Toby and Allan in Greece and Prague: Greek Independence Day

Saturday March 25 was Greek Independence Day, which commemorates the start of the War of Greek Independence on March 25 1821. The war ended with the successful defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1832. The day is celebrated with parades by the armed forces as well as school children and others in traditional Greek costume.

It was a travel day for us, so this will be a short post. It was another picture perfect day in Nafplio. High of 23C. There was a new boat in the Harbour which we saw from our apartment as we had breakfast.

View from our apartment with new boat in the Harbour

Our host came over at 10:00 a.m. and we headed off to the bus station, about a 10 minute walk away (nothing in the old city is far from anything else). As we waited for the bus, a group of soldiers walked by. They were getting ready for the parade.

Soldiers in Nafplio

Our bus left at 11:00 a.m. and we saw a few more groups of soldiers and other folk getting ready for the parade which was due to start at noon.

Another group of soldiers going to the parade

In traditional dress

Our bus made a few local stops and then headed straight to Athens. We passed a procession of military helicopters out in the countryside.

Military helicopters en route

The trip took 2 hours and 15 minutes. The second last stop was a Metro station. We hopped off and took the Metro three stops to the square in front of the Parliament buildings which is only a 20 minute walk from our apartment. We arrived at about 2:00 p.m., did a clothes wash and headed out for a coffee at Hotel Chelsea, our local corner coffee shop. It was warm and everyone was in summer clothes (though it still cools off in the late afternoon). The place was packed.

Outside at Hotel Chelsea- just buzzing

Alain at the cafe- looks a lot like summer

After our coffee, we went to pick up some food for dinner at a small grocery store in a square a few minutes in the opposite direction from our apartment.

In the square enjoying the sun and holiday

We decided to go for a walk to the Kolonaki neighbourhood, but chose a different street to get there. We came across an interesting statue of Harry S. Truman, that has a lot of history. The statute was erected in 1963, funded by Greek Americans. The statue was erected in recognition of the military and financial aid provided to Greece under the Truman doctrine after

World War II. Over $2 billion was given to the Greek government in aid to fight off the Communists during the country's civil war between 1946-49.

There are two faded white marble tablets beside the statue that are inscribed in Greek and English, which thank Truman for "helping the Greek people to preserve their freedom and national integrity".

Over the years, the statue has been defaced and covered in paint. This was especially the case after the USA backed the military junta that took power in 1967 and ruled until 1974. In 1986, the statue was bombed by an anti-American group. It was restored in 1987. There have been subsequent topplings of the statue. Very interesting history.

Interesting statue in front of theatre building

Statue outside of the War Museum

We also passed a number of interesting apartment buildings with greenery at the top. The lilacs appear to have bloomed in our absence the last five days.

Lilac season has started

We wandered around the Kolonaki district. Most shops were closed but restaurants, coffee shops and bars were generally open.

Decorations for Independence Day

We passed a poster for a Harold Mabern Trio appearance at the Half Note Jazz club. We often see his trio in NYC. We will just miss him as we leave Athens on March 27.