It’s summer vacation time in much of the world, and Athens is still playing host to lots of travelers from all over. It seems like fewer than other years, especially if media reports are correct – but it still seems like the city is busy and in full summer swing.

One of those visitors was my 11-year old niece, who was visiting for the first time from Toronto. After a 3-week stay in Greece, I asked her to tell me what she thought about Athens.

And this is what she said:

“Athens is alive. Very alive. It has lots of energy. Depending on where you go, you might see old history, ancient places, but also lots of newer things. And the newer parts have lots of stores, with nice cafes and really good food.

I would definitely clean up some graffiti. Some of the trains need a good cleaning, too – and maybe better air conditioning. I’d say Athens is more crowded than Toronto, but I think it looks nicer, more interesting. There are brighter colours, and no tall buildings. The old parts of Athens are nice because they give you a variety of things to look at. More people spoke English than I thought, so it was easy to be understood. “

And what should someone see when they visit Athens?

“The Acropolis, of course. Plaka is great. And one of those Laiki street markets for sure.”

What would you tell people to skip, or not bother seeing?

“I’d tell them to see everything! I really liked everything! But you can skip going to the open air cinema on a hot night before 9pm – you’ll be boiling, and you’ll be watching a movie in total daylight.”

There you have it – I’d say most of us agree with her.

Hope you’re all enjoying summer…

Until next week…

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

Click here to see more details on their website

Address: 44 Akti Koumoundourou Street
Phone: +30 210 4224633

Do you have a recommendation or recipe to share? Send it to us at ideas@xpatathens.com!

It was purchased by Sapounakeika’s foreign residents – the majority of whom are European – as a way of saying thank you and expressing solidarity with their Greek neighbors, many of whom are suffering because of the crisis. According to the records of the Municipality of Southern Kynouria, foreigners have purchased 301 homes in the areas of Tyros, Sapounakeika and Melana. The highest concentration of these homes is in Sapounakeika.

This community of foreigners also includes dozens of people who have married and chosen to settle in Greece, as well as others who rent holiday homes.

As a result, this tiny region has transformed into a colorful mosaic of cultures, resembling a small European Union.

“It’s the Europe that we’ve always wanted,” Apostolos Zikoglou, who is based in Germany, told Kathimerini. Zikoglou and his wife, who have bought a house in Sapounakeika, plan to move to the village for good someday.

“Germans, Belgians, Austrians, Dutch, Italians, Danes, Norwegians, French, English and of course Greeks – we all live in harmony here and respect each others’ traditions. If only it were like this in the rest of the world,” said Zikoglou, who left Greece for Germany in 1966.

He studied, married and settled in Germany, but his dream of returning to Greece never faded.

“I wanted to enjoy my country, which remains beautiful despite the crisis. My wife and I traveled around Greece in search of a place where we could permanently settle. And we found it here.” The couple sold their apartment in the Athenian suburb of Palaio Faliro and bought an old house in Sapounakeika.

Foreigners’ sudden love of this region is what has kept the area alive.

“Greeks who went abroad have been returning to invest in the villages where they grew up since the 70s. They have built beautiful homes,” the mayor of Southern Kynouria, Yiannis Triantafilou, told Kathimerini.

The settlement of Europeans in the region provided Tyros and the surrounding area with the boost it needed to withstand the crisis.

“They either bought old houses that had been abandoned by locals – who moved to the coast or urban centers in search of work – or they built entirely new homes. Besides restoring our villages, the foreigners have created new jobs for local craftsmen and builders, and helped reduce unemployment.”

Music teachers from Heidelberg, Scandinavian architects, Dutch scientists and Mediterranean artists have made Tyros a unique and open multicultural community.

“The fact that we found so many different people here who are also incredibly hospitable and unified helped us make the decision,” said Zikoglou.

“We really like it here,” he added. “What’s left for us is to decide whether or not we want to make this our permanent home. You know, it’s strange: When we left Greece decades ago, we left our parents behind. Now we are leaving Germany and leaving our kids behind.

By Lina Giannarou

ekathimerini.com