A short tour of Greece. Part I. Athens
INTRODUCTION
Greetings to respected lovers of tourism after such a long break, caused either by a lack of inspiration, or by banal laziness. My last report was devoted to a 4-day trip to Tallinn in October-November 2014, then (at the beginning of 2015) I also wanted to write a report about Kaliningrad: my wife and I really liked this city. Moreover, I even wrote about 80% of it, but then I somehow began to lazily continue, and I decided to give up on this matter. Well, now I see no point in resuming this report, because. Most likely most of the information in it is no longer relevant. In the same 2015, we rested in the Spanish city of Salou. I didn't really like the city itself, to be honest, but in general the trip turned out to be quite good. we drove around Spain in a rented car to the route Salou - Valencia - Madrid - Santander - (the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, if anyone looks at the map) - Salou with an overnight stay in each of the cities visited. And for the first time in my life I swam in the Atlantic Ocean (it is cold there, however, an infection).
Next in 2016-2018 we went to Crete in the summer, and to Riga and Vilnius in the winter, but so much has been written and rewritten about these places, incl. and by myself, that it just didn't make sense. Although no, I’m lying: from 2017 to 2018 we celebrated in Brussels, where we flew via Amsterdam, and then got by train. We also traveled from there to Ghent and Bruges, and also wanted to go to neighboring Luxembourg, but somehow it didn’t work out. Perhaps it would have been worth writing about this trip then, but something was not in the mood. Well, okay, I propose to proceed directly to the topic. By the way, someone may ask, why did I suddenly decide to write a report about a country about which so much has already been written? I will answer: a lot, but mostly about especially popular places (Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, etc. ), but this time we were less popular, but despite this, in pretty good places where you rarely meet a compatriot, and it's no secret that many of our compatriots love just such places (he himself is a sinner). By the way, we rested from 08/11/19 to 08/27/19.
HOW TO READ THE REPORT
If anyone remembers my style, my reports are divided into chapters for ease of reading, each of which has its own title. This is to make it easier to find the information you need and skip the unnecessary. And, of course, the report will contain jargon (including those invented by myself, but seemingly intuitive) to one degree or another, maybe more, maybe less - that's how it will turn out. If this annoys someone, you have the right to interrupt reading this report at any time, no one puts a knife to your throat and does not force you to read the report, after all, people are adults, you understand. And then there are curious cases: someone starts squealing like a pig about the jargon found almost at the very end of the review. One asks: why did you torture yourself like that, if it was so unpleasant to read it? Or was it still pleasant, but ashamed to admit it to yourself? : ) In general, criticism of the style is not accepted, but possible amendments, comments, clarifications on the essence of the report, on the contrary, are welcome. Okay, enough lyrics. For those readers who are not afraid of the above features of the report, I suggest that you finally start reading it.
OUR ROUTE
I will not go into details where to book rooming houses and air tickets, as well as buy medical insurance without leaving your home (office), the tourist went already experienced, he knows everything very well, but if someone suddenly has questions, then ask , I will answer. In general, our main places of visit were the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Kefalonia (it is also called Kefalinia, but the Greeks themselves call it Κ ε φ α λ ο ν ι ? - with an emphasis, as you can see, on the last syllable). There are no direct flights from Moscow to Kefalonia, and it’s somehow not very convenient to fly with a transfer, so we decided that “we’ll go the other way, ” as that bald horseradish once said, whose carcass is still kept in a shed on Krasnaya squares for the amusement of the public. In general, we decided to take tickets to Athens and back. We also considered tickets to Patras (from there it would be closer to get to our rooming house in Kurut - there is such a village in the west of the Peloponnese), but the prices for tickets there were much higher than in Athens, besides, tickets there were only inconvenient for us dates.
So we decided to do the following. 08/11/19 we fly to Athens, spend the day there (and there, by the way, the beaches are quite large and very good, only getting to them from the center is not very convenient, especially in this particular period, but more on that south), we spend the night, and on the morning of 08/12/19 we go to Patras by train with a transfer to a bus (I will also tell you more about this further south). We spend 2 days in Patras - 08/12-13/19, meanwhile visiting local sights and looking for a suitable car for rent. Then on 08/14/19 we go to Kuruta, we rest there until 08/19/19, going around interesting places in the Peloponnese, then on the morning of the 19th we return to Patras, rent a car and from there we already get by ferry to the Kefalonian port of Sami (Σ? μ η ).
