Human Time Warp

I slept in a bit and tried to take it easy to rest my sore legs/ankle. Unfortunately I ended up walking much farther than planned. The 2.5 hour walking tour I wanted to do was canceled as I was the only one interested and she needed 4 people minimum. In wandering around on my own I got "lost" because the hostel map has about 1/10 of the street names in the area. Unable to navigate well meant I ended up on the far NW side of the city before I could find a street name on the map. I opted to sit for a couple hours and eat lunch once I found the hostel again. I did a bit of planning for the next few days before heading out to the brand new Acropolis Museum. It's quite amazing.

The layout is a series of rectangles piled on top of each other at skewed angles comprising 3 floors of marble pieces from the Parthenon on the Acropolis. The building is almost entirely glass. Even large sections of the floor are glass to reveal the excavated sites of the areas along the slopes of the Acropolis. That was probably the coolest feature.

Looking down at the older cities below was fascinating. Made me think about all the
different civilizations and ages of history that existed before I walked across it at that moment. Seeing history displayed in this way made me ponder in a very new way what it means to be human and to exist over time. How generations and eras follow one after another and each group of people makes their own way in life and leaves their own marks upon the Earth that others will uncover and marvel at. How does it fit into the framework of life to consider that some of these people lived around 600 BC? Now place that along with the belief that God is in existence throughout this entire span. Let your brain simmer and ache over that for a while!

No photography is allowed in the museum. To commemorate my time there I picked up a pack of postcards that sort of tell the story of what I saw inside. They really don't do justice to it, but it's the best they offer. From the museum I walked through the National Gardens. They weren't as lush as I'm used to, but it is winter here still. All over there were orange trees and 3 large fountains. It was right around 5pm and the daylight was just right for enjoying and photographing the gardens. My favorite part was this long trellis covered walkway that opened into a walkway of palm trees.

From the gardens I meandered the streets for a bit before dinner. I wandered by a shop where the owner stepped out and asked why I walked along so quietly and slowly. After chatting I learned that he had spent time in Minneapolis with friends and recently met them here in Greece. He was able to suggest a good restaurant to me and naturally showed me around the shop. Inside were exquisite looking, colorful glass pieces that were most tempting to buy. I will definitely be returning to potentially purchase something that hopefully won't break in my luggage.

This hostel has a sister building with apartments and an attached sports bar. I checked out the bar where they were televising a futbol game at 8pm (if only I'd known they meant 8pm London time from where the game was being broadcast). It was just about 7:30pm so I grabbed a Mythos beer and chilled for a bit. Shortly after a young woman joined me. We had a great time chatting. Frances is 19 from a small town outside York, UK. She gave me some great tips on things to see and places to stop once I reach the UK. She is taking 2 months to travel around Greece, Italy, Portugal among other places before enrolling in university (what Americans call college) to get her degree in classical studies. This year is time to relax a bit, get some perspective and travel. Very similar to me. All in all, a great way to end the evening.