The motivation to travel to Athens was two-fold: (1) the
direct flight from Beirut is a mere hour and a half, and (2) my understanding
of Greece had heretofore been limited to its coastal resorts. It seemed
appropriate to visit the capital of a country considered to be the cradle of
Western civilization, where landmarks like the Parthenon at the Acropolis
date back to the 5th century B.C.
So we booked our flights, homed in on an Airbnb in the heart
of the city, and dashed away during the second week of April. Our first
impression upon landing was how unusually quiet the airport is. We completed
passport control, claimed our baggage, and nabbed a cab at the curb all within
10 minutes after deplaning. When will we ever be able to say the same for
Beirut?
The drive into the city takes about 45 minutes, with lush
green expanses of olive trees and fields on either side of the slick highway.
Once you reach the periphery of Athens, however, the scenery changes markedly.
In fact, it’s reminiscent of Beirut, with old and new buildings standing side
by side, rundown sidewalks that are uneven and unfriendly to strollers, and
polished streets that unsuspectingly morph into spotty, narrow alleyways where
you can occasionally smell wafts of marijuana.
Athens is indeed an affirmation that Greece has weathered
rough times, as evidenced by the sheer volume of shuttered businesses,
dilapidated infrastructure, ubiquitous graffiti, and trash-strewn streets. Sure,
there are nice, swanky touristic areas where the European feel is unmistakable.
But this is no Munich or Paris. The city is still in the throes of
financial turmoil, albeit a local will tell you things have vastly improved in
the past few years.
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| Outdoor shopping in Athens |
Our Airbnb Stay
We decided to steer clear of the cookie-cutter hotel
experience and instead live like locals. With a young toddler in tow, it
actually was far more practical and enjoyable coming home every evening to a
comfortable flat where every amenity had been accounted for.
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| Stephen relaxing at our Airbnb flat |
Our two-bedroom
Airbnb was located in an area called Metaxourgeio,
easily accessible by metro and bus, with a taxi queue one block up the street
at the roundabout. The cab ride to Syntagma Square, one of the touristic hubs in the city, is a swift five minutes and €5.
George and his wife served as incredible hosts and thought
of absolutely everything, from extra pillows, blankets, and toiletries to a
washing machine, blow dryer, hair straightener, coffee machine, smart TVs, baby crib, high chair…the
list goes on and on. The immaculate flat exceeded our expectations and was
filled with all the amenities we might need away from home.
Mornings and evenings, we would exploit the spacious balcony
and watch people hustle about their daily lives. Every night, I’d curl up in
bed to one of the many touristic publications stacked on the shelves to learn
more about the city and plot the next day’s adventures. George even sent us a
curated list of family-friendly spots to enhance our outings with little
Stephen.
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| Views of the neighborhood from our apartment balcony |
I firmly believe our stay in Athens was that much more
pleasant because of the beautiful flat we landed. A hotel stay would not have
been nearly as amenable or memorable.
Foraging for Food
You can’t simply wing it in Athens and expect to be swept
off your feet. It’s rather imperative you do a bit of research if you really
want an authentic taste of the culinary delights the city has to offer.
Our first stop was a veritable hole in the wall called O Kostas
in the Monastiraki district. Established in 1946 and heralded to be Athens’
best souvlaki – a courageous claim to make, especially since so many
souvlaki contenders exist – O Kostas is frequented by locals who line up for
one of his two pita sandwiches.
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| O Kostas is admittedly a hole in the wall |
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| What'll it be: pork or beef? |
Opt for char-grilled cubes of pork or beef
patties garnished with juicy beefsteak tomatoes, shredded onions, parsley and a
homemade salsa that effectively replaces the traditional tzatziki often
accompanying souvlaki. The sandwich will set you back a couple euros, but you’ll
likely require two to sate the paunch, so don't hold back.
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| Beef patty souvlaki sandwich |
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| You may need a few to fill you up! |
O Kostas closes shop in the early afternoon, when his
ingredients run out, and I read that he doesn’t open on weekends. So play your
cards right if you want to nosh on Athens’ best.
If you have time for a leisurely lunch and find yourself in
neighboring Plaka, also a tourist hotspot, your best bet is Taverna Saita. We
chose to sit indoors even though the sidewalk seating seemed agreeable – but how
else could I size up the kitchen and ambiance if I didn't step on-site?
