Greece > Free entry to the Acropolis

oday we set off early with a large bottle of water and the super-thick—but also heavy—Weekend Telegraaf to the Acropolis. We’re not sure yet what we’ll have for breakfast. It’s Sunday, so probably not much is open. At the corner of the street, the small shop happens to be open. Our problem is solved. At the Acropolis, it’s a madhouse. Hordes of people shuffle in one by one—it’s free, after all. Naturally, as dutifully Dutch as we are, we stand next to a guide and listen along. It’s a bit warm on the hill, so once we’ve seen everything, we rush down to buy a cola.

Greece - The Acropolis in Athens

Afterwards, we continue our walk through the Agora, the ancient city center of Athens, where only some remnants remain. In the fully restored museum, we see some of the excavation findings (of course, also free). It’s now past one o’clock, and it’s time for lunch and a siesta. We quickly find a bench in the shade and read the newspaper. The front page reports that it’s raining cats and dogs in the Netherlands, but by Wednesday it will be 30 degrees. After the siesta, we head toward the theaters at the foot of the Acropolis. The Odeion, the theater still in use, is closed because there is a performance in the evening. The second theater has barely survived; it used to hold around 20,000 people. Although the closing time has long passed, the gate is still open. We quickly go inside. After climbing to the top of the theater, we discover that you can walk all the way to the other theater. However, we have no desire to wait for the performance, as the gate will certainly be closed upon our return. We continue walking through the city. The route takes us past the Temple of Zeus to the Olympic Stadium.

Greece - The Olympic Stadium

Here too, the gate is open, and we reenact the start of the first modern Olympic Games. Of course, we also sit briefly at the top of the stadium stands, where we are one (or actually four) of the 70,000 possible spectators. By now, it’s time to eat. We are all starving for a “sticky bite.” Unfortunately, the Greeks don’t know fries with mayonnaise. They (and not “their” as the other interrailers stubbornly claim) pour olive oil on everything and serve tiny portions. Fortunately, there is a place like McDonald’s, but with reasonable prices. We also ate here yesterday. Strangely, today we have to pay extra. When I return to the counter, a sign points out that on Sundays, an additional 10% is charged. In the restaurant, we write a postcard. Thankfully, Monique starts writing very small, but soon it turns out there isn’t enough space on the card. From a distance, the postcard looks like one big blob of writing. Back at the hotel, we ask Chris for more information about a possible trip via the Greek islands and then the crossing to Turkey. He immediately shows us a pamphlet calling for a boycott of Turkey and support for the Kurds. This doesn’t clarify much for us, but he does give enough information about a multi-day island trip. Tomorrow we plan to gather information about Turkey at the Dutch embassy and find out whether we need a visa.