Traveling with Chookie: The Past Two Months: Greece Part 2 [Delphi, Chalkida and Athens]

Continued from previous post...

Our day in Delphi was so cool. Although it was Thanksgiving, and I was missing celebrating my favorite holiday with the funniest people I know (shoutout to the Katz, Perry and Fisch families), I was very grateful to be in such a unique and historical place. Delphi’s town was adorable and quaint, which I really appreciated. It felt very friendly and warm, even though it was quite cold out. Our day in Delphi was spent at the Oracle, which was fascinating. Everything I have ever learned about Greek history and mythology began to come to life. Although most of the statues and buildings from the Oracle were either stolen or destroyed or taken to the museum for preservation, I was really able to imagine what the oracle was like while active. People from all around the world traveled far and wide to visit the Oracle; it was a melting pot. [Sidenote: I especially loved the kittens that followed our group around the Oracle. SO freakin’ cute!] After exploring the Oracle with our tour guide, we went to the Museum of Delphi and got to see what was removed from the oracle for preservation/all the artifacts found there during excavations. What stood out most for me was the Sphinx statue. It’s huge! I wonder how long it must’ve taken to make it, and how the Greeks were able to place it on top of a tall column without advanced technology! The whole museum was really cool and gave me a lot of insight into the daily lives of the Greek people that visited the sacred place.

After we ate lunch, we had yet another long bus ride to Chalkida, which is the capitol of the Island Evia. The Jewish community in this city is the only one in Europe that has been living in the same city for 2500 years without interruption. We visited the synagogue there, which was rebuilt in 1846 after a fire destroyed the previous one. During the Holocaust, only 22 out of the 327 Jewish members of the community perished because most of them were hidden by Christian neighbors. Additionally, the local head of the Greek Orthodox Church there hid all the holy items from the synagogue in his church. Although the Jewish community is now diminishing, it is clear how Greek and integrated the Jews were into the Chalkis community. We also visited the Jewish cemetery there. It was really interesting to see because all the tombstones were the same, without any markings. The highlight of this visit was that the cemetery was covered in turtles!!!!!! As an animal lover, I was very excited to see so many turtles; they were sooooo cute. Overall, we didn’t do much in Chalkida but I really enjoyed our quick visit there; it is a quaint and beautiful city on the water, with a gorgeous view.

That afternoon, we made way to the bus and after yet another long bus ride, we had finally arrived in our final destination: Athens. We arrived at our hotel, and were given time to get ready for Shabbat. We had Shabbat services at the Beth Shalom Synagogue and then went to the Athens Chabad Gostijo Restaurant for dinner, which was Thanksgiving “themed” (“themed” because the only thing Thanksgiving-like things were some cranberry sauce and a turkey decoration on the table) for us Americans who missed out on the yummiest holiday of the year. We got to meet the Chief Rabbi of Greece, Rabbi Gabriel Negrin, who is only 27 years old—crazy!!! The young and quite stylish rabbi—he seriously dressed like a JCREW model—was awesome and I really enjoyed hearing his story. The following day, after services and lunch, was mostly a free day, so Maya and I took our cameras and went exploring in the art-covered streets of Athens. Greece is known to have graffiti as a huge part of its culture, and this was very apparent in the city of Athens. Every street had some sort of incredible graffiti art, so I wanted to take advantage of my free time to explore it. We walked through an area of cobblestoned streets and I was fascinated by how colorful the area was. All the graffiti represented some sort of message, and I had a lot of fun figuring out what everything meant. We spent about 3 hours taking photos of the streets and then returned to the hotel before it got dark out. That night, after a beautiful havdala on the roof of our hotel with Rabbi Negrin, I, along with around 10 other people, went to a sick vegan/vegetarian restaurant called Avocado. It was recommended by the New York Times so, as a foodie who reads every review before eating at a restaurant, knew I had to go there (thank you Yali for finding it #yaliisbae). The food was one of the best I’ve had since I left America, so I was a very happy eater. Dinner was followed by some drinks at the bar of our hotel and then a good night sleep, in order to prep for our visit to the Acropolis the following morning. The next morning, we left at around 10am to the Acropolis Museum, which was truly amazing. I got such a grand view of Ancient Greek history and learned a lot about the Parthenon and the Acropolis as a whole. There were hundreds and hundreds of statues and artifacts that were all found on the Acropolis. I really enjoyed this museum and wish I could’ve spent more time there! After we walked through the museum with our guide, we made way to the Acropolis, where I got to see the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena and a magnificent view of Athens. Like I said about the Oracle, everything I have ever learned about ancient Greek history felt so real while standing atop what were once the most sacred temple grounds. To be honest, as massive as the Parthenon is, I was a bit underwhelmed probably because there was so much scaffolding that I felt was a serious eye-sore. Had the scaffolding not been there, maybe I would’ve felt differently but I expected to be in awe and was left pretty emotionless. Regardless, the view was absolutely incredible and the Temple of Athena was really beautiful. I’m happy that the Acropolis is where we ended our long trip because not only was it a place that provoked thought, but it also left me with a great memory of Athens.

Overall, I loved Greece so much. Each city in Greece had something very unique to offer in terms of beauty, culture, history, and food. The country is really diverse and I would love to go back if I get the chance in the future.