czech republic: prague in the fall

I don't think you can ever spend enough time in Prague, it's an amazing city. I had a long weekend near the end of October, so I took the chance to spend time with my mom, and see more of the city. 

My flight landed at the airport, and mom was waiting for me there, as she always is. Public transport got us back to her flat, we stayed up talking for a few hours, as we always do. 

The next day we went on a day long road trip with mom's friend and the friend's son. After we came back, we had dinner at the food court in a nearby mall. The food court had a good variety of food at reasonable prices :)

Sunday morning I woke up at what I thought was 0530. When I used the computer to check email and the like, I was reminded that Europe had 'fallen back' the night before. The clocks were back on standard time for the winter season. In other words, I'd woken up at 0430, not 0530. 

I used the computer for a couple hours, (and ate a breakfast of my all time favorite yogurt - found only in Czech Republic) and left the flat just after daylight, near 0730. 

Not surprisingly, there weren't a lot of people or cars out at that hour on a Sunday morning. It was quiet, I loved it. If only I could get myself out of bed that early every time I travel, I could see so much more without other tourists in the way. 

I walked to Wenceslas square, which was mostly empty. I liked the emptiness, I could see the tile on the ground, I've never noticed the patterns before.

While walking the length of the square (more like a long rectangle,) I saw the inside of a gallery, with a beautiful ceiling. By gallery I mean building with shops, not a place where art is displayed. So pretty. 

I walked to the old town center by way of the gunpowder tower. One of these days I want to go up the tower, just because. There are a bunch of towers in Prague, offering various views of the city, it would be fun to see them all, but not in the same visit; that would be way too many tower climbs in a short time. The views are great, but not super different each time.
The streets were still mostly deserted :) I reckon during summer days there are more people around at that hour, but probably still not too many. It's so nice to walk around a beautiful city when it is just waking up. 

The lack of tourists was awesome when I got to the old city square. Much more fun to walk around when you're not avoiding tourists at every turn. Much more fun to take photos without tourists as well :)

I was able to see the astronomical clock without heaps of people, yay! There were a few tourists (most using selfie sticks) but it was still easy to take photos without them. 

I made my way through the streets to get to the Charles bridge, which was still mostly empty. Yay! I did see a couple having engagement photos taken, fun to watch for a while. Are all those photos so posed/fake? A few times they had to wait for others to get out of the shot to get the photo they wanted, their faces told me they were annoyed. I was thinking: hey, you've chosen one of the busiest places in the city, you can't expect everyone to pay attention to you.

Anywho. 

I crossed the bridge, and wandered around the area around the other end of the bridge. Then I came back. I really like walking the Charles bridge when it isn't so crowded. I imagine everyone says that. 

I walked along the river, all the way to the so called Dancing House. That was the intersection where I turned left and walked up the hill. Eventually, I got back to mom's flat. 

A few minutes later Mom's best friend from childhood arrived. (She was on the day trip with us yesterday.) After discussing who was on time and who was late, and what time it was (time change the night before,) we left the flat and started walking. 

This was a week after my birthday, and Mom had decided to take me to a nice birthday lunch. Awesome! Mom had made reservations a week before at a place she'd told me about, but I'd never seen.

The TV tower is semi close to Mom's flat, we were able to walk there easily. On one level of the tower is a restaurant, with fantastic views of the entire city. We had a lovely meal, I'd happily go back. Mom's friend had brought binoculars, we were able to see the city in great detail. 

There is also an observation level in the TV tower, which is where we went after eating. Good fun, good views. Too bad the weather was crappy. Even so, I'd happily go back. During our time in the observation deck, or during lunch, we noticed a small cemetery nearby. If we hadn't had that view (the ability to look down over an area in which there aren't other towers or ways of looking down,) I never would've seen this cemetery. 

After our meal, we decided to check out the cemetery. It turned out to be an old Jewish cemetery, which is no longer in use, but is still watched. I couldn't find it listed anywhere, but there is a sign at the entrance, caps for men to wear when they visit, and an attendant to answer questions. I thought it was beautiful. 

