0903 - Athens

Athens, Greece - as you can see from the map, is actually quite far from Bucharest.
It took me almost one whole day to reach there and I had to change my train twice.
From Bucharest, I took the train at 20:04 to Sofia, Bulgaria. This time, I didn't want to be in sleeping couchette as the train arrived at 06:00. Once I reached Sofia, the international ticket office opened only at 06:30 but I was lucky enough to be able to reserve the train I wanted at 07:01. From Sofia to Thessaloniki, there were N times of passport and ticket inspections throughout the whole journey and the train arrived at 13:30, then from Thessaloniki 14:54 I finally arrived in Athens Larissa station at 19:50. Fantastic huh?

And this is the first time I didn't lost my way in finding the hostel in the dark.


The next morning, straightaway headed to the best known Acropolis after breakfast.

passed by the flea market

The Acropolis, with many archeological remains, is on a steep hill and can only be reached on foot.
Entrance fee: €20
By showing my International student ID, the staff said: 'Free for you!'


The under-construction-Parthenon





Panorama



the Erechtheum

Propylaea - the entrance gateway to Acropolis

can you see how crowded it was?


the Theatre of Dionysus


Cold mineral water on demand


the Acropolis Museum











Temple of Hephaestus




不是廬山真面目，只緣身在此山中. I guess not many people understand this theory. While everyone was so obsessed with the Acropolis, I decided to climb the opposite Philopappos hill. By opposite, I mean far far opposite.


where I can have spectacular view

and uninterrupted photo opportunities


while looking at the jam-packed Acropolis, I actually 'owned' the whole hill by myself. Seriously, no one was there.



the Philopappos Monument







it's so beautiful that I didn't want to leave even though I was so burnt under the hot sun





the Temple of Olympian Zeus









the Olympic Stadium

the Zappeion

the Greek Hellenic Parliament








the locals' favourite Nescafe frappe, which I finished within 2 mins.

Now you can see how tanned I am.


Instead of traveling to Sofia on the same day, I decided to stay for another night in Athens as there is nothing attractive to me in Sofia and it is not a safe city. That was the day I called back home while everyone was there.

Next stop: Patras