I got out of the house, the cool night breeze hitting me in the face, and walked into the night. There was nothing particular about this walk. Familiar pavements, familiar buildings, the usual neighborhood shops that I hurriedly pass-by or drive-by every day.
But it was a walk none the less. Detached from the daily routine, forgetful of my endless to-do lists, away from my screens and monitors, just walking in the almost empty streets. It cleansed my mind of ideas and worries and just reminded me of why I decided to name this blog the way I did, years ago. I would become a "night-guide" to foreign visitors willing, but afraid, to venture out into the dark streets of Athens. I would discreetly accompany them on long, purposeless walks, in the bland neighborhoods and the outer suburbs, just so they could absorb the feeling of the place. I would tell them about life here and, if they so felt, I'd listen to their stories as well. I would show them the vistas, the hidden corners and the dangerous streets that tourists never get to see. The odd, the plain, the uninspiring, the magic. Connections would form and ideas for new stories and maybe even books would be born. And I would walk and get paid for it on top!
News site Quartz, recently teamed up with flight search engine Hopper, to present a tool that helps you find cheap flights from some major US airports to select destinations (US and international), with Athens being one of them.
The results aren't really that surprising - if you want a cheap summer flight to Athens you're out of luck - but the tool does help you to come up with some ideas and focus your search a bit, if you're not really set on certain dates.
For five US airports (Baltimore, Boston, LA, Miami and NY LaGuardia) the cheapest Athens flights can be found in the fall. For another ten (Atlanta,
Chicago O'Hare, Dallas, Houston Bush, NY JFK, Newark, San Francisco, Seattle,
Washington Reagan, Washington Dulles) the cheapest flights are during the winter. So, if you're a New Yorker start your search by LaGuardia in the fall and JFK or Newark in the winter, not that the one is necessarily cheaper than the other (different airlines use different hubs). So, maybe this is just a publicity trick and I took the bait! But it's a good reason to start you thinking about a non-summer vacation to Greece, especially if you're less tolerant to heat and you live in a place that enjoys a reasonable amount of sunshine in itself.
I find it hard to hit the streets and post photographs of sunsets, buildings and the like these days. I'm sure you understand why... So, in this evolving post I will give you snapshots of daily life in Athens as the latest episode in "the Greek financial crisis" unfolds.
Also, following my previous post ten days ago (that seem like an age the way things are running) I will post here (and update when necessary) articles that are worth reading in order to get a full and concise grasp of the situation in Greece. I have done it in the past and always provided a clear picture for visitors and all people interested in the situation in Greece. In recent days, a great number of Greeks living abroad, mostly Greek-Americans or Greek-Australians, have been talking out of their @ss about the situation in Greece and the need to be "heroic" and the like. Sure, when you have your big, safe house in New Jersey to go back to every night, it's easy to ask people 5,000 miles away to satisfy your morbid fantasies of traditional Greek "heroism".
But I like Americans as a whole, so I won't stick to that. I just had to get it out of my system!
The other big news of the day (Wed., 8 July 2015) was the pulverizing speech of Liberal MP Guy Verhofstadt in the European Parliament today, in a plenary session with Greek Prime-Minister Alexis Tsipras, which has been watched and re-watched by millions of people throughout Europe. You need to watch this 7min50sec video, especially if you're a Greek expat and you think you know what's happening in the country! Finally, here's a good attempt for a balanced perspective from a Greek professor working in the UK: Half-truths in the Greek crisis conceal the big picture (by Haridimos Tsoukas).
Now, concerning your vacations, CNN put on a really good and concise article this week with the latest travel advice for tourists heading to Greece: Do as it says; it's really good. Just one detail: Bring small change with you as well (in Euros or dollars), because people are practically left with 50 and 20 Euro bills (and debit cards) with few other banknotes or coins in circulation. Also, if you follow the advice and bring cash with you remember to keep it safe when moving around such as in a safety pouch a.k.a. waist pouch or wallet.
