After having spent the last six weeks in former Yugoslavian countries, we made our way to Thessaloniki, Greece. It was a tangible change with a big jump in prices, a large increase in beggars and more exposure to the seedier side of life.
We stayed two nights in Thessaloniki before flying to Athens where we stayed for six nights. While in Greece we got our fill of ancient things. The most impressive was the Acropolis in Athens and the Acropolis museum where many of the statues recovered from the Acropolis were kept. The museum also had really good displays of technology used to construct the statues and temples of the Acropolis.
The food markets in both Thessaloniki and Athens were really good to visit, especially the fish section.
There was a very large police presence while we were in Athens. I don’t know if this is normal or if there were more out for a visit from John Kerry and an annual protest for a teenager killed by police. Also there were protests against the government agreeing to some more austerity measures.
One of the unexpected things in Athens was the quality and quantity of the street art. It was much better than places that are more famous for it.
Another unexpected thing in Athens was the subway which was one of the best ones we had tried on this trip. We bought a twenty-four hour ticket and traveled to some random places around Athens including the port and the beach.
