Filopapou Sunday eye-opener

Last bright and sunny Sunday I took my dog and set off with a friend for a walk around Pnyx Hill. I had walked around Filopapou several times but had never taken this particular path, so when I saw the view (pictured above) I was stunned! There were Lycabettus Hill and the Acropolis right next to each other, separated by a cypress tree. (As for the woman in the distance, she was apparently picking 'horta' for her lunch!)

TECHNOPOLIS towers

Technopolis is especially cool at night when it's lit up with blues, reds, greens and other neons. I especially love the red towers that from a distance look like papier mache because of the way they're lit but are actually brown brick. AA

PIREUS, poetry

On the horizon
I see the boats
Centering in the light
Before darkness
Illuminates the night.
As knowledge of blind people
Goes with the wind
And the touch of the grass
So often forgotten
By ancient warriors like Achilles,
Says Homer
For war and fighting
Makes men blind
But blindness of another kind
Close to the rubbish heaps
Of history.

As gentle the landscape appears
The ancient thought and wisdom
Speaks of times
When men did not listen
But ran the ships to the ground
Even though they had found
Once a long time ago
There the protection they needed
Against burning arrows.
It was the Oracle of Delphi
that saved the citizens of Athens
And yet at first they did not go willingly
For the felt to leave the city behind
Was but an act of betrayal
For which they stoned to death
The wives and children
Of the leaders who had decided
To accept that interpretation
To be safe behind wooden boards
Meant to be on ships
And not at home
So as to escape the burning arrows
And Marx added to this story
The further going thought,
Indeed the city was destroyed by the Persians
But not the memories of the people
By which they rebuild the city
And helped it achieve
Something standing out in time,
So then Pireus is that close to Athens
As is wisdom of survival
To knowing what to see and to interpret
In time to listen to words of wisdom.

Hatto Fischer 6.1.2007

THISSEIO Bella & Bobby

Bella (PICTURED L), with her amazing eyes - one brown, one blue. She is the 'sister' of Bobby, and they are inseparable! Both are savvy and street-cool but also sweethearts and most of Thisseio adored them. They are together all day long playing with the other dogs and Thisseio is their playground. Everyone loves Bobby & Bella, who are not strays, by the way, they go home every night after enjoying a day of freedom and fun! AA

THISSEIO Bridge

I love walking on this bridge morning and night - when you get to the end of it you get the lovely view of Kerameikos ancient cemetary right across you (well a little further up to the R), Gazi or Technopolis across Pireos Ave (L) and Lycabettus hill (R). At night it's even more stunning with all the glittering lights. I often just stand and stare!

THISSEIO, Eptahalkou St

On Eptahalkou St (which leads down to Pireos avenue) there stands Agios Athanasios Kourkoulis, a tiny little church with ancient roots. It's always closed, so I've never been inside...This picture was taken at Christmas time, hence the zig-zag of golden lights below it.