Athens is somewhere I've always wanted to go. To be able to walk along the Parthenon, and ruins of ancient Greece, which have been there for thousands of years, was an opportunity I did not want to miss out on before we move back home. So I started looking at hotels, and found one right in the main shopping district of Athens, next to the Greek Parliament and with a great view of the Parthenon.
The day of the trip I was pretty nervous. It was one thing to drive to Garmisch for one night when we had my parents there to help, but this time we were flying to another country for 4 days and only Shanna and myself to look after Ben. I also had no idea how he'd be on an airplane. Turns out we had nothing to worry about...he could not have been a better traveler. Our first leg to Zurich was only 45 minutes, and he laughed and played in Shanna's lap the whole time.
The second leg to Athens, he slept the entire trip. When we landed in Athens, it didn't take long to get our bags and head to the general area outside of security. I had arranged with the hotel to have a driver pick us up, and he was there on schedule. I don't know how to spell his name, so I'm going to write it phonetically. Akis had a baby seat in his car, and in no time at all, we were on the road to the hotel. It turns out the hotel did not have infant car seats, but since I had spoken with them ahead of time, Akis had borrowed the car seat from his sister, and was using that one. Ben didn't seem to mind.
In no time at all, we were at the hotel and checking in. After a quick passport check, they directed us up to the 7th floor to the "check in reception". When we got up there, they had a glass of champagne waiting for us.
Once checked in and in our room, we were hungry, so we headed up to the top floor to get some lunch. The food was pricey, but delicious. It was much warmer than in Germany, so we cooled off with some Ceviche. From the top, we had a beautiful view of the Parthenon.
After lunch we packed Ben up in the stroller and headed outside. The hotel was located right next to the Greek Parliament, and in the heart of the shopping district. It had been a long day of traveling, so we didn't want to do too much, but we did want to walk around. The shopping district was nice, but what was really neat was while strolling down the alleys, we stumbled across an old church. The artwork inside was amazing. Turns out the church was 1,000 years old. Amazing to think this church, surrounded by ice cream shops, kids stores, and fashion stores, had stood there for 1,000 years. We eventually found a kebab stand, got dinner, and headed back to the hotel.
The next morning we had arranged a private guide to show us around Athens. The hotel offered organized tours, but since we didn't know how Ben would be, we decided a private guide would be better. That way we could go at any pace, and if we needed to stop for him, we could at any time without slowing a group down. Our guide met us in the lobby at 8, and we got started. The first stop was in front of the Greek Parliament, where every hour they have a changing of the guard ceremony. It was neat to watch, but we both agreed, not as impressive as the changing of the guard in Copenhagen. What was neat, though, was the reason they did it right there was because it was also the location of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
From there, we walked over to the ruins of the Temple of Zeus. It was closed at that time, but we would return later in the day to walk around. There wasn't much left, but there were several columns that were enormous...amazing to realize it was all built thousands of years ago, before anything close to modern technology was in place. From there we started walking to the Parthenon. One neat thing about Athens is it's not uncommon to come across an area completely dug out, with a plastic wall around the dug out area and a plaque. When construction has taken place in Athens, they will often times come across ancients parts of the city while digging. We passed several such places where you could see excavations of various places. We came across an old bath house that had been found.
Eventually we made it to the top of the Acropolis, where the Parthenon and Temple of Athena Nike are. We've seen a lot of neat things since we moved here, but some of my favorites have been ancient structures I learned about in history class growing up, like the pyramids in Egypt, the ancient stone buildings in Malta, the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, and now the Parthenon in Athens. Walking along side it was incredible. From the top we had an amazing panoramic view of Athens.
When we had finished walking around, we headed down briefly to the Acropolis museum. At this point Ben was ready to eat, and was getting fussy, so we didn't walk through the museum, just the ground floor which was free.
We headed back to the hotel, parted ways with the guide, and took care of Ben. After he had a short nap, we pulled the map out and planned a walking route to cover the rest of the afternoon. First up was to head to the old Roman shopping district. We stopped in some shops, including one that sold baby and kids clothes. Shanna found a shirt for Ben she liked, and when we walked up to pay, there was an older lady working behind the counter. She smiled when she saw the stroller, but it was covered, so she hadn't actually seen Ben yet. She pointed out pictures she had on the cash register of her grand kids. Then she came around to see Ben, and got so excited. She kept remarking how much he looked like her grandson. When we looked at the picture, she was right, the resemblance was uncanny.
From there we headed through winding cobblestone streets and alleys until we came back to the Acropolis museum. The nice part was it was air conditioned. We also noticed how friendly and accommodating the employees were. More than once we had someone come up to us and let us know that if we needed to change Ben, feed him, or do anything like that, they had a brand new family room at our disposal. Shanna ended up using it to feed and change Ben later, and she couldn't believe how nice it was. There was a comfortable changing table, a rocking chair, and other amenities to make bringing a baby there easier for the parents. The museum itself was neat, too, with all kinds of artifacts found when excavating around the Parthenon, as well as tablets that used to be on the Parthenon itself here on display.
After the museum, it was time to head back to the Temple of Zeus. Thankfully it was free, because there wasn't anything to see on the inside that you couldn't see from the outside. But, it was neat to walk around up close to fully see how large this temple was, and how impressive it must have been to walk through it when it was built thousands of years ago. From there, we headed over to the stadium built for the first Olympic games of the modern era in 1896. They charged for admission, but like with the Temple of Zeus, you could see everything from the outside, so there was no need to pay money to go in.
