Hollins Goes To Greece

“Wow!”
“Look at that!”
“Mama Mia!”
“Don’t miss the Ferry!”
“Can you believe we’re really here?”

Our objective for today was to power-walk to the metro to get to the ancient/modern port of Peiraeus to take the ferry to the island of Aegina. Upon reaching the port at Aegina, we took a bus to the sanctuary of Aphaia which was our first chance to get up close and personal with a true ancient temple site. It was a bit disappointing not to be able to actually enter the temple, but the ruins were still amazing. The shear size of the blocks and columns was breathtaking and the fact that we were sitting on fallen stones from the temple during our lecture made the experience all the more tangible.

Temple of Aphaia at Aegina

We listened to Professor Richter read about Cockrell whisking away the pedimental sculpture and tried to envision the marbles in their original position on the temple. If only the marbles could be returned to the site. Someone else has obviously wished for this as well because, while waiting for the bus back down to the port, we found amazing post cards which show one picture of the temple as it stands today, but when you tilt it back, it shows a reconstruction of the temple as it probably looked in antiquity. We made a quick trip to the temple of Apollo to marvel at the one standing column from which the port of Kolonna gets its unique name. Here we finally got our chance to sit among the actual ruins and soak in the feeling of antiquity.

By this time were were thinking more of food than prehistoric settlements, so we urged our professor to let us explore the wonders of Greek seafood. The octopus was quite popular, even as a hair gel, as Michelle can attest to. The smelts on the other hand, were not so popular as no one could get past eating the faces except for Prof. Richter and Jenny. They just could not understand everyone’s reluctance. After lunch and a rousing rendition of John Denver’s “Country Roads” by a well-traveled local, we were left to our own devices and set loose upon an unsuspecting populace. Over the next few hours, everyone explored the port, shops and ice cream.  We met a few amazing locals like the shopkeeper who even offered to hold our stuff while we walked around, figuring we would come back to buy more stuff and possibly bring friends.

Our favorite shopkeeper!

We learned the value of timeliness when we boarded the ferry back to Peiraeus when the ferry took off just moments after docking. Once settled many decided to recreate the pile of puppies pose from yesterday while we dutifully worked on our blog entry, although Jenny took a moment to snap a photo for posterity.

The famous “Pile of Puppies” pose!

We returned to the hotel by way of the Benaki Museum. We admit we did not fully appreciate the exquisite Byzantine and Greek art due to our preoccupation with sleep, food and sore feet, not necessarily in that order. From here, we go to read our next assignment, write in our journals and get a good night’s sleep in preparation for tomorrow’s adventure.

Kalinichta - Jenny and Lindsay

First Shot of the Day … Olympic Rings Sculpture outside Athens Airport.

 Flight to Amsterdam & Athens

Both airlines were very nice. We left an hour late & got to Amsterdam an hour early. The attendant at the gate didn’t realize that the plane had already arrived and needed to be prepped for our departure. It was a little unnerving. We were all planning to sleep on the plane but the ammenaties were so outstanding and we quickly got busy with video games, movies, etc. The food was the best we’d ever tasted … at least for airline food. We arrived in Amstadam which was more mall than airport and then boarded the plane for Athens. It was so exciting that we all promptly fell asleep resembling a pile of puppies.We arrived in Athens and were met by Thalia, our great travel agent. We took a bus to Athens and caught our first glimpse of the Acropolis, but it was just a tease.

Our fearless leaders … Prof. Salowey and Prof. Richter

After we dropped the bags at our hotel, our fearless leaders mustered us out for our trek to the Philopappos Monument on the Hill of the Muses. Upon this trek we gained our first canine escort that someone dubbed Charlie. He took his job very seriously guarding us from the southern slopes of the Acropolis all the way to the reconstructed ancient road built by Pikionis. From there we hiked up the Hill of the Muses to watch the sunset while Charlie took a rest. 

After our attempts to keep up with our professor who moonlights as a marathoner, we promptly collapsed in our rooms for a pre-dinner power nap, although some worked at figuring out phone cards while Christie worked out a few kinks with the shower. For dinner, we discovered the true value of our travel agent when we went to have the best food we ever had. Prof. Salowey & Prof. Richter ordered a sampling of traditional mezes each one better than the last although that stuffed zuccini was very hard to beat. From there, Charlie escorted us back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.