From the cemetery, we took public transport to the city center. Mom wanted to show me another piece of art by David Cerny. This one is Kafka's head. The head is quite large, and made of quite a few 'layers,' each of which is controlled by a computer.  The layers move differently, and allegedly never the same way twice in a row. It's fun to see the 'face' move and change. 

By that point, it was getting dark. We ducked into a nearby bookstore so I could get slightly cheaper postcards, (again pointing out that when you buy postcards in the quantity I do, every price cut makes a difference,) then took public transport back home. Dinner and dessert were at a place near Mom's flat. 

The next morning I was up early again. It's such a habit, and I don't really see a need to change it. I got going around the same time, this time heading straight for the river. I followed the river a ways until going back uphill a little, to find the entrance to an area called Vysehrad.

Way back when, Vysehrad used to be a fortress protecting this entire part of the country. Parts of it still remain, and are pretty easy to visit. I'd never heard of this area before, it was listed in Mom's guidebook to the city, and I was thrilled to find something new to see.
I entered through a big gate that had been made through the walls of the fortress. There was a ticket office, but I couldn't figure out what tickets they were selling, so I skipped the office. As soon as I was completely in the area, I saw all the trees in their autumn glory. Absolutely beautiful, bright yellow. I saw a small church just a little up the road, but it wasn't open.

I followed the road a bit, and eventually came to the entrance to the cemetery. This cemetery is crowded, and according to the signs/guidebooks/info places, full of famous people in Czech/Prague history. It was definitely crowded, with a lot of variety in the grave markers. Most of them were fairly large and ornate, but not all of them. Along the edge of the graveyard was a hall of sorts, with monuments set into the wall. I haven't seen that in a graveyard before, it was unique for me.
Also in the Vysehrad area is a big cathedral. St Peter and Paul. You have to pay to enter, which isn't common in Prague. The lady taking money wasn't thrilled with people trying to peek in through the windows, so they could see the church without paying, she kept telling them to stop. I paid the fee, though I'm still not sure it was worth it. The interior of the church was painted, but the lighting was terrible, so I couldn't see it well, let alone take decent photos.

I really liked the front doors to the church, especially the mosaics above the doors. Really pretty. The treasury area inside was also pretty fantastic. It still amazes me how much money and power used to be concentrated in the Church.
Next to the church was a park area. There were a few statues, and a few trees, but nothing else. A great area for wandering and relaxing. This park was bordered by the walls of the fortress on two sides, and both of those walls offered great views. These views were views of the city I hadn't seen before, and not usually seen on postcards or photos of the city.
Eventually I wandered back down the hill, and made my way back to the old town square, walking along the river. When I got there, I watched the 'parade' that happens when the top of the hour rolls around at the astronomical clock. After watching, I paid to go up the tower. As many times as I've been lucky enough to get to visit Prague, I've never gone up the tower.

There are a couple ways to get to the top, taking stairs and ramps, or an elevator that looks (to me) a bit like a space rocket. I chose the stairs and ramps, and I'm glad I did. As you wind your way up the ramps there are posters on the wall with information on the history of the city and clock. I didn't read all the posters, but I did read a few, especially those related to the more modern history of the clock.
When I got to the top I had to wait a minute to get out, as the entry/exit is a door that lets just one person through at a time. The viewing area at the top is not wide, I would say it's wide enough to fit 1.5 people, so there are constant backups of people. Heaps of the people up there are taking selfies, and everyone up there is taking photos. I skipped the selfies, but took heaps of photos. It was fun to see the old town roofs, and all the towers from churches and everything else around the city. Up close they look big, but not so much when far away.

Then I walked home.
The next morning was my last morning in the city. I hung out with mom for a while, then went for one last walk. Not too far from Mom's place is a national monument, complete with a statue of a guy on a horse.
To get there, I walked down a hill, then took stairs up another hill. It was a long staircase, and straight up, so I was huffing and puffing when I got to the top. This particular hill is very wooded, so I got to see another display of beautiful fall trees.
Zyzka was an important figure in Czech history, before it was Czech history. He was a general in the 14th and 15th centuries. The statue of him on top of the national monument is the 3rd largest in the world, according to wikipedia. It's big, I know that much. There is a museum up there as well, which includes the tomb of the unknown soldier, but I didn't think I had enough time to see the museum.

