Random Ramblings and Ramifications

The Greek trip blessing all began with Brad being invited to teach for a week-long intensive course at the Greek Bible College near Athens.  Here is my man in action, along with Jeff Baldwin, our friend and Brad's interpreter for the week. 

These are all Brad's students for the week, along with the fam and Jeff Baldwin, who also happens to be the Academic Dean for the Greek Bible College.

Jeff and the students presented Brad with this bust of Aristotle for his week here...they also gave the kids replicas of marbles from ancient Athens...really cool...

I love this shot here on the campus.  Brad and Victoria are talking with Mrs. Helen, who was the unofficial Green Family Coordinator while we were there.  She loved on us, spoiled us, and kept us abreast of things all week...she was SUCH a blessing!!

The kids snagged this shot...LOTS of compact cars in Greece.  Point of interest about this type of car is that they are so small that they do not have to parallel park in such parking spaces...they can just pull in straight to the curb! 

The primary religion in Greece is Greek Orthodox, and this Greek Orthodox Church is just down the street from the Greek Bible College.  Only 0.3% of the population is evangelical. 

Inside, Greek Orthodox Churches are very ornate, as is this one, with many icons and other decor...

Our dear friend Myrto, whom we met in Cambridge, treated us to English tea one afternoon at her place, and Victoria helped her prepare the whole affair, even going to the bakery with her.  Myrto is a complete delight, and served our tea on china she brought back from Cambridge, and served us baklava and other irresistable Greek pastries.  We laughed and reminisced of our days in Cambridge...pure joy...

One of our fondest memories is eating dinner and spending the evening with the Mark Doebler family.  Mark is Dean of Students and a professor at the Greek Bible College, and does an outstanding job leading worship there as well.  His daughter Christina and Victoria are the same age and really hit it off...

While the girls were playing with the hamster...

the boys were outside having a massive Nerf gun fight.  My boys felt right at home...next to Caleb is Phillip Doebler and the blonde on the right in the white t-shirt is his brother Stephan.  They were great guys, and really made the boys feel welcome.  I learned that Greek and American 10-yr-olds and 12-yr-olds are VERY much the same...

Half of Catarina Doebler, Mark's wife, is seen in this photo...she prepared a FEAST for us, and was such a joy to get to know...did I mention she prepared FOUR different desserts for us?!?

Here's the adult half of the table, along with the two youngest Doebler boys...their family of seven seemed quite normal to us, but is not the norm at all in Greece, where the average number of children per family is 1.2...

 These slippers win for favorite new custom...while we were visiting the Doeblers, we slipped off our shoes, as is the custom, and they gave us slippers to wear around the house while we were there.  Our toes were so warm and toasty.  (Brad is in the pair that is stepping on my pair. :) )  We're thinking of incorporating this into winter life in Tennessee when friends come a'calling...

Marathon Man Monday

So, Monday was a bit of a slower day after the Athens extravaganza on Siunday...we chose to stay closer to home...this is the "Marathon Man" and it is a statue very near the Bible College that represents the 1/2 marathon mark--13.1 miles--from the city of Marathon to the stadium in Athens.  As the story goes, when 25,000 Persians arrived at the Bay of Marathon in 490 B.C., it seemed impossible that the 10,000 Greeks could defeat them.  Greek victory was won by enclosing the Persians on all sides and driving them out to see, where 6000 Persians died and only 192 Athenians.  The origins of the marathon run date from this Battle of Marathon.  News of the victory was relayed by a runner who covered the 26.2 miles back to Athens in full armour before dying of exhaustion.

Just across from the Marathon Man is the largest and best bakery I have ever been in IN MY LIFE!!  It went on and on and on...heavenly...they boys each chose an ENORMOUS donut covered in sugar, Victoria chose a pastry with Merenda (Greek-brand Nutella) within, and Brad and I went with the homade baklava...I think we've been back every day since! (The owners were so kind...when they realized we were Americans visiting the Greek Bible College, they insisted we try a couple other of their pastries as their gift to us.  Talk about an example of showing kindness to foreigners!) 

After our venture to Beneth, the bakery, we went to our neighborhood underground grocery store, where the first thing that greets you is octopus, straight from the Aegean Sea.  I do so enjoy going into grocery stores wherever we may be, from a country story in Tennessee, to the corner market in Greece, I always find the experience completely delightful.

Even daily activities here have a Greek flair, which we are so enjoying, like hanging out our clean laundry...on the roof!...

...and playing hide and seek in 2 foot tall clover!...

...and climbing unknown (olive?) trees...

The Greek Bible College has many amenities for the students, among them this basketball/volleyball court.  We had loads of fun here...

...and here as mom is whoopin' up on Daniel...WAY TO GO, MOM!!

Ancient Athens

 Our first Sunday in Greece we went to the First Greek Evangelical Church in Athens.  It was really something...as the service was entirely in Greek, we were given headsets with simultaneous English translation.  We felt like we were at the United Nations.  

As we exited the church, this was one of the first sights we saw, in a nearby park.  It is the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which is the largest in Greece (even larger than the Parthenon).  It took 650 years to complete, and the roman Emperor Hadrian dedicated it during the Panhellenic festival of AD 132.

It was surreal to have a picnic lunch here...

...between the temple and Hadrian's Arch, which marks the boundary between the ancient city and the new Athens of Hadrian.  (The kids were enjoying feeding --and scaring--the pigeons.)

We then decided to head to the Acropolis...on the way up, cut into the southern cliff face of the Acropolis, we spied the Theatre of Dionysos, which is the birthplace of Greek tragedy, and was the first theatre built of stone.  Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes all had their plays performed here.  The Romans enlarged this theatre to seat 17,000, and used it as a gladiatorial arena.  Victoria is sitting on the theatre's throne...the actual seat where Roman Emperor Nero sat for the gladiatorial contests...