The place near the port, I must say, is not the most interesting, there are no good and at the same time easily accessible beaches, so we expected to stay there until the 23rd, taking a car for a couple of days in between (this is quite enough for such a small island) and see the island, and then go by bus to the city of Lassi, which is not far from Argostoli, the capital of Kefalonia. Well, already on the 27th we are going from Argostoli to Athens by bus with loading onto the ferry. Such a move will take almost a whole day, but it will be cheaper than getting from Kefalonia to Athens by plane. By the way, for the same reason, we decided to spend part of the time in Kefalonia in Sami and part in Lassi, because. very expensive lodging houses in Lassi. And we were lucky enough to find a relatively cheap one.
Day 1, Sunday 8/11/19
ARRIVAL TO ATHENS
Departure from Moscow
We flew by Aeroflot (departed from Sharik, but returned to Domik). I was lucky enough to buy one ticket there for miles (bank bonus program), so I saved about 8 mowers (or about 20% of the total airfare). We flew without any special adventures.
Approaching Athens
We got from the airport to the rooming house by metro.
Athens Metro
Tickets from and to the airport now cost a chirp, although back in late 2012 - early 2013. such a ticket for one cost 8 Jews (hereinafter, the price will be indicated in this currency, unless otherwise specified), for two - 14, and for three - 18. Now there are no such discounts, the ticket costs a chirp, and each passenger is obliged have a separate ticket. You can also get to the city by train, with the same ticket and from the same platform, but locals prefer the metro, because. it, they say, is more convenient and seems to be faster in time. The train runs about once an hour, the metro about 2 times more often.
SOMETHING ABOUT PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN ATHENS
In Athens, there are different types of tickets that can be bought at metro stations from cashiers or from vending machines. By the way, the same machines are available at some public transport stops. You can pay for tickets both in cash and by card, and “communicate” with the machine in one of several languages, including Russian. In the same machine, you can check how many trips are left on the ticket by inserting it into a special “pocket” and selecting the appropriate request. A ticket for one trip with the possibility of transfers costs 1.40, for 2 - 2.70, for 5 - 6.50. This ticket is valid for 90 minutes. There are also tickets for a day, but we were not interested in either them or their cost.
Returning to tickets for 1.2 or 5 trips, 2 features should be noted. The first one is announced at metro stations: each passenger must have a separate ticket, i. е. buying a ticket for 2 or 5 trips and using it for one trip for each will not work. One local taxi driver told me about another feature: within 90 minutes of the validity of the ticket, you can make one or more transfers, but at the same time it is forbidden to change on the same ticket for the same type of transport going in the opposite direction. That is, say, it is impossible to get to a store by some kind of land transport, stock up there, and then return home by land transport going in the opposite direction, otherwise you can run into a showdown with local controllers.
By the way, I’ll note that I personally have never seen controllers in Athens, but this certainly does not mean that they are not found there. And in the metro at all (or almost all) stations, turnstiles were installed, which were not there at the beginning of 2013. When exiting the metro, you also need to put your ticket on the turnstile to open it. You can, of course, try to just follow someone, but usually these turnstiles are watched by a hefty cop with a club, who in such a case is likely to intervene. And almost all metro stations (or even without “almost”) have elevators for passengers with disabilities, children and heavy suitcases.
SOCRATES HOTEL 3*
Hotel entrance
Nochlezhka is located right next to the railway station, about 100 meters from the metro station Larissa Station (red line). An ordinary, modest, quiet hotel with fairly spacious rooms, as they say, cheap and cheerful (51.50 per night with all fees, breakfast included). We were asked to pay for the rooming house immediately upon check-in. The room has a small refrigerator, an air conditioner, a free-key chest (the lock, however, is one of those that open with chewing gum, and you must leave a deposit of two chirps for the key, which is safely returned upon departure in exchange for a key), a TV hung on the wall .
HYUNDAI Flat-Wall Zombie
There is also such a cool little thing as a rotary telephone, stylized in the old days. At first I thought it was just antediluvian, but then it would be used, and it looked just like new.
Antediluvian phone
Also in the room, on the wall next to the dressing table, there is a hairdryer, and quite modern, even with a “cold” button.