Plus, it was a Monday, so I'm not sure it was open. The monument used to hold the embalmed body of the first Czech president, during the communist years, He isn't there any longer, as no one thinks too much of him. (Apparently communists all over the world like to embalm the bodies of their leaders,)
As I stood up there, I looked over the other side of the hill and saw a big church nearby. I didn't know anything about the church, but I figured I would take a quick look. I wound my way down that side of the hill and got to the church. It was big, and empty of people, yahoo. The interior was beautiful, I'm glad I got to see it.

At that point I was worried about time, (though it turned out I had plenty,) so I made my way back home. Not too long after, Mom took me to the airport and I went back to Kyiv. 
Another great visit to a great city!

czech republic: a day trip to castle jablonna and around

 A week before my trip to Prague, my mom sent me a link to a castle in the Czech countryside and asked if I'd be interested in a tour. I said sure, why not? I knew the tour would be in Czech, which I don't understand, but I knew mom could translate important stuff for me.
Mom's friend from primary school and her son picked us up in Prague, taking us out of Prague. It was a really cloudy/foggy morning, which was a shame, as the trees had a rainbow of fall leaves. I wasn't able to see the trees very well, argh. The son of mom's friend is a tour guide, he was full of information about the area, I loved hearing all of it.

At one point we drive along a road many locals drive each weekend as they head out of the city to their weekend homes in the countryside. A two lane road, Carl said there are traffic problems each weekend. We didn't have much traffic, and the trees I could see along the way were beautiful. The road follows the river for a while, I saw a few people already out on kayaks :) If it hadn't been so foggy there were several places along this road that I think would've made for gorgeous photos. Next time.

Soon enough we came to our first stop. A dam, which is also a bridge. Nifty looking. Too bad the fog made photos rather difficult. The name of the dam is Slapy (pronounced sloppy.)
Our next stop should've been a viewpoint over a lake, but with the fog we couldn't see anything, so there was no stop. Argh.
At one point the road (I have no idea what roads we were on, I was just along for the ride:) went up a little, and we came out of the fog. Stunning to see the rolling countryside with the rainbow trees all around. Awesome.

Our next actual stop was when we came to the town of Jablonna. A small town. Carl parked the car, and we made our way to the castle gates. The gates were open, so we walked onto the property. Very pretty, very peaceful.
Instead of walking in the front door straightaway, (I think we were a bit early for our tour,) we walked around the castle. There was a small pond off to one side, I got really excited when I saw two black swans. I tried to get a little closer, which worked well until one of the swans didn't want me there. At all. It was funny, but scary at the same time.

The swan attacked me! It waddled toward me very quickly with the wings open a bit, and its beak trying to get me. I wasn't able to move back quickly enough, it got ahold of my pants at one point. Eeek! A bit scary, I'm glad the beak wasn't sharp.
As we continued walking around the castle, this swan followed us for a few meters. I got mom to take a selfie with me and the swan in the background, hee hee.
Behind the castle we found a statue with an inscription in German. Not super easy to read, due to the lighting, but mom, her friend, and Carl were able to translate once they figured out what was there.

We came around to the front of the castle and went through the front door. The lady who worked there greeted us, we paid the entry fee, and the tour started.
The guide explained some of the history of the castle as we walked. The original castle is several hundred years old, but has not always been in private hands.
According to the castle web site, the first mention of the castle is in 1318. There were several private owners, counts and the like. The castle was redone as a Baroque palace after count john kinsky became owner.

