"Walking" some more... (personal thoughts with a touch of mystery)

Last night I finally made it.

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!

Athens or not, a Walker I shall remain!

Why don't you follow me on Twitter and Facebook?

Cheap flights from the USA to Athens

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.

Why don't you follow me on Twitter and Facebook?

Latest events in Greece and your vacation (pt. 2) - Continuous updates /snapshots of life in Athens (latest: July 22)

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!

So, here's the one insightful political analysis that you need to read about the current Greek government: "The referendum was one of the biggest frauds in Greece’s modern political history" (posted in GR Reporter).

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).

Why don't you follow me on Twitter and Facebook?

100 posts of AthensWalker blog

This is the 100th post in this free online guide / travelogue / journal of living in Athens and I think the anniversary merits some type of a celebration. Instead of sharing a cyber-cake I've decided to share with you a very uplifting and welcome collection of stories ("9 Types of Travelers You’d be Blessed to Meet") from the "Matador Network", as well as some stories and incidents from my own travel experiences that it made me recall. If you ever doubted that traveling can be much more than sight-seeing read on below.

The first 3 short incidents come from my time in Paris, France, back in 1993, as an Erasmus student (that's an EU study abroad program). They do not involve other "travelers" in the narrow sense of the word but I think they're related to the spirit of traveling with an open mind and heart and being perceptive to the signals around you. This was my first ever trip where I had nobody waiting for me at the destination, no set place to stay, a load of suitcases to carry around and a (true) feeling that my French had gotten rusty.

The airport designers 

First of all, the airport (Orly) seemed so well designed, with every little detail taken care of, that I instantly thought it impossible for anyone to get lost even if they had wanted to (airport maps, town maps, well-placed signs, free phones connecting you to in-town hotels if you had no booking -  a real novelty to me back in those days!). Just like most travelers, I've never had the chance to meet the people who designed the airport but I remember relishing the feeling of them thinking so much of their future clients and trying to make things easy for them.

The delicate professional in the Metro

...An hour or so later, having boarded the train to downtown Paris and after a failed, rather annoying attempt of communication with some young, "snooty" local men, my mind was venturing into cliché-land and to the 3 strenuous months lying ahead of me. Then, as a fellow student and I were trying to exit the Metro station, walking up and down stairs with our huge suitcases in hand and almost out of breath, a young, professionally-dressed and delicate-looking woman, pauses and opens this huge metalic door for us and asks us to go through first, since we carry baggage. A miniscule, "unimportant" scene but I still remember it with gratitude 18 years later. It changed, once and for all, my perception of French people and my expectations of them and I've felt lucky for that ever since.

The flatmate who thought of others

...A couple of months later I'm settled into a nice apartment and my flat-mate (painter Yorgos Voulgaridis) and I are going to attend the Orthodox Easter mass on Saturday night. "T.", an English guy who was quite nice but seemed to be having some serious issues, has managed to somehow crawl into a little corner in our flat (four of us in total!) and spend some weeks there. We invite him to come along to mass and, waveringly, he follows. As we are sitting outside the church right before midnight, all Greeks and Russians are holding lit candles and are either listening to the mass or talking to each other. Yorgos notices that "T" is the only one without a candle and somehow, within seconds, finds a lit candle and passes it on to "T". A subtle and thoughtful way to make him feel part of the picture! And the best thing about it? I don't think Yorgos even thought that one out. He simply just did it, as a natural act. I think I could even get jealous of this natural tendency for openess and kindness and that's certainly the type of people you'd want to meet in your travels.

Last, a short story from traveling in Greece: My wife and I are doing a road-trip in northern Greece. We have spent the first night in Thessaloniki (Greece's second city, 500kms north of Athens) and are ready to hit the road and start the main part of our trip on Sunday morning after a nice hotel breakfast. As we load the car with our luggage we realize we have a flat tire. I call road assistance and the guy who comes along not only provides the temporary fix for the problem but also give us directions to the only car service place open on Sunday, for a more permanent solution. Realizing we are not from town, he drives along for some 5 miles or more, asking us to follow him all the way. Fifteen minutes later he has taken us to a remote junkyard [we couldn't have ever found it on our own] where, together with other unlucky Sunday drivers we wait for our turn to have the tire fixed. Hens, dogs, cats and pigeons are roaming around the old cars and machinery while the guy's wife seems to be cooking in their house-cabin in the back! We both decide it's a great way to start a road trip!

Are there any stories you'd like to share from your travels? Have you ever come along a stranger who made your vacation / travel so much richer by their presence? I'm sure everyone would love to hear that...

Why don't you follow me on twitter?