Driving in the congested and polluted streets of Athens is quite an adventure… So, fasten your seatbelt and follow me.
The number one problem is of course… traffic. When I go out for appointments, I have to plan accordingly… A route that would take me 20 minutes at midnight easily takes 45 minutes… but hey, that leaves me plenty of time to listen to the radio (and practice my Greek J ), or I sometimes listen to a taped lecture (I really should do it more often, actually, it’s a very good way to utilize the time).
Then I check the date: yes, the date, in order to verify if I can drive into the center of town today. In an effort to limit the number of cars jamming the city center, there is an area called “daktylio”, which you can enter only every other day. On odd days (1st, 3rd, 5th etc of the month), only cars with plates ending with an odd number are allowed. And cars with plates ending with even numbers get their turn to pollute the streets on even dates. And even with only half the cars, the city is PACKED… (then of course, some Athenians conveniently have 2 cars, one with an odd plate, and the other with an even one!…)
Next thing to watch out for: the countless motorcycles.
As a consequence of the terrible traffic, many people prefer to take their motorcycle and slalom between the cars. It’s of course a very dangerous sport, which unfortunately many practice without wearing a helmet (I recently heard this comment about one of them: “here goes an organ donor!”). You have to be on the lookout for the next wild motorcycle which will appear from nowhere and zoom past you just when you are about to switch lanes…
Of course you have to watch carefully all the other cars as well… the rule is: no rule! Each one does absolutely as he/she pleases… so be ready for another driver to cut you, to turn without blinkers, to tag you as if to make you drive faster, or to curse you if you stopped when the light turned orange (common, at least three or four cars still can pass after the light has become red, don’t you think?! Here in Athens, this is what happens routinely).
Don’t be surprised if a motorcycle, sometimes even a car comes towards you the wrong way on a narrow one-way street. Be ready for a pedestrian to cross in the middle of a boulevard, and watch out for people waiting to cross ON the street as opposed to the sidewalk… just make sure no to run over their toes J
The top annoying thing though (to me) is when there is a sudden unannounced demonstration (read, 50 unhappy workers decide to protest and block some streets) and the already crowded streets just become one big parking space, like last Friday… This gets me fuming! I am all for the right to demonstrate, but they have taken this way too far… (to be developed in a different post)
To conclude, this article was inspiring to me: cruising thought life, we can and should all learn and respect some “driving rules” in order to get safely to our destination…
(Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
Still in the spirit of Shavuot… (the holiday was beautiful. It passed quicky and left me with lots of inpiration but also some extra cheesecake calories to get rid off :)
There are many ways to spend sleepless nights in 