36 Hours in Athens

Changing the guard, Greek Parliament Building

The New York Times, has been running a regular series of travel columns under the heading ‘36 Hours In…location name’, the latest of which is ’36 Hours In Athens’.

Having spent some time in Athens recently, I read the column with great interest, and I am happy to confirm that not only is the city slowly emerging from years of economic decline, but so too is the rest of the country.

As for the New York Times’ suggestions, they cover a good range of experiences, given that they are trying to squeeze a reasonable number of locations and activities into 36 hours. If I was going to add anything, I would suggest that while you are visiting the area around Monastiraki, you walk up to Syntagma Square and watch the changing of the guard in front of the Greek Parliament building.

The wonderful Benaki Museum is also nearby, and well worth a visit, but then the more you move away from the suggested itinerary and locations contained in the New York Times article, the more you might as well put together your own ’36 Hours in Athens’schedule.

Here is a short video that accompanies the New York Times article:

Hotel Delfini, Piraeus, Greece

After my fourth or fifth stay at the Hotel Delfini, at Piraeus, I decided it was high time I wrote a review of the establishment. Since I have stayed at the hotel on each of my three visits to Athens, you might assume it is a great hotel to spend a night or three at. While I won't say it isn't a nice hotel, it is far from the best hotel in Piraeus. I'm not even sure if it is the best of the bad hotels in Piraeus. Still, for €35.00/night there are surely worse places to stay while waiting for your ship to come in―which is exactly what I was doing, waiting for a ferry to take me to the island of Ikaria.

The Delfini has 51 rooms, two elevators, and a large guest lounge which doubles as a breakfast room, and internet café. A menu in each room offers a number of snack items that are apparently available for purchase, although I never ordered anything from the menu, so I can’t say how good any of these snacks might be. Also, I don’t know if menu items are made fresh on the premises, or if they are made to order and delivered via one of the numerous cafés close to the hotel.

Here’s what the hotel itself has to say about its facilities:

Hotel DELFINI and its staff promise a pleasant and enjoyable stay. Its comfortable rooms, which are furnished with great taste, and decorated with simplicity and worm [sic] colourings, guarantee absolute relaxation and peace. No matter how tired you might be, in our hotel you will find the calmness and the quietness you need. Our rooms are equipped with all modern amenities (Satellite TV, direct external telephone line etc).

I’m not too sure about the “worm” colourings, and since the “etc” at the end of that quote leaves a lot unsaid, let me elaborate further.

FACILITIES: The rooms at the Delfini tend to be small and cramped, and they all seem to have an overpowering smell of stale cigarette smoke clinging to the walls and furnishings. From my experience, asking for a non-smoking room makes no difference. All the rooms I have had cause to stay in reek heavily of smoke, and all are supplied with ashtrays.

Room 44 beds

Looking towards balcony

Furnishings are plain and functional. A couple of low single beds with cheap springy mattresses, a bar fridge and small analogue television, a plain wooden wardrobe, a couple of small bedside cabinets, and an even smaller table and that's about it.

Analog television

Bedside cabinet and bar fridge

Oh, my room had a phone as well, but inexplicably this was located high on a wall in the bathroom. It sat fixed precariously above the toilet bowl, and to this day I don't know if it worked or not. The shower alcove in room 44 was tiny, and I had to squeeze by the washbasin to reach it.

Phone high above toilet bowl and tiny shower alcove

Happily, room 44 was air conditioned which must be very handy during the height of summer. I did turn the unit in my room on, and it seemed to be working as designed.

At least the air-con unit is new and works

As previously noted, there are two small elevators to lift guests and their luggage to the higher floors, while the Internet cafe does double duty as the breakfast room.

