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Transport in Athens: the bus.

And we’ve arrived at the last mode of transport in Athens (without counting the taxi): the bus. In general, every neighbourhood had its own buses, and many reach fairly central areas. In this entry, I will tell you about the most useful, especially for moving around...

0 0 , 4 years ago
Transport in Athens: Tram and Suburban Train

The tram and suburban train are alternative modes of transport to reach less-central areas (the coast, neighbourhoods in the outskirts of town, the north of the city, nearby towns…) In the entry ‘Transport in Athens: the Metro’...

0 0 , 4 years ago
Transport in Athens: the Metro.

(Photograph of Attiki Metro: www.ametro.gr) From the Airport to my first house, finding the university, when I finally got round to doing a bit of tourism and even once I had already settled in, there were a lot of questions that I was often hit with. What do I take?...

0 0 , 5 years ago
Islands 1: Aegina and Hydra

It has been quite a while since I visited a Greek island, on a cruise through the Mediterranean, passing through the Aegean Sea toward Athens. It is impressive because, despite it being 10 years ago, I remember the details of each island, although I have to say, they...

0 0 , 5 years ago
Osios Loukas Monastery

One of the major monasteries in Greece (also a UNESCO world heritage site) is the Osios Loukas monastery near Delphi in Boeotia. It was founded in the 10th century by the monk Lukas of Steiris, also called Thaumaturgos (Doer of Wonders), as he lived an ascetic life from...

0 0 , 5 years ago
Gla - Mycenean Mountain Fort

Driving into Boeotia, a more rural region of Greece with maybe Thebes as a well-known city, we visited the mountain fort Gla. Passing modern buildings on our way, we had to get on top of the mountain to enter the fortified position. The thick and high walls were...

0 0 , 5 years ago
The Plain of Marathon

If you watched the movie "300" and "300-Rise of an Empire", you are familiar with the wars of Greece against the Persians. A famous event is the Battle of Marathon taking place on Greek shores 490BC after the Persian King Darios I thought it would be a good idea to...

0 0 , 5 years ago
National Museum: Marble, Marble, Marble

Classical Athens must have been an amazing sight: Lots of marble (though probably not in all areas) and some of it in vivid colours! Here I present you some marble reliefs and statues (unfortunately, I had to skip some marble statues and life-like bronze statues with...

0 0 , 5 years ago
National Museum: Funny Ceramics

This post will be a hopefully welcome relief from the dead serious posts of last time, at least partly. Some things the ancient Greeks did would be ridiculous or scorned today. For example, Old Comedy had leather penises as props for the theatre, and public religious...

0 0 , 5 years ago
National Museum: More Artifacts

It's not even finished yet! The museum holds treasures from millennia ... This marble relief shows young men engaged in a philosophical discussion; remarkably, also women are by their side. A bronze statue of a child (symbol of Eros, the god of love?) riding a horse...

0 0 , 5 years ago
National Museum: Wonders of Archeology

Returning to the National Museum of Archeology is really worth it: Wonders of ancient technology and awesome artifacts are waiting for you! For example proof that Nazis already existed in Ancient Greece, that's why Hitler and his companions occupied the Acropolis ......

0 0 , 5 years ago
War Museum 4: The Western World

The long history of Greece has not only seen striking developments in military technology, but also lots of influx from the rest of Europe. Greek warriors (especially Spartans) were famous for their strength and courage, while the Athenians were also adept at naval...

0 0 , 5 years ago
War Museum 3: Tribal Warfare

Skipping a bit back in time and over the continents, the souterrain floor of the museum exhibits archaic weapons used in different tribes. If I remember correctly, these spears, swords and bow and arrow are from the Eastern Mediterranean or Scythian. The shield with a...

0 0 , 5 years ago
War Museum 2 - Modern Warfare

The War Museum in Greece, the country being part of the EU and NATO (together with Turkey), also exhibits some modern weapons, among them some from World War 2 (see below). Here's a fighting jet with the blue and white ribbon of the Greek airforce who have an eagle as...

0 0 , 5 years ago
War Museum

Greece, along with the rest of Europe, has had a fair share of the burden of war, starting perhaps from the Sea People (Myceneans?) devastating the Eastern Mediterranean in the Bronze Age, over the Trojan War, the defenses against the Persians, infighting between city...

0 0 , 5 years ago
Acropolis Museum 3 - Statues!

Level up! Having come to the last floor of the museum, a huge collection of statues awaited us under the rooftop ... Entering, you would see a small cinema showing a film about the history of the Acropolis with all its destruction, reconstruction and reuse (see my first...

0 0 , 5 years ago
Acropolis Museum Part 2 - Statues and Colours

Having finished the ground floor of the museum, we walked up to see the next part ... parts from excavations were to be seen along the walk upstairs. They used all the space available! The first floor of the museum showcased something surprising. Maybe we thought of...

0 0 , 5 years ago
Acropolis Museum

Why do we put old stuff from millennia ago in musea and pay to see them? There is something fascinating about delving into history using objects rather than books, marvelling at the skills of people in the past that lead up to the development of our technology and...

0 0 , 5 years ago
At The Foot of The Acropolis

Coming down from the Acropolis, some nice sights await you: At the foot of the Acropolis, there lies the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. It was built in the 2nd century AD, and singers such as Maria Callas gave concerts here. This stone inscription is a dedication of the...

0 0 , 5 years ago
The Acropolis 2

Here comes part 2 of the Acropolis because it is so big ;) An illustration showed us what the Acropolis looked like when it was intact in the Classical Period: A statue of Athena, protector goddess of the city, with some votive offerings, and a temple in the...

0 0 , 5 years ago