A Travel Blog
The Acropolis is the most famous symbol of Athens. Lonely Planet modestly describes it as “the most important ancient site in the Western world”. The cluster of marble structures loom over the city on a jagged, rocky outcrop. We got used to seeing the Acropolis from afar for several days before finally making the climb to see it up close.
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Just off Monastiraki Square is the Athens Flea Market, a warren of small streets filled with vendors selling antiques, used clothing, and countless other things of dubious necessity. The heart of this area is the smaller Avissinias Square.
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Northwest of the Acropolis in Athens is the Ancient Agora, a sprawling area where much of public life took place in ancient Athens. Buildings here were used for city administration, courts, and markets. This was the center of Athens where people gathered.
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A few blocks east of Monastiraki is Syntagma Square. This is the more modern heart of Athens: Syntagma means “Constitution” in Greek.
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We’ve arrived in Athens after a short layover in Lisbon. The last few days have been spent acclimating and adjusting to a 7-hour time difference.
Our third and final day trip from Amsterdam was to the city of Utrecht. Neither of us had any preconceptions about Utrecht and it ended up being a wonderful surprise only 20 minutes away. Utrecht is home to over a million people, but the beautiful historic center feels more like a small town than a city.
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Following a friendly tip for places to visit in Amsterdam away from the tourist core we found ourselves in Amsterdam Noord, heading to a small pizza place called the Kebec Micro Bakery in a former warehouse canteen near the NDSM Wharf.
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Delft is home to two major churches commonly referred to as the Oude Kerk (Old Church ) and the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church). From our perspective they are both quite old, however, with the old church built between 1246 and 1350 and the new church built between 1396 and 1496.
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We visited the city of Haarlem, a former port town with a pleasant medieval character, beautiful canals, and a fully-restored traditional windmill. Haarlem is located about 20 minutes from central Amsterdam by train.
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We visited the former home and studio of the painter Rembrandt, located in the Nieuwmarkt district of Amsterdam. Rembrandt lived and worked in the home between 1639 and 1658. The house remains intact and has been refurnished with period furniture using a detailed inventory from the time.
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We’ve explored the Jordaan neighbourhood of Amsterdam on a few different occasions. There we’ve found classic canal views, small crooked buildings, and cozy restaurants and shops.
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We took a free ferry from Amsterdam Centraal to the new Overhoeks district on the Noord side. With multiple ferries in constant motion, we didn’t have wait more than 5 minutes to travel in each direction.
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