Some suggestions of where to go and what to do during a short “city break” in Athens.
Part 3 – More eating out, another bar and Kolonaki.
Continuing the saga of a four day ‘city break’ in Athens, we need to get some rest and as many of the gay bars / clubs are closed on Mondays, we can do so without feeling guilty!
After the usual evening sleep, I head to Goody’s in the middle of town. Goody’s is the Greeks’ answer to MacDonalds, the system of ordering at one desk and walking to another to pick up your food is confusing, none of the staff speak English, but you can always point right? However, the food is good and there is enough, but it is not cheap. But if you want a good burger, you have to pay for it.
Monday is a much quieter night around Monastiraki and Psirri, I find the bar called Inoteka on the Platia Avisinias that houses the flea market. This bar is listed as “gay friendly”, but I can’t be sure, as I’m the only person there. I can say that it has an interesting decoration and is warm and cozy, maybe if someone else goes there, they can tell me. However, I can imagine spending the night there.
Moving on, I find a seat in a restaurant bar on Miaouli street near Platia Iroon, called Rebekka. Normally you cannot enter these places because they are full but it is Monday. As I sit down with a large bottle of beer (EUR3) and begin to write down my notes, there is the brightest flash of lightning I have ever seen, followed by magnificent thunder, torrential rain and hailstones for the next twenty minutes. It doesn’t matter if it’s warm and dry under this awning tarp.
Tomorrow is my last full day and I want to make the most of it, so I have an early night.
It arrives on Tuesday and another sunny day, apart from the occasional rain I have had a pleasant climate, but I need a coat and a sweater especially at night.
My plan is to visit Kerameikos, which is located on Ermou street, near Thissio station. This area used to be very run down, but is now a nice pedestrian zone, but watch out for scooters. The archaeological site are actually ancient cemeteries where the good and the great of ancient Athens were buried. I was hoping it would only take me thirty minutes to get around the site, when I got to the museum, I had stayed three hours!
Grabbing a spinach pie on the way through Monastiraki, I make my way to Ermou towards the House of Parliament. The streets are packed with shoppers as the January sales started today. Arriving at Syntagma Square, I look at the post office to see if it is still as busy and chaotic as ever. It is. (There are other less crowded post offices near Omonia Square and opposite the National Bank in Athinas Street Square).
Pausing to take a photo of one of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I continue to Kolonaki, which is the most expensive area in Athens and houses many of the foreign embassies and government buildings. Here you will find all the well-known designer stores and most have sales. There is also the usual number of street cafes where the rich, famous, beautiful and not so beautiful of Athens come to play.
It is tea place to have a coffee and so I do. At the café I chose, the menu is new and wonderfully crafted on heavy, glossy paper. The price of a cup of coffee is so close to 5 EUR that it is not worth taking the change, and if you also have something to eat, the prices are cleverly calculated to exceed 9 EUR and it is not worth taking the change . a EUR10 note! My coffee is called something like ‘espressocaccia’ and I choose it because it has more ingredients than anything else! When I leave I take the menu with me but I leave it at my hotel.
This is my last night and I am staying in town at the Euripides Hotel to reduce travel time to the airport the next day. I intend to have another early night, non-alcoholic, as I don’t travel as well as I used to.
The owner warns me that they have the worker doing some renovations, but I don’t mind because I want to get up quite early.
For lunch I head to Monastiraki and the street next to the train track where a burly Greek ‘komaki’ has already tried to sneak me in three times (sorry, I lost the card and I don’t know the name!). Having ordered and made it to the Greek salad, I realize I left my money at the hotel and take a quick walk back to look for it. The Greek salad is big enough for three, there’s half a loaf of bread, and when the meatballs arrive they are huge with rice on the side. Another case of two eating as cheap as one! I am serenaded by two Greek musicians since I am the only person in the place, I buy them a pitcher of raki and a bottle of beer. They ask me where I’m from and laugh when I say ‘Krhth’ because I’m obviously English. But of course they have relatives in Crete. I paid the bill 23 EUR, a bargain considering I couldn’t finish the whole meal, but I managed to drink the half liter of wine!
Walking back to the hotel, I pass Aleko hoping it’s open for a drink, it’s closed, so I decide to go back to the hotel for an early night.
Now I don’t know about you, but when I pass a bar that is playing Boney M that gives way to Village People, my interest is piqued. Well, it’s still early and a Metaxa and Cola will be fine. The bar is called Cosmopolis and it is located on the corner of Agatharchou and an unnamed street quite close to the hotel. I walk in and sit at the bar, it’s full and the bartender is serving a big round. For a Greek it seems tall and I think maybe the floor behind the bar is raised, standing up, I check it, but no, it really is that high, and it’s an absolute dream, to see work, that is, what else did you do ? Do you think that could mean? Now he’s pouring a round of tequila shots, I look around the bar as I wait, the bartender slaps my shoulder and shoves a shot at me and then points to a crowd of late-20s Greek men behind me. Obviously this is a celebration of some kind and being a person who never refuses to drink I clink glasses with everyone before gulping down on one.
I order my Metaxa and Coca-Cola, the waiter seems a bit puzzled and has to open three doors of the refrigerator before finding the Coca-Cola, the Metaxa is huge! They hand me the drink along with a big glass of water, strange? It’s hot in here, the music and the atmosphere of the place are contagious and one thing for sure is NOT a gay bar, but I can drink anywhere.
As I sip my drink and enjoy the music, I look at the bartender and realize that none of the liquor, which seems to be the only thing they sell, has a mixer. Even huge gin glasses come straight out! But why not? Everyone has a large glass of water that is frequently refilled, no wonder the waiter seemed puzzled when I asked for Coca-Cola, he couldn’t remember where it was! Of course after another drink the rot had settled and it was 3am before I went to bed, but with drinks that size and only 5 euros each, who am I to complain? As always, it’s the unplanned events that tend to be the best.
I was woken up the next day at 9am by the sound of hammering and drilling, it seems the workers started at 7am and are in awe that I could still sleep.
Breakfast is included in the price of my room, 25 per night, and I need something solid. I go up to the seventh floor and the first thing I do is raise the thermostat on the water boiler. (Remember I have stayed here before!). Breakfast here is a “Dutch” breakfast with juice, cereals, cold cuts, cheeses, croissants, fresh and dried fruit, jam and bread. A new addition is a toaster, which is very welcome, as Greek bread is usually very dry and toasting it makes it edible. While I’m making toast, the kettle is already working and I can make a decent cup of tea, don’t even think about trying the coffee here!
I go back to my room, to find that the builders have already removed the doors, luckily I packed my bag before leaving last night!
Bringing my luggage back to the Monastiraki metro station, about 600 meters away, is a hard-headed challenge, but I manage and soon am speeding on my way to the airport. Thirty-five minutes and a 6 EUR round-trip ticket allows me to get back to the airport in plenty of time for my flight back to Crete, and as the plane takes off I think about whether I could really live in Athens and stay sane.