WIFI: The hotel offers free WiFi although the higher your room, the poorer the WiFi reception. During this stay I was in room 44, which was on the sixth floor, and while I could log into the WiFi connection the strength of the signal was very low. Actually, to be honest I should have written "when I could log into the WiFi...," because I soon realized that WiFi at the Delfini was so slow and the connection so intermittent that it was all but useless and more than enough to try the patience of Job all over again. Even moving down to the lounge/breakfast room didn't make any real difference to the strength or quality of the WiFi connection.

Entrance and free-standing wardrobe.

BREAKFAST: For five euros (approx AUD$7.50), you can help yourself to a smorgasbord Continental Breakfast that may include eggs (hard-boiled or fried but not necessarily both); bread, sliced ham, cheese, tomato and cucumber; cereal including muesli and corn flakes; jelly/jams, yoghurt, fruit (canned), and tea and coffee. And help myself I did. I figured a hearty breakfast could get me through most of the day, thereby saving me the extra expense of a midday meal.

A room with a view of the harbor

LOCATION: The one thing that keeps me coming back to the Delfini is the proximity of the hotel to the harbor, which is literally about a hundred yards away across the busy Akti Posidonos road. Also just down the road is the terminal for the main rail line that leads directly to the heart of Athens. Oh, and if you are flying in to Eleftherios Venizelou Airport, you can jump on the X96 bus, and for five euros that will bring you right in to the heart of Piraeus.

My Rating

Facilities: C+ (low pass)

WiFi: D (for Dismal)

Breakfast: A (Pass)

Delfini Hotel

7, Leocharous Street

Piraeus 185 31

Greece

Phone: +30 21 0417 3110

Fax: +30 210 4173510

E-mail: info@hotel-delfini.com

Peri’s Hotel & Apartments, Athens, Greece

Peri's Hotel & Apartments, Athens, Greece

~ I only spent one night (February, 2011), at Peri’s Hotel & Apartments, in Athens, Greece, but I was delighted with the location, the room, and the friendly service. After a short uneventful flight from the Aegean island of Ikaria, to Athens International Airport, I was picked up as arranged by Antonis. Peri’s provide a free pick up and drop off service between the airport and hotel, so make sure you request this service if you need it.

The hotel was built in 2004, and offers just twelve well appointed rooms, each with their own balcony. My room had a large double bed, en suite, television, bar fridge, free WiFi, but no tea or coffee making facilities. There was plenty of storage space – in fact too much given that 80 per cent of the visitors staying here are probably only staying for one or two nights at most. Still it was nice to know they had gone to the effort.

Room service: Tea and Cake

Although no tea/coffee making facilities are available in the rooms (unless this has since changed), following my arrival at the hotel, Antonis brought a pot of tea to my room, along with a slice of cake. It was a lovely touch, and after settling in, I went for a walk to Artemis beach about 1 km from the hotel. 

There are numerous cafés and restaurants along the foreshore, and I treated myself to a late lunch/early dinner of calamari, chips, salad and Heineken beer, which, along with a tip came to just €20.

Peri’s Hotel is located about 15 minutes drive from Athens International Airport EL. VENIZELOS, and less than 30 minutes from the port of Rafina, from where you can catch ferries to the islands of Myconos, Santorini, Paros, Naxos, Tinos and Evia. Visitors wanting to head into central Athens will find a public bus stop close by.

Breakfast tray. Luverly!

Booking Your Stay

Booking your stay at Peri’s Hotel & Apartments requires that you call the hotel direct (see numbers below). Online reservations through the usual online sites, was not available when I stayed in the hotel, and still does not appear to be available.

My breakfast consisted of two slices of toast with slices of cheese and ham; jam, one boiled egg, a pot of tea, and 250ml of orange juice, all delivered cheerfully to my room. Luverly!

Other Details

~ A breakfast room and TV lounge are available if you don’t want to spend time in your room.

~ Continental breakfast is served between 8.00 am to 10.00 am.

~ A small bar is also located in the TV lounge

~ Transfer to and from the Airport is available (free shuttle between 7.00 am to 23.30 pm)

~ Reception office is staffed 24 hours.

