A Farewell View (Athens Day #5)

As Kee-Min mentioned in a recent post, we’d arrived in Athens with tentative plans to see all the Acropolis sites, take in a number of museums, and get away for at least one day-trip out of the city.  But now, we were on our final day in the city, and despite having been turned away from numerous sites and museums thanks to holidays and inaccurate guidebook/website information (see here and here), we were enamored with the city. 

We loved exploring the twisty, multiply-named side streets, even when our ability to read Greek failed us and left us lost briefly disoriented.  We felt welcomed in the city, starting with Tony's enthusiastic welcome and dinner that first night at the Ugly Duckling.  Everywhere we went, people were kind, welcoming, and happy to help us - and just about everyone spoke excellent English.  We'd fallen for Athens, for Greece, and for the Greeks - and we didn't want to leave.

But we had a plane ticket, and there were murmurings about impending airline strikes in Italy, so it was time to say our goodbyes to Athens.  Our flight was scheduled for 6 PM, so we needed to leave for the airport in the early afternoon - giving us one more morning to fill.

One thing we'd been putting off all week had been a trip up to the highest point in the city - Lykavitos Hill.  We’d actually spotted this lookout point from the Acropolis (also a hill, but not as high) on our first day:

Don't mind the haze. That was pretty much normal for Athens.

If you look closely in the picture, you’ll see a series of switchbacks winding their way up the hill.  Now, I’m a member of the Fleet Feet/Salomon Endurance Trail Running Team (meet us here, if you're on Facebook), so…if you put a hill in front of me, I’m going to want to run up it.  I’m also my father’s daughter, so…if you advertise the top of that hill as a scenic lookout, I’m a goner.  And I'm going.  To the top.  No matter what.


My first choice would have been to use the climb as part of a hill workout.  In fact, I was itchy to break out my sneakers and explore the twisty, hilly residential sections of Athens.  But although I’d recovered from the double bug attack, my aerobic system wasn’t anywhere near 100% on the athletic front.  So Kee-Min nixed a run, but we figured that a walk/hike would be OK.

So first thing Thursday morning, we headed for the subway station - although we were super close to the Acropolis, the base of Lykavitos was about 2 miles away.  But when we reached the subway stop near our hotel - at 10 AM on a weekday morning - we found it closed off by a metal gate, locked up tightly.  Ditto for the next station down the road.  We also noticed an unusually large number of people crowded at the bus stops, and heavy car traffic on the roads.  Whoops - Metro Workers' Strike. Welcome to Greece!!

We did a quick recalculation and plan adjustment, then set off on foot for Lykavitos Hill.  We knew we wouldn't have time to walk there, hike up and down, and walk back, though - so we decided to take the funicular to the top of the hill. 

Simply put, a funicular is a tram system used for transportation up and down a hill.  Usually, it has one car on each end of a cable, and the cars counter-balance each other as they run up and down the hill, sometimes with a few stops along the way.  Smart use of physics + "fun" in the name = I couldn't be too disappointed about missing the walk.  Plus, we'd already rode one in Japan, and I was excited to add to my funicular repertoire.

The approach to the funicular station still required some climbing, of these steps that a built right into the hill between buildings, like a sidewalk (this was all over in Athens - it's a hilly place!):

This is going back down. Obviously, at this point, we were going UP.

When we arrived at the funicular station, I was disappointed to discover that the funicular was underground/undercover.  We weren't going to get to watch the scenery go by - we'd be sequestered in a little tunnel the whole time. Boo!  But, it was too late to turn back, so we purchased our tickets and hopped on board:

Funicular car.

Kee-Min is ready to go!

The ride to the top took approximately 3 minutes, and looked pretty much like this:

I told you it was dark!

As we pulled into the station at the top, we were greeted by this sign:

"Lycabettus" is "Lykavitos". Thanks to an older and newer alphabet,
the Greeks often have 2 spellings for the same word.  Extra exciting.

OK, so 277 meters isn't much (Mt. Doom back in New Zealand was nearly 2,000 meters and lacked a funicular) - but it was sufficient to afford us a great look-out spot.  The day was a bit hazy, which compromised the view and photo taking somewhat - but it was still pretty magnificent:

On a super clear day, you can see out to the sea.  On this particular day, you can kind of squint and catch a few glimpses of it, out in the distance:

The space for scenic over-looking was pretty limited, and I suspect it gets tight up here in the summertime.  But on this particular day, we had the place to ourselves.  Man, it was cold up there (temp dropped a solid 10-15 deg. F from bottom to top), and super windy. Like, "couldn't set the camera up on the tripod" windy, so we had to make do with a shot from arm's length:

In fact, I think I was using both arms to hold the camera steady.

There's also a chapel up there from the 1800s, the Chapel of St. George.  I have no idea what the place is used for today, but it certainly has a special spot at the top of the city!

Small and, on this particular day, rather chilly. But there was still an elderly
caretaker keeping an eye on the place and making sure the candles were lit.

There are also a cafe and restaurant at the top of the hill. Again, I suspect these are pretty popular in the summer (the last funicular leaves the top at 3 AM), but when we stopped in for some coffee, there were only 2 other guests there.  We warmed up, took in more of the view, then headed back down the funicular.  We decided to stroll back to our hotel to take in the sites of Athens one more time.  As we walked along streets that had grown incredibly familiar in just four days, I spied something I had to try.  A yogurt shop.

Fresko Yogurt Bar sits along one of the main tourist drags in Athens. You know the kind - a street (in this case, Dionysiou Areopagitou, Fresko is #3) that runs adjacent to the main attractions, lined with souvenir shops and restaurants whose representatives stand outside and try to lure welcome the tourists in.  We'd walked the stretch many times, but never stopped - until I spotted this place.  We ducked in (thankful, no one was outside soliciting for them, or we might have walked right past), not quite sure what to expect. Well, we were not disappointed.

It is, indeed, a yogurt bar.  You start by choosing your yogurt (they offer Traditional, Low Fat, and Goat's Milk), which is served up from large pots, so thick it is literally scraped into the serving cups.  Then, you select your topping(s), from fresh fruit to nuts to chocolate to traditional Greek "spoon sweets" (preserved fruits in thick, sweet syrup).  After much deliberation and discussion with the super friendly and helpful gentleman who was manning the counter, I opted for a traditional honey and walnut combination. Kee-Min said he'd just share mine, but when I excused myself to use the restroom, I returned to find him paying for his own...

Spoon sweets on the left, honey+walnuts on the right.  Deliciousness all around.

I think the 15 minute walk back to the hotel while eating this yogurt might have been my favorite walk of the entire trip.  And it left me with just one single thought: Fresko, can you please open a branch wherever I settle next?