I finally made it to Athens! I was supposed to get here yesterday, but my flight from Amsterdam got cancelled due to the weather. The wind there was insane and the turbulence was so intense when we were landing that I didn't know if we were going to make it to the ground in one piece. Apparently the airline found an alternative flight for me that was supposed to take me to Athens via Bucharest. That didn't work out. The plane to Bucharest was so delayed that I would have missed my connection. I probably would have gotten on that plane, however, if it hadn't been for a very assertive old British man and his wife. They were dealing with the same situation as I was and urged me to go with them to airline's customer service representatives to complain and try to figure things out. Because of the British man's relentlessness, the airline ended up putting us up in a hotel for the night and giving us tickets to Athens for first thing in the morning. Because of the weather, many people were stranded in Amsterdam and all the hotels near the airport were full. After what seemed like an endless day of walking from one end of the airport to the other, talking to different people, and being directed all over the place, we finally were lead to a shuttle that took us to a motel around 15 to 20 miles outside of Amsterdam. It was out in the countryside of Holland surrounded by fields of blooming daffodils, and hyacinths and tulips that had yet to bloom.
I was so jet lagged and lacking in sleep that I really didn't do much. Not that there was much to do where I was. The hotel was huge and seemed very empty. Walking around the empty halls and dining areas reminded me a bit of that movie The Shining. I walked around some trails just outside, ate the free dinner that was provided to me and the other "stranded passengers" (that's what they called us) and went to bed.
When I got up in the morning and the wind was still howling, I couldn't help but expect the worse. All the way to the airport on the bus I kept thinking that my flight would surely be cancelled and I contemplated what I would do if that were the case. Despite my worries, the flight was on time and got to Athens about 10 minutes earlier than expected.
When I got to Athens, I got on a bus that was supposed to take me near to my hostel. Unfortunately, I can't read Greek, and there was nothing indicating what the stops were, so this proved to be a stressful experience. I ended up talking to a local who spoke broken English and directed me to the correct stop. I had even more trouble actually fining the hostel when I got off the bus as I wandered through the narrow streets in the heat of the afternoon. Finally I found it and checked in. The street that my hostel is on is lined with fruiting orange trees and the smell of their blossoms fills the air. I had a late lunch at the hostel's bar and received a free shot of ouzo. I spent the rest of the day just walking around and seeing as much as I could. The Acropolis is like the focal point and Athens, and you can see it from almost anywhere, but the whole area around it is like a giant open air museum. I was literally stumbling over new things all day. There are even just old chunks of marble bricks just lying in the grass in some places. I saw so many different things, and I haven't even ventured up to the Acropolis yet, or gone into the museum. I decided to save that for tomorrow morning when its cooler.
When I got just outside the tourist area, I realized that Athens is a bit sketchy. There is graffiti everywhere, and so many stray cats and dogs digging through garbage and sleeping on the side of the road, looking like they're dead. I also don't think there are any parking rules here or, at least, no one cares. Cars are parked everywhere you can think of and in dangerous ways up on sidewalks and halfway in the street on corners.
I got a little lost when it started getting dark and some little girl tried to force me to buy roses from her, calling me "George Clooney" and otherwise talking in Greek.
I guess I'll leave it at that tonight since I'm paying by the minute for internet, and the clock is ticking.
I'll probably write more tomorrow.
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