This is another view of Dionysos' Theatre with the same three great kiddos and the Acropolis above...

Located just next to the Theatre of Dionysos, was the Sanctuary of Asklepios, founded in 420 B.C. and dedicated to the god of healing.  In every direction we looked were ruins of something historically significant and culturally relevant...

Also on the way to the peak of the Acropolis is the Porch of the Caryatids, where these statues of women were used in place of columns.  An olive tree (in the left of the photo) now grows where Athena first planted her tree in a competition against Poseidon.  Also in the background one can see part of the city of Athens among the hills...

This is thus far my very favorite picture of the trip...I feel like the caption should say, "Come Study Abroad in Athens" or some such...this is, in fact, the Parthenon...

Talk about the strength of Samson!!  Look what that Daniel Green had hold up!!

This is the Theatre of Herodes Atticus, originally build in AD 161.  It is used today for outdoor concerts...

This is the same theatre from a different angle...note the ancient structure in the left background...glimpses of antiquity everywhere...

See the handsome man looking away on the right with the khakis and navy sweater?  Yes, that would be Bradley about to go thru The Propylaia, the "new" entrance to the Acropolis.  See if you can find Caleb, Daniel, and Victoria in this picure.  (Hint:  Daniel has on an Indiana Jones-type hat.)  Did I mention that this NEW entrance was built in 437 - 432 BC ?!?!?!

One of the highlights of today was going to Mars Hill, known here as the Areopagus, where Paul preached the sermon recorded in Acts 17.  His entire sermon (Acts 17: 22-34) is written here on this bronze plaque, which is on the side of the Areopagus.

We are now on top of the Areopagus.  Acts 17:22 starts out, "So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said..."  WE WERE STANDING IN THE MIDST OF THE AREOPAGUS, WHERE PAUL STOOD!!!  Brad read Paul's sermon from Acts 17 to us overlooking the city of Athens from the "midst of the Areopagus"...INSPIRING...

Our day ended with gelatto...mmmm.....again, note the temple in the background...this one happens to be Hephaisteion, in the Agora, or marketplace, which formed the political heart of ancient Athens from 600 B.C.

Back "home" in Pikermi, we feasted on souvlakis and gyros at a grill just across the street from the Bible College...WHEW!!  WHAT A DAY!!!!

Athens, Here We Come

One thing we find completely delightful is the fact that here in Greece folks utilize their rooftops...there are actually staircases leading up to the roof.  They are also very trusting...there are no rails of any sort...on this particular day when Brad and Victoria were up on top of the academic building (I snapped this shot from one of our two balconies), there were students relaxing, reading, etc. up there.  I really think I could get used to that...beautiful view, refreshing breeze, inviting sunshine, renewing quiet...not a bad combo...

Yours truly blogging away from above menioned balcony...

On Saturday morning, the Bible College hosted several youth groups from nearby villages for several hours of fun, games, food, and worship...we hung around and had absolutely the BEST time, even though many of the youth didn't speak a word of English!  This has been a new experience for the kids to be in a culture where English is not the first language.  They have done brilliantly!  A cultural note here:  The youth groups came from 12 noon to 4pm.  First, for 2 hours were the games, then LUNCH AT 2 PM!!  Lunch BEGINS anywhere from 2-3:30 pm here in Greek culture, then supper begins anywhere from 8-10:30pm.  For all my late night friends, now HERE is a culture you could seriously get into!!  They are a late night culture and S-L-O-W to move in the mornings...

Yes, water balloons were involved...see our adventurous Daniel...

For lunch that day they prepared souvlakis, and we gobbled them up!!  Daniel is eating souvlaki, and Brad is eating souvlaki on pita (also known as a gyro) with french fries, tomatoes, and a delectable sauce called tzatziki, which is made of yogurt, cucumber, and garlic.  I could drink the stuff. It's that good.  For weight reasons, it is certainly a good thing that we are here short term...

After the youth group celebration, we headed into Athens, and THIS was our first view of the Acropolis and the Parthenon, just outside the metro...again, my emotion surprised me...

The Acropolis rock was an easily defended site and has been in use for nearly 5000 years.  It is essentially an enormous rock right in the heart of Athens that boasts 3 contrasting temples and a monumental gateway.  More on this to come, but here is the Parthenon, one of the world's most famous buildings.  The Parthenon was completed in 438 BC as a temple to Athena. 

 This would be none other than the Acropolis Museum, as the words so plainly depict...

Dinner was at an outdoor cafe.  Our friend Robert came with us into the city centre to help us find our way a bit.  He's a great guy from Bath, England, and offered to spend a couple days with us showing us the ropes in Athens...what a guy...

We were feeling adventurous for dinner...Victoria tried the stew, Daniel tried spicy cheese balls, Caleb and Brad just couldn't pull themselves away from the pork gyros (with the tzatziki sauce), and I, well, I tried none other than yogurt and honey, which, I might add, was quite tasty...

...and here it is...yogurt and honey...mmmmmm....

We have just hooted and hollered over Brad's "cup-ette" of coffee.  There was about 3 swigs of coffee in this cup.  He wanted to say, "No, I'll have the adult-size cup, please."

So, we went for gelatto afterwards.  I keep asking exactly what gelatto is, but no one seems to know...at any rate, it was sweet, cold, and yummy, so we were happy...

Just as we were getting back on the metro to return home, we caught this glimpse of the Parthenon by night...beautiful, really...