Athens - Welcome to the urban jungle

04/02/24

Long-term is a thing of the past; the trend is clearly towards last-minute travel. And even though we are said to be very old and have already passed our peak, we feel young, dynamic and demonstrate flexibility: booked on Monday, arrived on Tuesday; That's spontaneous - and not ours at all! Traveling like this feels like beaming or floo powder. No time for destination-fixated anticipation or travel reading. But because we are so modern, the internet is enough. We thought...

After a very tidy and jam-packed flight, we unfortunately realize that Greece seems to be the country with the worst reception in Europe. Even in Mauritius we had a better network. Nothing with Google or Maps. We wanted adventure, we get adventure and find our way to the metro and the city center.

Our hotel is located in a less-than-pretty alley near the archaeological museum and as soon as we step out of the subway underground, all of our senses are overwhelmed for a moment: it is warm, despite the cold wind, and the smell alternates between urine, jasmine and kebab Mopeds rattle and people chatter... In fact, the only disadvantage mentioned in the hotel reviews was the unfriendly area. Unfortunately very true. This alley has probably always been so incredibly run down that the Athens city administration thought that a subway shaft couldn't make things worse. In any case, Ida becomes a parent child for a short time.

The hotel itself is a little jewel box with a pool table, slot machines and very informative receptionists. We quickly get to the topic of football. Sport brings people together. Tomorrow his favorite club Olympiakos Piraeus will play at home against Aris Saloniki (4th against 5th in the 1st league). There's also the city derby 1st vs 3rd (Panathinaikos vs AEK) in the stadium around the corner. Oh ha - tough decision. The Greeks are passionate fans. You could also say aggressive. During volleyball (!!!) there was a seriously injured police officer when 150 hooligans fought. How nice. Our new friend tells us that football has also become so busy that away fans are no longer allowed and you can only get into the stadium with online registration and high security precautions.

It doesn't sound very inviting, but we're hooked.

After freshening up briefly, we want to explore the area a little and head to a small restaurant to end the evening with a full stomach and think about tomorrow evening.

On the way there we quickly learn that red is not always red, that traffic light phases are hardly suitable for old people, and that visually impaired people have to be completely lost on the sidewalk. No blind person can tell from the pavement slabs where the street begins or where the next crossing is. It looks more like recycling leftovers from any special paving slabs. There were real experts at work.

Dinner reconciles us with the chaos. We eat our fill for an apple and an egg, decide to sleep in tomorrow, then stroll through the city center and Plaka before supporting Olympiacos in the evening.

In order to do this, however, we first have to fight our way through the registration jungle mentioned above. After a full 70 minutes, providing our personal or passport numbers, the tax identification number and the associated tax office, purchasing three fan cards worth €10 each, which entitle us to buy a match day ticket, we click successful on “ΕΠΙΒΕΒΑΙΩΣΗ ΑΓΟΡΑΣ”!

Yes...note here too: not every homepage offers itself in English and Latin literacy!

Tired, exhausted, full and happy, we finally turn off the lights and close our eyes!

Carrying owls to Athens

April 3, 2024

Athens - according to official figures, Greece's capital ranks 9th among European cities in terms of population. Directly behind Berlin in 8th place. Since there is no obligation to register, the number of 3.15 million inhabitants is questionable. Depending on the source, it can be a few million more. Either way, in addition to the many tourists, there are a lot of people out and about.

With a spinach bag and a sweet pastry from Thessaloniki in one hand and Idi in the other hand, we walk the two kilometers into the city center, explore an alley here, sip a coffee there and just let ourselves go. We're not in a hurry. The market hall is bearable compared to Thailand and Mauritius. Neither rats nor unpleasant smells follow us. Only the unrefrigerated sheep's heads in Zelofan remain in my head and with them the good intention to live a more vegetarian life.

We like Plaka aka Hipsterhausen, even though the crowds are overwhelming. Athens is very touristy here (as expected).

And then, quite unexpectedly, we found a place of peace. A small monastery, hidden behind an inconspicuous archway, shielded from the hum of engines of the many mopeds and the noise of the countless bars. Totally crazy and kitschy, but it smells of jasmine and apart from the chirping of birds there is absolute silence.

How strange that no one but us gets lost here.

Apart from us, probably no tourist gets lost in the G. Karaiskakis Stadium. On this evening (with the possible exception of the stadium where the Athens city derby is taking place) the safest place in all of Athens. We still made it in and realized that the fans didn't really care that the game wasn't actually about anything. There is singing, gesticulating, shouting and wild swearing. There is no alcohol, but there are plenty of nuts, a drum (I have no idea how it made it through the turnstile), and of course the capo with the whisper bag, who selflessly stands with his back to the green for 90 minutes or longer to look after his people to push!

A noticeable number of families with small children are in the stands with us and are excited about the game!

Here is a short excursion into the football regulations in Greece:

The domestic Superliga has a rather strange game system. After 26 games in the group of 14, the top six play among themselves to qualify for international competitions and the last eight also play again in a double round to avoid relegation to the second league. However, since the points from the 26-game preliminary round are taken, Aris Saloniki (as we know today's opponents of Piraeus) no longer have any chance of qualifying for the UEFA Conference League, but they still have to play through the 10 games of this play-off round! Not only for those interested in football, this seems pretty pointless (just like carrying owls to Athens) and, depending on the game schedule, it also slightly distorts competition!

Be that as it may, the game ends with a more than clear 3-0 for the hosts, not a single shot on goal by Aris Saloniki and an embarrassingly failed Panenka penalty by Olympiakos' striker Ayoub El Kaabi, who had another one during the week An extremely impressive overhead kick against Makkabi Tel Aviv has brought his men into the 1/4 final of the UEFA Conference League! It doesn't always work...

There is probably no need to wonder who wrote this part of the daily report!

It's quite quick to get back to the hotel on the metro without having to change trains. On the last few meters we grab a beer and a snack before our eyes quickly close again after a lot of experience!

Tomorrow we have a trip to the island of Agkistri. Probably a complete contrast to the lively city life of today.

We will report. Good night!