Firstly, we have to say a really heartfelt thank you for continuing to read our blog – we were notified this week that it has been viewed over 5000 times and because of that we are now rated as number 9 in the top 15 feedspot ( the viewing counter company) Airbnb blogs! We are genuinely gob-smacked!
https://blog.feedspot.com/airbnb_blogs/
When we decided to spend an extra month in Athens there was a ‘light’ lockdown here. Masks were mandatory in all public places and there was a 12 midnight till 5 am street curfew in place. Unfortunately, although still relatively low, the infection rate here is still rising and so on the 7th November, the Greek government announced stricter lockdown conditions for all the country. Now, all bars, restaurants and tourist attractions are permanently closed and the night time street curfew has been extended to 9 pm until 5 am. Anyone wanting to leave their accommodation during the day must first get permission to do so via a text messaging service. You have to dial a number that gives you the permitted options to be on the street, exercise, shopping, work etc. This must be shown to the police if you are stopped, failure to have the SMS permission on your phone results in a €300 fine. All restrictions are in place until 30th November and will be reviewed again after that date.
Of course, we fully understand the rationale behind this decision and support it completely. It has meant though, that we are now only managing to see more of the city by combining sightseeing with our permitted exercise regime. Luckily, the location of our current accommodation makes it possible for us to walk quite easily to several places of interest whilst responsibly adhering to the rules which is the daily routine that we have now adopted. There is no time restriction on the exercise allowance so we are spending one or two hours most days out of the apartment, walking or jogging along the streets and through the parks. Much of Athens is similar to an open-air museum and during our daily exercise, we find ourselves constantly coming across archaeological sites, ancient ruins and statues in the most random of settings.
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For the remainder of our time, we are very grateful to have our veranda and its amazing views that we never tire of. We are more than happy to sit here enjoying the late autumn sunshine. There are definitely far worse places than this to be during a city lockdown!
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| A view from our veranda of The Parthenon by night |
The Panathenaic Olympic stadium
Just a 15-minute walk from our apartment brings you to the magnificent Panathenaic Stadium (Panathinaiko Stadion – Stadium of all the Athenians) or, as the Greeks call it – ‘Kallimarmaro’ (Beautiful marble). This stadium is the only one in the world made entirely of marble and is built on the site of an ancient stadium that is thought to have stood there in 338BC. In Roman times the stadium was updated into a horseshoe shape and the marble audience seating area was added which was popular in those days. As time passed the stadium became less popular and fell into disrepair with much of its marble being taken and used in the building of houses in the surrounding areas.
Fast forward to 1870 and 1875 when the Zappeian Olympiads exhibitions took place in the Panathenaic stadium, these events were to promote Greece, its culture and its products and the celebrations included a games event. This is now seen as the first attempt to bring back the Olympic games and during the Olympic conference in Paris during 1890, it was decided that the Olympic games should be revived in 1896 with Greece hosting the first event in The Panathenaic stadium. The mammoth task of rebuilding the stadium in preparation for the event was largely financed by the businessman and philanthropist Georgios Averoff whose statue still stands proudly at the entrance of the stadium. The modern Olympic Games had been born, fourteen countries and 241 athletes participated and the event was a great success.
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| A view from the top walls of the Panathenaic stadium |
Since then the impressive stadium with its 60,000 seat capacity has been used regularly for music and athletic events and was last brought to life as an Olympic stadium when Greece hosted the games in 2004. The stadium is now one of the most visited attractions of Athens. During our visit, due to covid restrictions entry was not allowed so we had to make do with viewing from the street but in normal times there is an entry fee of €5 which allows you to walk around the stadium or even run the track if you have the energy – There is also a small museum with items from past games on display.
In my opinion, a visit to see this remarkable historic stadium should be high on your ‘must-do’ list if you ever get to visit Athens. It is very easy to find, directly opposite the National gardens and still attracts and inspires athletes of all levels. We are very amateur runners and were thrilled to have the opportunity to be able to run around the top walls of the stadium which are used daily by local runners.
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| A run around the top walls of the Panathenaic stadium |
As always, thank you for taking the time to stop by and take a peek into where we are and what we are up to – we really appreciate it!
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Another great post! The stadium has held several rock concerts including: Depeche Mode, The Stranglers, Culture Club, The Cure, Talk Talk, Nina Hagen, and The Clash.. All from our era, too! 😉