It was getting late in the afternoon at this point, and we were beat from walking around all day. We headed back to the hotel, and decided to see how Ben would react to a pool. We had gotten the special diaper in case we went in the water, so we got him changed and headed up to the roof. He did OK in the pool. When just his legs were in the water, he was curious, reaching out and touching the water. When the water hit is stomach, though, that's when he turned the pout on full force and started crying. It wasn't a kiddie pool, where it stays relatively warm, so we figured it was probably too cold for him. We ended up just sitting on the deck, having a few drinks, and heading back to the room. That night the World Cup game was on TV, so we ordered room service and relaxed in the room all night.
The next morning we had an all day excursion planned. The same guy who picked us up from the airport was there to drive us all around the Peloponnese region. We had a different guide on this day, and were glad we did. The previous day's guide was nice, and was knowledgeable, but it was obvious she was not comfortable around kids. The new guide, Melissa, was the complete opposite. She had 3 small kids of her own, and Ben loved her. When we were driving, if Ben got fussy, she'd immediately stop whatever she was saying, and sing songs quietly to him in Greek. He would immediately calm down. Other times, when she was talking, Ben was fixated on her every word.
Our first stop was Mycenae, ruins of an ancient city. It is estimated it was first build and inhabited around 4,000 years ago. It's not on the highest point in the area, but it is at a high point, where you can see for miles all around. Agamemnon lived there, and was buried there. At it's height in 1370 BC, there was an estimated 30,000 people living there. The site also had a small museum, which contained artifacts excavated from the area, including Agamemnon's death mask. One of the neat things she pointed out was the city was built there because it was believed a giant was resting near by. Sure enough, looking from the top of hill, the mountain range in the distance looked like a giant laying down. You could make out the noise, the left eye, etc.. It takes some imagination, but if you look at the pictures page, you'll see it.
From there we drove to a small town on the coast called Nafplio. We had an amazing lunch there. I branched out a little and had cheese stuffed squid with an appetizer of grilled octopus. It was delicious. And of course, we had to order the Tzatziki. That stuff is absolutely amazing. We had it on bread, with greek olives, on our kebabs, you name it. We had it every single day we were there. After lunch, we walked around the town. We saw some beautiful private beaches, as well as a fortress that was built out on a tiny island in the water. They also had a tiny, yet beautiful, church. Melissa told us the Greek Orthodox baptismal ritual, unlike the kind I grew up with, involved olive oil instead of water. And it wasn't a dab on the forehead, they soaked the baby in it. Custom states that the more oil, the better. She said that it was not uncommon for grandparents to stand over while it was being done, and point out various areas on the baby's body that were missed, like the arm pits.
When we were done there, we headed out towards the ancient city of Corinth. If you're familiar with the book in the Bible Corinthians, the people of this city are who Paul was writing about when he visited there. Along the way, we learned a lot from Melissa. Not just about Greek history, but Greek culture as well. She was telling us that in their culture, you can't come up with your own name for a child until you have three of the same gender. The reason is the first two boys are named after the grandfathers, and the first two girls are named after the grandmothers. So her name, Melissa, was also her Grandmother's name. Before we got there, we passed several stands selling fruit from the local farms, as well as honey, vinegar and wine made locally. We stopped and sampled some of the wine...it was incredible. We bought a bottle of White and Red. We couldn't believe how cheap it was. A 1.5L bottle was 4.50.
Corinth, as well as the Temple of Apollo within the city, was all ruins. So while there wasn't much to see, just knowing the history of the city made walking around fascinating. If you remember the three types of columns from ancient Greece and Rome, the Corinthian style of column originated here. I'm glad we had Melissa with us, though, because she knew what the city layout was. So she could point an area that looked like a pile of rocks, and tell us it used to be a bath house. She also took us to an area where Paul was put on trial for preaching Christianity. They had a plaque there, with a quote from Corinthians etched in it. Growing up Catholic, we learned all about the stories in the Bible, so it was pretty amazing standing here.
On the drive back, Shanna and Melissa talked about anything and everything. In conversation, Melissa asked us what our plans were the next day. It turns out her son was turning 2, and because he was not in school, the only "friends" he had were all girls, because they were friends of his older sisters. She wanted us to come and celebrate with her family so Ben could be there. I'm not sure what he and the 2 year old really could have done, but still, I wish we could have stayed an extra day to go. The chance to celebrate with multiple generations of their relatives in Greece would have been amazing. Unfortunately we had a 1pm flight out, so there was no way we could have made it.
The next morning we got breakfast at the local bakery and headed over to watch the changing of the guard. The previous morning we had gotten there right after it finished, so we missed it. This morning we made sure to get there on time. As you can tell from the picture, Ben was enthralled.
Like on the flights there, Ben was great. One thing that was great was the VIP treatment we got at all the airports because of him. We got to head to the front of the line for check in, security, and we got to board the airplane first before anyone, even the first class customers.
We really enjoyed Greece. I was stressed leading up to the trip because of all the unknowns of traveling with Ben, but he ended up being fantastic. Now that we know he travels well, we have all kinds of trips planned. Shanna wants to go to Florence for her birthday in August, and we're looking at Budapest, Hungary, for our anniversary in October. We have a map up in Ben's room with pins of all the places he's visited, while Shanna was pregnant and after he was born. By the time we move back home, we're going to have all kinds of pins in that map. So check back next month!
To see the pictures, click any picture above or here.
Nice trip! And... Ben is absolutely adorable--what an endearing smile he has!
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