18th Athens International Film Festival

It is time for the annual pilgrimage to the Athens International Film Festival and this short post is a brief description of the films one has the chance to watch this week in the 5 movie-theaters hosting the festival's projections. For a complete guide to the festival visit the official site and  also check out the Festival's Facebook page.

Official poster of the 18th Athens International Film Festival

The popular "Music & Film" segment will give you the chance to watch films on Bob Marley, Neil Young, Andrew Bird, 1970's disco, former French pop idol Claude François, hip-hop's L.A. scene and more.

There are 9 movie premieres (at least for the Greek market), including Walter Salles' "On the Road" (based on Jack Kerouac's novel),  David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis starring Robert Pattinson and 4 films, from various countries, that touch on the Greek economic crisis. 

There are short films (Greek and international), and a Panorama of films from seemingly all over the world.

Another popular part is the Midnight segment, featuring all kinds of horror movies with sleepwalking cannibals, undead vermin, invading aliens, terrorizing gangs and invisible spirits. Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

Feature films in the Competition segment will present you with a Cuban trying to flee to the US, a Bulgarian trying to do the inverse and go back to her native Bulgaria, the real-life story of an Asian-American being held hostage by a sex-trafficking gang and a humongous body-builder in a surprisingly similar situation, being manipulated by his mom.

Tickets are priced at 6€ and you should buy them beforehand since they tend to go out very fast and many projections are sold-out. A good idea, if you can make it fit with the rest of your schedule, is to go to one of the morning screenings "for the press". The ticket is cheaper (at 4€) and you don't have to worry about the screening being sold-out. Just try to arrive 15-20 minutes before the start. It always makes my day when I attend one of these morning screenings as it makes me feel like part of a select group. You know... the kind who can watch movies at 11:00am or 1:00pm on a weekday and be masters of their own time!

The festival runs till September 30, 2012. The 5 movie-theaters hosting the festival's screening are Odeon Opera 1, Odeon Opera 2, and Ideal (at Athens city center) and Danaos 1, Danaos 2 (at the Ambelokipoi neighbourhood). You can see a map with their locations below.

View Athens International Film Festival locations in a larger map

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A Beer Festival in Athens

I often wish I could write with a constant enthusiastic tone about places and events in this city. Most travel bloggers and writers seem to feel it’s their duty to be in a continuous state of admiration no matter what they write about. However I’ve made a very simple pledge for this blog, and that is to represent reality as faithfully as possible and to help separate the sheep from the goats. So, in this respect, this is post on the annual beer fest of Faliro is as much about …goats, as it is about beer!

"Giorti Biras" (Beer Fest) at the Athens suburb of Faliro

There is only one beer festival in the Athens area that has been running for 11 years now and that is the Beer Fest (Giorti Biras) taking place next to the “Peace and Friendship Stadium” at the coast of Faliro. The “Beer Fest” is nothing like what a beer enthusiast, used to attending beer festivals, might expect. No brewery stands, no tasting sessions, no industry news, events or discussions. In other words, no respect for beer!

The space itself used for the festival is an area very close to the coast (but with no view to the sea), full of sand, dust and cement and surrounded by rubble and a major artery leading to the coast. You pay around 8-10€ (depending on day and year) for admission to the grounds.

What you get is a number of tents rented mostly by local beer restaurants and beer distributors / importers, food stalls, with their characteristic smell of grilled meat, serving the beer restaurants’ usual fare (fries, sauerkraut, onion rings, sausages and other meat cuts) and a music stage with various local musicians (each day different names; different styles of music are mixed within the same day). In between them, there’s a large area of tables, chairs and benches where you can take your food and listen to the music. Beer is served in plastic cups…

Greek Dance troop at the annual beer fest, 2012

Greek band on the stage

People start rolling in at around 8 in the evening and the whole thing lasts till about 1:00 to 2:00am each night.

