A short guide for the gay visitor to Athens on a winter weekend getaway

admin 0

Some suggestions of where to go and what to do during a short “city break” in Athens.

 Part 3 – More eating out, another bar and Kolonaki.

Continuing the saga of a four day ‘city break’ in Athens has us in need of a bit of rest and as many of the gay bars/clubs are closed on Mondays we can do so without feeling guilty!

After the usual afternoon sleep I head to Goody’s in the center of town. Goody’s is the Greek answer to MacDonalds, the system of ordering at one desk and walking to another to pick up your food is confusing, none of the staff speak English but you can always point right? The food is good and there is enough of it, but it is not cheap. But if you want a good burger, you have to pay for it.

Monday is a much quieter night around Monastiraki and Psirri, I find the bar called Inoteka in Platia Avisinias which is home to the flea market. This bar is listed as ‘gay friendly’, but I can’t say for sure because I’m the only person there. I can tell that it is interestingly decorated and warm and welcoming, maybe if someone else goes there they can tell me. However, I can imagine spending the night there.

Moving on, I find a seat at a restaurant-bar on Miaouli Street, near Platia Iroon, called Rebekka. Normally you can’t get into these places as they are full but it’s Monday. As I sit down with a large bottle of beer (3 EUR) and start writing my notes, the brightest lightning bolt I’ve ever seen occurs, followed by magnificent thunder, torrential rain, and hail for the next twenty minutes. It doesn’t matter that it’s warm and dry under this canvas awning.

Tomorrow is my last full day and I want to make the most of it, so I go to bed early.

Tuesday arrives and another sunny day arrives, apart from the occasional downpour I have had pleasant weather but I need a coat and a sweater especially at night.

My plan is to visit Kerameikos, which is on Ermou street near Thissio station. This area used to be very run down but is now a nice pedestrian zone but be careful with scooters. The archaeological site is actually ancient cemeteries where the good and great of ancient Athens were buried. I expected that it would only take me thirty minutes to go around the site, by the time I had gone around the museum I had three hours left!

Grabbing a spinach pie on the way through Monastiraki, I head up Ermou towards Parliament House. The streets are packed with shoppers as the January sales started today. Arriving at Syntagma Square I look in the post office to see if it is still as busy and chaotic as ever. This. (There are other, less crowded post offices near Omonia Square and opposite the National Bank on Athinas Street Square.)

Pausing to take a photo of one of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I continue to Kolonaki, which is the most expensive area of ​​Athens and is home to many of the embassies and foreign government buildings. Here you will find all the well-known designer stores and most of them have sales. There is also the usual number of street cafes where the rich, famous, beautiful and not-so-beautiful of Athens come to play.

This tea place to have a coffee and so I do. At my chosen cafe, the menu is new and wonderfully produced on thick, glossy paper. The price of a cup of coffee is so close to EUR5 that it’s not worth taking change, and if you also have something to eat, the prices are cleverly calculated to be enough above EUR9 that it’s not worth taking change . has a EUR10 ticket! My coffee is called something like ‘espressocaccia’ and I choose it because it has more ingredients than anything else! When I leave I take the menu with me but I leave it at my hotel.

Tonight is my last night and I’m staying in town at the Euripides Hotel to cut down on travel time to the airport the next day. I intend to sleep again early, without alcohol, since I don’t travel as well as before.

The owner advises me that they have the worker to do some renovations, but I don’t mind as I want to get up quite early.

For lunch I head to Monastiraki and to the street next to the railway, where a beefy Greek ‘komaki’ has already tried to hack me in three times (sorry folks, I lost the card and I don’t know the name). Having ordered and made it to the Greek salad, I realize I’ve left my money at the hotel and take a quick walk back to collect it. The Greek salad is big enough for three, there is half a loaf of bread, and when the meatballs arrive they are huge with rice on the side. Another case of two eating as cheap as one! I am serenaded by two Greek musicians, since I am the only person in the place, I buy them a pitcher of raki and a bottle of beer. They ask me where I’m from and laugh when I say ‘Krhth’ since I’m obviously English. But of course they have a relative in Crete. I pay the bill of 23 EUR in total, a bargain considering that I couldn’t finish all the food, but I did manage to drink the half liter of wine!

Returning to the hotel, I stop by Aleko’s hoping it’s open for a drink, it’s closed, so I decide to head back to the hotel for an early night.

I don’t know about you, but when I pass a bar playing Boney M, which leads to Village People, my interest is piqued. Well, it’s still early days and a Metaxa and Cola will do just fine. The bar is called Cosmopolis and is located on the corner of Agatharchou and a street with no name very close to the hotel. I go in and sit at the bar, it’s busy and the bartender is serving up a big round. For a Greek he appears to be tall and I think maybe the floor behind the bar is raised, standing up I check, but no, he really is that tall, and he’s an absolute dream, watching him work, that’s it, what else did you do? ? I think it could mean Now he’s pouring a round of tequila shots, I look around the bar as I wait, the bartender taps me on the shoulder and pushes a shot my way, then points to a crowd of Greek men in their late 20s standing behind from my. Obviously, this is a celebration of some sort and, being someone who never refuses to drink, I clink everyone’s glasses before downing it all at once.

I order my Metaxa and Coke, the bartender looks a bit puzzled and has to open three doors of the fridge before he finds the Coke, the Metaxa is huge! The drink is delivered to me along with a large glass of water, strange? It’s hot in here, the music and mood of the place is contagious and one thing is for sure: it’s NOT a gay bar, but I can drink anywhere.

As I take a sip of my drink and enjoy the music, I look over at the bartender and realize that none of the liquor, which seems to be the only thing they sell, has a mixer. Even the huge glasses of gin come straight out! But why not? Everyone has a big glass of water that is frequently refilled, no wonder the bartender looked puzzled when I ordered a Coke, couldn’t remember where it was! Of course after another drink the rot had set in and it was 3am before I went to bed, but with drinks that size and only EUR5 each, who am I to complain? As always, it’s the unplanned events that are often the best!

I am woken up the next day at 9am by the sound of hammering and drilling, it seems the workers started at 7am and they are amazed that I can still sleep.

Breakfast is included in my room price, £25 a night, and I need something solid. I go up to the seventh floor and the first thing I do is raise the thermostat of the water boiler. (Remember I’ve stayed here before!). Breakfast here is a ‘Dutch’ breakfast with juice, cereal, cold meats, cheeses, croissants, dried and fresh fruits, jam and bread. A new addition is a toaster, which is very welcome as Greek bread is usually very dry and toasting makes it inedible. While I’m making toast the water boiler is now on full throttle and I can make a decent cup of tea, don’t even think about trying the coffee here!

 

I return to my room, to find that the builders have already removed the doors, lucky I packed my suitcase before leaving last night!

Managing my luggage back to Monastiraki metro station, about 600 meters away, is a hard-headed challenge, but I get over it and soon I’m speeding my way to the airport. Thirty-five minutes and a €6 one-way ticket get me back to the airport in plenty of time for my return flight to Crete, and as the plane takes off I ponder whether I could really live in Athens and stay sane.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *