More Athens, Greece, May 2021

Our trip in Athens and Greece continues. Today was Dilshad’s 65^th birthday and planned to get more sightseeing done. We took a public tram from our hotel and walked over to the Syntagma (Constitution square), the central square of modern Athens, where the Hellenic Parliament is located. This is the most famous square in Greece because this is the square where Otto, the first King of Greece, was obliged to grant the Constitution to the Greeks, after a popular and military uprising on 3 September 1843. The Syntagma square is located in front of the 19th-century Old Royal Palace, which houses the Greek Parliament since 1934.

Some scenes along the way

The soldiers guarding the parliament building and the Tomb of the unknown soldier are known as the Evones, a special unit of the Hellenic Army. The Monument depicts a dead soldier lying down, wearing a Greek style helmet. The Changing of the guards takes place every hour on the hour. Our timing was perfect 😊.

The march of the guards was very similar to that we had witnessed in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Changing of the Evones Guards, Athens, Greece

After this we took an Uber to visit the Chapel of St George, which is atop the Lycabettus mountain in Athens, and the highest point of Athens. After a steep drive up, we got dropped off close to, but still a short walk to the funicular station where we took the funicular to the top and back for about 7 Euros each. Much better than the steep uphill hike; we must be getting lazy or old ☹. The Chapel is small but beautiful; dating to 1834; and was built where the temple of Zeus Extreme used to be, in ancient times. Nearby is a cafeteria with good food and great views. Some images below

Incredible views of Athens from St Georges Chapel

After a nice time at Chapel of St George, we took the funicular down and this time, walked back to Syntagma square. Walking downhill was much easier and it was pleasant walking down small side streets and pedestrian walkways.

Ermou street had all the well-known expensive Brand shops as well as many other shops. The street was full of people going about their business.

No trip is complete without a stop at the local market 🙂 .

We got talking to the server over dinner and he spoke good English. We talked about going to the Greek Islands and how much of a tourist traps they were. He said that even though Santorini was admittedly a tourist trap, it is so beautiful that he always recommends everyone (tourists and locals alike) to visit Santorini once in their lifetime. Since Dilshad wanted to visit Santorini & Mykonos islands, this piece of candid advice cemented it for us, and we started planning that visit next.

The 5 senses and how we felt? We saw well preserved history everywhere, the narrow cobblestone streets, sidewalk cafes, and the views from Lycabettus mountain were a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. Hospitality was also excellent everywhere as Greece relies hugely on tourism; so that made it pleasant for us everywhere. And it was safe. A wonderful experience, well worth it.

After a very pleasant week in Athens, it was time to move on.
Santorini next.

This entry was posted in Athens, Greece, Greece trip May-June 2021

• Athens
• Greece