athens

In September 2003, I went to Athens. It was a
work trip (a HP conference), but I went three
days early to take some holidays there.
I walked around almost all day, just letting my
instincts guide me. I saw a big city, still a little
tatty in parts, but modernising very quickly for
the Olympics next year. The Metro system, for
example, is brand new and spanking clean.
Better still, it uses a form of honour system for
tickets ie you buy a ticket and get on the train
without any barriers. (Presumably the risk in
not buying one is getting caught.) I'd like to
see them try that in Dublin.
Like most big cities, Athens has a lot of
character. For examples, most of the tramps I
saw had their own tables. One evening I saw
several laying out a table and basic crockery
for their evening meal. I suppose Greeks have
been sitting down to eat in a civilised fashion a
lot longer than most of us.
On my first night I had something of a minor
adventure. A bogus taxi-driver took me to the
opposite side of the city where I was staying,
telling me my hotel was close by. Annoyed, but
reluctant to hop into another taxi so soon, I
began to walk. I noticed the road, a residential
one, sloping upwards. Within 15 minutes I
noticed a clearing to my right. I looked up and
saw the Acropolis, lit up on its hill. Magnificent.
I felt like ringing everyone I knew. And I
thought of an article I had recently read of
another traveller who had a name for this
phenomenon: a 'Christopher' (as in
Christopher Columbus). The principle is that
you start off with a plan, it goes awry, but you
end up seeing or experiencing something
better. After that, I just let myself wander,
leaving my destination up to whatever came
my way.

UPDATE: 16th February 2004
I went back to Athens last week for a Siemens
conference and the most amazing thing
happened: it snowed. Check out the new
pictures...