Traveling to Athens via Munich — Athènes via Munich

September 26, 2008


Many thanks to Sha, Joe, Heinz and Helene, and Michael who gave plenty of useful tips about Athens, and Crete. I wish I had had time to do it all! We also missed dinner at Varoulko restaurant (following Michael’s recommendation, because it was closed!)

Walking in Athens

After already a transatlantic flight behind us, we still had five hours to spare in another airport on your way to Athens; I was not looking forward to it. Except when I mentioned Munich to P.

“You’re kidding? This is the best airport to wait in! They’ve got great food!”

I, of course, was very suspicious. “Il exaggère,” I kept thinking. I mean, of all airports we stopped at over the years, there were very few I could remember because of their food. Sure enough, we enjoyed lunch in the airport in Melbourne once, and Brisbane too, but that was clearly the extent of it. Even Paris Charles de Gaulle never impressed me. Quite on the contrary.

But in Munich, things were different.

“How do you know?” I asked, piqued by curiosity.

“Remember? I transited via Munich back from Italy.”

Ah yes. As he said it, I remembered indeed. I remembered that he had also told me about the lovely soup and tartine he had eaten while waiting for his connecting flight to Boston. There was so much enthusiasm in his voice when he recalled his lunch, and I could finally understand why.

As soon as we walked by Aran Bakery, my eyes lit with excitement.

With its wooden tables and matching benches, the place looked extremely inviting, the clear promise to provide a restful, enjoyable meal. White flowers nicely arranged on the tables were lit by a warm sunlight. Loaves of rustic bread seemed each tastier than the other; hearty soups with nutritious tartines offered with many different toppings all looked scrumptious.

We ordered our food at the counter and then sat down at a large communal table. Not surprisingly, our lunch was fulfilling, and for a second, I forgot that we were in an airport, wishing in fact that we could have sat there longer. That we did not have a plane to get on.

“Thanks for taking me here,” I told P., happy. I could still not believe that we’d had a lunch made of a soup and tartine, one of our favorites, in an airport.

Feeling content, we were ready to continue our journey.

A good thing since our next stop was Athens.

At Aran’s Bakery in Munich Airport

We only had two short days in Athens and frankly, neither P. nor I wanted to cover too much. Nevertheless, a few things were definitely on our program:

Enjoy a swim at our hotel

Take a walk by the nearby beach

Take the tram into the city, and enjoy the seafront ride.

Our hotel in Glyfada, Athens
Have a walk in the Plaka, the oldest section of Athens — touristy but lovely all the same. Then sit down to enjoy a lunch made of moussaka (again, but so good!), stuffed vegetables, grilled octopus, fried vegetables, and finish with yogurt and honey or a slice of fresh fruit in one of the many tavernas found everywhere there.

Meet K., one of our Greek friends, for a drink at the top of Titania hotel for a great view of the city — incidentally, dinner there wasn’t great, and really overpriced for the quality of the food.

Have an ice-cream in the street.

Of course, visit the Acropolis at the top of the hill.

Observe the signs of life in the city.

Visit the city’s central market, for a great insight of local produce and life.

Central Market

Enjoy the food and try not to speak with my mouth full.

And remember to come back, for a longer time next time, making sure to travel through Munich again.

Athens was full of contrasts — between ancient and modern — chaotic, and full of life.

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35 Comments »

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  1. As usual, what gorgeous pictures … I especially love the one with the beautiful cats >^..^<

    Comment by Kathy — On September, 26th, 2008 at 11:34 am

  2. Bea,
    beautiful. I love the expression of the man sitting on his scooter.

    Comment by ELRA — On September, 26th, 2008 at 12:26 pm

  3. Nice!

    Comment by oolong — On September, 26th, 2008 at 1:48 pm

  4. Awesome trip! And such lovely photo mementos.

    Comment by Kitt — On September, 26th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

  5. Brilliant photos. Wow what a great airport, you just wouldn’t believe it, yes why would you want to eat somewhere else!! :-)

    Comment by Anne — On September, 26th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

  6. Je serais venue volontiers vous tenir compagnie à l’aéroport de Munich. Aran fait partie des bonnes adresses de la ville, le concept me fait un peu penser à l’enseigne “Au Pain Quotidien”.

    Comment by Flo Bretzel — On September, 26th, 2008 at 2:53 pm

  7. The cats too is my favorite, what beautiful eye markings. Lovely journey.

    Comment by Claire — On September, 26th, 2008 at 3:41 pm

  8. Great farmer’s market pictures! Munich is one of my favorite cities. It too has a wonderful farmer’s market. Looking forward to your next post.

    Comment by valérie-jeanne — On September, 26th, 2008 at 3:51 pm

  9. Merci encore pour toutes ces photos superbes !

    Comment by Vanille — On September, 26th, 2008 at 5:08 pm

  10. Such amazing photographs and places! I really miss Greece and it’s special atmosphere!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Comment by Rosa — On September, 26th, 2008 at 5:37 pm

  11. these photos are amazing bea… immediately transport us overseas. i’m speechless once again.