So, why would a foreign visitor go to this Athens Beer Fest? Simply, for an easy-going, beer-themed, night out, which would be somewhat different from going to a restaurant. Also, for the opportunity to try out a few of the Greek beers currently in the market as well as some other (mostly European: German, Russian, Belgian, British) beers available in the Greek market that may not be available where you live.

Pork bits cooked in a large frying-pan

Baltika (Russian beer) bottles

Fridges with Greek beer brands (Ionian, Piraiki and Volkan)

Grilled meat and tents

Sausages, fries, sauerkraut, mustard and onion rings...

An Athens' beer restaurant's stand

People sitting on the benches and drinking beer 

People sitting on the benches and drinking beer , with highway in the backgroun.

Prices: Beers cost 1.60€ / 330ml or more (that was the lowest price I noticed this year) – mostly 3€ and up

Time / Duration: Approximately first two weeks of September. From 7:00pm to 1:30am (in 2012, it lasted from Aug.31 to Sep.12).

Location: See map below. Almost(?) everybody goes there by car as the space is not easily accessible. If you insist on public transit go to the "Faliro"/"Peace and Friendship Stadium" Metro station (Line 1) and from there carefully cross the underground pass to go towards the Stadium and then to the left where you'll spot the festival's tents.

View Faliro - Annual Beer Fest map in a larger map

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Day trip (from Athens) to Vravrona (updated: 2014-12-10)

If you're looking for ideas for day-trips from Athens, and you are not eager to get on a boat, this  is worth you consideration. Vravrona is nowadays a small settlement of country houses, in the east coast of Attika (east of Athens),  where some Athenians spend their summers, close to the city. You may also see it referred as "Brauron" by scholars of ancient Greek. The place stands out from all other settlements in east Attica due to the presence of a significant, two and a half thousand years old ancient Greek sanctuary, dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of hunting, and a small but interesting archaeological museum with findings from this area. You may combine your visit here with swimming at the sea (or a  nearby hotel's pool) and a lunch or dinner in a seaside taverna. Depending on how you get here you may need to do some walking (see detailed directions on how to go to Vravrona at the bottom of this post).

Vravrona Archaeological Site - View from the fence

The site is nestled between a rocky hill, a small stream which in ancient times created a verdant wood –suitable for the goddess of hunting– and the seaside where the stream ends up. Archaeologists believe the cult of Artemis and this particular temple to have been really important in ancient times. A sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia (Artemis of Vravrona) had been erected on the Athens Acropolis and every 5 years a large procession from Athens to Vravrona took place in honor of the goddess The archaeological site had been closed to the public for conservation work for a number of years but it is now (12/2014) back open (Winter Hours: Tue-Sun: 08:00am-2:45pm, Tel: +30-22990-27020). In the pictures below you may catch a glimpse of the overall site and the arcade (stoa), which is the most significant remainining edifice, the way they looked from the surrounding fence when I visited in 2012. The museum does a good job presenting the site, the excavations and various findings and it'll take you 40-60 mins to tour (Tue-Sun: 09:00-16:00 from June 8 till Oct.31; call for winter hours as they may change. Ticket price: 3€, 2€ reduced for EU seniors, free for all under 18, Tel: +30-22990-27020).
 
Artemis herself (Diana was her Roman equivalent) was not only the goddess of hunting but also of nature, children and especially girls, and nursing and you can see signs of all this from the findings displayed in the museum. As for the stream, it is still present but the area is now a "wetland", not a "hunting ground" :) Follow the path that starts beyond the entrance of the museum to reach the site's rear side and the stream / wetland.

Vravrona Archaeological Museum entrance

Bronze cauldron - Vravrona Archaeological Museum

Duck-shaped vessel - Vravrona Archaeological Museum

Statue of Goddess Artemis - Vravrona Archaeological Museum

Votive relief picturing goddess Artemis - Vravrona Archeological Museum

Ancient Greek babies statues! (Artemis was the protectress of children) - Vravrona Archeological Museum

Feeding bottles for ancient Greek babies - Vravrona Archeological Museum 

Vravrona Archaeological Site - under works...

