My experience abroad in Athens, Greece has been one for the books. I’ve traveled before but nothing I’ve seen can compete with the history that I saw in Athens. From the moment that we got to our hotel, we were able to see the Acropolis with the Parthenon on it. The Parthenon was one of my favorite sights to see both from our hotel and from up close. As a temple dedicated to the patron goddess of the city, Athena, it was meant to be a grand place of worship and it did not disappoint. The other temples around the city weren’t quite as amazing but they were still very impressive. The Temple of Hephaestus in the Agora and the Temple of Zeus were the two that left an impression on me. Hephaestus’s temple was in relatively good condition with the roof still intact which in of itself is remarkable and the Temple of Zeus was almost all gone with only a few huge pillars still standing. The Olympic Stadium was another sight that completely took my breath away. Since the Olympics are still going on today it was amazing to be able to connect the past with a part of our present. While in Athens we learned about the Battle of Marathon and how it was the origin for the marathon race. While the actual distance has changed since the first marathon was run it was still cool to learn that when the Olympics are in Athens the runners actually run from where the Battle of Marathon was fought to the Olympic Stadium.
Other than all of the spectacular sights that we got to see, it was very cool to be able to walk around the city and see how present day Athenians live amongst history. Something very prominent about the city is how narrow the streets and the sidewalks are. Since there are millions of people living in Athens there are a lot of buildings very close together in order to fit that many people. Oftentimes we were walking on the street instead of the sidewalks because the sidewalks couldn’t fit all of us; they could barely fit two people walking side by side. While we were walking in the streets, we noticed that there seemed to be a surprising lack of traffic laws. A lot of the cars would park up on the sidewalks, which made them even narrower, and would hardly ever stop at the few stop signs that were at the intersections. Another thing that shocked me was the lack of trash cans around the city. In America it seems like there is a trash can every 20 feet but there is still litter everywhere, but in Athens you won’t see a trash can for a long time and the city is still very clean with minimal trash on the ground. Overall this trip has surprised and delighted me and is definitely one of the best trips I’ve taken.
