Greece – it feels like real Europe. The good food, modern supermarkets, classical, old, well-kept buildings. It was nice to be here for a little while. Being in Athens was a bit like being in Rome. Everywhere you walk, you encounter some sort of ruins.
Greece is in trouble. They have quite a bit of debt to pull themselves out of, and the 23% VAT tax is one of the obvious signs of that. The other very obvious one is the protests which were just unbelievable. The first evening that I arrived there was a massive crowd that gathered directly in front of my hotel. So big that you could barely move, it covered the whole square. I ate dinner at a hotel next to mine and the view was spectacular. Not only could you see the crowds of people hovering in the square, chanting and holding signs but the view of the Acropolis was also pretty incredible. Though I certainly paid the price through my meal; cost me 55 Euros for a glass of wine, a salmon dish, water and a cup of tea! Pretty absurd if you ask me.
My room was decent. There were certainly some grumpy workers at the hotel, one in particular was great and helped me with finding everywhere I needed to go, while another appeared to not want to smile and was totally rigid and on the defense. Take some happy pills or get a new job, buddy.
Yes, in the bottom image... those are all people in Syntagma square!
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