Monday, April 11, 2011
Piraeus and Athens
Piraeus has been the port
of Athens since ancient times, and we were located in the passenger terminal
with a shuttle from the ship to the passenger terminal from which it was about
a fifteen minute walk to public transportation unless one wanted a tour. We took “Athens on Your Own” which involved a
drop-off in town and an escorted walk to orient us to the Plaka (the remodeled
but old town) and the Acropolis or “high city” which was very well named. But the problem was not the climb up the
hill—it was jammed with people—cruise tours, school field trips and everyone
from everywhere.
The day was also briskly
cool and very windy. It was, of course,
worth it see again the Parthenon which looks very rectangular but actually has
no straight lines and the Porch of the Maidens with it reproduction
maidens. Thanks to air pollution and
time, most of what you see is reproduction, restoration or under
preservation. The originals are in
museums. But this is the birthplace of
democracy, of Western civilization, of our culture even if we are not
Greek. This is 3500 years old—young only
to the Egyptians and Chinese.
Half the people of Greece
live in Athens, Piraeus or the district.
Only the people who draw lines on maps know where Athens ends and Piraeus
begins. So far as we could see, it was
one big mega-city. But pleasant and
actually easy to manage unless you wanted to go to a museum on a Monday. Better plan to go shopping.
After the Acropolis we
wandered the Plaka, did some shopping and caught the bus to the ship terminal
and then the shuttle to the ship. The
free internet at the terminal was an exercise in frustration although I did
check my email for personal messages.
The ship network has been down the last couple of time we have tried to
use it. When you see this post, you will
know it is up again.
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