The history section that interested me most was during the communist years, when the Czech government used the castle as a retirement home for seniors. For around 60 years, old folks got to live in a beautiful setting. I'm not sure how many people lived in the castle when it was a retirement home, it could've been a dorm like setting, for all I know.
The current owners have done a good job of redoing the decoration in each room. They've chosen to be as authentic as possible. Each room of the castle was decorated differently. Some of the rooms are bedrooms, it is possible to stay the night in the castle as if it was a hotel. (I have no idea about prices.)
After the tour we walked down the street and found a local hole in the wall diner for lunch. I'm pretty sure everything on the menu was fried, or made of potatoes, or both. I liked my fried mushrooms :)

Back in the car, Carl driving again. Our next stop was a monastery. Not an old monastery, you could see it is new-ish just by looking at the architecture. Carl looked it up on his phone, I think it was only about ten years old. We stepped into the church and watched a couple minutes of the afternoon worship service. Lovely voices.
The views over the surrounding land from the monastery were pretty, especially with the rainbow trees. It must be awesome to go for a walk, regardless of the time of year.
From the monastery we sort of started to go back to Prague. I say sort of because we had an adventure on the way back.

Mom's friend was helping to organize a class reunion, and was trying to find members of the class to let them know about the reunion. She had a general idea of an address in a specific town and that was it. We got to that town, found the correct street, and drove slowly to look for the number. The fun part of this was that there were two systems of numbers used for addresses. One was a rural set, the other was using city incorporation. It's really confusing to drive down a street, see the numbers 4, 6, 8, and think great, the next one should be 10, and that's what we want. On this street the next number was something like 323, then 345, etc... By the time we got back to the lower numbers, it was at 14 or so; in other words, past where we wanted to be.
At one point we stopped the car and mom's friend asked people on the street where to find the number. Then she asked about the name of the lady she was looking for. The people on the street knew another family with the name, they lived on another street. The last name was very unique (an Arabic name in small town Czech Republic,) so the decision was made to drive to the other street and knock on the door of the other family, and find out if there was a connection. There was. This other family was a son and his wife, who were able to direct mom's friend back to the first street, with the correct address.
It turned out mom's friend had transposed the numbers. Ooops. Mom's friend knocked on the right door, and said hello to a lady she hadn't seen in 50 years. I can only imagine the shock I would feel if someone knocked on my door so many years later. Nevertheless, the afternoon ended with success, and the information about the reunion passed on.
Then we went back to Prague :)

greece: athens

I love to travel. It's even better when I have a reason to travel. Over this weekend, it was my birthday. That's as good a reason as any, right? It got even better when I found cheap flights to and from Athens. I'd been to Athens before, but that was in the summer of 1997, just over 18 years ago. Needless to say, it had been a while, so I didn't remember as much about the city as I should.
My flight arrived after 2230, I was able to hop on the metro train, and get into the city for 8 euro. I only had to transfer once, then came up to the surface just a few blocks from my hotel. After hearing for so long about the Greek economic crisis, I was expecting the public transport system to be a lot more run down. It was a very nice surprise to be on metro trains that seemed almost new.
I checked into the hotel just after midnight, then went to sleep. After checking email, facebook, and all that other stuff, of course. Gotta love free wifi :)

The next morning I started with the hotel breakfast, included in my rate. It was a nice spread, yay! Various forms of bread, feta cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, yogurt, eggs, cereal, milk, tea, coffee, cheese, juice, deli meat. I didn't eat everything, but it did all look good.
It was a nice sunny day, and a whole lot warmer than in kyiv. I got to wear a spaghetti strap dress, yay! I started walking toward a main street, then took a right.
I first came to a small park, more like a platz. There was a small church on one side, but it was closed and I wasn't able to enter.

I walked around the whole platz, then followed another street. I wandered through some winding streets, and ended up in an area/intersection with heaps of second hand stores. Heaps of them. You can buy just about anything in these stores. I saw furniture, old stuff, toys, etc...
Another street took me to the edge of a tourist area. I saw another small church, this one was open. Very small, but beautiful. I lit two candles as I left. One for those in my life who are having struggles, and one for the happy moments everyone has.
I didn't really know where I was at the time, but it didn't take a genius to figure out it was a tourist area. Cafes, more signage than usual, (and plenty of English,) and parking. I used a triposo to figure out where I was standing. I followed another street, which was lined with more second hand shops. The shops spilled out onto the street, along with the people who were browsing. It wasn't easy to walk forward. A mess of people. I tend to get annoyed in situations like this, argh.

