Epiphany & Lycabettus

January 6th is the Epiphany in Greece, Orthodox belief says that it was the day of the baptism of Jesus, and that this is where the day's association with water arises. The modern observance at Piraeus, the ancient port of Athens, takes the form of a priest hurling a large crucifix into the waters. Young men brave the cold and compete to retrieve it.  After the diving, local fishermen bring their boats to be blessed by the priest. These days, the cross is generally attached to a nice, safe long chain, just in case that year's crop of divers is something less than desired. 


We did not get to witness the cross search but it sounded really interesting!
So went for my first adventure in the downtown area! Took the metro, which was really neat, to Syntagma Square to look around. Kellye, Jess and Hanna came along.

That is the Parliament building in the distance and they have the changing of the guard there.

At the top was this man, who looked like Uncle Sam, standing in a very interesting position without moving at all!

When we got closer we couldn't read the words in greek, but heard people saying he was holding cards about there not being enough Jesus in Athens.

Syntagma was pretty.

Next stop: Exploring.

Dogs here are run around loose and are not owned by owners but by the government.

It is soooo strange but now i have gotten use to them. They stand so close to traffic!

You will see many pictures of dogs on here haha. Oh and they also cross with the crosswalk...

National Gardens:

After the Gardens, an old man said we looked lost and of course, we were. I showed him my little book of tips and maps and asked him what we should do next.  He sat down with us and pondered for a good 5 minutes in silence.  He told us he wanted to take us and show us around himself but he had to go eat food due to his diabetes.  He said he enjoyed standing with us because it reminded him of his daughters that live in Denmark and he misses them. It was so cute but it made me sad :(

Luckily, his idea of a good adventure might be one of my favorites this trip. Lycabettus Hill.....But first we needed some grub.

Next stop: Expresse Cafe

I ordered a greek coffee and they brought it to me in a shot glass mug haha. But i wasn't too sad, because it was really gross. Greek coffee tastes like chalky burnt dirt :/ Hey I tried to be adventurous!

Next stop: BREAD

Little did we know we would need the carbs for our hike...

Top of Lycabettus Hill!!!

Just another stray at the tip top! How did he get up here :)

And that was a long blog, but it was a long day!

Definitely, memorable.