Yorgos, son of the tavern owner and chef, was a very
friendly face who immediately made us feel welcome. He helped us transport
Stephen’s accouterments down the stairs and into the dining space, giving us
ample time to peruse the menu before making our selection. We started with
Greek salad, fried cheese, and moussaka as entrees before graduating to
platters of souvlaki in beef, lamb and chicken. Plan to pay around €15-20 for a
meal here, without alcohol.
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| Lamb souvlaki with fries at Taverna Saita |
But if you really want to rub elbows with the locals far from the din of the tourist traps, venture out to
Exarchia, where you’ll find a cozy eatery called Achilleas – Vergina. The Greek
salad and spanakopita, or spinach pie, are marvelous, though the real winner is
the platter of chicken souvlaki, which packs in four hulking skewers of meat, fries,
warm pita, tzatziki and salad, all for a trivial €7.
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| Greek salad and spanakopita at Achilleas - Vergina |
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| Chicken souvlaki with pita, tzatziki, and fries |
We were even treated to
coffee and semolina dessert by our generous waiter, Mina, an Egyptian who made
Athens his home 17 years ago and has since been nationalized. The atmosphere
was so friendly at Achilleas, we ended up camping out for a couple hours, recharging our
energy levels after the long, bumpy walk from Syntagma.
In my readings, I’d come across a donut shop called Lukumades, named Best Pastry Outlet by
TripAdvisor in 2018 and renowned for its freshly prepared donut holes, akin to
the Lebanese “3awamat.” There’s quite a range of toppings and fillings you can
choose from, but respect tradition and go for a drizzle of honey with a dash of
cinnamon (10 donut holes go for €3-5). The gelato is equally fantastic: try
chocolate sorbet with banana toffee flavors. Wash it down with a cup of coffee.
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| Honey and cinnamon donut holes at Lukumades |
We were quite fortunate to be a two-minute walk from a 24/7-outlet called Bread Factory, which
straddles bakery, patisserie, and homemade cuisine. At the end of a long day,
we’d pop in and ogle the pastries, taking a selection back to the flat for an
evening snack. The millefeuilles, whether original or caramel, are outstanding –
fresh, crispy, and ethereally creamy. There’s another Greek novelty worth its
weight in calories that layers syrup-rich sponge cake, custard, and whipped
cream.
Scenery
While there are surely many landmarks and museums to
entertain a tourist in Athens, we were constrained in our flexibility and time
because of the youngest member in our traveling party. Nonetheless we invested many hours at the National Garden, a green oasis smack dab in the
center of the city. It boasts a rich diversity of flora and fauna – geese, ducks,
tortoises, goats, peacocks, parrots, and numerous other species of birds. Young
grade-school students are brought here on field trips to observe the animals
and interact with nature. We made a point to visit the National Garden twice,
and each time we explored different reaches of it – that’s how expansive it is!
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| The National Garden |
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| Ducks bathing and napping in the lake at National Garden |
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| Stephen was totally smitten with the animals at the National Garden... |
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| ...particularly with these geese that hobbled right past him fearlessly! |
If you walk sufficiently due south, you’ll stumble upon the Zappeion,
site of the 1896 Olympic Games. The Garden also encloses some ancient ruins,
tambourines and Corinthian capitals of columns, mosaics, and other features.
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| Zappeion houses the site of the first Olympic Games! |
When you visit Athens, be prepared to scale the city. It is hilly, uneven,
and subject to treacherous winds in the winter and spring months, so layer your
clothing and embrace the fact that you're about to tone those thighs!
Final Remarks
There’s no doubt most tourists are magnetically pulled to
Greece for its seas, resorts, natural reserves, and ancient monuments. I
certainly had been, both with Costa Navarino in the Peloponnese, and Halkidiki in
Thessaloniki. Athens probably doesn’t figure high on the bucket list,
especially when you stack it against Santorini, Mykonos and the thousands of
other islands conducive to R&R.
But a trip to the capital is not one in vain. It’s nice to
experience a real, gritty city where people are warm, welcoming and fiercely
proud of their roots. The recent financial crisis has surely put more than a
dent in their livelihoods, but their happiness remains unfazed.
We can learn a
lot from the Athenians, who – after extensive reflection now that I’m back in
Beirut – seem to share quite a bit in common with the Lebanese. Perhaps it is they, and not the Italians as oft declared, who are our closest European counterparts!
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