Birk Adventures

In talking about Athens you have to talk about the Parthenon, philosophers, and democracy but you also have to talk about the beaches! We have explored several beaches within an hour of our home in Melissia, which is about eight miles from the center of Athens.  The first one we went to was near Glyfada, just south of Athens. We went for sunset, not in swimsuits, the day after we arrived just to get a feel for it. It was refreshing and beautiful.  The next day we went northeast over the mountain to Marathonas Beach, right where the original marathon was run (ending in Athens) and is still run in commemoration. This beach was pretty but it was a little too windy to be fully enjoyable. But it was fun to get in the water and feel how warm and pleasant it is!  Bella trying to not be blown away  The view from the drive home  The next beach we visited is called Schinias Beach, close to Marathonas Beach. It was gorgeous! Slow shallow entry, warm water, and nice sand. T...

On our first Sunday here I was hungering for adventure and wanted to capitalize on our time with the rental car we’d gotten for the weekend, so we headed to a sunset spot that I’d been told is iconic and beautiful. Oh man it did not disappoint! We drove almost an hour south to Sounio Point, the southernmost tip of the land mass (peninsula?) on which Athens sits. I snapped this picture on the way down of a picturesque town with a cross on the hill behind.  Below is the harbor at Sounio Point The sun had dipped below the horizon right before we got there but the remaining light was so beautiful!  Of course we spent forever taking pictures... The moon and Venus appeared shortly, rising above the Temple of Poseidon, built in 700 BC. Makes sense that they would build a temple to Poseidon, god of the sea, at this outcropping. I actually DID know that Poseidon is the god of the sea but not because I remember learning it in college but because I've watched Percy Jackson with my kids ;...

It feels like a good time to resurrect the blog and share some adventures now that we're in Athens. When it comes to Athens, where better to start than with the Acropolis? A couple of weeks after we arrived, I learned that the Acropolis would be open to the public until midnight on the night of the August full moon. I decided that we needed to go! So we headed out in the Volvo (stay tuned for a post dedicated to the Volvo) and got there around 8:30 pm. We walked the path up the hill and found three beautifully lit up white marble buildings with the full moon rising behind them. So gorgeous! However, I soon realized I didn't even know what exactly I was looking at. Humanities emergency! (On a girls trip with my mom and sisters earlier this year, my sister Melba (humanities professor) lamented to my sister Liza (ER doctor) that she doesn't feel quite as useful as Liza since no one ever calls her with a humanities emergency. Well Melba, I feel like I'm living one big human...

February started with the girls having Chinese, or Lunar, New Year festivities at school. Eve performed a song with her grade as well as a dragon dance at an assembly for parents. Then there were traditional Chinese festivities we participated in. I love going to these events at the school except for the fact that they don't heat the auditorium so in winter I have been freezing! It's common to not heat public places here (restaurants, malls, etc) so I guess everyone else just gets used to it but I haven't! In this first picture, Eve's teacher Mr. Cho is right in front of her. He's the cutest Korean guy--I love that he's barely taller than the third graders!  The  next day I went back for an assembly put on by the Chinese department of the secondary school. Mini was one of the emcees, announcing the acts in Chinese then English. She and Emmy are in the same Chinese class (6 people) and the class put on a play. I didn't understand it as it was in Chinese but I...