Greece trip, getting there and Day 1 (Athens)

So my husband Taber is here visiting me for two weeks (yay!).

We decided (several months ago) to go on a trip somewhere for one week and stay in Germany for the other week. We decided to go to Greece since it is somewhere that neither of us has been to yet and both of us had wanted to go there for a long time. Granted, this was before the whole Grexit thing started heating up and the banks started closing and limiting cash from ATMs. But at least we knew about it before we left and could prepare. We were there on the day of the referendum, but we really didn't see any demonstrations of have any trouble because of it (though from the news it sounds like there are problems down there now, so it looks like we picked a good week to go).

It also ended up being a good week to go because it was hotter in Germany and Northern Europe than it was in Greece. On the day Taber got here (July 3), we tried doing some exploring in Germany before we left for our trip the next day, so we went to Darmstadt to check out a festival. However, we only ended up staying for a couple of hours because it was just too hot to deal. I think the reported high was in the high 90s. And hardly ever a breeze. It was gross. And while it was appropriately warm in Greece, I think it only got into the low 90s while we were there, maybe 92. So not only was it not as hot as his first day in Germany, but there was also usually a breeze blowing while in Greece. So even though we did get hot and sweaty walking around outside in the sun, it still wasn't as bad as his first day here.
Pictures from Darmstadt:

So, beautiful weather, check.

Saturday was mostly spent getting there. We had a layover in Bucharest, which was the most confusing airport ever. we had to go through customs, go out the exit, then come back in and check in all over again. Fortunately we had a long enough layover.So the trip there was interesting. By the time we got there, we just had time to find some dinner.

So Sunday was our first day of exploring Athens.  We decided to go to the Acropolis first. Because priorities. Also, your ticket to the Acropolis gets you into the other ancient sites in the city. But the Acropolis is by far the coolest thing in Athens. It was the main religious site in the city at the time, with several temples built at the top of a large hill (though obviously the biggest one - the Parthenon - was for the city's namesake and protector, the goddess Athena). The biggest downsides are the million other people there, even when it first opens (an unavoidable annoyance when going to major tourist sites, but in this case worth it), and in many places the pathway is really slippery - which makes sense, some of the stones have probably been there for more than 2000 years.Without further ado, get ready for a million pictures.

Walking up to the Acropolis

Before you get to the Acropolis, you see the Odeum of Herodes Atticus

Entry Gate

Entry Stairs and "Propylaia"

Temple of Athena Nike

The base of the former temple of Artemis - my favorite Greek goddess

The Parthenon! who knew they had cranes in ancient Greece?

the side of the Parthenon

The Erechtheion - including sculpture/pillars on the right and Temple of Poseidon to the left

The Olive Tree - Athena's gift to the city

The Parthenon again

A view of the city

Themistocles' Wall

Former Sanctuary of Pandion

Another view of the city

The back of the Parthenon

The Theatre of Dionysus from above

When you leave the top of the hill, there is a path around it to see more cool stuff.

Caves of Pan, Zeus, and Apollo

This is apparently the wheelchair lift. It looks terrifying to me.

Theatre of Dionysus up close.

Where the important people sat.

 After the Acropolis, we walked all over the place, mostly following a route from our guidebook, though doing the Acropolis first kind of split it up.

Hadrian's Arch

Temple of Zeus

The Panathenaic Stadium - where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896

The door that the athletes came out of

The Zappeion - apparently where the Olympians stayed in the most recent Athens Olympics

In the National Gardens

The Parliament Building

Syntagma Square pre-demonstrations

part of the Plaka

Roman Agora

Hadrian's Library

Hadrian's Library

Hadrian's Library

Break time - I had to try this beer, for reasons obvious to anyone who knows me

The Ancient Greek Agora (which means market)

Temple of Hephaestus

Temple of Hephaestus close up

They rebuilt the Stoa that was once in the Agora

And by that point we were probably exhausted and headed back to the hotel