1/9 - 1/12
Athens was an interesting experience for us. Having tried and failed to Couchsurf in Athens and a few other towns in Greece we were surprised when an Athenian host used a new Couchsurfing feature and contacted us to offer a couch, even though we hadn't sent him a request. In other words he had logged on to Couchsurfing, saw a list of people looking for couches in Athens (a list we had opted into) and decided to invite us to stay.
Now I think that is fantastic, no two ways about it, but in hindsight I can't imagine there are many people who'd take the time to do that just to meet people passing through. Personally I'm more than happy to host anyone, any time, but I'd never seek out people to invite... I get more than enough requests as it is, and I'm not even on a typical tourist trail or capitol city.
So anyway, the guy had Asperger's syndrome. Really nice guy, but unable to process that we might not want to hear about him all the time. It was a bit uncomfortable watching him smear food around his beard too, but that's probably unfair of us. He was hand-flappingly excited most of the time though, and really eager to show us the sights. His guided tour of the Acropolis and Parthenon, herding along Hozumi, Phillipe (another CSer) and I would have been a lot more entertaining if it hadn't taken place in freezing wind, drizzle and sleet to which he seemed immune. We left him looking for Phillipe to escape somewhere warmer and drier. When we got back to his place that evening he was comically sulky, with scowling face, deep sighs and grudging responses to small-talk. Hozumi couldn't bear the awkwardness, but rescued the situation by introducing him to a romantic comedy anime. He loved it, immediately perked up and became really friendly and helpful again. Exhausting to live with, I'm sure. Three nights were enough for us.
Highlights of the archaeological museum:
The Parthenon itself was a bit of a let-down to be honest. Sure it's big, but it's undergoing a lot of repairs and is fairly nondescript as far as ancient temples go. Fortunately there's no shortage of ruins and temples around Athena and they're all accessible with the same multi-part ticket.
Athens was an interesting experience for us. Having tried and failed to Couchsurf in Athens and a few other towns in Greece we were surprised when an Athenian host used a new Couchsurfing feature and contacted us to offer a couch, even though we hadn't sent him a request. In other words he had logged on to Couchsurfing, saw a list of people looking for couches in Athens (a list we had opted into) and decided to invite us to stay.
Now I think that is fantastic, no two ways about it, but in hindsight I can't imagine there are many people who'd take the time to do that just to meet people passing through. Personally I'm more than happy to host anyone, any time, but I'd never seek out people to invite... I get more than enough requests as it is, and I'm not even on a typical tourist trail or capitol city.
So anyway, the guy had Asperger's syndrome. Really nice guy, but unable to process that we might not want to hear about him all the time. It was a bit uncomfortable watching him smear food around his beard too, but that's probably unfair of us. He was hand-flappingly excited most of the time though, and really eager to show us the sights. His guided tour of the Acropolis and Parthenon, herding along Hozumi, Phillipe (another CSer) and I would have been a lot more entertaining if it hadn't taken place in freezing wind, drizzle and sleet to which he seemed immune. We left him looking for Phillipe to escape somewhere warmer and drier. When we got back to his place that evening he was comically sulky, with scowling face, deep sighs and grudging responses to small-talk. Hozumi couldn't bear the awkwardness, but rescued the situation by introducing him to a romantic comedy anime. He loved it, immediately perked up and became really friendly and helpful again. Exhausting to live with, I'm sure. Three nights were enough for us.
Highlights of the archaeological museum:
This sarcophagus used to contain a couple. It was reused by some stingy bastard at a later date, when the male figure was replaced by scrolls and the female figure's head cut off and replaced with a man's!
Aphrodite fending off Pan with a sandal.
The old procedure for casting bronze statues. First you make a clay statue, then cover it with wax and add a bunch of wax tubes to it to allow gases and molten metal to escape while stabilising the core clay statue. You then cover everything with clay to make a mold and melt and burn out the layer of wax inside. The molten bronze can then be poured into the gap between the inner and outer clay sections. When that is cooled you crack open the clay and finish off the bronze. A lot of work for one statue and you don't get to re-use anything!
When we left the archaeological museum the building opposite was burning down.
The Parthenon itself was a bit of a let-down to be honest. Sure it's big, but it's undergoing a lot of repairs and is fairly nondescript as far as ancient temples go. Fortunately there's no shortage of ruins and temples around Athena and they're all accessible with the same multi-part ticket.
When Poseidon and Athena faced off to determine who would be the patron of Athens he shattered the flagstone of the temple and brought forth salt water, while she gave the city the first olive tree (represented by the rather young specimen here).
The coolest thing about Athena though? How she was 'born'. The story goes that Zeus swallowed his pregnant mistress after hearing a prophecy that her son would depose him, as you do. Afterwards he suffered from splitting headaches ('scuse the pun) so he asked his mate Hephaestus to split his head open with an axe, as you do. Out popped a fully grown, armed and armoured Athena to join the pantheon in her ever-expanding role as goddess of wisdom, war, Athens etc. This story and others we read at the airy and light Acropolis museum. I like the idea of pimping out your patron deity as your city-states' power and influence grows.
The 80 million tonne Olympic stadium.
As we were leaving Athena we saw this comical display of martial silliness. I like the way the guy in fatigues is like 'I'm too cool to stand to attention, but you better swing those bobbles up higher!'
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment