My Travels with Tintin – Greece

I have one Tintin album in Greek, “Ο Τεντέν στο Κονγκό” (Tintin in the Congo), which was published in 1997 by Mamouthcomix. It might not have been the right choice for Greece, but sometimes it’s the “right now” choice that wins the day, right?

Although the Tintin series was first published as a selection of six albums by Pegasus in 1968-69 there wasn’t a substantial release until the Anglo-Hellenic Agency published 20 albums (missing the earliest and final adventures) between 1979 and 1988.

My copy comes from the Mamouthcomix release, which was translated by Maria Andreadaki and published between 1993 and 1997. At 23 titles it is the most robust and primary release in Greek, lacking only Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, Tintin and the Picaros, and Tintin and Alph-Art. Another publisher, Patakis also seems to have published the series between 1998 and 2000, but strangely on 12 titles were released.

As I mentioned though, my copy is more a case of “right now” than “right” since it’s one of the ones I was able to get my hands on while in the country. In fact, since we arrived Saturday evening, and Sunday morning is considered the best time to visit the Flea Market at Monastiraki in Athens, it was one of the very first things we did in Athens. The market is there all the time, but on Sundays many of the regular shops close and the area around Avissynias Square and Hephaestus Street comes alive with antique stalls and actual flea market vendors.

That said, given the size of the bookseller’s tent, I think he’s a regular fixture at the market, but the Sunday morning flea market vibe was amazing. I love flea markets, there’s always a sense of adventure and the possibility of finding treasure – just look at what happens after Tintin finds a scale model of a ship to kick off The Secret of the Unicorn, right?

Well, I found my adventure in the form of a handful of second-hand Tintin albums in a box on the ground! I can’t quite remember which other ones were available, but it was probably a small assortment of albums such as The Blue Lotus, King Ottokar’s Sceptre, or The Secret of the Unicorn – they generally seem the easiest to find. Instead I opted for my second-favourite album – and one that almost never gets translated into foreign language editions… Tintin in the Congo.

My trip to Greece:

After the first leg of our “circumvent the globe”, my family and I continued our journey in Athens, Greece from June 23 to 28, 2018. After arriving from Italy on June 23, my wife, son, and I all relaxed a little at our hotel by the ocean. We’d already been a bit spoiled by our dining experiences in Italy, but I can say our first taste of Greece didn’t disappoint. It was a bit tricky to find something open on a rainy Saturday night in the “suburbs”, but we discovered a little “bakery and other stuff” shop just down the road from the hotel and that almost instantly became our “go to” for a lot of our meals. The selection of breads, hot dishes, and pastries was exquisite, but the friendly service is what drew us back. I think the ladies that worked there were charmed by my 9-year-old son, because he seemed to score plenty of snacks “on the house”.

On Sunday, June 24, we ventured out and rode a public tram into the city. It was generally a nice ride, and because we were getting on at the stop by the beach (where most people were getting off) we were usually able to grab a seat. Athens was a new experience – especially on the heels of the hustle and bustle of Rome – and one thing we noticed very quickly was the huge amount of empty retail spaces and widespread graffiti. It literally covered just about everything. Of course when we were there in 2018, Greece was just coming out of a severe sovereign debt crisis –  with high debt, weak tax collection, and general economic mismanagement. So, with the massive bailouts, strict austerity measures, and a 25% GDP collapse – it wasn’t that much of a surprise.

Anyway, we spent most of the day the Flea Market at Monastiraki. As I mentioned above, I was happy to score my Tintin album off the bat, but the market was endless and fully of interesting odds and ends – especially on a Sunday. We also stopped at one of the stalls to enjoy some Souvlaki for lunch… and much like the Pizza Margarita in Rome, that quickly became my son’s “meal of choice”.

On Monday, June 25, we were ready to rock – and the weather was on our side. It was the one day it didn’t rain at all, which was nice because we spent most of it outside walking around on a guided tour. Considering how much deep history there is to see in Athens, it was worth the price to have someone knowledgeable be on hand to explain what we were looking at. We took our tram back to the city centre and, after meeting up with our group, headed off to our first stop of the day… the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Like a lot of ancient ruins… you somewhat just have to imagine what it would’ve looked like, but it was still impressive. According to Wikipedia, it was dedicated to “Olympian” Zeus, a name originating from his position as head of the Olympian gods. Construction began in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisioned building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD, some 638 years after the project had begun. During the Roman period, the temple, which included 104 colossal columns, was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world.

That was just the warmup. Our next stop was the Acropolis!

After a nice walk through the park and up the hill, we arrived at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. It’s a stone theatre structure on the southwest slope of the Acropolis. Although it’s mostly a ruin (after all it was completed in AD 161) apparently it’s still in use today. The next stop, right next to the entrance on southwest side of the Acropolis itself, was the Temple of Athena Nike. Even though it was rebuilt and renovated in 1800s it was still amazing to think there’s been an Ionic temple there since 420 BC. I would’ve like a look inside, but for likely conservation (and maybe just safety) reasons we weren’t allowed to get too close. The slight disappointment didn’t last long though, because the next stop was probably my favourite, the Erechtheion. It’s another temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. Even though it’s not as famous as the imposing Parthenon, for my money, what it lacks in grandeur it makes up for in beauty. This is the temple that features the statues of the six maidens, known as the “Caryatids”, holding up the roof with their heads. According to our guide, the ones at the Acropolis are actually facsimiles, with five the originals on display (and protected) at the Acropolis Museum, with the sixth one having been bundled off to the British Museum in the mid19th century.

Finally we stopped to rest in the shadow of the main even – the Parthenon itself. No surprise in a city named Athens, this is THE temple that was dedicated to the goddess Athena. The fact that its more or less considered the high water mark in terms of classical Greek art and architecture made it seem bigger than life. While, at the same time, the massive ruins of the building showed the disrespect it’s endured over the centuries – and I’m not just talking about the hundreds of tourists (including us) climbing over it like ants. On the one hand our guide told us the story (according to Greek mythology) of how Athens got it’s name – with the goddess Athena winning a contest between her and Poseidon for patronage of the city. Poseidon may have made a saltwater spring pop up out of the ground with his trident, but Athena planted an olive tree… which promised food, wood, and oil – the gift that keeps on giving.  However, on the other hand, we also heard about how Athena’s main temple was converted to a Christian church, then a mosque, and then used as an armory by the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century – which almost completely destroyed the building during a siege by the Venetians when it was blown up.

Our walk back down the from the Acropolis included a stroll through the Ancient Agora – the ancient public space that was a combination of marketplace, political hub, and social centre of Athens – not to mention where the concept of democracy was born! To think we were standing in the same spot where once Socrates and Plato once stood! After we stopped for a drink at a local cafe, our tour ended in the National Garden – public park full of beautiful trees and amazing statues.

What a day!

The weather was less delightful for the rest of our stay, so for June 26 and 27th we mostly spent our time “indoors”. We did try another “hop on / hop off” bus – but given the drizzling rain it was more of a “get on / stay on” ride as we drove around the city… and saw a lot of graffiti. There was a bit of time for shopping, and we did get to see the Greek Orthodox Church of Panagia Chrysospiliotissa (say that three times fast!).  We also wandered around the area near Kotzia Square (site of the end-of-the-line tram stop) and climbed the steps of the Athens City Hall, as well as visit the nearby Vallianeio Megaron (the National Library). However, the most interesting indoor experience was the Acropolis museum. After seeing the Acropolis itself, we had a much better understanding of the artifacts we were looking at (such as the original Caryatids, for example).  It was a massive museum, built right over the top of an archeological dig – the first thing you see when you walk in the main entrance. Getting to see the Acropolis in it’s intended glory – even if only as a scale model – was quite interesting, especially after having seen the real thing in its current state. You could almost imagine what it would’ve looked like in ancient times.

And, just like that, our trip to Greece was over. After stopovers in both Geneva, Switzerland and London, U.K., we were off to Toronto, Canada, on the next leg of our trip around the world!