This street took me to monastirki square. Lots of people wandering around, a couple fruit vendors on one side. I saw a cafe with chocolate in the window, of course I investigated. I know I'd just eaten breakfast, but I couldn't pass up the snack size portion of chocolate mousse they had available :)
On one side of the square is a small monastery (hence the name of the square,) but the door was closed, so I wondered if it was just the building exterior I should see. This was only Saturday morning, I figured I had plenty of time to find out.

I walked out another side of the platz, coming to the entrance to Hadrian's Library. When I got to the ticket office, I found two options. I could buy a single entry ticket, good for just this one sight, or I could spend 12 euro, and get a ticket good for the library as well as six other major sights around the city. I opted for the 12 euro ticket.
There isn't much left of Hadrian's Library, but there are signs at various points around the ruins, describing what was once located there, what it probably looked like, and how it worked. Of notice was a family of turtles that seemed to live in these ruins.

I saw several turtles, each about 2 feet long. They moved a lot faster than I would've thought turtles move. Practically running!
There was also a tiny little museum, mostly showing statues I presume were located around the library?
Along the way to the hill, I walked through an area full of cafes and souvenir shops. I found postcards, yay! A rather large selection of postcards, I was in shopping heaven. Shopping heaven for me, anywho. I wish all cities and countries had selections this big!

Then I made my way toward the Acropolis. This is where I get to explain a couple things about names commonly used in Athens. The Acropolis is the big hill in the middle of the city, the Parthenon is a temple on the Acropolis. Technically, the word acropolis is used to describe a big hill, more specifically the fortified area on top of that hill. The Parthenon is just one of the temples on top of the acropolis of Athens, not the entire hill. The maps are full of the names of each of the temples, but I don't remember any of them, except the Parthenon. I doubt many people do. And I'm way too lazy to look up the names.

There are a few entrances to the acropolis, each of them gated, so they can make sure you have a ticket. The maps are split into the north side of the hill, and the south side, there are ruins of interest on each side of the hill. I came up the north side, then down the south side. (I think.)
Being on top of the Acropolis means you can look out over the entire city in all directions. Back when the Greek empire was in its heyday, the view up to the hill, and down from the hill must've been amazing. As it was, I loved looking out over the city. I could see several other ruins around the city, mixed in among the chaos of the modern city.

When I got to the top of the hill, I was disappointed to see the entire front of the Parthenon covered in scaffolding. I wonder how long it will be there, and what is being done. I can't imagine the entire temple is being rebuilt, but who knows. The scaffolding made it impossible to take that iconic photo with the Parthenon behind you. Darnit.
I also stumbled upon a U.S. sailor being reenlisted at the back side of the Parthenon. Totally awesome. I waited until the ceremony was done, then said 'thank you for your service' to the sailor. It was random, but I"m glad I saw it.
Over the other side of the acropolis, I saw the Odeon, which still looks pretty impressive. Too bad you don't get to climb down into the rows of seats.
After enjoying the breeze at the top of the hill for a while, I came back down. This time I found my way to the Ancient Agora. Google gives me this definition for agora: a public open space used for assemblies and markets. There are a number of ruins in the Ancient Agora, I didn't know what all of them are.

I did recognize the Church of the Holy Apostles. The church is small, no furniture in the interior. Most of it is white, but some of the original paintings are still there. Nice colours, very pretty. 
One more thing that was very identifiable in the Ancient Agora: the temple of Hephaestus. It's still in good shape, though I don't know how much of it is original, and how much as been added in modern times. There is a small area of landscaping around the temple, including pretty flowers. Another visitor took a photo I really liked, (I could see the display screen as she took the photo,) I asked her to take the same photo with me in it :)

Then I walked out of the Ancient Agora. About ten seconds later, I realized there was an area of the agora I hadn't seen, including a big building. (How I missed it I don't know.) Fortunately, the people at the gate let me back in without tearing off another part of the ticket.
This building was the Stoa of Attalos. Another definition according to google: a stoa is a covered walkway. This stoa has been completely rebuilt, and part of it is used as a museum. I loved seeing the old statues. Every photographer (amateur or professional) wants to take a photo looking down the walkway, with all the columns on either side.

