It’s 7.00am and the traffic noise is building. It’s really 6.00am in my world as I have not
made the transition in time-zone yet. The traffic is the swish of cars driving
past the main road below – it’s not the frenetic pace and scream of motorbikes
and horns, just the sound of the city waking up, and with it, me.
The sun streams in one window near the foot of the bed. I roll over and look out the French door and
across my balcony through the other window at the head of my bed. There are birds singing a morning chorus in
the park below and over the street. Above the trees in the park on the
skyline. Looking over me is the Acropolis.
Welcome to Athens.
I pinch myself and have to smile. How many people wake up
and look out on history staring straight back at them? I had that opportunity in Barcelona with
Sagrada Familia and now here with the Acropolis. Wonderful!
It is a relatively short stay en-route to the Greek island
of Kalymnos and with that, the promised treasures of diving and climbing.
I have lucked on this apartment through my very well
(virtually thumbed) AirBnB – as soon as I saw it something said “stay here” and
intuition proved right. It’s not just
the location and place, it’s the people.
Natassa is a Civil Engineer, currently doing her masters in ancient
building and monument restoration. Her
flatmate, Nikoleta is a Chemical Engineer by qualification but her bubbly
personality prefers it’s outlet in a number of guises including an environmentalist
and a blues singer – and she is a mighty fine one at that.
It was a surreal journey from Madrid. A 3 hour flight that
would usually see me writing or thinking.
Three people in the same row and side of the plane as me, one person in
the window seat across the aisle. I decompress things by moving
over. Athena is middle aged with a kind
smile and infectious enthusiasm but she looks tired. She is an Athens local returning home after a
week at a conference in Madrid. She is the president of the Greek chapter of an
organisation for rare diseases, herself and daughter suffering from a rare
strain of cancer. She needs rest and
someone to talk to who is not needing her energy – rather someone who is just
willing to listen. The time passes quickly,
the conversation wanders – though in a way that a tide laps a beach –
peacefully.
Natassa greets me at the apartment and, as I am quickly discovering,
with Greek hospitality. Before I know
it, the glass of water I’ve asked for is supplemented with a good Greek coffee
and beautiful cake. We talk. Our bird of conversation flies over my
travels and observations, flutters in an incisive set of questions as to what
prompted my journey in the first place and eventually settles on a branch of
discussion about Greece and its current psyche.
Natassa is a civil engineer, she is also good at reading people. It is an easy conversation – energising.
We jointly lament the sale of assets by local governments to
strengthen a balance sheet for a short term fiscal injection. We talk about the
importance of water as a basic commodity that will determine the health and
plight of people and countries.
She smiles – having pointed out the natural defence
mechanism of Greece in overcoming (thus far) the collective pooling of assets
and corresponding opportunities that presents for outside influence and erosion
of natural “wealth” provided by the land.
“No-one could organise a bunch of Greeks to save
themselves.” Natassa observes. She’s one
herself – originally from a small village in the mountains but now, one of the
1/3 of the population of Greece living in Athens and has done so for 11 years.
“Our geography never lent itself to clustering and
orgnanisation of people into one homogenous group.” We are clusters of people
by geography separated by mountains, hills and water.” What Natassa describes
is not one of tribal rivalry I’ve seen elsewhere, rather a people of the land
and sea whose horizon lies in what they see in front of them and making the
most of it.
Nikoleta is out – it’s a Sunday night and she’s singing at
a gig in a traditional Greek tavern. Natassa fires up youtube and shows me a
recent recording/video. What a
powerhouse of a voice.
I am in no hurry to
rush out and see all of the sights. The
rich tapestry Natassa weaves in telling me some of the background provides a
wonderful and detailed relief map for me to use when I do venture out. This is also helped by the apartment itself
that is more like an elegant air craft
control tower in the way that the windows and French doors onto the 3rd
floor balconies look out over about a 200 degree view of the city.
The next morning is my chance to share a coffee with
Nikoleta – an 11 year veteran of Athens, born in Corfu (have you heard of it
she asks- ah, yes!) . She was out at a singing gig last night. It’s not an early start this morning. She makes me a Greek coffee (similar in
construction but not as strong as the Turkish variety). She quizzes me- picking up from Natassa’s
discussion the night before – a perfect baton change. But it’s a dialogue – we both explain and
explore various topics and what makes us tick.
Qualified as a chemical engineer, now pursuing a masters in
environmental sustainability, Nicoletta is clearly in the same IQ and EQ
bracket as her friend. The mind and
passion of an artist with the training of a scientist; a wicked
combination.
The next night we share dinner. This is breaking out the
fresh and home-made supplies Natassa’s mum dropped off in the weekend. The experience just goes to reinforce my
conversation on the plane here with Athena – who gave me a list of 20 ‘must
do’s’ for Athens – 5 were sights and 15 were food.
