Life in Athens

I'm very happy with the deal I've got with the boss here at Easy hostel. The pay could always be better but I couldn't ask for better hours. Each day I open the bar at 7pm. Some days it runs till midnight, other days I have to kick people out to make room for the breakfast crowd. The best part however, is that every day I get all day to spend doing whatever I want. On days with good weather I go to the beach and when it's a bit cooler I can go out sightseeing. Over the weekend and during the past couple of days I experienced all of these.

I kicked off my sightseeing with another American bloke called Seth. One day when we woke up we decided to go check out what this big green patch was on the hostel map. It was called Lycabetus Hill. The night before I'd heard that from the top you could look down on all of Athens including the Acropolis, the first Olympic stadium and a vast sea of white buildings. They were right. It was beautiful up there. The weather wasn't the best but this didn't detract from the view which was easily come by given the flatter topography of the region.

A couple of days later after Seth had left, I visited the National Archeological Museum. Since Greek Easter is celebrated longer than my morning shower, the sight was free of charge like everything else. The preserved articles here were indeed very impressive and reflected aspects of traditional Greek pottery, jewelry, weaponry and sculpture work. Furthermore, the museum contained many pieces of interest to me personally considering I'd studied ancient Greece in some detail back at school.

Speaking of history, yesterday I spent the day at what could arguable be known as the icon of Greek history, the Acropolis.

To be honest, I was really waiting to visit the Acropolis on the first Sunday of May when all sights are free and a walking tour is held through the hostel visiting all of them with a guide but I just couldn't wait. It looked so good from the top of Lycabetus hill and I certainly didn't regret the climb up to see it. Once again, the weather wasn't anything special on this day but I could imagine how great it would look on sunset. Nevertheless, I will have another chance to visit it on the walking tour later.

It has indeed been an enjoyable couple of days but yesterday on my way back from the Acropolis I was reminded that not everyone is out to make your stay enjoyable. I was standing at the counter inside a favourite roasted chicken place of mine waiting for my food when I thought I felt my pocket move. I looked down and nothing had happened. I dismissed it as me thinking too much about the security of my wallet. After all, I do have a tendancy to think that my wallet is moving in my pocket when I think about it too much. So, after a quick check I looked back up at my chips cooking in the deep fryer. Almost right away, I felt the same thing happen again so I looked down to see two fingers in my pocket! The owner of the hand was wearing a suit and was with a woman who was using her purse to cover my pocket. Once I'd made sure he was going for my wallet, I shoved him away and took a couple of paces back from the counter shaking my head in disbelief and disgust. These two scum were quick to leave the store before I made too much of a fuss. Still shocked at what just happened, the man behind the counter handed me my meal. "Your chicken sir".