more than one person slip on these.
To the left is the Temple of Athena Nike. It had some statues of women holding up one section of the roof. Our guide said it was once considered the most sacred temple in the entire region, if not all of Greece. To the right was the Parthenon. which was another temple for Athena. It was awesome to see such an iconic structure, even if it was partially covered in scaffolding and had a construction crane obstructing some of the facade. Due to the work being done, tourists can no longer enter the building, so we walked along the perimeter and admired it.
Before we headed back down to the bus, we enjoyed the spectacular view of Athens and Piraeus below. A great photo op, and we took quite a few pics.
On the way back out of the Propyla, our guide pointed to a very large rocky hill to the right called the Pnyx. In ancient Greece, the local population would climb this hill to hear government assemblies, or to cast votes on important issues of the day. The Pnyx is considered to be one of the earliest and most important sites in the creation of Democracy.
We got back on the bus and headed to the Museum to see the artifacts. Before entering, we all stopped at the museum cafe to use the restrooms and get some cold sodas. Thirty minutes later, and we were back on the tour and in the museum.
Like most museums we saw, this had a lot of statues and sculptures, pottery, jewelry and personal items recovered from the site. The big difference was the display cases filled with gold artifacts. They even had a sword with a gold hilt. Obviously this had been an area of great importance and wealth. We walked through as a group and enjoyed the beautiful and informative displays.
Back on the bus and on to the old part of town - Planka. This was basically a shopping area, and the last effort to get our money. It was semi-effective, as I bought some refrigerator magnets and Bruce bought some Olive Jam (?!?).
The trip back to the ship gave us one last look at the city as we wound our way through the streets. We re-boarded and ran up to grab a late lunch, then back to the room to rest before dinner.
The rest of the night was same as usual. The show was called Space Odyssey, and was another dancing and acrobat show. A good performance, but the shows are getting a little ho hum.
Goodnight.
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| The Panathenaic Stadium |
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| Overlooking Athens. The Pnyx is the grey rocks just visible to the right of the ruin |
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| Artifacts piled in front of the Propyla |
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| The Parthenon |
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| Urn decorated in earlyEgyptian style Greek painting |
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