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Another country/city I was able to visit on this trip was ATHENS, GREECE.
Going in, I had low expectations. I heard it was filled with illegal immigrants, lots of chaos, no order, a nightmare from a city perspective - design, layout, etc.
However, it was actually quite pleasant. The GREEK people themselves were very animated, talkative, and expressive. Something I quite liked. They were very engaging, and very people-oriented.
ATHENS. The tourist sites were a bit laborious to walk around and see. They were interesting, but not necessarily fascinating or compelling, but certainly fine to see. What I didn't expect was that the city itself was just fine walking around, eating, exploring, etc. I had expected some sort of crazy chaos, but it wasn't like that at all. Lots of interesting stuff around various corners, and very tourist-oriented, but also with tons of Greek life, of just locals doing their day to day thing as well.
I did have ONE of those 'moments' where I reflected on the possible chaos people were talking about. I was trying to cross a road, and the cars were just flying through my WALK SIGN, as they went around a corner. Then suddenly some Greek guy pushing a stroller just blatantly walked right into that crosswalk, and a car immediately slammed on it's break to avoid hitting the baby in the carriage. The guy continued walking completely oblivious to the almost major mishap. It gave a me a moment of "AH..this is what people talk about when they describe Athens/Greece!"
I did notice that outside of the city center, the city is VERY FUNCTIONAL over aesthetics. Meaning, TONS of those buildings that just have apartments in them with balconies. Most of their balconies seemed shared, and across an entire floor of apartments. The same type of housing seemed to permeate not only Athens, but also Thessaloniki. I could see it being quite practical, but yeah, not pretty to look at though.
I also made it to Thessaloniki, and there were some interesting little corners here and there in that city to see, that really surprised me, and that I really liked it. I was a bit disappointed though that it Thess. was on the coast, but most of the city didn't have any beach at all. Maybe it was outside of town a bit, but I walked most of it within the city limits, and just harbor and wall and such. Not much shade either, just walking in the sun without much visual stimulus at all.
I also made it to MYKONOS...which might be for another thread. But the islands of Greece, or that one in particular, was pretty damn cool! Made me wish I had more time to see more islands.
Back to ATHENS though. An interesting city. I had also heard that people didn't think the Greek people looked that great. Greek women seemed very attractive to me, as I kind of find the hooked nose to be a bit exotic and attractive, and Greece certainly had an abundance of that everywhere. Most of the women dyed their hair blond, which is interesting as well. Anyway, the people had a slight exotic look to me, a bit different than your typical European. So, maybe it depends on a person's perspective of beauty and attractiveness.
Lastly, the FOOD was incredible. So much good Greek food to be had in Athens. It was great to have it as the source, and tasted even better than I had imagined it might.
Ah, I definitely remember those large balconies! I think they are quite pretty, but the thing is you can only see so many of them until it gets repetitive.
One trend I've noticed in the mediterranean countries which I've been to (Spain, Greece, Turkey) is that they are very densely built.
But for me, Athens has a cozy athmosphere. How would you rank the city in comparison to the others?
Ah, I definitely remember those large balconies! I think they are quite pretty, but the thing is you can only see so many of them until it gets repetitive.
One trend I've noticed in the mediterranean countries which I've been to (Spain, Greece, Turkey) is that they are very densely built.
But for me, Athens has a cozy athmosphere. How would you rank the city in comparison to the others?
Yeah, I felt that way too. Like most Greeks probably know their neighbors. They seemed like the kind of people who would make an effort to regardlessly as well.
How would I rank it? For me, I REALLY liked it a lot. Each place had it's own great things I liked, but Athens was up there, and partly perhaps because I had such low expectations.
It was one of those cities that I really wished I could delve more deeply into time-wise. There was too much to see touristic-wise, and I spent most of my time either doing that, or being in the city center. It is one of those places that I wish I knew some locals, who might tell me where else to go in the city, places that equally lively and interesting, and that most Greeks would know well, and spend their time in.
I can't imagine that they would ALL only go out in the City Center. In general, of all the places I went to this trip, I would rank Athens quite high. It also didn't hit me until I was there, but I had these momentarily, "I'M IN ATHENS!" kind of moments. As much as I liked the other cities I visited, none of them had that "BAM" effect quite like that. I mean, everyone grows up reading about and hearing about Athens Greece, from a very young age.
Tiger Beer, like you I came to Athens with lowered expectations. Friends warned me off the city as ugly, dirty, congested. Well, I went and found I liked it! I stayed in the Plaka/Anafiotika and found the area charming. Yes, touristy, but really quite likeable. I also found Kolonaki attractive. No the city is not pretty, it can be downright ugly in parts, and I found the Parthenon less moving than i expected because of the tourist hordes, but overall Athens was a nice surprise.
And yes, the islands are really wonderful. Saw and liked Mykonos, Santorini, and Skopelos (my favorite). I'm actually going back to Athens next spring and hope to see Hydra as well besides Athens.
I've only been to Thessaloniki and also regreted the complete lack of urban beach, which also plagues some Italian cities. That said, the Khalkidiki region nearby is full of beautiful areas / beaches.
I understand what you mean about the traffic. Not very safe, but very similar to Southern Italy. I drove in Palermo once for a few days and thought I would get into an accident a few times. These people are crazy.
The greek people I met were very nice and talkative, easy to approach, like Italians.
Ah Greece. One of my favorite countries in the world.
I've traveled to Crete a lot (about 5 times) and I want to die here. The weather, the food, the people. I just love it. And dirt cheap to boot...
I've been there several times since 2008 and the cretans (not the mainland greeks) don't seem to bother too much. I've asked some, and they say that as long as they have their goats, their cheese and their sun, they'll be fine...
Ah Greece. One of my favorite countries in the world.
I've traveled to Crete a lot (about 5 times) and I want to die here. The weather, the food, the people. I just love it. And dirt cheap to boot...
I've been there several times since 2008 and the cretans (not the mainland greeks) don't seem to bother too much. I've asked some, and they say that as long as they have their goats, their cheese and their sun, they'll be fine...
That's the effect it had on me as well! I want to go back there, and explore one of the many other islands!
Location: In a Galaxy far, far away called Germany
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I loved the Greek Islands as well (it has been over 10 years since I was last there, though). I can't get my German wife to go visit though due to her perception that Greeks aren't liking them too much at the moment
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