Postcard from Athens

 As of 6pm, local time, Athens:

Total # of confirmed cases: 2,878

Total # of deaths: 171

# of people tested: 153,963

# of new cases since yesterday: 2

# of deaths since yesterday: 0

# of people in ICU: 19

***

It’s May 24, a few weeks into our grand re-opening, which began on May 4.  On a personal level, it seems like I’m stuck on two speeds. I’ve had days filled with great momentum when my production level is equal to that of an energizer bunny. And then I’ve had days where my energy level is like that of a new driver – enthusiastic and rearing to go, but instead, I’m stuck grinding the gears, going nowhere, and wondering if I’ll ever move forward.

On the surface, Athens seems like it’s almost back to normal. The bustle has resumed, the city noise has returned, as I type this I can hear the megaphone of the παλιατζή (junk man), as he drives around in his pickup truck informing us that even he is back, ready to collect anything, especially any scrap metal we happen to have hanging around.

The beaches are open (chairs & umbrellas are social-distantly arranged). All shops have opened, even the malls, with limited number of customers allowed in stores. However, I am still reluctant to go inside. 

Last weekend there was a heatwave in Athens, but we were still prohibited from leaving our districts (in other words, you had to stay within your ‘state’). Thus, last weekend, I did not venture to the beaches in Attiki, as some friends reported being stuck in traffic for two hours to get there. On Monday, May 18, the restriction on movement was fully lifted, and something like a zillion Athenians clogged highways as they left Attiki and headed to their villages or summer homes to visit family and deal with over-grown, weedy gardens. Under normal conditions, a 1.5-hour car ride to a destination in the Peloponnese, on May 18’s mass exodus, turned into an almost four-hour traffic jam.

***

Tomorrow, on May 25, all the cafes, bars and restaurants will re-open, but restrictions will limit the number of customers, and will allow outdoor seating only. Tables must be at least 70cm to 1.70m apart, and the maximum number of people allowed per table is six. Masks will be mandatory for staff and tables will be disinfected before new patrons sit down.

Masks are mandatory for all on public transportation, in taxis, elevators, hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centers.  Masks are recommended in supermarkets, hair salons and other enclosed spaces.  Violators may be fined €150. Social distancing measures are in effect until further notice.

As far as travel is concerned, currently, non-EU citizens still cannot enter Greece. Flights are still limited to Athens airport and any arriving international passengers must self-quarantine for 14 days, and take a COVID-19 test upon arrival at the airport. A bus takes all passengers to a designated overnight hotel, where they remain until test results are available (usually the next day).  Those who test negative are released from the hotel, but must self-quarantine. Those who test positive receive medical care.  (Those who refuse these requirements are not allowed to enter Greece.)

At a recent press conference, Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias noted that 21 flights arrived in Athens with a total of 2,236 passengers between May 13 – 20. Only one passenger tested positive. In recent days, three flights from Germany arrived with a total of 548 passengers, several as in-transit travelers through countries with high rates of infection, but all tests were negative.

Also resuming tomorrow on May 25, is ferry travel to/from the islands. Masks are required for passengers, and they must fill out a health status questionnaire before boarding and submit to a temperature check. 

For the tourism season, the big date is June 15, when seasonal hotels will re-open, some international flights will resume and the ban on entry of non-EU citizens will be lifted.  Flights will only be allowed from countries that have successfully contained the virus (list and details forthcoming from the Greek government) and flights will still be limited to Athens airport. 

Hotels and other tourism-related businesses must follow new comprehensive and detailed guidelines, announced by the Ministry of Tourism. Each facility will be required to adhere to new protocols according to the Ministry’s new regulations and must establish emergency procedures. Staff will be trained accordingly and will have their temperatures checked daily, and follow new guidelines on cleaning procedures and serving guests. Hotels are expected to keep records regarding contact tracing information for both staff and guests alike, and immediately report any COVID-19 symptoms to authorities.

