Aah, weekend!

One of the countless stray cats in Athens. I guess they're not too badly off what with the climate, and also there must be plenty of rats in the city and cats are of course hunters by nature. I snapped this above Plaka, below the Acropolis. The Acropolis would be rising to the left of the picture.

As a side note, it's technically wrong to call it the Acropolis, with capital A, because in ancient times there were many acropoleis: dwellings were typically build on hill tops due to the security these locations offered. So it was the case with Athens too, in Mycenaean times in the 2nd millenium B.C. In the 1st millenium inhabitation spread below the hill, and eventually the acropolis was reserved for sacral use only. Now it's of course known as The Acropolis because... well, because it's famous.

I've been so busy with work this week I haven't had the time to blog. Having said that, I enjoy working at the Blegen Library of the American School of Classical Studies. For instance only this morning I was thinking "My it's ever so nice to get up early and head out to the library!" It's such a brilliant library, because it has everything. Anything I might be looking for, they have it. The library also feels like such a solemn place: the readers going about their business and quietly concentrating on finding knowledge (I know, there's a practical explanation: the rule is "no talking"). The American School has long traditions, having been founded in the 19th century, but the traditions don't show in stubborn stickling to the old ways of doing things simply because they are the tradition. On the contrary, the school and the library have excellent database systems, research equipment etc. It's all due to funding. It's interesting how the U.S. is supposed to be a "young" culture but it still is willing to give more money to the research of these old things than the old continent. Not that I know how the funding is organised. Maybe it's a bunch of rich mesenates.

Apart from working at the library, on wednesday I went to the Finnish institute to talk with the boss about the article I'm working on (he was my PhD opponent). He had great comments to give, so I was very happy. The Finnish institute doesn't have much money but it IS located below the Acropolis just a few blocks away which is not too bad. The American School is nowhere near, in comparison.

Now I really do deserve the weekend. I don't have any fixed plans. I might go to the site where Aristotle used to have his philosophical school. I'll probably visit Pireus, the port of Athens. You can get there by metro. About 2400 years ago the port town was connected to Athens by long walls, in between which ran a road. The walls were razed down and repaired a couple of times, until finally in the 2nd century BC Athens no longer had the resources to repair them. Maybe I'll walk around Pireus along the shores. I want to see the Mediterranean.

To end, another thing I like about Greece is manners. It's considered good manners to greet people you encounter with a "good morning/good day", like when you buy something at a kiosk. I like that. One thing I hope to do, though, is to catch a couple of courses of modern Greek, because not that many speak English fluently here. I tend to feel embarrassed about not being able to speak modern Greek beyond simple things like ordering stuff at a fast food place. Sometimes I feel it would be easier to be like a certain percentage of American tourists who are quite confident to speak English and if other people don't understand them it's their problem.

Oh, not to worry, I won't start fuming about tourists again. And I do know American tourists aren't the only ones whose behaviour is so very, well, touristy. In fact, for instance the Brits are considered the absolute nightmare in many resorts...