Acropolis

  Columns on the Acropolis 
  Originally uploaded by fredwilson.

We hopped on the subways which are great in Athens and got off at the Acropolis stop. A block away was the entrance to the trail up. It was simple. Athens is an easy place to be a tourist.

The Acropolis is everything you've ever thought it would be. A tourist spot supreme for sure, but the people just blend away when you approach the majesty of the old temples on the hill.

I took dozens of photos including all the classic scenes we've all seen in postcards and magazines.

But my favorite is this shot through the columns I shot on the way back down through the Proplylaia. It captures the majesty of the place for me.

Comments

[Daniel Ha]

Way cool, Fred. How's the cuisine in Athens?

Btw, your tagline should read "Musings of a VC in Greece" to match the rest of the topical changes.

[Eric Olson]

Athens is an incredible city. Being an archeology nut I was completely engaged.

If you have a chance I highly recommend taking the overnight ferry to Santorini. It's an incredible island with every kind of beach there is (black sand, red sand, etc.). There are also a number of great minoan archaeological sites and a staggering amount of small Greek orthodox churches that make for great photos.

[Garth Walker]

I love Athens. I took a friend there a few months ago driving 10 hours from Sofia and we had a great time. I always search out a place that serves bbq'd octopus when I'm in Greece to compliment a phenomenal greek salad, and perhaps a glass of ouzo enjoyed while the sun sets against ruins. That's the good life!

I know what you mean about the crowds peetering out at the top of the acropolis especially. Its a shame, people get 3/4 of the way up then give up and turn back.

[Peter Warne]

I was in Athens a few years ago; I strolled down from the Acropolis into the Plaka, and had to sit down halfway along and catch my breath: it is amazing to realise that almost everyone who first thought in a structured way about anything had walked that same path; medicine, theatre, politics, music, geometry, geography, mathematics, poetry, dance, falling in love with your mother ... the list is pretty much endless.

[josh]

Athens is nice, but a place that lives on more in the imagination than in everyday architecture. No comparison to Rome in that regard, which is still marvelously preserved, or Turkey, which has more Greek ruins than most of Greece.