Athens was the final destination on our two month extravaganza that was winter in Europe, 2017. Having managed to find our way to Athens we were not too sure what to expect. We were foretold of a country on the brink of bankruptcy, suggestions of a Grexit before the year was out, and riots being held on a semi regular timeframe – regardless of whether any of this is true or not, we LOVED Athens.The vibe of Athens was one that we were able to slip very easily into, every where we went people stopped us to talk to us, ask us where we were from, and more often than not want to engage in a semi-philosophical debate about our views on Greece and whether we liked it or not.
Our Airbnb was a 10 minute walk from the Acropolis and a 15 minute walk to the main centre of Athens, and the price was just fabulous! I have to admit, that it was good to be able to get out and go exploring again by foot – the weather was a balmy 7 – 13 degrees (heaven for us) and with no snow around we were able to yomp around without having to stop every 20 or so minutes to heat back up. We were also rather broke, so made the decision to not pay to attend any of the historical sites, rather see them from a number of different perspectives, and also focus on meeting with the locals.
We managed to tick off seeing the:
- Acropolis with the Parthenon and other associated buildings,
- Herodes Gate and the Temple of Olympian Zeus
- Herodes Library
- Hellenic Government Building
- Pnyx
- Socrates Prison
- Church of Agios Demetrios Loumpardiaris
and also had a wonderful walk up Philopappos Hill.
Athens is a wonderful city full of people that genuinely were interested in us and ecstatic that we had made the trip from Australia. We have definitely placed Greece on our must go back to list, and it was a great way to finish our most amazing adventure through Europe.
Kiwi Roamer, the less intrepid traveler 