Then I walked through the another second hand market area of Athens. Backpacks and bags, clothing, toys, souvenirs, etc... I stopped to eat at a random gyro place.
I ended up back in Monastirki square, filled with even more people.
Yet another side of the square led me to a street split in two. In the middle area was a row of trees. Very pretty. This street wasn't touristy, but it was pretty. I followed this street just because I could. Eventually I walked past the Athens Central Market, housed in a big pavilion. By the time I was there it was the end of the day, so most of the stalls had been packed up.

I could smell fish, lots of fish. Because of the fish and other stuff on the ground, one of the cleanup methods is spraying the ground with water. I didn't feel like walking through so much water, so I didn't go in. I'm guessing there is normally fresh produce, meat, and more in addition to the fish.
Continuing up the street I found another platz. On one side you could catch trolleys, or just sit. I was on the lookout for food, so I didn't sit. I knew my hotel was closeby, so I was hoping to find food.
I did find food. Quite a bit actually. I guess my hotel was located in an area of the city filled with immigrants from the south asian subcontinent. I saw restaurants with Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Nepalese food. YUM. Unfortunately, I saw these restaurants after I'd stopped at another and gotten a giant greek salad, minus the olives. (I can't stand olives, I've always felt that way.) I was way too full to get more food.

I went to bed fairly early that night, there was no reason for me to stay up late.
The next morning I  started with another hotel breakfast. Have I ever mentioned how much I like eating vegetables for breakfast? Greek salad for breakfast is awesome.
After breakfast, I walked out of the hotel in the same direction I had the morning before. This time I walked further along the main street, quite a bit further. Along the way I passed another small church. It was open, but I saw a sign indicating I needed a headscarf to go in, so I simply peered in from the door.

At one point along this street I saw amazing graffiti painted on the entire side of a building. Several 'panels' of the building were painted, each had a giant painting. I don't know whether to call it graffiti or not.
I passed another church, this one was quite a bit larger. I was able to step inside and enjoy the splendor of the paintings. I liked the quiet atmosphere too, I could only see one other person in there. A Greek Orthodox Church.
Eventually I came to my first stop of the day. The Industrial Gas Museum. It's definitely not at the top of most tourist hot spots in the city, but I liked it quite a bit.

There was a sign saying the entrance fee was 1 euro, but when I tried to pay at the cash desk the security guys waved me in and said it was free. Yahoo!
The museum is a complex, not just one building. Each building is a part of what was once the central gas complex for the city. Throughout each building there are descriptions of what you can see, what used to be there, and the people who worked there.
I loved seeing all the old machinery, and making sense of the descriptions of what happened. The people who worked in this plant worked really hard. Backbreaking hard work all day every day.

My favorite part was the building with the old coal stokes. Something about the aesthetic appeal, I don't know exactly what. I'm sure the people who shoveled all the coal into the stokes didn't care one way or the other. Or even notice the aesthetic appeal.
After exiting the museum complex, I crossed the street and walked back a block. I took another, smaller street and made my way to the entrance of the Kerameikos ruins. These ruins are another sight included in the 12 euro ticket I mentioned earlier.

Most of the area of Kerameikos is dedicated to graves, and their markers. Some were quite grand, some not so much. There was a small museum, which I walked through rather quickly.
There was also an area with regular streets and the stones leftover from homes. Not much was left of course. I liked the mosaic designs you could see on some of the floors.
Another section of Kerameikos shows what is left of the old city walls. Not much, but you can see how thick they were. I also came across an olive tree, very much alive.
The day before I'd seen turtles at Hadrians library. I saw more turtles at Kerameikos. I even saw two turtles having friendly 'relations.' Definitely not something I ever thought I would see.
I exited the area, and walked back toward the city center, toward the area in which I'd started the day before. I got to monastirki square, and looked in the same cafe for another snack size chocolate mousse. No dice, darn it. This time I walked into the monastery, which seemed crowded with stuff.

This ended up being a good thing. Instead of following the same street out the other side of the square, I continued walking on the street I was just on. Pretty soon it turned into a pedestrian zone. Lined with shops and and bakeries
One such bakery jumped out at me for no reason in particular. I walked in and had to choose what I wanted. So many choices, a tummy not big enough for all of them :) I ended up choosing two desserts in a cup. YUM.
This bakery was on one corner of a small platz. In the middle of the platz was another small church. It's hard to describe properly, but I would almost say the church was a bit sunken into the middle of the platz. People sat on the walls around the church.