Peri's Hotel & Apartments, Athens, Greece

If you are looking for somewhere to stay for a night or two between flights, Peri’s Hotel is an excellent choice. The hotel is located well away from main roads, with their frenetic traffic and highly strung Greek drivers, and provides the perfect respite before embarking on long homeward flights.

PERI’S HOTEL & APARTMENTS

Phone: +30-22940-83763

Mobile: +30-694-412-7435

Email: peris11 @ otenet.gr 

Friday Photo: Memorial Corona



Click to view full sized.

There is something quite sobering about the number of memorials along Greek highways and roads that mark the passing of speeding motorists or other road users. Whether on isolated Greek islands, quiet suburban streets or along major traffic corridors, the memorials tend to be large, elaborate, and permanent.

The memorials often contain images of the deceased, several personal mementos, an eternal flame, and either plastic, fresh, or dried flowers.

I have never encountered anyone tending these memorials but the small, oil fed candle these replica church memorials invariably contain, rarely, if ever go out.

My attention was immediately drawn to this roadside memorial in Athens when I noticed the bottle of Corona placed on the structures roof. Was it put there by a family member? A friend of the deceased, perhaps?

I can only hope that alcohol did not play a part in the accident that caused the death of the person being remembered here. However, given the Greek tendency to laugh in the face of Haros (the ferryman who transports the souls of the dead across the river Styx), it wouldn’t surprise me if an excess of drink was the cause of the loss being marked here.

Turbulence

Image: Illustration of turbulence, courtesy of Webskite…

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Turbulence [-noun]

1. A state or condition of confusion, movement, or agitation; violent disorder or commotion.

Well you can’t expect things to go right all the time, can you? If you travel often and far enough, some things are bound to go wrong from time to time, and this past week, following my return to Athens after nine delightful days in Paris, things began to go wrong.

The above definition of the word, turbulence, is a good summation of the current political situation in Greece. Since the massive 110 billion euro bail out by the European Union that may or may not save Greece from financial bankruptcy, the country has been in turmoil as the PASOK government, under the leadership of George Papandreou has turned the screws on wage earners, public servants, and the agricultural community.

For months the people of Greece have been under pressure to bear the burden of pay and pension cuts, loss of workers entitlements, government sector cutbacks, and more. Their response has been a series of strikes and stoppages that have played havoc with the country’s transport systems including road, rail, air and ferry services.

What all this turbulence is doing to the country’s tourist industry is anyone’s guess.

Like I said, after nine very pleasant days in Paris, I flew into this “…state or condition of confusion,” etc, on Monday afternoon, and within thirty minutes of checking into my hotel I received the news that the flight I had booked to take me from Athens to Ikaria the next day (Tuesday) had been cancelled due to planned industrial action by airport workers. Taking the news in my stride, I arranged with Olympic Air to fly to the island on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, while airport workers were back on the job on Wednesday, the train and bus drivers were not. So early Wednesday morning I caught a cab for the fifty minute drive from Piraeus to the airport – at a cost of 35 euros. So far, so good. I had plenty of time to check in, have a coffee, pass through security, and wait for the flight to Ikaria.

It didn’t take long for the thirty or so passengers to settle into their seats for the 40 minute flight to the island, and within an hour or so of my arrival at the airport, we took off into an overcast sky. It was at this point that we ran into another kind of turbulence:

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Image: A De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400. Photo: Vangelis Antonakis. Online: www.airpics.net

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Turbulence [-noun]

1. Irregular motion of the atmosphere, as that indicated by gusts and lulls in the wind.

“…Gusts and lulls in the wind,” my eye! Within minutes of take off, the small, twin prop Olympic Air DHC-8-400 (see image) hit enough turbulence to keep the cabin crew on their toes, and the passengers strapped to their seats. After a quick snack we prepared to land at Ikaria, but if it was there, I for one couldn’t see it. There was thick cloud over the island and the plane was bucking and dancing through severe turbulence constantly. Ten minutes after we were supposed to have landed, we were told we were heading back to Athens due to severe weather conditions and an unspecified mechanical problem.

