A sip of seawater later...

... we have landed in Athens.

First of all: Athens city center has nearly 700,000 inhabitants, the entire metropolitan area with the harbor has over three million. It is a city in southern Europe where driving is impossible, there are plenty of job opportunities for locals (the Greeks might not fully agree with me on this point from a political perspective), and it is bustling with tourists. What does that tell us? Right. Driving is almost impossible there for Central and Northern Europeans, and taking photos is also difficult for an amateur like me. That's why I didn't take a single picture but couldn't stop being amazed.

Athens combines two things at the same time: modern life, like trendy cafes, cool vintage shops (four of which we visited and stocked up our wardrobe), unique neighborhoods, with ancient history. You can see this in a classic way in the largest Acropolis (which actually means something like the castle on the edge of the city and costs 30€ to enter, which is why we didn't see it up close) in Greece, but archaeological excavations and sites are found throughout the city. The most impressive example for me is that the subway runs right through an excavation site. Neighborhoods of modern-day Athens have been built on top of ancient house ruins.

Basti and I stayed at the Bedwave Experience Hostel in Piraeus for four days. There, we found ourselves in the middle of a conflict between a stubborn drunk Irishman, a depressed Spaniard, a diplomatic law student, two 20-year-old Berlin students, a proud Greek, and a stingy Israeli. After five weeks of traveling, it was good to have some gossip and chitchat again.

One day, Carlotta's uncle took us on a seven-hour tour of Athens and told us all the facts he knows as a born Athenian. You have already read my first results, and my second result is that you can simply eat your way through the city. At every corner, on every street, there are several cafes, restaurants, and/or souvlaki/pita stands.

Athens is not a city like Bamberg where the beautiful buildings stand out, but a city where there is something to experience and where the Greek mentality comes alive. In the evening, the alleys fill up and so do the bars, where so much is told and gestured, where everyone is welcome and warmly greeted. The bars there have a real living room feeling right in the middle of the streets :).