Were we “safe” on the streets?

One of the first things we noticed on our initial “walkabout” was a plethora of police presence. Every street corner seemed to be stationed with armed men in uniform. A little investigation (no one will ever accuse me of being too shy to ask questions) revealed that we had come to Greece the week before “the elections.”

Knowing this was the fourth “election” in less than four years, and that the outcome, determining whether Greece would elect a Prime Minister who wanted to stay the course with the Euro or revert back to the Drachma, was not that hotly contested, I asked one officer if they expected protesters.

The officer did not seem to know the word “protesters.” I tried again, asking, “Will there be riots?” He nodded his understanding, but then shook his head and said, “No violence in Greece.” I said, “In the United States, nonviolent riots are commonly called protests.” He smiled and nodded again. “Yes, there will be student… pro-test-tors… but nobody will get hurt.”

I had seen only one guy’s campaign signs, plastered all over the lampposts, and asked where and when the speeches would be. He told me in “Syntagma Square,” which I had seen on the map, and I knew it was not far from our hotel. But our tour group had other plans for that Friday evening, and I was a little disappointed I couldn’t go immerse myself in this slice of Greek political culture.

So instead of attending the rally… And feeling confident we were as “safe” as anywhere else on the planet—We went shopping!

And oh, how I love to collect “happy crap” to share with my friends back home. To my knowledge, I only have one friend who truly enjoys getting all the little treasure I return with, but nevertheless, I always do what I can to boost the local economy, whether I’m filling my bags with t-shirts or refrigerator magnets.

I never bought any “roasted corn” from fellow such as this, and wondered what kind of health codes he’d be violating back home, but there seemed to be a mix of locals and tourists who appreciated his offering.

Finding our way back to the hotel proved to be no problem, as I had taken stock of the fact that there was a unique church dome, unlike any other in color and size, just a block over from our hotel, and it was most always somewhat visible during our wanderings.

Athens is a metropolitan city, like many others, only I had never seen so much “tagging” on the buildings we walked past. I don’t know if that was just the area we were in, or if such a display of graffiti is city-wide. Nevertheless, I never felt unsafe on the streets, not even after dark.