During the first leg of our journey from Athens to Germany, I asked my Athens flatmates (François & Xavier) for their lasting impressions – both good & bad – of life in Athens. I’ve combined their comments with my thoughts into the list below…
- Noise, Clutter, Disorder
Athens is a city that never sleeps, so at any time, day or night, there’s plenty of noise – cars honking, motorcycles revving engines, partygoers reveling.
It also has the reputation for being a dirty, polluted place. According to several Athenians I spoke with, Athens’ smog has improved significantly, since the 2004 Olympic Games. This is apparently due to the complete public transportation overhaul that took place, including the installation of their very modern and convenient light rail system. There is definitely a lot of trash littering the city’s streets and sidewalks, but there are also lots of city workers whose job, every morning, is to clean up the previous day’s litter.
One of my favorite sayings while in Athens was, “There are no rules in Greece.” People walk across busy streets wherever and whenever they can manage to do so (what a contrast with Oldenburg!). Cars and motorcycles usually don’t stop driving through a red traffic light until it’s “fully ripe” (i.e. has been red for 5-10 seconds). Double, triple, and quadruple parked cars are fairly normal sights on wider streets and at neighborhood road intersections. Cars and (especially) motorcycles largely disregard traffic lanes (and other vehicles) when driving. What’s more surprising than the fact that there’s so much disorder on the roads? …The fact that there aren’t more accidents (I only witnessed one minor, non-injury accident during my four months).
- ‘Might Makes Right’/ Pedestrian Blues
The traffic ‘food chain’ in Athens is ranked by size, power, speed, and maneuverability; if your vehicle is big, then all smaller vehicles must defer to you – regardless of ‘right of way’ or other traffic laws. There’s also a sense that you can (and should) do whatever you can get away with… which is why cars and motorcycles constantly cut each other off and pay little attention to lanes; at every traffic light, motorcycles ride between adjacent cars to the front of the pack, in order to be among the first ‘out of the gate.’
This sense of ‘doing as much as you can get away with’ also applies to etiquette between pedestrians and on public transportation: generally, Athenians just keep their heads down and walk wherever they plan to walk, without regard for or awareness of what others around them are doing. So my best guess is that the phrase, “Please – after you” doesn’t exist in Greek. Nowhere is this ‘me-first’ navigation more apparent than on the metro/subway. When the train stops and doors open, people are so anxious to enter the train that they force their way on while exiting passengers are attempting to disembark. And it’s not as if there’s any order to it (e.g. everyone enters & exits to the right)… It’s just pure chaos – a ‘push-n-shove’ battle of the fittest.
And once you’ve gotten past the etiquette-related challenges, pedestrians just generally have a hard way to go in Athens. There are sidewalks usually only in commercial and touristic areas, and sidewalks are never sacred: motorcycles drive on them; cars and trucks park on them, forcing walkers out into the street to get around. And whoever designed the sidewalks throughout the city definitely didn’t plan for rain or snow, because sidewalks often slant up/down to follow the terrain (instead of using level stairs)… and the stone material used for many of the sidewalks is very smooth (and slippery when wet!)
- Strikes
Perhaps this was an unusual year, since there is a particular controversy raging right now in Greek politics, related to the pensions of various types of city workers… But during our four months in Athens, there were two public transportation strikes, a month-long garbage pick-up strike, two weeks of rolling blackouts due to electrical worker strikes, two university employee strikes, and two “general” strikes (during which all public services shut down. The French have the reputation for their fondness for strikes… but I’m tempted to believe that Greeks (or at least Athenians) are in the same league.
- Impressive Sites, Varied Landscapes, Delectable Food
Athens, of course, has wonderful ancient sites – from the Acropolis/Parthenon to the Agora to the Kerameikos cemetery and many others. Plus, it boasts 130+ museums, hilly urban landscapes, mountains all around, the sea to the south, and close proximity to lots of other interesting, beautiful, and historical places (e.g. Corinth, Nafplio, Delphi, and several islands).
The “Plaka” and Monastiraki areas – although fairly touristy – are very enjoyable places to walk around and soak in the atmosphere of the shops, restaurants, markets, etc. If you stick to the more touristic sections in the heart of the city, in fact, there are plenty of nice, walkable areas to explore.
And the food… Mediterranean cuisine is among my favorites. Succulent grilled meats, kalamata olives, feta cheese, lots of fresh or grilled vegetables, everything topped with olive oil and lemon juice – healthy and, oh, so tasty!
- Contradictions Abound
Athens is a city of contradictions and extremes. Throughout this mostly “dirty, ugly” city, there are many places of tremendous beauty and majesty. I was told by a Greek classmate before arriving in Athens that it’s an “all-concrete” city… and although it is composed mostly of concrete and asphalt, most streets are lined with trees, and we lived just opposite a large, forested park. And when a group of us students hiked on Mt. Imitos in March, the contrasts between the natural, mostly undisturbed mountain setting with what looked like solid concrete below was stark.
Athenians – while seemingly rude and inconsiderate in some senses – are generally very warm, friendly people, once you get to know them. Many Athenians speak English and are glad to chat with strangers. As a general rule, the younger people (as with anywhere in the world) are more likely to speak English… but there were plenty of times when I tried unsuccessfully to speak English with teenagers or 20-somethings and then was surprised to be addressed in perfect English by Greek senior citizens.
Along with other Mediterranean peoples, Greeks have the reputation for a “relaxed sense of time” – in other words, tardiness is almost guaranteed. There’s also, generally, a very easygoing outlook toward life (e.g. relax… don’t take things too seriously… everything will work out). What I found at my university, however, were very serious, academic professors and a rigorous engineering curriculum. Our professors were very personable and had relaxed demeanors, but they were nearly always punctual (even as our Greek students usually weren’t).
And finally, some miscellaneous Athens pics (mostly taken by classmates) that never made it into previous posts:
Torch-passing ceremony at Athens' Olympic Stadium (photo by F&N.DiSalle)
I didn’t actually see this (it was supplied by my friends Filippo & Nora), but it looks interesting.
Japanese drumming ensemble in Syntagma Square (photo by F.Veynandt)
Shellfish display at Monastiraki Market (photo by F.Veynandt)
‘Running Man’ sculpture at night
I was always impressed by this statue in the shape of a “man on the move”, which is composed entirely of stacked glass sheets. Here’s a night photo of him, backlit by the Athens Hilton hotel
Filippo & I, “going low” at a favorite Panormou dance pub (photo by F.Veynandt)
“When I'm out walking, I strut my stuff, yeah an' I'm so strung out… I'm high as a kite, I just might, stop to check you out… [jump up] LEM-ME GO O-ON LIKE A BLISTER IN THE SUN!…” (“Blister in the Sun” – Violent Femmes, 1990)