A cool hair dryer with a "cold" button
SANITATION IN THE ROOM
Plumbing is far from the newest, but it seems to work properly and does not leak where it should not. For ablution, there is a shower cabin (rather small, I must say) with sliding plastic doors. The showerhead on our arrival was located so that the water from it flowed onto the same wall to which it was attached. I tried to fix it, but on the first try I didn't succeed. However, then I decided to make more effort, and the problem was solved.
OUR TRIP TO THE BEACH
As I remembered from our previous trip, the beach could be reached by tram from Syndagma Square. However, there was an announcement that the tram lines were being repaired and trams only go to the metro station Σ Τ . Ν Ε Ο Σ Κ Ο Σ Μ Ο Σ . Further - more: I understand that the trams to this station do not go from Sindagma, but from the beach! To drag on the subway, from which we don’t drag at all (such a pun turned out), we had something in the scrap, so we decided to get there as white people - by taxi, which cost us 8. There, at a local kiosk, we bought 2 mats : one ordinary for a triple, the other for a two-piece. Rather, the latter is not even a mat, but something like an oilcloth, shuttle bags-trunks are sewn from such material. It is thinner, but more flexible and durable, and more comfortable to wear.
What is a beach without beer? In the same kiosk, they bought a local non-filter - Alfa Weiss (two-piece for a can of 0.5 liters). Moreover, the jar is made quite interestingly: the drawing there is applied upside down, but since it is also customary to store cans with this beer upside down (which is indicated by the corresponding icon on the can), then, if you do not look closely, it seems that the cans are stored in the usual position. The beach there is good: sand with small pebbles, the water is quite warm and pleasant, everything is clean and civilized. There are paid sun loungers with umbrellas (prices were not interested). We went back on the tram to Σ Τ . Ν Ε Ο Σ Κ Ο Σ Μ Ο Σ like herring in a barrel (there were plenty of people returning from the beach), then by metro.
DINNER IN ATHENS
After the beach, we decided that it would be nice to have dinner in one of the restaurants. Looking for something new from decent places was scrap, so we went to a proven place - one of the restaurants near the Acropolis, where our friend waiter Zhorik (Γ ι ρ γ ο ς ) once worked. Zhorik, however, no longer works there (or maybe it was just a day off that day), but the restaurant seems to be decent (I still can’t remember the name), although it’s far from the cheapest. They took lamb ribs (π α? δ? κ ι α , 15), lamb kebab (σ ο υ β λ κ ι α ρ ν , 14), dolma (ν τ ο λ μ α δ κ ι α , 6), some kind of dessert (5) and a liter of red wine (14, which is expensive for local wine) .
Day 2, Monday, 8/12/19
TRIP TO PATRA
The train from Athens to Patras runs every hour. At the time of our stay, it departed every hour at 36 minutes (5:36.6:36… last at 19:36), but the schedule can change at any time, so it's best to check it at website (in the same place, by the way, you can find ticket prices), however, only in Greek and English. It should also be noted that the train itself does not go to Patras, but to Chiato (Κ ι? τ ο ), where you need to change to a bus already to Patras. The transfer is simple: you go down from the platform to the passage (there is an elevator for those who find it difficult to climb stairs), and immediately at the exit from the passage there is a bus with the inscription "Π Α Τ Ρ Α ". The total travel time is from 3 to 4 hours and depends on the difference between the arrival of the train in Kyato and the departure of the bus to Patras (the train itself from Athens to Kyato takes 1 hour 20 minutes), and this difference can be 10 minutes or 1 hour 10 minutes .
But if the train is suddenly delayed for some reason, the bus does not depart until it arrives. And if a certain seat is not assigned to the passenger in the train (who gets what), then the passenger’s seat on the bus is written on the ticket. The ticket also contains the train number and bus number with the corresponding departure time. The buses are comfortable, air-conditioned, not some kind of cattle trucks. By the way, it is forbidden to drink and eat in local buses (and not only in Bukhara). Probably to better keep the bus clean. A ticket for the train + bus costs 17 from the nose. And finally, info for hares: controllers go on trains, at least they walked on ours.
