Greetings from Athens - Russian Ukrainian Belarus Travel Music Woman Dating News

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Greetings from Athens
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Posted by: Raspberry

This is the second attempt at doing this, OK....but hello from Athens.

This is the first time in a while that I have done an international trip that doesn't involve the FSU. But there was a reunion of sorts going on, and I promised my family I would make it out.

For starters, due to the cancellations/delays caused by the Chicago tornado, I ended up having to change planes in Vancouver, Chicago, Washington DC, AND Frankfurt.

Secondly, there have been these forest fires going on in various parts of the country. The largest one is in the path of where I would take the train or bus going to the small town I need to be.

So far, this is the second day of cancellations of train and bus service. If this continues, it kind of defeats the purpose of being here. Still, I am making the most of this trip, just relaxing, doing something mindless, and enjoying it.

Posted by: Chrismc

What a nightmare Raspberry, you probably chose the worst time to go you could have in years. A lot of problems with the fires in Greece at the moment, but goodluck and I hope the busses, trains, packhorses etc are soon working again

Posted by: Raspberry

Chris, it was really frustrating. I usually don't usually come during the summer, but there was a family reunion. The reasons I dislike going there in the summer are: (1)difficult to get there on an employee ticket (2)difficult to get a nice stretch off work during the summer (3) when I do finally get the days off, most of the hotels are sold out, or are really expensive, when you do at the last minute (4) it's a "see-and-be-seen" deal for those who live abroad (5) it can really get horrendously hot and smoggy in Athens in August.

But there were a number of ironies.........domestic flights a problem, international ones not........weather is excellent here.......granted it's in the 90s, but it isn't stuffy and humid......and the city has been great.....besides that, had I gone to Ukraine, I would have had problems getting home, as the flights are full..........

So, game plan is to stay two more days, and cut the trip short. I could have gone to some island, but why stray too far, and rush around. Instead, I will be going to the beach at Glyfada(on the mainland). Just glad to get away from work.

Some interesting items in Athens......the Russians are now the second-largest ethnic minority in ATH, behind the Albanians. There are at least two Russian-language newspapers published here.

Elections are coming up, and the KKE(Communist Party) is making its presence known....you will see a lot of "hammer and sickle" signs around.

For the first time, I was able to see a Ford Transit van in person. If you have not heard of the "Transit" van before, let me explain.........it uses the same chassis as the ambulances that Ford makes in Detroit, but it's actually a van.
Both the passenger and cargo versions are made in Minsk, Belarus. It is not all that common seeing this van anywhere past Poland. So I was really in shock seeing one in Athens.

Also, on the subway, there is the "Larissa" station. Not named after a Russian girl, of course, but rather, a small city in Northern Greece.

Posted by: Raspberry

By the way, before the fire really got this bad, countries had been sending help. Iran sent firefighters. Canada sent planes. Russia sent BOTH.....a bunch of planes and firefighters. If it wasn't for these three countries, the fire, no doubt, would be worse.

Posted by: Cheburashka

To steal a line from the novel "A Tale of Two Cities":

Traveling: it is the best of times and it is the worst of times.

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raspberry

Some interesting items in Athens......the Russians are now the second-largest ethnic minority in ATH, behind the Albanians. There are at least two Russian-language newspapers published here.

I haven't been to Athens for some years now, but I really liked it, although in July it was terribly hot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raspberry

For the first time, I was able to see a Ford Transit van in person. If you have not heard of the "Transit" van before, let me explain.........it uses the same chassis as the ambulances that Ford makes in Detroit, but it's actually a van.
Both the passenger and cargo versions are made in Minsk, Belarus. It is not all that common seeing this van anywhere past Poland. So I was really in shock seeing one in Athens.

If it is the same van as we have here, there are millions of them here and have been around since the 1970's, the new ones are pretty good and very reliable.

Posted by: Longfellow

After all that, did today's earthquake have you thinking "I should have stayed home"?

I know there was no real damage there, but when you add all the unlucky situations together, one has to wonder.

Posted by: Raspberry

Longfellow, what's this about an earthquake......I must have missed that.

Actually, it's a real pleasant night here in Athens. It's right before midnight, and +36 celsius out, with a full orange moon. Certainly a good romance night, but there is no special lady here to share it with.

So far, no contact from the relatives, as the phone lines were destroyed in the fire.

And I did stop at the "Gastronom" in the Kallithea section of Athens. There is a Russian book/cd/video store right next door. No surprise there.

So, just getting ready for bed, and going to the beach tomorrow.

Posted by: Longfellow

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raspberry

Longfellow, what's this about an earthquake......I must have missed that.

5.1 magnitude, epicenter 185 miles west of Athens, near the island of Kefalonia at 9:29 am on 27-Aug. No damage reported.

Posted by: Raspberry

Longfellow, thanks for the info. With so much news about the fires, the earthquake news kind of got "swept under the rug". We didn't feel it here, since we are southeast.

Fire fighting update........Israel already has their helicoptors over here.
Other countries sending firefighters and/or equipment soon. This includes
Austria, Romania, Norway, Czech Republic, Spain, Canada, Netherlands, Italy, Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia and Switzerland.

And if Russia hasn't done enough already, there will be four helicopters coming soon.

Getting back to Russian news in Athens........

Stolichnaya is sponsoring some ballet performances here. The first being at Lekavitos theater on the top of the hill(great venue!!), featuring the Marinskii(formerly Kirov) outfit. Then the Bolshoi and Marinskii are having some joint shows coming up.

Stoli is losing local Greek market share to Moskovskaya(and other brands), which is one of the reasons why they are doing this.

While on the bus today, I passed by a building called the Altai building, apparently owned by(or have some affiliation with) the good folks in Barnaul.

At my hotel today, I was asking the bellhop about nightlife, think I'd better give Greece a chance, despite not so good experiences with Greek women in the past. He was telling me about this club, and said, "there are lots of nice Russian women there".........I certainly got a good laugh out of that....

Posted by: Raspberry

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheburashka

To steal a line from the novel "A Tale of Two Cities":
Traveling: it is the best of times and it is the worst of times.

You said it right, Cheb!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrismc

If it is the same van as we have here, there are millions of them here and have been around since the 1970's, the new ones are pretty good and very reliable.

Of all the times I have been to major European cities----Glasgow, London, Manchester, Frankfurt, Paris, Munich, etc.----I had yet to see a "Transit" van. It's good to see people are buying Belarusian! And paint jobs appear to be a bit more professional than the "Belarus Buffalo" tractors!

Anyway, a few more notes...there is a nightclub, which I passed by, called "CCCP".....will have photos of it soon.

And a few things I didn't mention.......my ex-girlfriend was trying to invite herself on the trip. But I stressed the point that I was going for family reasons, and not to be tour guide. So she had kept quiet. And it would not have been a good trip for her anyway.

On my stopover in Bucharest, some kids(boys about 14-15) were having some horseplay with the revolving door at the mall. I got my ribs smashed as a result....put ice on it right away, and no visible bruises......but the pain still hasn't gone away yet, after almost a week.....

Posted by: GoingToRussia

Hi Raz. I was in Bulgaria last week and remember hearing about the fires. We were probably closer in Europe then we are in the USA!

I hope all is well and you eventually meet up with the relatives.

Take care and be safe.