We left warm sunny Rome early this morning and arrived at Sygmata Square, downtown Athens mid-afternoon and were greeted with freezing cold and wind! On the bus from the airport, we noticed the hill/mountain tops covered with snow. It is now 9 pm and in mid 30’s. It is supposed to warm up by the weekend.
It didn’t take long to notice the unrest and distress of Greece. Last evening there was a protest in Sygmata Square, two blocks from our hotel. And today, the Metro was closed due to a strike. Praying there are no more strikes while we are here.
Everything in Greece is Greek – street names, bus routes, metro stops, stores, menus, everything. Occasionally, there is also English. In Italy, I downloaded a free app to re-learn the Greek alphabet and some basic words. Wish I still knew Greek like I did in seminary. It makes traveling rather intimidating.
On the bus from the airport, we were packed in - standing room only – for most of the trip. Our big question was – how will we know which stop to get off? We could not find any signs at the bus stops. I finally humbled myself and asked if anyone spoke English. In the sea of unfamiliar faces, there was one gal who answered yes. What a relief. She answered our questions and we traveled with peace of mind the rest of the trip.
When we arrived at our hotel, we were pleasantly surprised – there was an elevator! Every place we have stayed so far except in Assisi, we had to carry our luggage up 2-3 long flights of steps – seemed like the equivalent of 4-6 floors in the U.S. Our room tonight actually feels like a normal hotel room.
We visited a small ancient Byzantine church named Agios Eleftherios where three men were antiphonally leading the service. They ended with each one singing from different corners of the church, one after another and then finally concluded singing together in harmony. I recorded parts of it. It was beautiful!
We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Sygmata Square and the surrounding area. Tomorrow, we look forward to visiting the Acropolis and ancient Agora.
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