Athens -- September 18

Checking our guide books, we saw that the Acropolis can get very crowded and hot during midday, and it was recommended to visit early in the AM or at the end of the day. The Acropolis opens at 8am, so we decided to awake early to try and get there at opening. We took a taxi to the entrance to the Acropolis for 7 euro (another rip off). The ticket was 12 euro/person and included visits to several other sites in Athens. Of course what we have been waiting to see for our entire lives was the Parthenon, so quite literally our knees were buckling with excitement realizing we'd soon be seeing this symbol of Western Civilization with our own eyes!

As is the norm in Greece, the hike up to the entrance was a steep one. Out of breath, we first encountered the beautiful Theater of Herodes Atticus before walking up onto the Acropolis through the amazing Propylaia. Nothing can prepare you for the massive size of the columns and how beautifully the white marble sparkles in the morning light. We continued through the Propylaia and then came face to face with the Parthenon on our right.

What a truly amazing structure. We’re not going to ramble too much about it here – all we can say is it is simply one of those things you need to see with your own eyes. After taking about 100 pictures we walked across the Acropolis to the almost equally amazing Erecthion with its very famous Porch of Maidens. Even though it was barely 10am, it was already getting extremely hot on the Acropolis. We made our way down after visiting the Theater of Dionysius and scrambled across the east and then north side of the Acropolis. A quick visit to the Ancient Agora (included in our Acropolis ticket) allowed us to check out the impressive Temple of Hephaestus and other ruins of the Agora. By now the heat was getting incredibly intense (we cannot imagine what it is like here in summer!), so we decided to make a beeline into the Monastakiri district cool off, get some breakfast and to see some of the more modern side of Athens

We stopped for a coffee and walked around the pleasant Monastakiri Square and the Plaka District. Lots of souvenir shops, souvlaki shops, etc. We strolled around and ended up at the heart of modern Athens, Syntagma Square. Here we walked into the Metro station to see the incredible displays of artifacts found while constructing the Metro. We reemerged in front of Parliament just in time to see the histrionics associated with the changing of the guards. We have to admit, however, that those guys can kick high!

With the new guards in place we felt it safe to continue our walking tour. We skirted the National Gardens and emerged along a busy street corner where we had views of both Hadrian’s Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus (purportedly at one time the largest temple in Greece). We walked through the very scenic Anafiotika district with white washed buildings and blue doors. We had gyros for lunch and decided we’d take the Metro over to the brand new Acropolis Musuem which had just opened up in June.

As we emerged from the Akropoli Metro station, we realized that it had begun to rain. Actually, rain doesn’t describe what this was – more like a full-fledged monsoon! But we had packed our ponchos, so we put them on and bravely marched out of the station. Those ponchos were nearly worthless in this rain – I don’t think either of us had ever seen it rain so hard. We ran across the street/river and took shelter under the awning. It is a bit embarrassing to say, but one of the highlights of our visit to Athens was watching everyone (both the locals and the tourists) deal with the rain. Some ran like there was no tomorrow to try and get out of it, some wore plastic bags over their heads, some just strolled along like nothing was happening – very entertaining!

We finally decided to make the 1-2 block run to the Acropolis Museum when the rain started to let up, but we still got completely soaked. We later heard on CNN that there was a serious hailstorm on top of the Acropolis, so we’re glad we headed there first thing in the AM!

The Acropolis Museum is constructed to "mimic" the actual Acropolis in many regards. We were surprised to find that the entrance fee was only 1 euro! The collection of artifacts was very extensive and descriptions of the items were very thorough. All in all we both agreed it was an amazing collection and is definitely worth the visit. We stopped at the café where were we delighted to find very reasonable prices and a great view. Now that the rain had stopped, we took some pictures and enjoyed some drinks. Athens can be very expensive, but a great “cheap” day would be to spend the day at the Acropolis Museum, and to treat yourself to lunch there!

After tiring of the museum (if we had more energy we certainly would have liked to spend more than 2 hours there), we decided to head back to Monastikiri for some souvenir shopping. Before heading back to the hotel to clean up and start packing, we decided to try and find a vantage point to the west of the Acropolis to try and get some pictures of the Parthenon with the sun’s setting rays illuminating the stone in a warm honey-golden color. We were somewhat successful seeing this from the hilly Makrigiani District.

We walked the final few blocks to Syngrou-Fix Metro and then took a bus down to the hotel. We freshened up and headed out for dinner to a strip of restaurants located near the Syngrou-Fix metro station. After dinner, we headed home and packed up. So hard to believe this was the final night of our trip. I think we’re both glad to be heading home (3 weeks on the road is quite a long time), but we both have enjoyed the sights and experiences of this part of the world and are sad that the journey was coming to an end.

The Journey Home -- September 19

What a trip it has been! In 3 weeks we managed to visit well established tourist meccas like Croatia and Athens, but also spend time in off-the-beaten track places whose recent history distinguish them more than tourism does (Kosovo, Sarajevo). It was a great blend of the old and the new, sea and mountains, undiscovered and well-trodden.

This morning we headed to the Athens airport for our return flight. We took the bus and metro to the airport to save some euros (we were nearly out and didn't want to exchange more money). We had a few hours to kill at the airport, which was a good thing as the Greek Delight candy in Craig's carry-on set off all sorts of alarms and he had to include it in checked luggage -- which of course required waiting in line at the Lufthansa check-in counter for awhile.

Our flight took off on time and this time we went through Frankfurt. That airport is like a small city. Although we had 90 minutes before our plane to SFO departed, we barely made it! The walk though the airport to get to the gate was like a maze, and we had to go through passport control and security again. Efren of course was asked to show his passport. All in all we made it, but in the future I'd be very concerned with a layover of less than 90 minutes at that airport!

The final 11 hour flight home was uneventful -- Craig slept most of the time (United Economy Plus seating helps), and Efren kept busy watching movies. We arrived back to SFO around 8pm on Saturday night. We quickly got our luggage and we each arrived home by 10pm. Now comes the unpacking, laundry, thinking about work, etc

All in all our trip to the Balkans was tremendously fun. We saw amazing sites, ate great food, and met some wonderful people. The prices in this part of the world aren't too bad, but with the weakening US dollar it is far from a bargain. Still, searching out good eating and lodging options saved us a lot of moola.

Upon reflection now that we are home, we'd strongly urge anyone who has a lust for off-the-beaten-path travel to consider visiting this part of the world. If nothing else, the experience will change you by recalibrating your perceptions and expections. The problems that you face on a regular daily basis are probably nothing compared to what the people of Sarajevo faced in the 90's or what the people of Kosovo still face today. This type of traveling really rearranges your mental furniture. Isn't that part of what traveling is all about?