    Comment by Aran — On September, 26th, 2008 at 7:08 pm

  12. I love travelling through your adventures and photos, Bea!!

    Comment by kat — On September, 26th, 2008 at 7:35 pm

  13. A really excellent photo essay Bea. Love the scenes.

    Comment by barbara — On September, 27th, 2008 at 4:37 am

  14. Extraordinaire, comme toujours, tes photos sont magnifiques. Une belle aventure!

    Comment by amethyst — On September, 27th, 2008 at 8:55 am

  15. I love reading your posts as your stories are really intriguing to follow. Seems like you and P had a nice trip, I will love to have one like that too!

    Comment by Mrs Ergül — On September, 27th, 2008 at 11:00 am

  16. If I can’t actually be there, I fell like I am there through your gorgeous photos. Merci!

    Comment by janie — On September, 27th, 2008 at 11:21 am

  17. Beautiful pictures.
    Greek food is so, so incredible flavorful.
    Thanks for sharing. =)

    Comment by Pia — On September, 27th, 2008 at 11:30 am

  18. Quelles belles photos Béa! Tu construis des ponts entre nous et ces beaux endroits, soit Paris, Crète, Athènes, soit Munich, on se peut apprécier leur charme a travers de tes photos et récits. Tu est comme Turner le peintre, est-ce que tu n’a pas pensé à écrire un livre sur tes voyages? Merci pour partager tes expériences avec nous! xxNat
    PS: J’adore les chats aussi;-P

    Comment by Nat — On September, 27th, 2008 at 11:52 am

  19. C’est qui qui prend des si-belles photos de vous?

    Comment by French Letters — On September, 27th, 2008 at 1:41 pm

  20. Thank you for posting about the food in Munich’s airport. I will be going through Munich in a couple of weeks (to Athens, actually!) and the lay-over will be during breakfast time. Can’t wait to experience Aran’s food myself!

    Comment by wjh — On September, 27th, 2008 at 4:15 pm

  21. What a beautiful tribute to Greece! And you look so happy and full of life in your pictures!

    Comment by Anita — On September, 27th, 2008 at 7:51 pm

  22. I am loving those little travels I do thanks to you…Wish I were there in person but eh…this is great. Lucky you’s!!

    Comment by Tartelette — On September, 28th, 2008 at 9:39 am

  23. How’s the weather Béa? Is hurricane Kyle keeping you inside? Have a good Sunday.

    Comment by valérie-jeanne — On September, 28th, 2008 at 6:47 pm

  24. Hi Bea! I like your photos and the mood of this blog: you make me feel the missing of these places… Thanks and ciao from Italy!

    Comment by cobrizo — On September, 29th, 2008 at 9:05 am

  25. Encore une belle balade reposante au ilieu d’une journée de travail un peu stressante…

    Comment by b comme bon — On September, 29th, 2008 at 9:41 am

  26. Oh god, i totally didn’t know that you’ve visited Melbourne. It must be before I started reading your blog!! I can’t believe I missed you!! If you ever come back again please drop me a line and I’ll be more than happy to show you around.

    Beautiful and vivid photos!! I’m totally speechless!

    Comment by Christy — On September, 30th, 2008 at 3:47 am

  27. Great pictures! Perfect ‘reportage’!!!!

    Comment by www.unmatrimonioformatojpg.it — On September, 30th, 2008 at 4:42 am

  28. Thank you everyone!

    Comment by Béa — On October, 1st, 2008 at 10:23 am

  29. great pictures.. i feel like i’ve already travelled there through your pics!… and yeah, Munich airport is something, huh?

    Comment by Jescel — On October, 2nd, 2008 at 1:30 pm

  30. hi! so happy to read and see you had a good time at munich airport! aran is a great place to eat and drink.. also, try the “bärlauch” spread next time you get a chance. oh and: make sure you plan a little stop over, munich is a wonderful and very enjoyable city!
    congrats on your blog, I LOVE it!

    Comment by Irina — On October, 8th, 2008 at 2:20 pm

  31. From your posts and pictures it is clear that in life it is the small details that can be the most beautiful. If we could just stand still and apreciate the tiny details. This is what life is all about.

    Comment by Karine — On October, 22nd, 2008 at 12:14 pm

  32. I just discovered your blog though d*s and immediately subsribed to your feed. (A feed from a food blog! This never occurred to me before …) Skimming through your last entries, I couldn’t help but squeal with delight when seeing your photo of the Aran Bakery. I spent many priceless hours in the warmth of the Aran Bakery in Constance, southern Germany, early this year and couldn’t have enjoyed it more. The ice cream! The cake! The bread … the golden writing across the wall. Thank you for reminding me of this special place, in a city that captured my heart just the same.

    Comment by Johanna — On November, 1st, 2008 at 5:46 am

  33. [...] there’s been a lot of fun and exciting trips that P. and I took, each different in style, each leaving us with [...]

    Pingback by The story of the berry Pavlova — L’histoire du pavlova aux fruits rouges | La Tartine Gourmande — On January, 22nd, 2009 at 12:29 am

  34. You take lovely photos. I love Munich. I haven’t had the pleasure, yet, of Athens.

    Comment by Hazel — On January, 25th, 2009 at 11:02 pm

  35. supers pfotos!
    J’ai envie d’y aller,beauuuuuuu…..waaaaw……super!
    Je demmenage en Grèce pour toujours!::))

    Comment by Timur — On March, 14th, 2009 at 5:31 pm

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