Thu., 9 July 2015: A much smaller rally of the "We Stay in Europe" camp in the evening, at Syntagma Square. Summer heat, pessimism, optimism or exhaustion?
Rays of light and hope towards the evening, as news emerged that French and EU officials have taken the Greek govt. by the hand, to help it draft a decent bailout / reform package / expense slashing proposal.
Fri., 10 July 2015: Too hot and a lethargic day at work today. Air-condition in bad condition (for the nth straight year).
On my way home I passed from the drugstore. A 50-year old man came in, holding two plastic bags. He was trying to sell(?) 250Euros worth of coins in 1 and 2 Euro-coins. He was asked to return on Monday, when the boss would be there.
Sat., 11 July 2015: I bought my first beers after more than a month. Cheap domestic lagers. No final deal yet on the bailout...
Tue, 14 July 2015:I
have become quite ruthless in passing out my 50 Euro banknotes in order to
get change... "No madam, I have no
change. Nothing!"
Wed, 15 July 2015:This morning, for the first time ever, I came across 2
broken buses on my way to work. Running
short of supplies?
Wed, 22 July 2015: A hot summer day, following another hot summer day. During our -unofficial- lunch break I had a craving for an ice-cream. I ventured out into the heat towards a nearby kiosk to get an ice-cream of my favorite brand. As I approached I saw an ambulance and people gathered around a bench behind the kiosk. I heard the paramedic saying something about a body bag. It was then that I noticed the body of a homeless(?) man laying still, sideways, on the bench. I went back to work. Fri., 25 July 2015: Almost impossible to find "Lucozade
Lemon" in supermarkets. Only the crappy "Lucozade Orange" available.
I was told by a manager that as neither of them is a very big seller they are
not prioritized in the supermarket's procurement policy in light of capital controls. "Necessities" first. I get furious thinking
of the pretentious idiot who will find it appropriate to say something ironic
about this. On related news, I read a Facebook post by a farmer saying tomato seeds
imports are not prioritized either, by the special government committee set up
to oversee the regulation of imports (and exportation of cash).
"We Stay in Europe" : A pro European rally was organized last week in Syntagma Square, in front of the Greek Parliament
I have deliberately avoided discussing politics in this blog, even though, as a typical Greek I am fiercely interested in the country's political life. My difference from the typical Greek is that I don't feel compelled to incessantly spew my opinion on others. Well, I'm going to make a small exception today tonight.
Two hours ago (at around 1:00am at night) the current Greek Prime-minister, following a 5-month long nationalist-socialist rhetoric and practice (with constant threats to dissenting TV stations, newspapers, journalists and even cartoonists), announced his government's intention to carry out a referendum on a tentative deal offered to the Greek government by its international creditors (the text of which the average Greek citizen has of course not seen). EU leaders will most likely say that this is a referendum on staying in or out of the Euro. It is doubtful (if not outright impossible) that the government will be able to organize such a referendum in just 8 days and if it does try to pull it through in such short notice I doubt about its validity and legitimacy.
Meanwhile, Greek banks are on life-support from the European Central Bank and people have been constantly withdrawing cash from their bank accounts or transferring their savings abroad. The current government's decision has already sent people rushing to ATMs in the middle of the night, making the bank-run inevitable to hide any longer, as Greek TV stations are now reporting.
As far as you're directly concerned, this decision is essentially setting a bomb under the Greek tourist season which has already been affected by the long-standing, fruitless, negotiating show.
Syntagma Square last Monday
Last week, a pro-European rally titled "We stay in Europe" was organized through social media. About 10,000 to 20,000 people were present. I have no doubt that -sooner or later- the European side of Greece will prevail.
Some Greeks still have the merchant's mentality alive in them: A hot dog stand before last week's rally at Syntagma Square...
...and a seller of Greek flags and whistles (the rally organizer's suggested "weapon" for waking up the government)
The statue of Eleftherios Venizelos - a true Greek statesman - at the courtyard of the Greek Parliament.