We were met at Athens airport by a fleet of fire engines and a mass of ground crew and engineers who quickly surrounded the plane and examined it closely. The pilot explained that the presence of fire engines and ground crew was standard operating procedure when a plane returns to the airport with suspected mechanical issues, and that we had nothing to be concerned about.

Yeah, right.

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Image: Ground crew and engineers rush to examine our plane on landing

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Image: Airport fire trucks after our unspecified mechanical problem

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We disembarked and went back to the terminal to wait for a second plane which would take us back to Ikaria. An hour later, dancing and weaving once again through severe turbulence so bad that even the cabin crew had to stay strapped to their seats, we again approached Ikaria through thick clouds, high winds, and more aerial acrobatics. The island was still nowhere to be seen, and for the second time we turned back to Athens and thoroughly disheartened, gave up on any plans of reaching the island.

Apart from the inconvenience, and the stress of all the travel and bouncing around in the air, I was certainly happy to be back on the ground. I’m even happier after reading one online report while researching information about air turbulence which stated that, "Of all weather-related commercial aircraft incidents, 65% can be attributed to turbulence."

Which brings to mind the old adage: It’s better to be safe than sorry. To which I can only add, Amen to that! Sadly, it didn’t take long before the turbulence in the air was again swapped for turbulence on the ground.

There was chaos at the taxi rank as hundreds of passengers lined up for cabs into Athens and elsewhere. I decided that since I had already spent 35 euros getting to the airport, I would try and save some money by sharing a cab with someone travelling back to Piraeus. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and when some guy agreed to share the cost of a cab with me we both got into a taxi and headed for the port.

Nearly an hour and 50 euros later we reach Piraeus and I get ready to leave the cab. I gave the driver a fifty euro note, and asked for 25 back, thinking the other guy would pay his share of the fee. The cabbie took my fifty euro and said that since the other guy was going a little further, he could pay his share of the fare when he got out, and that since the fare up to that point was 50 euros, he would keep all my money. I tried to explain that we had an agreement to share the cost of the ride. The other guy kept quiet throughout this, and offered no money by way of upholding his part of the deal I thought we’d agreed to.

It was then I realised that I had been scammed by the Greek guy who had offered to share the cost of the taxi with me. With the cabbie refusing to give me any part of my fifty euros back, since as he said, that was the fare anyway, and the other passenger ignoring my request for even ten euros as part of his contribution to the fare, I had no choice but to walk away, chastened by the experience but a lot wiser than when I got into the cab.

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Image: [Hell] This just about sums up my day!

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It isn’t the fifty euros that bothers me. Money comes in through one hand and goes out via the other one all the time. It was the fact that both driver and passenger took advantage of me. It is also a sad reflection on how far the Greeks and Greece have fallen as a people and as a country. That the other passenger could sit there and knowingly screw me over like that is the thing that hurts the most. I was quite happy to share the cost of the cab, and even would have paid more than half my share, but I would never consider screwing someone else over like this man did.

For all I know he got out a hundred yards further down the road, and paid nothing for his ride. If I had been quick enough to think of that, I could have refused to get out of the cab and said, drop this man off first, and me after. That way the tables would have been turned against the other passenger, and he would have had to pay the bulk of the fare. But it was too late for that, and I had no choice but to suck it up and go on my way.

However, every cloud has a silver lining, as the saying goes. Since I was walking past a travel outlet, I went in and bought a ticket for the Nissos Mykonos, the regular ferry that services Ikaria. As it happens the ticket only cost 19 euros, a thirty euro reduction off the normal price of a full fare, which helped improve my mood somewhat.

My mood improved even more after I rang Olympic Air and cancelled my rescheduled, rescheduled flight and was told I would receive a full refund on the plane ticket.

