We're in Greece!

Group pic on the Hill of Filopappos with the famous Athenian Acropolis in the background.

We got up earlier than usual today to get our breakfast, check out, and make our way to the Munich International Airport. I thought to myself, "Wow, this is going smoothly! My students are adept at using European transportation, and things moved seamlessly as we took an U-Bahn and then S-Bahn to the Flughafen, or airport. I even complimented them on their manners, keeping to the side of escalators, not blocking train doors with their baggage, being courteous to other travelers, and, above all, not being loud Americans.

Well, we were due for a hiccup.

We arrived in the airport in plenty of time. Early, in fact. We lined up at Aegean Air and started to check in, only to find that there were baggage fees that American international flights do not charge and that we were not prepared for. I worked it out, but while the agent was trying to set me up to pay for all the fees as a group, the entire computer system crashed. The wait stretched from 10 minutes, to 20 minutes, to an hour. Suddenly our time cushion was gone and we were approaching boarding time without yet having gone through security.

So . . . I put my assistant and another student in charge, gave them instructions, and sent them ahead while I remained behind to handle finances. If necessary I could catch a later flight. The airport transfer from the airport in Athens was arranged and the hotel was paid for. Still, I worried. And they really worried.

So they greeted me with some relief when I at last walked up to the gate just as we were about to board.

Our flight was uneventful . . . but exciting as we approached Greece and the plane's monitors showed our maps. Then we landed. We were in Greece!

I used the bus ride from the airport to the hotel---well over an hour with heavy traffic---to review Greek history, explain the layout of Athens, and tell a few personal stories. It is always about this far into a trip or study abroad when people want to hear some stories, usually about how my wife, Elaine, and I met. Our courtship was, well, eventful, so I guess the stories are entertaining . . . and in the end moving.

Downside: Two weeks into the trip I am really missing Elaine, so I got a bit emotional. Ah well, it is a congenital defect I have with my tear ducts.

Our bus driver, Giorgos (George), was delightful. And he had a good time helping me with my pronunciation of modern Greek (my default is always classical or Koine).

After checking in to our, well, acceptable hotel, I took everyone down to the old part of the city of Athens for our now standard "orientation." We came up from the Akropoli metro station . . . and saw the big looming, gray modern building of the New Acropolis Museum. It is a great museum, one we will spend time in on Sunday, but disappointing thing is that now you come out of the subway and see it, not the Acropolis. But we walked around it, and little by little, the sight of one of Western civilization's loveliest monuments came in to view through the trees.

We'll see the Parthenon and the other buildings on the Acropolis in detail when we visit on Sunday . . .

For tonight's orientation, I had other plans. We hiked the nearby Hill of Filapappos, named for the Roman-era funerary monument of a wealthy Roman honorary citizen of Athens, Philopappus. Along the way we saw the possible cave that served as the Prison of Socrates.

We then had spectacular views of not only the Acropolis but also the rest of the city and even a view all the way to the sea.

As we were walking down the Filopappos Hill, there was a cloud burst. Though I had seen rainy weather in the north part of Greece before, this was actually the first time I have been soaked in Athens. We were totally unprepared! Cloud-gathering, Loud-Thundering Zeus even flashed some lightning!

Well, friends, it is again the middle of the night, and I am exhausted with a long day ahead. Let me just close with pictures from our great dinner tonight in the Plaka district of Athens just north of the Acropolis.