I am taking a break from my usual photographic or food-related endeavors to serve you a post full of music that I've been compiling for quite some time now. After the new, a.k.a. "weird", Greek cinema we now have a Greek wave of English-language, indie, musical acts trying to break through into the international scene. The Swedes did it about 10-20 years ago, so why not the Greeks?
A few are using elements of Greek musical forms and tradition while others are vying for the "mainstream" part of the indie scene armed with lyrical melodies and lots of synthesizers. Some are trying, or have managed, to already garner some attention. Some music experts, like Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame voting member Yannis Petridis, claim that Greek singers will be seen / treated as something of an exotic fruit by international audiences with the expectation of some... Greekness in them. So, they either have to offer that, or be ready to relocate to some English-speaking country where they can become part of that local scene. Or both.
A few Athens radio stations and a local mobile network operator are supporting this musical movement and are helping to build a local base for these new Greek artists, providing air-time for their songs, usually without mentioning the country of origin, perhaps as a test of their popularity potential. Support them and this blog by buying their music through the Amazon links below.
DJ, freestyle jazz, trip-hop and all-around atmospheric music composer Cayetano has made a name for himself in European alternative circles after 19 years of music production, endless live shows and more than five albums. Check out his full biography and listen to his music at Soundcloud. Connect with him on Facebook and get his music at Amazon.co.uk.
Here's a track from the collaboration record "Loopa Scava Meets Cayetano".
Remember that Greek element I talked about above? Imam Baildi give their own modern renditions of old (1950s, '60s) Greek songs in a way that obviously has significant local and international appeal. They were invited to play at the SXSW festival in Austin in 2013 and here's an article about them in Slug Magazine. Currently on a European and Greek tour (Athens: July 9 at Technopolis, Gazi). Here's their Facebook page.
A duo whose name is a wordplay on the Athens neighborhood of Kypseli, and often abbreviated as KSiA in international press. Lots of international coverage (right column here) for their airy compositions such as "Fractals".
Singer Sarah P. left for new projects in 2014, replaced by a new singer caller Myrtha, featured in the new, 2015 album. Their music can be found on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es and
Amazon.de
A big local hit 6 years ago, with aid from Calexico in her
debut album "Avatar". Since then, she's moved on to writing music for theater plays and the like and has released two more full length albums. Ironically, even though her success has given a major boost to the local, English-language music scene, she's without much of an international presence yet. Focused in Greece, I think she has a voice and lyricism that
mostly appeals to Greeks, or maybe she just hasn't tried to move on yet. According to Wikipedia she gave her first N.Y. concert in December 2014. Listen to her songs on MySpace and see a video in her official site.
An unholy, eye-blistering, alternative spelling of "David" but you do need to check him out nonetheless. Him being music producer George Bakalakos in real-life. Never Without You, his latest collaboration with Stella (see below) is becoming a 2015 local hit. Nice, 70's retro video as well!
Prins Obi is a member of the aforementioned Baby Guru who just came out with a solo album, which I like a lot. Read
and listen here. The dreamy,
Beatlesque Weekend Lovers is already becoming a small local hit and
you can listen to it on Spotify. Here's CMJ's presentation of his first solo EP Love Songs for Instant Success.
Written as Σtella, if you can read the initial Greek Sigma, she's been around as a second act / collaborator in various music projects but the self-titled Stella is her first solo album. Read a presentation by CMJ and listen to the single Made to Attack.
His catchy pop tune On the Run, featuring Sarah P, formerly of Keep Shelly in Athens, has been described as a mini-masterpiece by Under the Radar magazine. Sundayman (in real world Kyriakos Moustakas) has mostly been around as a music producer. His Cutty Sark theme song Now that i found you is another of his tunes that you might have listened to.
Check out all his airy, ambient pop, retro-electronic tunes on SoundCloud: Amazon.com,
Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.fr,
Amazon.es,
Amazon.de
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