So there I was, at the end of a long, tiring and stressful day, back at the Delfini Hotel in Piraeus from whence my day had begun. I had spent 85 euros on taxi fares; had flown to Ikaria twice and still ended up back in Athens; had been conned and scammed, and had seen an ugly side of Greeks I hope never to see again.

It had indeed been a turbulent day.

Click here... to read probably more than you've ever wanted to know about turbulence and air travel.

The Art of Subways

~ For most commuters, subways are often a ‘necessary evil’ that simply help them get from one part of a city to another in (hopefully) the safest, quickest and most comfortable way possible. Generally, people don’t travel around the world just to see subway stations, but some subway systems are well worth the visit.

As someone who rarely uses public transport at home, I was more than happy to re-acquaint myself with that means of travel as I explored London, New York City, and Athens in 2008. Of the three cities mentioned, I personally found London’s subway system (the ‘underground’) to be the least interesting visually. It began operating in 1863, and as the first underground transport system in the world, its designers and architects didn’t waste time or money trying to turn it into a work of art.

Thanks to the 2004 Olympic Games, Athens has a stunning new subway. While the underground component is not particularly extensive, it is clean and efficient. It also incorporates many fascinating archaeological discoveries unearthed during the construction of the network that are worth seeking out and examining closely in their own right.

The first underground line in New York’s subway system opened in October 1904. While many of the old lines and stations are showing signs of wear and tear, the inclusion of works of art or station designs that were aesthetically pleasing to commuters, was part of the brief city engineers and architects had to take into consideration when planning the subway.

Many stations are decorated with intricate ceramic tile work, some of it dating back to 1904 when the subway first opened for business. The "Arts for Transit" program oversees art in the subway system. Permanent installations, such as sculpture, mosaics, and murals; photographs displayed in lightboxes, and musicians performing in stations encourage people to use mass transit. Some of the art is by internationally-known artists such as Elizabeth Murray's Blooming, [see image] displayed at Lexington Avenue/59th Street station.
[Source: Wikipedia…]

The New York subway system was a revelation as I constantly discovered massive murals, quirky sculptures, colourful mosaics and many other types of art scattered through the subterranean depths beneath that great metropolis.

Which brings me to the Design Boom website.

They have posted a feature on some of the world’s most visually stunning subways systems and their stations, and it is well worth taking a look at. Of course, most of the stations illustrated in the article are far newer than either the New York City or London subway systems. Never the less, all are a feast for the eye and would surely make even the most jaded and jet-lagged traveller, reach for their cameras to capture the underground wonders they are passing through.

Artwork: Blooming, Elizabeth Murray (1996).
Photo by: Wayne Whitehorne

Travelling Lighter

~ Yesterday, I bought a new piece of luggage in preparation for my travels next year (see image).

It is a 54cm ‘Jet Stream’ bag from Tosca. That’s right, folks, 54cm. That is less than two feet high for those of you still using Imperial weights and measures. Anything smaller, and I would be restricting myself to carry-on luggage only!

I have written before on this blog about the concept of travelling light, and next year I hope to put my own advice into practise. As I said in an early post on House Sitting, I will be looking after a house for six weeks in Melbourne early in the new year, and I am using it as a practise run for my packing skills before I fly out to Europe in April or May.

I figure if can pack light enough to survive six weeks in Melbourne, I won’t need to pack anything extra for my European trip.

I should point out that I will also have a small carry-on backpack which will hold all my non-wearable gear such as camera, laptop computer, battery chargers, and other associated paraphernalia. I will also have a small ‘man bag’ – actually an old laptop computer bag for those extra items one always needs on long haul flights (water, ear plugs, reading material, etc).

Last year I used the 71cm version of the bag you see illustrating this post – as well as the backpack, and let me tell you, folks, a full 71cm bag is a pain in the back (not to mention the @ss) to drag around London, New York, Athens and the Greek islands!

