Photo drop of Athens, Greece
The photo outside our room wasn’t the most pleasant since we mainly just saw an empty lot. We were able to walk a block over to a grocery store Middle Photo).
Right: Walking back to the hotel.
Front of hotel
Left: I didn’t find the city to be very friendly to those with disabilities. There weren’t many ramps for pedestrians. The roads were narrow which did appear to keep vehicle speeds down. There was definitely a more awareness of those who were walking although I don’t know what the pedestrian injury rate is in Athens. The sidewalks were very narrow in a lot of places.
One of the nicer streets near the Acropolis / touristy areas.
Left: Pedestrian access way
Right: Tunnel under busy road.
Left: Walking along busy road.
Our company got us a shuttle to get to an area where we were visiting.
Bottom: Biking near our resort.
My thoughts overall in Greece:
I didn’t get to see much in Athens. I was on a company trip and was only there for a short period of time. The main time we spent was on a resort. I was able to make a quick morning walk of about 2 and a half miles which included another grocery stop at a Lidl. I wasn’t impressed compared to other cities I’ve been to in Europe. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, it’s just some place I wouldn’t see myself living. To add some perspective, there have been discussions about moving to Germany. I also have the disclaimer that I only got to experience a very small amount of Athens. I was disappointed in the lack of cycling infrastructure in a populated city. They do have a tram/metro, so that’s a plus.
I did enjoy some of the pedestrian only areas, but also felt that the city should do more for pedestrians in general. There were a lot of sections where there were no ramps which would make it hard for those in wheelchairs. In crossing some of the busy streets, there were no types of crossing signals. I will admit that it wasn’t particularly hard to cross the street in these sections. When you stepped out, cars did stop.
I took screenshots of two intersections in particular that I wanted to mention. The top photo had a very casual angle which would be considered a high speed angle. The narrow road did keep the exiting speed a bit low though.
On the bottom, we had to cross this section which was basically an on ramp type of area. We actually had no problems crossing here as the cars did stop as we were crossing. It was still a bit unnerving.
I didn’t see too many cyclists. There didn’t seem to be much biking infrastructure. This was a bit disappointing for me. I did see a lot of motorcycles and scooters (the slower motorcycle-like type). I only saw a small section of the city. There are some videos people have of cycling in Athens on Youtube. The quick look I took still didn’t seem to show much biking infrastructure.
Outside of the discussion of Athens. I do find it a bit interesting, in a way, that the company did rent us some bikes for a quick ride near the resort. The ride was 7 miles one way. There was a shuttle that brought people back. It shows that biking is definitely an activity that tourists can enjoy. Although not everyone enjoyed the ride, I definitely enjoyed it. One of the main things I like about biking to work and using the greenway here is that it does give this relaxed vacation-like vibe. I tend to compare activities that I normally do on vacation and compare them to where I live. In a way, I strive to have the vacation like feel constantly. Except for a fancy pool or beach, I do tend to get the vacation-like feeling where I live. I talk a bit more about biking tourism in this thread (click here).