Getting A Little Warmer

As many of you may have seen on the news today, Athens had quite a day.  The first Pan-Hellenic strike under the new coalition government led to massive protests in the streets.  This protest has been planned for weeks and we all knew it would happen.  It was however, meant to be peaceful.  The articles on the New York Times website show pictures of police on fire, citizens hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails, and people running away from tear gas.  While the protest did get ugly for about ten minutes, the news outlets are overreacting a bit.  99.9% of the 50,000 lining Syntagma Square were peaceful and organized groups of people.  So for any of you worried about me or Greece, we're both fine.

I live about five minutes away from the Greek Parliament, where the protests happened.  We walked past the area in the morning and saw the thousands of people.  Around 1:00 it got a little ugly.  We were watching the live feed online as we saw a militant group of people throwing Molotov cocktails towards police and lighting a tent on fire.  The police responded quickly by throwing tear gas and arresting over 100 people.  After it looked like it was winding down, Aaron, Adam, and I decided to check it out a bit closer.

We walked through the National Gardens where police were stationed every ten feet or so.  Most of the shops in the area were boarded up for the day.  As soon as we got close to the main square the tear gas hit us.  Our eyes burned and watered and our throats became soar.  We took a back way around to the square to avoid the gas and arrived at Parliament around 3:30.  Everyone had dispersed but signs of the riot were everywhere.  Tear gas in the air, garbage burned on the street, litter everywhere, all shops closed up.  It was a bit eerie.  We took a shaky video on Adam's phone to show the situation.  We uploaded it to CNN and they featured it on their iReport.  Adam is holding the camera, I'm narrating.  Here's the link:
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-849029

Don't worry about me though, we made sure the square was safe before going there.  Here's a few pics from the day:

Walking towards the square

Burned trash at Syntagma

Plenty of cops riding through the park.

Where The Gods Once Stood

Γεια σας!

Hard to believe I've already been in Europe for over a month.  Time sure does fly.

Week recap begins....

Now.


When I left off last Sunday, I was hoping for a Vikings win.  Unfortunately that never happened, but all the guys in the group had a fun time watching the game anyways.  Today's matchup against the Niners doesn't look too promising.

Monday
-Classes resumed as normal.  They've all been really interesting and engaging.  This week we actually have to start doing some homework so we'll see how that goes.
-We found a new grocery store down the road that sells frozen pizzas for 33 cents.  Dinner just got a lot cheaper.
-Carl, Josh, and I started doing the Insanity Workout.  It's a daily video workout routine that lasts about 45 minutes.  Let me tell you, it's intense.  We do it in our living room and we have to mop the floor every night from the buckets of sweat lost.  It's rough but it's nice to get back into a workout routine.

Tuesday
-After classes a large group of us went to Plaka and Monistriaki Squares in Athens to go shopping.  We all bought authentic Greek shirts.  The girls in the group may think they are tacky, but they are super comfy.
-Josh, Sean, and I went into a guitar shop to see if we could play some of the instruments.  After a month without a guitar, my fingers were itching to play.  The manager there was super nice and gave us a lesson on bouzoukis- traditional Greek stringed instruments.  He cut us a deal on a smaller one and I had to buy it.  Afterwords, he took us upstairs to see where they hand make the instruments.  A really cool experience, here's a picture of my new toy:

Wednesday
-We had another art history class at the National Archaeology Museum.  We spent all morning looking at sculpture while our professor told us the significance of the pieces.
-We had a guys night that night and watched the movie "300."
-Adam tried to bake a dessert in the apartment we were in and almost burned the place down.  Hilarity ensued as 7 guys with towels tried to fan the smoke out of the kitchen.

Thursday
-It was Paloma's 21st birthday so we went out around the town to celebrate.  We couldn't go too far, though, because all public transportation was on strike.

Friday
-This weekend we had a class field trip to the Peloponnese.  The Peloponnese is the large peninsula just off of the Greek mainland close to Athens.  It is one of the oldest parts of Greece and is filled with mountains and rich farming valleys.  Our art history teacher Anne came with us on the trip to lecture us on the different sites we were seeing.  Here's a map of all the stops:

A. Athens, where we departed from
B. Mycenae, one of the oldest cities in Europe and seat of the first Greek empire
C. Epidaurus, a holy site in the classical age, complete with a well preserved theater
D. Nauplion, the first capital of Greece and beautiful coastal town
E. Olympia, home of the Olympic games for a thousand years



-Our first stop was the ancient palace Mycenae.  The Myceneans ruled Greece from about 1500 to 1200 B.C., and this palace was made in that period.  I couldn't believe I was walking in a city built almost 3000 years before our country was founded.  And I though the Mayan ruins in Mexico were old!  Mycenae was also the home of Agamemnon, the King of the Greeks in the Trojan War, if the stories are true.  We got to see his throne room and the bathroom where his wife supposedly murdered him.  We also got to examine the Myceneans giant tombs below the earth.  They were enormous beehive structures where we got to walk around.
-After lunch we headed to the classical city of Epidaurus.  Epidaurus was prominent from about 500 B.C. on.  We walked around the theater there which still in great condition and is used today.  We also explored the area and found temples, hotels, and monuments.
-That night we stayed in Nauplion, a modern city on the coast.  Nauplion is fairly small, and we had a great time watching the sunset and exploring its little shops.  After dinner we got the most amazing gelato and sat along the water with fellow Greeks.  I ran across a group of children playing soccer in the city square.  I asked if I could play with them, and they accepted.  They blew me out of the water but I did manage an assist.  Booyah.

Saturday
-We got up early to go down the road to Tiryns, another ancient Mycenean city.  The city again was impressive, with great massive walls.
-We drove through the mountains and arrived at Olympia in the afternoon.  After having lunch in the small town, we went to the ancient site and explored.  The original Greek Olympics started here in the 700's B.C. and went all the way until the 4th Century A.D.  After exploring the gymnasium, palaestra, and temples, we made our way to the stadium to have a race.  The entire class lined up at the starting line and sprinted to other end, about 175 meters.  I'm proud to say that I took a respectable fifth in the race.  Thankfully we didn't run the race naked, as was the ancient custom.
-We checked into our nice hotel in Olympia that night.  We ate at the hotel by the pool and then walked into town for dessert.

Sunday
-We went back to Olympia to finish walking around the site and visit the museum.
-Finally got back to our home in Athens around seven.

Next weekend we are heading to the island of Santorini, should be fun!

Here's some pics from the weekend, enjoy!

Dan

Grave circles at Mycenae

The bathroom where King Agamemnon was killed

Exploring the sewers under the city

Carl and I at the gate of Mycenae

Underground tomb

Acting out at the theater of Epidaurus

Theater at Epidaurus

Theater at Epidaurus

Nauplion

Sunset over Nauplion

Eating gelato at Nauplion

Ancient ruins at Tiryns

Entering the Olympic stadium

The original track used

Aaron after his Olympic win

Our hotel in Olympia

Temple of Hera at Olympia

A Slightly Better Chance of Survival

"A green light in Athens doesn't mean go.  It just means you have a slightly better chance of survival."
                                                                                                                              -My History Prof

Our history Prof Robert Pitt told us that on the first day of class, and boy is it true.  The streets of Athens are crazy to say the least.  The weird thing is that since everyone is an equally crazy driver, there aren't really that many car accidents.  I don't get it, but I am getting better at reading the roads to know when to cross.  Athenians get the gold medal in jaywalking.  Anyways, here's a wrap up of the week.

After my last blog post last Sunday, I was able to watch the Vikings beat the Jags in overtime through a sketchy website.  It wasn't pretty, but a 1-0 start is pretty sweet.  Taking on the Colts tonight, Go Vikes.

I've also started to plan my travel for the week break I have in between the Athens and Rome programs.  So far I have a flight from Athens to Munich and from Prague to Rome booked.  I'll probably spend 2-3 days in both Munich and Prague.

Monday
-Our Greek Culture class spent the morning walking though famous parts of Athens and then taking a tour of Parliament.  It was a really cool experience, even though we had to wake up early to catch the bus.  We were given a lesson in Greek politics while sitting in the seats of the 300 delegates that make up the legislature.  I think the four other political science majors and I enjoyed this a lot more than everyone else.
-Along with the other classes that started last week, we also started Art History and Ancient History.  Both seem to be interesting and the profs seem very knowledgable.
-As I mentioned last week, I picked up a bad cold.  Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were the worst of the days.  I spent a lot of my down time napping.

Tuesday
-For our Study Abroad Seminar on Music, we are doing a project where everyone picks and presents 3 songs that represent them.  I presented on this day.  My 3 songs were: "Death Letter" by Son House, "Heroes and Villains" by The Beach Boys, and "Fake Empire" by The National.

