We would, and probably will, stay here again. In earlier stays it was the ancient city that captivated us. And it’s still here, of course. Look past the buildings in Monistiraki Square at the end of our block and there it is - the Acropolis, this time without the snow that covered it in February.
But now we’re chiefly enjoying spending time in the cosmopolitan modern city And it looks a great deal healthier than it did ten years ago. Prices have gone up but people are spending money - tourists but also locals. A few beggars, as there are in any large city, and we spot one or two men sleeping rough, but the broken windows and crumbling structures are not in evidence.
Unemployment figures are far better than they were ten years ago as well. In 2013 unemployment reached over 27% while by February of this year it was at 11.4%.
Unemployed citizens of Greece can get free Athens transportation cards, good on the metro and buses. Makes sense as it’s not easy to look for work if transport money has to come out of the food budget.
The Athens transport photo card also gives half price transportation to seniors - and not only Greek residents. Anyone 65 or over who presents a passport can have their photo taken and be issued a card on the spot. (While true, this does significantly understate the amount of cussed determination required. Much googling had elicited the information that these cards were available at the Athens airport bus depot. An inaccuracy that has persisted online for at least five years. No, no - in the city. Although no real cause for complaint as the nice girl at the airport metro station sold us half price tickets to get us to the city. Where in the city? “Some” metro stations. A great deal more googling elicits the information that Syntagma is the nearest of said stations. So to Syntagma, where repeat inquiries and a forty-five minute queue result, finally, in success. We are now the proud possessors of plastic Athena photo cards enabling half price travel and good for the next ten years. Assuming we ourselves are good for the next ten years).
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