I would like to start off by saying that not only is not customary for Greeks to shout Opa! and smash plates, but most have never done it before.
I had a very uneventful 23 hours of travel time, though, I'm an anomaly when it comes to flying/airports because I love every minute of it!
My friend, Curtis, met me at the airport and before even stepping outside I was inundated by the sweltering heat. And by sweltering I mean that within the first hour I'd resigned myself to being in a constant state of sweat and will only ever feel really clean in those first few moments after stepping out the shower!
I am fortunate this trip, in that I am not facing a new country alone. If I were here solo I'd be experiencing a very different kind of Greece. I am, and will be staying with friends of friends who are all connected by, shall I say, an unwavering dislike of structured authority. They do not represent pretty, pleasant Greece, but rather the infamous conflict between State and Citizen.
They are hardcore anarchists. And by anarchists I don't mean teenagers wearing circle A's holding a spray can! I mean anarchists who organize violent ambushes and follow through with them. There's a reason Athens is the only city in the world which permanently deploys riot police!
The ones I've stayed with so far have been positively wonderful. They've prepared delicious Greek meals, insisted on our enjoyment of homemade wine and this moonshine liquor called Rake (blech). We frequently visit this anarchist social centre, Nosotros, for dollar beers and intriguing conversation. This is where most informal meetings are held, posters are made, and is to be occasionally avoided if a potential raid is imminent! Which is rare, though, because this community, Exartia, is a community full of reputable anarchists... so the police stay away!
Don't worry, I'm astoundingly safe.
There's a very inspiring social atmosphere in this country. As in, friends and family don't make appointments to spend time together, they just walk until the find a familiar face. It's not uncommon to sit down for coffee for hours at a time... and then walk a few blocks to have beers for hours at a time. Closing times and last calls invariably don't exist.
In fact, when I mentioned that in Canada coffee is usually consumed on the go in disposable cups, the unanimous response was, "why?" I have no idea, time crisis in Canada? Hahaha
The food here is very flavourful and delicious, and fortunately the heat staves off hunger so I'm not eating too many of the amazing pastries and ice creams they have here!
As for asthetics, Athens is very busy and very big and it's not an exaggeration to say that 75% of all walls are entrenched in graffiti. Mostly anti-government slangs in broken English, but also some very fascinating murals.
One can also not help but notice the Acropolis which stands at the centre of the city and can be seen from all over. I spent the day there and at the brand spanking new museum which houses three stories of 2500 year old artifacts. The museum is built directly on top of an active excavation site, complete with glass floors so one can get an overhead view of an ancient Athenian village.
The Acropolis itself is a small mountain which is home to the Temple of Athena. the Erectheion, the Parthenon, and various old rubble whose purpose I couldn't quite decipher.
The Parthenon being the most famous and impressive as the "foundation of democracy" where old men met on official government business, or whatever.
Unfortunately, the Acropolis is in a constant state of disrepair (2500 years old remember?) so most of the structures are surrounding by construction scaffolding. Which kind of detracts for the old school allure of the place.
Currently I completed a 6 hour (air conditioned!!) bus ride to Thessaloniki which is a gorgeous city off the ocean. Most notably, it is only +29 degrees instead of Athens +39 degrees.
It's kind of startling to walk through a modern city and come across ruins from 300BC!