Wednesday
-On Wednesdays, our Art History course is spent on field trips looking at the actual art.  Today we went to the National Archaeological Museum.  Our professor, Anne Stewart guided us through different sculptures and what they meant to the people who built them.  Our school ID gets us into most museums for free, so that's a plus.
-We invited one of the girls apartments to cook dinner with us.  We spent the afternoon at the grocery store buying chicken and other things for dinner.  We had a fun time cooking and hanging out, and the food actually turned out pretty good.

Thursday
-Thursday is a rough day for classes.  We are essentially in class straight from 9 to 6:30, with little breaks in between.
-For Ancient History, we walked through the city along where the ancient wall of Athens once stood.  We climbed one of the old hills and our professor lectured us on the topography of the city.
-One of our professors was able to get free tickets to a play, "The Wanderings of Odysseus."  The whole group went.  The play was put on by Stanford University, so it was mostly in English.  It was an interesting play, but very long.

Friday
-We got up early to go to Pireaus to catch a ferry to the island of Aegina.  Aegina is a fairly large island only about an hour and a half away.  Here's a map:

-The boat ride was fairly smooth and we got to the island around noon.  We checked into a nice little hotel right along the sea.
-After checking in, we went and had lunch at a nice little restaurant right along the coast.  It was one of the best meals we've ever had.  The food, the atmosphere, the people were all spectacular.  After lunch, about half the group and I took taxis to the South of the island to a private beach.  We payed a little extra to get in, but it was worth it.  We spent all day at the beach swimming, napping, making sandcastles, and hanging out.  Definitely a highlight of the trip thus far.
-After getting back into town, we walked along the port and admired all the fancy boats and little shops along the harbor.  We ended up eating waffles and crepes at small cafe while watching some European soccer.

Saturday
-After breakfast we got on a bus that took us to the other side of the island, to the Temple of Aphaia.  Aphaia is a temple dating back to 490 B.C. that is still mostly intact.
-After returning from Aphaia, we went back to the same restaurant as the day before.  Taverna Avra if any of you are planning to travel to Aegina.
-We also explored to ruins of the Temple of Apollo.  This one wasn't really standing anymore, but it was cool to explore the ruins of the temple and the surrounding city.
-Our ferry back to Athens left at 4:30, right when a major storm hit the harbor.  We were delayed a bit because the boat couldn't get to the dock.  It was a rocky ride back, but luckily I didn't get sick.
-We finally got back to our apartment that night.  We all gathered in one apartment to listen to the Johnnie Tommie game on the radio.  The Johnnies couldn't quite pull it off, but it was fun nonetheless.

Sunday
-Today is the first time I've seen rain all trip.  It didn't even rain in London, where rain is expected.  I haven't even seen a cloud in the sky here in Athens until today.  It's been raining off and on all day.
-We got up early to go to a Greek Orthodox mass.  We are required to go for our Theology class.  It was a really interesting experience.  The mass started at 8:30, and we got there about 15 minutes early.  The priests were already there doing chants and psalms.  The people filed in slowly, and the church really wasn't full until 9:30.  The mass lasted about 2 and a half hours.  Makes you appreciate how fast Catholic mass is.  The entire mass was either sung or chanted by 3 different priests.  Those guys had some pipes.  Overall a really interesting experience, one that is not easily described.


Next weekend we are traveling to the Peloponnese, a large peninsula where some of Greece's most ancient history lies.  We will be exploring Olympia, Nafplion, and Mycenae.

Sadly, as many of you have heard, the NHL is officially in a lockout as of last night.  I know I'm supposed to be studying and enjoying my time over here and not worrying about things back home, but c'mon Bettman.  Three lockouts under your tenure?  That's not how you run a sport.  I guess I have to become a T-wolves fan now.


Here's some pics from the weekend, enjoy!

Dan

Riding the ferry to Aegina

The harbor at Aegina

Lunch along the coast

Launching people into the sunset.

Launching Sean.

The Temple of Aphaia 

The ruins of the Temple of Apollo

Contemplating the ruins.

Trying to board the ship through the flood waters.

Right In The Thick Of It

A little over a week here and I'm already beginning to feel like a local Athenian.  It's a really interesting city, like nothing I've really experienced before.  My friend Carl describes the area as a cross between a typical European city and Mexico City.  You definitely feel like you are in Europe, but a twisted, quirkier version of it.  Also, a much friendlier version of it.  Coming here, I was surprised to find that Athens has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, less than most U.S. cities.  Everyone we've encountered has been super nice and helpful.  We've even gotten on a first name basis with Mohammed at the local gyro shop.  

