March 11

This morning we were to meet the guide at the archaeological site of Kerameikos at 11:00am, so we didn’t have to leave the hostel until 10:40. I still got up at my usual time, but – surprise, surprise – I still had more reading to finish, so the extra time was much needed. I made myself some oatmeal, added a sliced banana, and boiled some water for tea. I like to get up and use the kitchen before everyone else is up, just to have a little time to myself.
We left as planned at 10:40 and met the German guide (this site belongs to the German Archaeological Scool), Dr. Stroszeck. She showed us around this site that is really just a chuck out of the middle of the city. A few meters below the normal city ground level is this section of the ancient city. In it are parts of the city’s fortification walls, dating back to 478 BCE, the lavish tombs that flanked the roads leading into the city, the remains of a gymnasium, and roadside sanctuaries. This site is most known for the tombs. These higly decorated monuments to the deceased date to the time between 440 BCE (when the practice is first known to have started) and 317 BCE (when legal actions were taken because the tombs were getting so ridiculous).
The museum on this site was closed because of some strike. We tried to go to the Theater of Dionysis on the south side of the acropolis, but apparently the strike includes the guards to the ancient site. We were assured that the theater would be open tomorrow, so we will try again tomorrow afternoon, if we have time.
We changed the schedule around a bit and went to the tomb of Heinrich Schliemann, the excavator of many of the sites we have visited, the most famous of which is Troy. This guy decided he wanted to be buried in monument that is decorated like a sarcophagus and depicted one of his excavations on one of the sides. The other sides were images of battle scenes. Only really cool people get to be buried in sarcophagi. I wish I were that cool. : )
Next, he hiked up to the monument of Philopappos, a Roman high up Roman official, who went exceptionally far in the government without being an Athenian citizen. Krentz admitted next that we mostly went to this hilltop monument because of its beautiful view of the acropolis. We stopped next Pnyx, the meeting place of the Athenian assembly. Not much is left of this meeting place, but hey, I can say that I’ve been there.
We finally got back to the hostel after what seemed like a particularly long day. Of course, the hours since have gone by extremely fast and I am getting very sleepy. I made myself some dinner – fried eggplant. I bought an eggplant at one of the outdoor markets, but wanted to do something else with it besides sautéing it with onions and garlic and throwing it in a pasta sauce. So I looked up “How to Cook Eggplant” online and learned how to to easily fry it up in a pan on the stove with just a little bit of olive oil. It was delicious and I gave so to Christos, the Italian guy who works here. He asked me as I was walking back from the day’s outings what I was going to cook tonight and said he wanted a taste of whatever I made because my meals always smell so good. That was another reason why I looked up the recipe online. Now that I had someone to impress, I wanted to do more than just wing it. I gave him a few slices, which he then put on a sandwich (weird, but alright). He said it was delicious and then I didn’t care how he had decided to consume it – all that matters is that he still thinks I can cook.
After dinner it is the usual time to get some work done and go to bed. Tomorrow is a normal morning – leaving around 8:45am. I hope this means that we won’t be out as late in the afternoon. I like getting more done in the mornings and having the afternoons and evening to do as I please.