No pictures were allowed inside the church, darn it. Because of that restriction, everyone took a photo of the mosaic over the door at the entry of the church. Plenty of ladies posing suggestively, which didn't seem right to me. Anywho, the interior wasn't super impressive. (Or maybe I'm just a jaded traveller.)
I continued walking down the street, which soon became unpedestrianized. That's probably not the right word, but I don't know how to say it wasn't a pedestrian zone anymore. The street took me to Syntagma Square, which has a fountain in the middle. Not a big fountain, and not impressive.

The square is across the street from the Greek parliament.
Again, my words fail me in how to describe how different things are placed. To get to the parliament building you have to go up steps. At street level, sort of under the parliament, is the tomb of the unknown soldier.
I've seen a tomb of an unknown soldier in a number of different countries. All different in terms of uniforms worn, and changing of the guards ceremonies, but all the same in terms of seriousness, and honor.
I got lucky, as the time I got to the tomb was just before the ceremony. I don't think guards changed at all, maybe they switched positions. Very cool to watch.
From the tomb I followed the street down, passing a park on my way to an arch. Hadrians arch I think? It was built as a welcome for a new empower way back in the day. You can see the Acropolis behind and up from the arch.

I walked along a fence to the entrance of another 12 euro ticket sight. The temple of Zeus. That isn't the official name of the specific area, as there are more ruins than just the temple, but people mainly come for the temple. Awesome. Not many of the columns are still standing, you can see a couple that have fallen over.
After walking around the whole area, seeing all of the ruins (including what remained of a bath house,) I walked back toward the arch. I crossed the street and followed a smaller street in the general direction up the hill.

Eventually (after getting completely turned around and walking in the wrong direction for a few minutes,) I found the entrance to my last 12 euro ticket sight. The theatre of Dionysus. You do get to walk around most of the seating of this one, all except what I would call the VIP seats, in the front row. From the top of the back seats there is a decent view over part of the city. Pretty.
After the theatre I was hungry. I found a cafe, and ordered moussaka and another Greek salad. (Again without olives, disgusting as they are.) My waiter pointed me in the right direction after I finished, so I was able to walk back in the general direction of monastirki square.
To get there I had to walk down some streets lined with cafes, some of which were full, and I could hear conversations quite well. The streets felt loud to me, not at all relaxing. I wonder if all the people were locals, or tourists, or both. And I wonder if any of the cafes had any really good food.

 When I got to monastirki square, I found the metro entrance, figured out how much to pay for a ticket, then hopped onto a train. I took the train all the way to the port where people find ships/ferries.
I stopped in another bakery and bought myself more treats. I like Greek bakeries :)
My original plan was to walk around the port, enjoying the scene. It turned out to be not very exciting.
Since I'd taken the train out to the port, I didn't want to turn around and go back straightaway. I found several churches, they were beautiful, and empty. As I walked the streets, I saw very few other people. Nice to get away from the crowds for a few minutes.
After a little while I did make my way back to the train. An easy ride back to monastirki square. I walked up the tree street just as I had the day before, because I knew where I was going.

I was quite excited to get back to my hotel and see the Indian/Pakistani/Halal restaurant across the street. I'm pretty sure I was the only person not from the subcontinent in there, as I could see several looks of surprise when I walked in.
There didn't seem to be a menu, instead I was asked what I wanted. I asked for palak paneer, which they had. I ordered a sweet lassi too. My idea of heaven :) My food came with another Greek salad (this is Greece, regardless of what type of cuisine is normally served in the restaurant,) and the guy delivered a dish of briyani as well, and said it was on the house. I ate as much as I could, which was a lot. By the time I left, I felt fat and happy.

I went to sleep pretty early back in the hotel. Then I had to wake up at 0200, leave the hotel at 0230, and walk to Syntagma Square. From there I caught a bus to the airport, and made my 0530 flight easily :)