The streets in Athens

Anybody that goes out for a walk through the city, in the center or suburbs, will be able to observe the singular characteristics of each neighbourhood, which are not so easy to remember. Firstly, it might all seem like a twisted bunch of streets and avenues, big and small, with illegible names, with the same appearance as the rest, but who doesn't get lost at a new place?

First thing you need to know: translation for ''street'', ''avenue'' and ''square'':

- Street: οδός (odos)

- Avenue: λεωφόρος (leoforos)

- Square: πλατεία (platía)

In general, the type of road and it's name is written in greek and latin letters in blue charts on every corner (almost every corner...).

There are a few rules to follow when walking around for you not to lose your nerve by simply going down to shop at the market, and sadly what pushes me to say this is my own experience.

Let's make it clear, I will speak about what's best, and what you will have to put your patience and attention on:

THE BEST

• Proximity: Athens is one of the few cities in where I have felt that everything is close to where I am. Maybe is the entertaining trip to anywhere that makes time go by so fast, or the fact that most of important places and sites are around the same area in each neighbourhood.

• Shops and bussineses: most of them are for food and coffee, as well as little or super-markets, bakery shops and patisserie. You won't probably have to walk too far to buy anything you need. Besides, each street has their own shops with other products (clothing, sports, electronics, house furnishing, cleaning products...), mostly of private owners (not franchises).

• There is no ''dangerous area'': really, anything you hear as the 'dangerous area of Athens' is just not real. You can walk anywhere and nothing will happen to you, unless you are unlucky as it would happen in any other place. The concept of 'danger' comes from the prejudice given to the neighbourhoods where most of homeless and immigrants from close countries of Africa and Eastern Europe live, as well as for the unclean and careless appearance its buildings and streets have. However, you can bet Athens is a very calm city on a daily basis, with no crimes, weapons or whatsoever, and a social impulse more willing to help than steal.

• Social life: one big pro of this city that I personally love is that there is never an empty street, from where you cannot hear people laughing while having a drink. Besides, experience talking, I have very rarely been softly molested by anyone (well, drunken sailors are found anywhere right?). Therefor, it is also very easy to find a nice and beautiful place to sit and chll with friends for a while,

PATIENCE AND CARE

• Streets state: it's very sad, but I must say Athens is kind of broken. Sidewalks are small and with quite a lot of potholes, having to walk most of the time on the road, even more if you find construction works cutting off the flow, or in highly crowded streets. In the end you get used to it, and cars usually drive slowly, but in central areas as Omonoia or big avenues be careful.  

• Fast and Furious: greek driving is not the best, so if you are well used to respect the law while driving and walking...don't assume you will find the same so easily here. In various occasions, traffic lights don't work or are pretty useless, crosswalks have disappeared, and in some small streets vehicles drive through and park on the sidewalk. So, for your own safety, remember those words your mum used to say and look around twice or more before crossing the road.

• Dirt: mostly in the areas of the centre, trash accumulates due to lack of dumpsters and trash cans, which ends up in a dirty and dark urban look. Again! Lack of dumpsters and trash cans, it's almost heaven's gift to find one while walking, so please help the city and find one to through away your stuff.

• Falling in the rain: ah Greece, country of sun, spring and summer are its best periods of the year, but when autoumn and winter come...Let's just say that, even if it's true that it doesn't rain everyday, choosing the wrong type of shoes or walking distracted when the ground is wet can cause you one of the greatest and most awkward falls of your Erasmus, and even if it turns into a good memory after all, please be careful, watch your step and walk slower.

For today, I think in general these are the basic. There are certain things that I see neutral, as parks or trees around, which I feel it is as in any other city (well, maybe there are not as many trees and they are not as looked after, but the parks are very big and entirely natural, like being into a forest!), but I will go through that in another post.

I must point out that living in Athens has never been hard for me, and anyone can get used to the advantages very easily, even if you have to curse some taxi drivers once in a while... (how to do it the greek way, in the 'Culture' post!). So don't take it too seriously, get ready, and go discover every inch of it!