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| KiwiDee at the Acropolis |
In 2011 I went on a 3 month solo Europe trip. Never been out of NZ but had always wanted to experience other countries and cultures. One of the best places I visited was Greece, and below is blog post from my old travel blog.
I went sailing for three days in the Ionian Sea, went to Mykonos and had a few days in Athens. Each place held its own enchanting feel.
Chaotic Athens. Amazing! Coming from such a small country, I found the riots to be fascinating, especially since democracy was born here. This was my account of times in Athens...
29th June 2011, Athens, Greece.
While we were in Mykonos, we heard reports of rioting in central Athens. On the morning coach going into Athens Aiofe (tour guide) told us that the government would be making the decision to take the IMF loan or not, that afternoon. The majority of Greece did not want the government to accept the loan as it would mean higher taxes and pretty much hinder the next few generations.
People were protesting, and some were rioting. We decided anyway to go to the Acropolis as we were told it was quite a way from the rioting. We metro-ed into central city - went underneath the main square where all the rioting was happening, the doors opened and people were covered in white and wearing gas masks - we ended up at the Acropolis station and went up the hill to see my mecca.
I have never felt such an atmosphere before. There were hardly any tourists or people up at a normally extremely busy tourist attraction. There was no people sounds or traffic sounds. All you could hear was tear gas canisters cracking and chants on the wind from in Syntagma Square in front of Parliament. We could see the white tear gas cloud and people standing on the roofs around the central square. The rest of the city was unmoving. They were probably inside watching the television with family and friends. There was a feeling of tension but calmness in the air. Everyone was aware and watchful but quite silent.
We walked down to the Plaka where we had been told there was good food, so we found ourselves at Hadrians Arch. Hearing a bit of a ruckus, we looked up the road and saw two massive lines of fully kitted out riot police heading towards Syntagma Square. I did NOT want to get any closer! We wandered into the Plaka to find some Moussaka and some ladies told us to watch out for the tear gas! We were extremely close to the rioting. Many people walked past us with white faces from the tear gas. These people ranged from young adults to 50 plus. It amazed me how serious and determined everyone looked. We sat down, had some food and it looked it like it was all starting to settle down.
We wandered into a souvenir shop and next minute there was a massive crowd down the road blocking our exit route! We got a bit scared because we thought they might start rioting. But they were just protesters standing in a big group. We single filed through them holding hands and got to the other side and walked back to the Acropolis Metro where we went back to the Hotel.
What a day. I must say that this was one of the amazing parts of my Europe journey. I am so glad I got to experience it. I went out the next few days in central Athens and the vast difference of the day before and the next few days was amazing. Everything seemed back to normal. Tourists and people were everywhere. I walked through the main square where people were cleaning up burnt things, cracked concrete and rubbish. I used the Syntagma square metro where there was remnants of tear gas in the air and I could feel it in the back of my throat and eyes. What a time to be in Athens!
The following days I took my time to really check out Athens. It grew on me and describing it would be ramshackle, chaotic, passionate, historic, cultural, friendly, Metro and Acropolis! I was quite sad to leave, it felt like I still had a lot to do there. I will go back to Greece.