The Stoa (arcade) of the temple at Vravrona Archaeological Site - View from the rear fence / access from the path behind the museum

Now that you're done with the educational part of your day trip it's time to hit the beach! There are 2 options nearby: Either continue south (from the road that took you to the museum) to what I call "Beach No.2" in the map below (also referred to as Chamolia) or go back north, to the beach in front of the "Mare Nostrum Hotel" ("Beach No.1"). Both offer shallow and usually calm  and clean waters that will allow you to relax and enjoy your time here. The above said hotel also has a pool that can be accessed by non-guests for a small fee.

Vravrona Bay - View from the road near Mare Nostrum Hotel

Finally, there are various options for lunch or dinner in the area but the best value seems to be offered by a small seaside restaurant called "Artemis", which you'll find if you deviate from the main road, just before you get to the Mare Nostrum Hotel, to the right (towards the sea). They have a reputation, which we were happy to confirm, for some very tender, well-fried calamari rings (probably as good as you can get in a fish-tavern). We also got an excellent, succulent boiled octopus appetizer and a, rather boring, Greek salad. Together with 2 portions of squid rings and a bottle of beer, a dinner for two here cost us 36.5€. A fresh, fried cod fish cost us 23 Euros on a separate occasion (in 2014).

Tip: Make sure you carry a mosquito repellent with you if you stay in the area for dinner

View Vravrona (Brauron) day trip map in a larger map

Getting to Vravrona from Athens

Vravrona is around 40kms away from Athens. There are various options for getting here and I present them all below but you should plan for more than an hour (or even two!) of travel if you don't use a car. So, the best option (45minutes travel) is to either hire a car or get a taxi if you can split the cost.

Public transit: Starting from Nomismatokopeio Metro Station (Line 3) you may catch urban Bus 304. Terminal stop is in front of Mare Nostrum Hotel. Buses leave from 5:35 and approximately every half an hour till 21:15. Return buses from Vravrona to Halandri (Nomismatokopeio Metro Station) from 05:00 till 22:15.

Bus 316 (same starting and terminal stop) has very few routes but the last one is at 23:15. You will need to walk to the archaeological site (almost 2kms if you choose this option). The urban bus is the cheapest option but you should plan for 1.5hour of travel overall.

-A slightly faster option, but considerably more expensive (around 20€)  would be to get to the airport with one of the (more expensive) Express Buses (X93, X95) from Athens to the airport, or go to the airport via Metro Line 3 and catch a taxi to Vravrona from there.

-Similarly, KTEL (intercity) buses with their starting point at Mavromataion St. & Alexandras Avenue (Plateia Egyptou) in Athens (see here) leave every 30min or so for Markopoulo (2012 ticket price: 2.70€). From there, you can get a taxi-cab to the archaeological museum (11km / 15min. away). You will need to walk from the museum to the beach, about 2kms, if you choose this option.

By car: Follow Attiki Odos (Athens' Ring Road) all the way to Markopoulo. About 2kms after the end of Attiki Odos (see map above from this point on), you will see a sign pointing left and a traffic light where you turn left to Markopoulo. If you miss this there’s another one after 300 m (300yards) where you may also turn left. You will stay on the road that has most of the traffic, following signs to Mare Nostrum Hotel and then (left turn) on the road to Porto Rafti. 2kms on the road to Porto Rafti and after having passed some big box shops to your right (the last one being “Caldera” swimsuit factory to your right), the road has a median lane with a sign for a left turn. Stop and carefully turn left here, following the road (Leoforos Vravronos) to Vravrona. After 6kms, and having passed several road-side carts selling fruit and vegetables, the road splits. The left branch will get you in front of Mare Nostrum Hotel after 1.7km. The right one gets you to the archaeological museum and site (1km) and then to the 2nd beach of Vravrona (2kms more).

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