Anyways, here's the wrap-up for the week.  This week was officially the first week of classes, but only about half of our classes actually started.  Our Art History and Ancient History professors had conflicts last week, so we will start those classes this week.  We started the week with Greek Language and Culture.  Most of the class struggled through learning the Greek alphabet and the phonetic sounds.  Luckily, my ancient Greek training and practice over the summer prepared me for all of this.  Eastern Theology is a basic review of the Greek Orthodox church and its origins.  We also started our study abroad seminar, which focusses on music and its effect on culture.  

Here's just some highlights from the week:

Monday

-Woke up early to start classes.  After lunch I went to the National Gardens to do some reading for class.

Tuesday

-The whole college of CYA (30 students from SJU, plus about 70 other students from across the country) gathered to listen the president of CYA speak.  After we had a Greek dancing lesson and a social with all the students.  Some of us in the group had a good time in a local "pirate themed" bar.

Wednesday

-Due to some classes starting the next week, we ended up having the whole day off.  The whole group took the tram down to Glyfaldas Beach and spent the afternoon there.  

Sean and I at the beach.

-That night the whole group went out to a tavern dinner, paid for by the school.  We were treated to a four course meal that was truly delicious.  All the Greek food has been really good.  Lots of pork and chicken, cheese, and baked goods.

Thursday

-Classes were cut a bit short so that the whole school could walk to the U.S. Embassy.  We registered ourselves and got a talk from the Consulate and Ambassador about living in Greece.

-We were all bussed to the President of CYA's house for a barbeque dinner.  He had a really nice yard for it and we got to mingle with other CYA students.

Friday

-We don't have class on Fridays, so we decided to organize our own trip to Meteora.  Meteora is a small community in the mountains of Northern Greece, next to the town of Kalabaka.  About 5 hours from Athens.

-There were about 23 of us who went on the trip, so we rented a bus for the weekend.  We left around 9 on Friday morning and got to Meteora around 3.  Meteora is a collection of Greek monasteries that are situated on top of steep mountains.  We visited one monastery and one convent the first day.  Both were really cool to see.  We had to hike up many steps to get there, but we were greeted with great views and intricate architecture and art.  These monasteries date back to the 14th Century.  We also found out that they were used in the James Bond film, "You Only Live Twice."  

-That night we hung out in the town of Kalabaka.  It was a nice quiet mountain town, and it reminded me of something you would find in Colorado.  We stayed in a nice hotel overlooking the mountains.

Saturday

-We woke early and had breakfast at the hotel before going to visit more monasteries.  We saw two on Saturday, making four total.  All were similar, but each had different unique features.  The chapels were very intricate with Byzantine art decorating every square inch.  We had a lot of fun at the last monastery, Holy Trinity, because of how open it was.  We were able to wander the cliffs on our own and we had a fun time exploring.  Overall we visited Great Meteoro, St. Stefanos, Varlaam, and Holy Trinity Monasteries.

-We left Meteora in the afternoon and took the bus back to Athens.  We celebrated our friend Erik's birthday that night and had a great time.

Sunday

-Had an easy day doing homework and laundry.  I've been battling a cold the last few days so I've been trying to get lots of sleep.

This week will be full with classes and such.  We are planning on going to the island of Aegina this weekend.  I'll try to blog again after that.

Here's some pictures from the weekend trip to Meteora:

Looking out over Varlaam

Walking up to Great Meteoro

Aaron looking out over the edge

The convent at St. Stefanos

Finishing the day off with a beer at Kalabaka

The view from our hotel balcony

Looking out over Varlaam

Climbing the cliffs

From the top of Holy Trinity, looking out over the town.

Climbing up to the monastery 

Youtube Channel

Here's a link to my Youtube Channel.  I put up some videos from London and Paris as well as a tour of our apartment.

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCqdRDZM7IleREjM8_MRZgg?feature=watch

The Start of the Athenian Adventure

It's only been about four days since my last post, but it feels closer to two weeks.  I am currently sitting in my apartment in Athens and have been here the last few days.  But let's back up just a bit.  Last time I wrote, I was checking out of our hotel in Paris, so let's start there.

