Athens and the unexpected Volcano in Iceland: Chapter 1

 

The plan was to be back in Amsterdam this evening. To arrive home, to unpack, to open a bottle of Auzo and sweets from Athens, to invite friends and to tell how great it all was, and how beautiful the Acropolis is, and how we could see it from our hotel and... how we can still see it at this very moment.

We tried to escape from Athens as soon as we heard that our flight was canceled. We booked a flight to Vienna and hoped to take the train from there. 15 hours. Who cares? It supposed to be an adventure. In the Taxi on the way to the airport I saw myself eating dinner in Vienna, (I could even see the cake).

And now? 

At the gate, after the security check, when everything was panic-ally packed into the suitcase, they told us politely that the Vienna airport was also close due to the eruption of the volcano in Iceland. We stood there in shock. We thought we were smart, able to take back some control of our life (after the Amsterdam flight was canceled), and here we are, back in position A, stranded in Athens till... some say 48 hours, but we heard already that the ashes from the eruption will affect flights in Europe for the next coming 6 month.

I can't really recall a similar event in my life where I got stuck somewhere (physically) and couldn't make a move. Of course I have plenty of events in which I couldn't change my situation from one reason or another and the answer was also to surrender as soon as possible. In the here and now I can't really complain. We went back to our lovely hotel where they were more then happy to receive us into our beautiful old room. So meanwhile we are stuck in the unknown. And since the future is not there to tell weather we flew back on Monday or not, and in the present I'm just writing this blog while my partner is having a glass of Vodka Martini, I can only talk about the past. For example the Acropolis hill which is right behind me, lighten up and giving it's beautiful shadow to this city for over 5000 years, is so impressive. 

Of course I'm impressed how old everything is and how detailed the museums are, but what stroke me the most in Athens are the dogs. On every corer there is a dog. They are sleeping on the pedestrians during the day and when it is getting cooler in the nights they are standing up. No body disturbs them and everybody is passing them by, with respect. Each dog seem to have a corner of it's liking even if it is on the most busiest and noisiest street. Here are some examples:

Doggi position number one really special

 Doggi position number two

 Close-up of Doggi position number two (notice the cigarette - maybe it was too much)

 Doggi position number three (yummy cool nice marble)

By the way these photos were taken in the Acropolis area, so these ain't no simple street dogs.

As you can see I'm highly impressed by the dogs. There are other things in Athens which I like but i keep it for the "to be continue part".

Adio

Comments

[Riktam]

Hi Sambodhi. Sounds a great place to be stuck! Love your doggie pictures. What is the name of the hotel with the view of the Acropolis? I am going to Athens in October.