“My mother was never really a physical person in her display
of affection to her children when we were growing up” observes Natassa as she dishes up the fine fair…”she
showed her love to us through food.”
There’ s a lot of love on this table right now. Clearly some things are hereditary.
My new favourite two Athenians give me some suggestions of
where to go and what to see. In addition
to the obligatory ‘top of iist’ Acropolis is a smorgasbord of other sights.
They sense that my travels may have hardened me against just beating the
well-worn tourist path so they venture some other suggestions. My accent is cause for mirth – Nikoleta
seems to pick up on it quickly and becomes my translator for Natassa. Both speak perfect English – but the kiwi
accent (if mine can be called that) is new to them. Mmmm muses Nikoleta – it’s been bugging me
– accent and looks you remind me of someone – now I know who it is…Liam
Neeson. Well, not sure how many would
ever see that similarity – but I’ll bank it (age difference aside!).
Natassa and I talk about her aspirations and career. She is clearly driven, focussed and impatient
(in a very positive way). She shares a
booklet with me – one that she was part of the design team with a niche Danish
and Greek consortium in developing. It
is a design that seeks to turn the heart of Athens into a walking city - similar to the vibe and feel of Los Ramblas
in Barcelona. It is a bold vision – and
it makes a lot of sense. “Trouble is,”
muses Natassa, “It will take Greek time to implement.” Inefficiency and bureaucracy? I query – no,
apparently about 7-8 feet below most of the current roads they are targeting
for the project are roman artefacts – and excavation involves labour and time
intensive archaeology. She cites the example of the metro station in
the centre of the city at Syntagma - an 18 month project on paper, a 10 year
reality when they found the site was on top of an old roman baths.
Athens is home now to both Natassa and Nikoleta
and both are passionate about making a difference here- but with the invisible force-field of
the crises and an unofficial unemployment rate they both believe to be
around40% it’s difficult. “Take my
circumstance,” explains Natassa. As a
professional, I have a “stamp” for my work –while I hold that professional
certification, I cannot claim unemployment regardless of how long I have not
worked.” Somehow, while I can see that
being the plight of many, this person is a dynamo, burning brightly and will be noticed by
many.
Ramblngs and new friends aside, what about the city?
Ah, yes, that. Well…
The archaeology is painstakingly and lovingly restored. Even old restorations are being re-examined
and adjusted as technology develops. It
is a stark contrast to the condition and focus on similar treasures that I saw
in Istanbul.
The Acropolis needs to be witnessed in person to be
believed. At 2500 years old (or
thereabouts), it is a marvel in design, engineering and longevity. “Wisdom in marble” is the only way I can
think to describe what impression it invokes.
The nearby archaeology museum is well choreographed to
balance aesthetic, temporal and artistic dimensions. This is no highbrow
academic portrayal, this is elegant in its simplicity of explaining a complex
and rich topic “for the rest of us”. It takes a lot of effort to make something
look clean and simple- and this is one of the best examples of that I have
seen.
The old town at the foot of the Acropolis is quaint if not slightly (OK,
more than slightly) tainted by tourist shops – but such is the want of meeting
demand (sigh!). One good thing, gone are the hawkers of yesteryear. While I have not been here before, Carolann
was here in 1983 and remembers the Hawkers all the way up the path to the
Acropolis.
Intersperse your day with food and coffee…after all “when in
Rome…” (yes, couldn’t resist that comment).
The port is meant to be nice – and there are a couple of
islands that you can get to by ferry if you want to take ½ to a full day to
explore. I don’t based on some sound
logic from Nikoleta “It’s an Island, right?
It’s quaint but not beautiful.
Given you are going to be in one of the more beautiful Greek islands in 2
days, skip these and focus on the main part of Athens.”
My wanderings are
mainly on foot – though I have a cheap 5 day all public transport tourist pass.
There are just too many sights you could miss by taking wheels. These are
typically in1/2 day increments- with enforced breaks based on rain. It’s the end of October, overcast with a cool
wind –probably around 14 degrees but lower with the wind-chill.
There is a “reach out and touch it” surreal quality to the
history here. You walk right in amongst
it – and it traverses time and space – from the Acropolis, to ancient Roman
ruins to the first Olympic stadium of the modern Olympic games. None (or little of it) is roped off in museum
style – you just walk amongst it, close your eyes and deeply breathe it all in.
My relationship with my new Greek ‘room mates’ is on firm
enough footing to venture to the edge on a few topics. I quiz Natassa on the relationship between
the Turks and Greeks, on the Greek orthodox faith and the way Greek men and
women relate to each other in the modern world . To the newly arrived layman who has seen both
cultures there are a lot of similarities.
The end to my five days here rolls around far too quickly. I've enjoyed Athens - and like much of my trip, it is partially due to the place but definitely the people.
Athens will forever be a special place for me.
And next...one of those beautiful Greek islands...