Tickets are also checked when boarding the bus and later during the journey. Also, those who wish to get off the bus along its route, before reaching Patras. There was another incident: when the train arrived at the platform, one girl came to its edge and managed to drop the phone on the rails. Apparently, she did not leave on this train, since the train was already arriving and there was no way to get the phone. The workers said they would get the cell phone when the train left. Not only did she obviously hang at the station for an hour, but also xs, how to deal with a ticket in this case, because it indicates the time. However, I think that in this case it will be possible to change it at the checkout.
(what happened between the events described above and below, read in separate chapters of the review)
Day 16, Tuesday 8/27/19
DEPARTURE
In the morning, a taxi driver arrived and took us to the bus station, for which he tore off without two chirps, and not 6, as John prophesied. It was necessary, of course, to demand a check from him, but oh well, let's consider that I was generous with a good tip. At 11:00 a comfortable bus approached, and at 12 a. m. we were already at the port, where all the passengers boarded the ferry, where the bus itself then entered. At 12:30 the ferry departed. It was the ferry of the same company Levante Ferries, on which we moved from Patras to Sami, though a little different in its internal configuration. But the ferry is quite comfortable, there were enough comfortable seats in front of the TV (as well as in front of the bar), there even seemed to be some kind of room with video games. Sailed almost 2 hours, a little less. We mostly sat in front of the TV, and I took a walk on the ferry from time to time, so that my legs would not get numb, well, so that it would not be so boring. You won’t particularly drink beer there, because. then we had to travel another 3.5 hours by bus to Athens, albeit with sanitary stops.
In general, at about 19:00 we were already at the bus station of Athens, which is rather poorly located in terms of public transport: there is no metro nearby. Therefore, many prefer to leave from there by taxi, customers and taxi drivers even line up with each other. We did the same: we should have taken a pressure gauge with wheels from the Socrates bunkhouse. The taxi driver announced a chirp for the trip, and then it seemed to me that it was too fucked up, so I politely asked him for a check, which he also kindly provided me with. The check was about 8.50, and the taxi driver gave me some Jewish change. Then I took a pressure gauge with wheels, and we first decided to go somewhere to eat. But since the time was already around 19:30, we had to leave this idea, because. it was time to go to the airport.
About an hour later we got there by metro, and since we registered for the flight in advance, we just needed to get the pastalons. To get them in the machine, you had to scan your passport, and you also had to figure out how to do it. The machine turned out to be some kind of buggy and instead of pastalons gave us ribbons that needed to be glued to the luggage. It's good that another machine turned out to be normal and gave us pastals. Thus, we didn’t have to stand in line for check-in - we just checked in our luggage at the automatic reception (by sticking stickers on our luggage on our own and scanning them with special devices) and went to the bar to have something to eat and drink.
The bars were all closing at that time, but we managed to find more open ones. They took there for 6.50 some kind of shrimp salad (complete crap), and beer at 2.60 for 0.33 liters, which, however, is not very expensive for an airport. After that, we went to the search, and then to the passport control. And it was a complete well... : a lot of people, but few open windows. However, the passenger will not be allowed to be late for the flight: if the departure of a flight is already close, airport employees begin to call everyone who is going to fly this flight and see them out of the queue. We were also treated like this, and we even had time left to visit the local dutik, where I bought whiskey (0.2 l) for 8 (this is with a discount) to make the flight more fun.
And if we flew to Athens with Aeroflot, then back with Aegean Airlines, with Greek-speaking flight attendants, which I really like. Among the drinks that these same stewardesses served were not only meaningless ones. At the request of my wife, as well as a passenger sitting on the other side of me, I ordered three portions of red wine in Greek, and we were given it in small bottles (0.187 ml) with glasses. Then we treated our neighbor with whiskey once more. And then they discussed with a neighbor who rested where, shared their impressions and plans for future trips. It turned out that she and her husband also vacationed in Kefalonia, but, unlike us, they immediately bought Moscow-Kefalonia-Moscow tickets with a transfer in Athens, however, their transfer was quite long.
In general, the flight turned out to be quite fun and flew by quite quickly. The only pity is that the plane landed in Domik, and not in Sharik, which would have been much more convenient for us: we would have gotten home faster and cheaper.
CONCLUSION
Well, this is how we ended up with a tour - peculiar, but quite interesting. The pros are that we visited a lot of places, and the cons are the frequent moves associated with packing / unpacking things and moving that eats up time. But overall we enjoyed the trip. To all other tourism lovers, we also wish you pleasant travels!
