Greece I - Athens and Aegina
First Day - Journey there and Arrival
Just a short while after Linda joining our team we two decided to go to Greece for a couple of days. Greece and Hungary aren’t that far away from each other. But a journey by bus would still take a full day and because we only have a limited amount of free days, we of course wanted to make the most of our time there.
So we decided to fly to Athens - for Linda it was the first time travelling by plane and she was pretty excited. And of course we first took the wrong bus to the airport in Budapest - even though I should have known better - and just barely manage to go through Security and everything without missing our plane.
Athens is a lot warmer than Budapest - our plane started in wet and cold rain and landed in a warm summer night - and dressed only in t-shirt we make our well to our hotel, to rest for the following day.
Second Day - On the streets of Athens
Athens, too, offers Free Walking Tours, but the tours here are quite a bit earlier than in Prague - because the days get a lot warmer very fast.
Our guide is a young Greek man who doesn’t only love the history of his city but also Greek food. He gives us tips during the whole length of the tour what we should try during our stay (candied fruits with kaimaki ice cream, Greek salad and, of course, Moussaka), how Greek people enjoy their food (with lots and lots of olive oil) and which Greek foods you also easily can make at home (Greek sheep-cheese pie).
We also see many strays - both cats and dogs, and one of the dogs joins our tour for quite some time - a few turtles grazing on the lawns in the parks and learn that Australia loves the Olympic Games as much as Greece and is, because of this, the only country that didn’t give back the torch after the games in Sydney. Oh, and Lord Byron lost his heart to Greece, too. That is, apparently, buried in Messolonghi, separated from the rest of his body.
After a late Greek lunch we join a second tour - through the small streets of the city to the sunset on top of the Areopagus, where we can enjoy the beautiful view on the Acropolis.
Third Day - Aegina and Apollon
After going to sleep shortly after sunset the previous day, we are able to start refreshed and full of energy a little after 5 in the morning to Piraeus to take a ferry to Aegina.
While waiting for said ferry we meet a Dutch girl around the same age as we are, who is currently doing an internship in Greece. We see that we plan on taking the same ferry back and spontaneously decide to spend the rest of the day together.
We only have one day on Aegina and are thus unable to explore the whole island, but the small harbour town where our ferry stops invites for a stroll, the blue Aegean Sea for a rest on the beach and the ruins of the temple of Apollon nearby for an exploration.
And that is basically what we do. Strolling around, taking a sunbath, visit the local archaeology museum and enjoy the fact that we have the perfect weather while it’s raining in Athens. Far too fast the day is over again and we make our way back to the city, tired and with a new tan. Tomorrow will be exhausting - because thanks to the European Night of Museums all the museums and monuments in Athens are accessible for free, too. And there are many museums in Athens.
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