Wednesday
-If you recall, we checked out of our hotel at 11, but our flight wasn't until 10 that night.  Josh and I sat around in the lobby for about three hours to kill time, then went to a park bench for a few more hours to do the same.  The day was not exciting at all, just counting down hours until the next big thing.
-We took the train to the airport early.  We both almost got pick pocketed on the train.  It was crowded, and a young man was standing right next to both of us.  I wasn't really paying attention, but I noticed my pocket move slightly and then I saw the man's thumb slide into it.  So I put my hands in my pockets and we shared an awkward look.  He got off on the next stop.  In hindsight I should have just let him rob me, all I had in my pocket was a worn out Paris map.
-Got to the airport early and waited around until we could board our plane.  We flew Aegean Airlines and it went really smooth.  We even got a decent in-flight meal.  Finally touched down in Athens around 2 in the morning.
-We weren't allowed to check into our apartment at school until around nine, so we had seven more hours to kill.  We spent the first hour waiting at the baggage claim, until a security guard told us to move along.  Then we went to a waiting area in another room.  It was a long night and neither of us slept.

Thursday
-We took a bus to get into the city.  Unfortunately we got off two stops too early, with no way to get back on.  We also had no map.  Josh was a little frustrated and wanted to take a cab.  I remained positive.  I looked at where the sun was, decided that was east, and walked in the opposite direction.  We trudged all our luggage through the hot Greek sun for over an hour, but we eventually found the school.
-After checking in at school, we got to our apartment and crashed.  We had been up for about 30 straight hours.
-In the late afternoon we explored our surrounding area an bought groceries for dinner.  I then met up with a lot of people from our program and we went out to a Greek restaurant.

Friday
-Friday began our orientation at the college.  We went on a neighborhood tour with staff to show us the best places to eat.  We had a brief welcome and information session by CYA administrators.
-The main part of the day and night was spent on a field trip to Sounion, the southernmost tip of the Attican peninsula and about a hour and a half drive.
-We left the city around 2:00 on a bus.  The drive there was beautiful, lots of mountains and coastline.
-We stopped about halfway there at a beach and spent the whole afternoon swimming.  It was a nice break from all the hustle of the previous days.  The water was extra clear and very warm.  Spent a few hours swimming and then walked around the shoreline to check out the fishing docks.

Swimming along the Greek Coast.  With Josh, Aaron, Carl, and Sean

-We then headed Sounion and got there around seven.  On the top of the hill is the ancient temple of
Poseidon looking out over the sea.  We spent a few hours exploring the ruins and watching the sunset from on top of the mountain.

The Temple of Poseidon

Looking out over the coast.

Sunset from Sounion

-After the sun went down we stayed on the mountain to enjoy the Blue Moon music festival.  We sat on the hill and listened to authentic Greek music.  The festival was packed with people.  Even when we left around 11, there were still people trying to get in.

Saturday
-We spent all Saturday afternoon on a scavenger hunt throughout Athens.  I was in a group of five people, and we had a lot of fun going around the famous areas of the city.  We checked out some cool markets and met some really nice Greek people.  Our favorite was a 90 year old woman who sat outside a shop and loved us.  She made us take a bunch of pictures with her.
-Found a really good cheap place to get gyros.  Will definitely be going back.
-The whole group hung out Saturday night and eventually went out downtown.  We had a really fun time dancing at a Greek club.

Sunday
-Had a lazy Sunday.  Got back with my scavenger hunt group to finish off a few items.  We ended up spending the whole afternoon in a coffee shop just talking.  Eventually made it back to the apartment.
-Getting ready for my first day of classes tomorrow.



Stray Athens Observations:
-Our apartment in Athens is very nice.  Not too big, not too small.  I'll be putting up a video of the whole place so you can see it.
-The area of Athens we are in is called Pangrati.  It's definitely not the nicest part of town, and you can tell the recent crisis has really hit the area hard.  However, the people here are really great.
-Our neighborhood sits in the shadow of Kalimarmaro, the giant marble stadium from the first modern Olympics in 1896.
-There are stray cats and dogs everywhere in the city.  Some of them are cuter than others.
-So far haven't seen any riots.  Not that I'm looking for them....
-Classes start tomorrow.  I'm taking Greek History, Greek Language, Art History, Eastern Church Theology, and a Seminar on Music.
-So far the group has been getting along really well.  We were all happy to see that the Johnnies beat Northwestern on Saturday.


-I'm putting together a Youtube channel for my trip.  I took some videos in London and Paris that I'll post, as well as any future videos.  I'll put up the link as soon as I have it.



Until next time,
Dan