48 hours Athens

On Friday night, I picked up Dani from the airport and on Saturday afternoon we set off for the Greek capital. From Friday to Saturday and from Monday to Tuesday, I had booked a room in a small guesthouse in Nea Makri, where we could easily leave the car for the entire four days (a separate report will follow).

My stated goal was always to travel to Athens, so it was clear to me that on Saturday morning I sat behind the wheel and chauffeured us to the metropolis of millions (about 4 million people - more than a third of all Greeks live in the Athens metropolitan area). After road closures and lengthy detours, wild, helmetless scooter riders, traffic jams, and endless houses, we reached the hotel.

Fortunately, the national gardens were not far away, so we took a leisurely walk in the greenery. The mulberry trees, which we did not know before, not only looked special, but also bore delicious fruits :)

After we had acclimatized ourselves more or less, we thought we were ready for the city. We actually wanted to go to the Plaka district, with one of the youngest old towns in Europe, but instead we found ourselves in the totally crowded and trendy Kolonaki district. We quickly got out of there.

Since we had not yet seen the Acropolis until now, we took an evening walk through the Plaka and around the Acropolis and were rewarded with street music, a cozy and cheerful atmosphere, and many romantically illuminated sights.

On Sunday, we visited the Acropolis (many people, almost no photos without tourists possible, no selfie sticks allowed, otherwise you will be admonished with a whistle, don't stand on the wrong stone, otherwise you will be admonished with a whistle, great view over the city) and in the evening we took a short walk to Mount Lycabettus with a beautifully planned sunset :).

After I have already confessed my lack of knowledge about Greek history, I would like to say here that the symmetrical architecture of all the artworks I saw impressed me a lot!

We treated ourselves to the 'Hop on Hop off' bus tour on Monday and luckily saw other streets and neighborhoods in Athens. I was fascinated here by the international aspect of the city, colorful, bustling, loud. Athens is 'adjacent' to three continents and this could be felt very well here.

Thank you Athens for 48 unforgettable hours. Between ancient and modern, you have an unmistakable face!

For me and Kiran, our journey now continues further south towards Kalamata. Greetings to everyone reading this!