I vowed that never again would I take such a large bag with me on my travels, and so the baby of the set, the 54cm piece will hopefully do the job for me. I say, ‘hopefully’, because I honestly don’t know if it will be enough, but then, one of the benefits of my six week house sitting gig is that it gives me the opportunity to fine tune my packing before I depart for Greece and beyond.

When I do eventually head off to Melbourne, I will post a complete packing list on this blog just so you can see what I have selected. Once the house sit is over, I will again post an entry letting you know what worked and what didn’t.

Ten Things for Ten Dollars (more or less)

~ The Hostel Bookers website is featuring a number of cities where they say you can see 10 things for $10. That is, ten dollars per selected attraction or event. Well, more or less.

I’m not sure about the math, and I guess it all depends on the exchange rates you achieve at the time you are travelling, but I like the idea behind the series. It is good to know that not everything has to be a constant attack on your credit card whenever you travel.

There are cheap things to do in every major city in the world, and in fact, using the resources of the internet, you can easily find a host of free things to do in all the cities selected for these online features.

So far, the site has created lists for the cities of New York, Edinburgh, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Amsterdam, and London.

The articles focus on the not quite ‘top tier’ attractions. Sites that might be your second choice, rather than your first. For example: instead of fighting your way through the thousands of tourists swarming over the Forum and the Colosseum in Rome, they recommend a visit to Ostia Antica, the remarkable ruins of ancient Rome’s port city.

In Athens they suggest a visit to the Agora (market) that surrounds the Acropolis, and I agree. I spent several hours exploring this area and was surprised by the many ‘hidden’ treasures this site holds. Developed in the 6th century BC, the Agora was once the focal point of Ancient Greek society. It was here that Socrates first talked philosophy and where St Paul tried to convert people to Christianity.

I can also vouch for the full English Breakfast they recommend on the London feature. I would start each day with the ‘Builder’s Breakfast’, which as its name suggests is a meal fit for the British working man. For £5, you can expect each ‘Full English’ to consist of bacon, eggs, sausage, baked beans, fried tomatoes, toast and a large pot of black tea. It may not be the healthiest way to start the day, but it was cheap, filling, and enough to see you through several hours of brisk walking around London’s busy streets.

I can only say, I wish I had the information in my hands before I visited New York, London and Athens, last year. London especially, I found to be very expensive, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that museums and galleries offer mostly free entry, I’m not sure that I would have been able to see very much at all during my all too brief stay there.

Thankfully, New York was much more wallet friendly, and I was surprised at the range of reasonably priced attractions on offer. Of course, there is so much to see and do in New York anyway, that you could spend days, and weeks, simply walking around that great city before you felt a need to pay to see the major attractions that virtually every tourist or visitor has on their list of ‘must see’ sites.

Anyway, if you are heading to any of the cities listed, take the time to explore the links to your location of choice and see how much money you can save by visiting some of the recommended sites.

Image: Agora, Athens, Greece.

Photograph: Jim Lesses

Friday Photo #1: Acropolis, Athens

Acropolis Columns, Athens, Greece

Of all the images I took of the Acropolis, this is my favourite, and I’m not even sure if I can articulate why. It is something to do with the framing of the image; the contrasting hues of the columns; the balance of colours; and the strength and physical power the white marble column in the foreground projects.

In this modern age of prefabricated buildings, when structures can be thrown up, higher than anyone in ancient Greece could ever have imagined, one wonders what the builders of the Acropolis (or the Coliseum in Rome – or any of a hundred other ancient structures) might make of our present cities. As amazing as our new skyscrapers may be, one has to wonder too, just how many of them will still be standing 200 years from now – let alone in 300 years!

Certainly none will be able to match the longevity of the 2500 year old Acropolis, which, if not for the explosion which all but destroyed it in 1687 might still be standing in all its former glory.

Image: Acropolis Columns, Jim Lesses
Click image to view full size