Saturday, November 15th, 2025

Athens, Kuka Apartments

Thursday morning we had a lie in and browsed for Athens apartments to stay in. In Nafplio we walked on the sea wall walkway to some lackluster climbing with a fantastic covey view and climbed just one route while wishing we were swimming. A passing tourist asked J what would happen if I fell while I was halfway up the wall – I was on toprope so I showed her! She got a kick out of it, ultimately.

We drove up to the Palamidi Fortress but for 20 euros each we decided to view it from the outside and move on to Corinth rather than going inside. On the way to Corinth we passed so many little farms and honey stands. We elected to go to the top of Acrocorinth: the hilltop fortress controlled by Greeks, Romans, Ottomans, and Venetians at various points in time. It was very, very fortified, with at least 5 layers of walls before the keep at the top, and was a lot of fun to scramble around. From the tippy top there were ancient ruins surrounded by 17th century castle walls and we could see ancient Corinth on the isthsmus connecting to mainland Greece. Paul the Apostle spent 18 months here preaching.

We then drove into Athens, which was mostly calm driving-wise. The city itself is eclectic and a bit grungy, teeming with people, motorbikes, and taxies, and imposed on by the Acropolis at all angles. The temple on the hill can be seen from very far away. We dropped our car essentially one block away from our new apartment and got settled. We meandered around town a bit before heading to our reservation at the Michelin starred Makris Restaurant. The highlights of this dinner, which was fabulous, was a forest-themed amuse bouche, hand-picked edible bouquet from their off-site garden, and funky white wine from Santorini. We had a fantastic time; the food was some of the best we’ve had anywhere. Uber was super easy to use here, so we headed back to our apartment that way.

Friday morning we did a walk around the plaka and the base of the Acropolis, getting our orientation and enjoying some of the main sights in town: the Roman and Greek Agora (with museum), the arch of Hadrian, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Anafiotika neighborhood (and old-timey, tiny, rambling neighborhood with island-decorated white washed houses), and most of the main tourist center. Following the Rick Steves audio walk for part of it was engaging. The plaka, etc. is very tourists (feels like “Europe 101”), but just off the main parts are interesting shops, grimy buildings, graffiti everywhere, and a million bars and restaurants. There’s a big soccer match this weekend between Greece and Scotland – the streets are packed with Scots in kilts loudly drinking and singing.

We had more gyro (with mastraki cheese for me) and then went to the phenomenal Acropolis Museum for the rest of the day; it was open until 10 pm since it was Friday! We spent a few hours looking at the statues, vases, friezes, metopes, and columns from the Parthenon, Acropolis, and surrounding areas. Some blatantly missing pieces are around the world, including at the British Museum, which could relinquish the pieces back to Greece now that there is a gorgeous and climate-controlled museum for them. Alas, many of the pieces are still being housed by other countries. The audio guide at the museum helped us learn a ton here, we loved it. We had hot chocolate on the rooftop cafe over/underlooking the real Acropolis, then went home to get jackets.

Later that night, we explored the once seedy/graffitied area of Psirri, which is now touristed but still seems hip. We walked a ton, god a drink at a cool 80s punky bar, and had “Po Boy BBQ,” which made a good attampt and mac-n-cheese, corn on the cob, and buffalo wings. The buffalo sauce just…wasn’t buffalo sauce!

This morning we trekked to the Acropolis itself, doing the Rick Steves audio tour and exploring the views and sights from above. They say you can see about 50% of Greece’s population from the top. I loved thinking about the history of the place and everything that’s happened in this exact place. Since the beginning of recorded time, this hill has meant something to people. It really makes me feel the love for history and anthropology.

After taking it all in and getting our photos, we trampled up Mars hill (Paul came here to preach too, but wasn’t as warmly received as he was in Corinth). There were quite a few Romani ladies and babies begging here, and little kids running around causing havoc, which made me sad.

We headed next to the Exarchia neighborhood, full of anti-Zionist graffiti and other political statements ranging from “don’t do animal abuse” and “free Palestine” to “tourists ruin cities” to “kill yourself.” There was plenty of normal antifascist and anticapitalist stuff too. We saw tons of bookshops and metally record stores as well, and got some olives at the farmers market. We had take-out Indian food for lunch and are having a relaxing afternoon in!