It was January 8th, 2024: our free day in Athens. No tours. No class. No homework.
We could have chosen to sleep in until noon if we really wanted to, but there was still so much to do and see in Athens!
Sunrise Hike at Mt. Lycabettus
My friends and I decided to start our free day at 6 am with a sunrise hike at Mt. Lycabettus. The hike was easy and only took us about half an hour. There was enough of an incline to get our heart rates up, though!
We reached the top just in time to see the city wake up. All of the street lights turned off, and Greek soldiers raised the flag. Aside from the two soldiers shown above, we were the only people at Mt. Lycabettus that early in the morning!
As I gazed out at Athens from above, I experienced a profound sense of serenity. The morning air was crisp and calm. The city —which was usually bustling with both locals & tourists— was quiet. Something about the way the sun gradually illuminated the city with its rays was magical as well.
In hindsight, I think that this peaceful start to the day was exactly what I needed before an otherwise chaotic (but fun!) day.
Folk Music Museum
Our first stop was the Folk Music Museum. Personally, this wasn’t a “must-see” on my list but it was very important to Sam so we decided to go. I ended up liking this museum more than I thought I would!
I couldn’t tell you exactly which instruments were showcased, but I do remember them being made out of eagle bones and turtle shells which was neat. There were also QR codes that you could scan to listen to traditional folk songs.
War Museum
Our next stop —my personal favorite— was the War Museum of Athens. We spent a long time (at least 2 hours) at this museum because there was so much to see! They had artifacts from as far back as the Ancient Greeks all the way to the present. My favorite artifact was a cane pistol that was used during the Resistance (1900s). I also enjoyed looking at all the bedazzled swords and daggers. Little did I know I would get to see one of the most expensive daggers in the world at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul just a few weeks later!
Pizza!
By the time we were finished at the War Museum, it was almost 2 pm and we were more than ready for some lunch. Thanks to Google Maps, I actually know which restaurant we went to! It was called “Granello’s”, and it was one of the best pizza places I’ve ever been to.
After debating whether we should share pizzas or not, we decided that we were hungry enough to eat an entire pizza by ourselves 😅. It was probably definitely a good decision considering we still had a lot more exploring to do!
Archaeological Museum
Our third and final museum of the day was the Archaeological Museum. Unfortunately, we were running out of time. We entered the museum with 45 minutes until close, so we had to be strategic about which artifacts to see.
We narrowed it down to three objectives:
- See Agamemnon’s mask from the Trojan war
- Find the ancient clock
- See the statue of Zeus
Agamemnon’s mask was the easiest to find, since it was located at the front of the museum. I was really excited to see this artifact since I had just read the book Song of Achilles which is set during the Trojan War. I remember standing in front of this artifact for several minutes in awe that I was looking at something THOUSANDS of year old.
I love this picture of Ava looking at jewelry from around 2000 BC 😊
This sculpture of Zeus took a lot longer to find. If I remember correctly, we had pretty much given up on finding it and then accidentally stumbled upon it on our way out of the museum!
The photo above is of an ancient computer, which is over 2,000 years old! It took us a very long time to find this artifact —probably the majority of our time in the museum— but it was worth it. When else would we see an ancient computer?!
We left the museum just as they were starting to close it up. We didn’t get to see a majority of the artifacts, but we did see three of the most famous ones.
Mission complete.
Waffles for Dinner!
We spent the rest of the day wandering around Athens and doing a bit of shopping. All of a sudden, it was almost 9 pm and we hadn’t had dinner yet!
After debating between chicken gyros and waffles with ice cream, we decided on waffles. I was very happy about this because I wasn’t in the mood to eat chicken gyros for what felt like the 1000th time. 😆
The best part about eating waffles and ice cream for dinner was… well… that we could eat waffles and ice cream for dinner, and nobody could tell us not to! In fact, Nathan took this freedom of choice to the next level by ordering a waffle with three scoops of ice cream: mint chocolate chip, banana, and bubble gum. An odd combination if you ask me, but he liked it!
A Late Night
You would think that after a day as busy as ours, we would want to go to bed as soon as we got back from dinner.. that is exactly what we did NOT do.
Instead, we stayed up until midnight laughing and telling stories in the hotel jacuzzi. We had to enjoy the jacuzzi view of the Acropolis just one more time!!! I can’t believe I never took a photo from the jacuzzi of the Acropolis at night.
*sigh*
I guess you will just have to believe me when I say it was an incredible view!
Until next time,
Clara