Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Heavy bird spotting

ADP proudly presents the Greek plane spotters. Here, outside Athens airport, spotting the unusual heavy traffic the day of the Champions League final. More than 40 people, along with some German and Austrian spotters, were there to welcome the iron birds.
Air-born

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Tower and the winds

The Athens airport control tower playing hide and seek with the sun and the clouds.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Photo Journal: Champions League Final

A friend of ADP was in the Olympic Stadium during the Champions League final. Many thanks for sharing. The first photo is just before the kick-off.
Seconds before Milan´s first goal...
...and moments after.
The match has just ended...
Fireworks all around.......and the Champions in full glory.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Champions League @ Athens

My dearest friend Annika sent me this photo of Constitution Square where Liverpool fans are having fun hours before they hit the road to the Olympic Stadium.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Drive and dive

The swimming pool of Athens Hilton hotel is so close to the road that the people who swim can actually feel the roar of the engines of the vehicles passing by. Not the best environment but, then again, where else in Athens can anyone find such a cool and elegant place?
The place in Wikimapia

Friday, May 18, 2007

Automotive History

A charming collection of retro sports cars (dating from 1928 to 1975) is open to the public at Peiraios St 83. This MERCEDES-BENZ 190 SL (1961) is only one the beauties I met there.
Alman Sport Historic Cars Collection (in Greek)

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

House of a tyrant

In the middle of Parnitha National Park (only a few kilometers from Athens) lie the ruins of a villa owned by the dictator Papadopoulos, head of the military junta that governed Greece from 1967 to 1974.

The villa was immediately looted after the junta fell and he went to jail. Anyone can reach the site now (which features also a heliport and a deserted military camp) by foot or by bicycle. It is unknown why the Greek state hasn´t turned it into something useful like a mountain refuge (it is in 1100m alt).
See the place in Wikimapia

Monday, May 14, 2007

Books and marble

Last week, under the Acropolis rock, the Book Fair.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Pantheon and manure

When it comes to decorate your garden, anything goes. The Sphinx, Alexander the Great, an eagle, goddess Athena (again in Athens DP) and other figures are for sale in a local garden shop near the flowers, the flowerpots, the fertilizers and the manure.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Goddess at work

Next year, the new Acropolis Museum (just below the ancient temple of Parthenon) will be ready to receive the first artifacts. This poster is just outside the works area.
The glass gallery on the top will have direct view to Acropolis.
To read more about the museum click here and to watch a virtual tour click here.
Also this Wikimapia link shows the site before the actual building begun to be built. You can clearly see the ancient findings. The artifacts of this particular site will be displayed in the museum too.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Historic Acropolis Rally

This stylish beauty, along with other awesome cars, competed for 6th Historic Acropolis Rally. A race for sport cars of age 22 years and more. The cars started and finished their race under the Acropolis.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Windows

In Greece there are no real TV news. They are merely entertainment programs about what happens in the country.

We call this lay-out "TV windows". The woman in the middle is the host. The guys left and right of her are journalists-commentators who are there every single evening commenting on everything: From the government's budget to the latest crime of passion.

On the second row are two politicians. Politicians have become actual commentators themselves. Since they don't produce any news (except from some scandals) they are there to comment on the news.

(Behind the white-haired man there are pictures of Orthodox Saints. He is the Minister of Interior and this is his office in the ministry. And I thought that the theocrats were in Tehran and Washington DC only, LOL).

What about your country? Are there similar pictures?

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Unfitting...

The same hotel (see previous post) from a nearby peak. It was built on the site of an old sanatorium of the ´20s.
Wikimapia Link