And if everything goes well, the next target is July 1, when flights will extend to all of Greece’s airports, and the mandatory COVID-19 test and 14-day, self quarantine will no longer be required.  However, Greek authorities may still conduct random sample tests.

***

About a week ago, on May 18, the Acropolis re-opened, after being closed for two months. Yesterday, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to visit the landmark, tourist-free. I knew it would be quiet, but this is what I observed when I got there. 

Not one person in line. 

The Acropolis is open daily from 8am to 8pm. I got there around 5pm. I asked the staff member at the ticket window how many tickets had been sold today. “Eh, not many,” he said, “mostly curious Greeks, just a few foreigners. Enjoy!” he smiled as he handed me my change. 

The staff member who stood outside the ticket booth, (I guess normally he’d be crowd-control?) wore a face shield, and chuckled as I walked through the turnstile, amazed. “This is incredible!!” I told him, looking around at the empty path that winds up the hill. 

I was almost speechless. All I could do was repeat this mantra all the way up, to each staff member as I passed them in their guard-boxes. Some just laughed and nodded, others were preoccupied talking on their phones, or to each other. 

This is incredible.

I kept walking. I listened. I heard nothing. Just my footsteps, the sounds of birds chirping and the gentle breeze blowing. I had to refrain from running, skipping, dancing and twirling around like Julie Andrews from the opening scene of The Sound of Music…  ‘The hills are alive with the sound of music, with songs they have sung for a thousand years…’    I could have done it, damn I should have done it -no one was there to witness my embarrassing giddiness anyway. 

My disbelief grew as I neared the top, and realized that I had the entire Acropolis to myself.

Only the staff was there, and the entire time I was there, from the ascent to walking around up there and then the descent, I came across about 10 visitors, total. 

On a typical day in August, the Acropolis receives about 18,000 visitors . And yesterday, I was up there practically alone. 

In 2019, the Acropolis welcomed a total of 2.9 million visitors. In the peak summer season (July & August), over 500,000 people visited the Acropolis per month, in sweltering temperatures that neared 100F daily. In fact, last year on July 5 and 6, 2019, due to dangerously high temperatures during a heatwave, the Acropolis had to close each day from 1 - 5pm.  

Just to give you an idea... this is what it's like on a typical day in summer: 

And yesterday, on a perfect spring day, about 76F, warm sun shining, soft cool breeze blowing, I was up there with the whole place to myself. No lines, no waiting, no crowds, no heatwave.

note plexiglass added to separate the lines

As a college student in the early 1990s, on a semester-abroad program in Greece, I had climbed the Acropolis many times, our archaeology professor leading the way, conducting class literally in the shadow of the Parthenon, the Erechtheum, the Propylaea. 

I’ve been living in Athens for over 20 years now, and through the years, as friends and relatives have visited Greece, I would avoid accompanying them on their visits to the Acropolis. “Too hot, too crowded, I’ve seen it already”… I’d say as they’d try to convince me to join them.

The last time I visited the Acropolis was in 1995, when I decided to move to Greece, ‘just for a year’… And yesterday, 25 years later, I stood in awe, on an empty Acropolis, overwhelmed at the ‘unbelievable-ness’ of the moment.  

I sent videos and photos of myself in front of the empty landmark to my sister, thousands of miles away, isolating in another time zone, drinking her morning coffee. “AMAZING!!!’ she kept texting after each photo or video, stuck in a similar state of near-speechless disbelief. I also could only text back one-word replies: “SURREAL!!” “OMG!!” “UNBELIEVABLE!” 

If you are in Athens right now, I can only say this: You must go to the Acropolis before the tourists arrive. 

Indeed, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In fact, if you take my advice and go, you might see me up there again. It will be easy to spot me. I’ll be the one with my arms flung wide open, twirling around…

***

For those of you still planning on vacationing in Greece this summer, should you visit the Acropolis, things will be different. (Things will be different everywhere, but anyway...) New information on the Ministry of Culture’s website for the Acropolis states that restrictions will be in place and social distancing rules will apply. Only 2,200 visitors will be allowed at a time, and masks are strongly advised.