Last night we had an authentic Greek style dinner with both Professors Veley and Ryan. A good time was had by all. Myself, Matt Grodd, and everyone else at the table told some pretty amusing jokes and funny life stories. The restaurant's atmosphere was very relaxed and laid back. They had two vibrant guitar players entertaining patrons in the corner of the restaurant. From sitting next to Prof. Veley, I can tell he probably enjoyed it the most. Just being able to study with Professor Veley and Professor Ryan outside the classroom has been a truly enjoyable experience in and of itself. Since it was also a clear, starry night, we also went on the roof of our hotel and got a bird's eye view of the famous Acropolis. Afterwards, it was off to bed.
It was another early start for the group today. After an 8 AM breakfast, we took a bus to the 2004 Olympic site. What I saw was rather unfortunate. I was quite surprised at the disrepair the entire site has fallen under since the conclusion of the 2004 Games. The main stadium had some graffiti on the inside and looked nothing like the stunning facility back in 2004. The place where I saw the most visible signs of deterioration was on the basketball facility. There was rust growing on the steel supports and more signs of vandalization. Our own Carrier Dome has been around since 1980, but it is still very well taken care of and the most ironic is that it is located in one of the coldest regions in the United States. The facilities in Athens never have to face those kinds of harsh elements, but still we find them in disrepair. It stuns me that a place that is seen as the proud birth place of the Olympics would let the facilities fall into such disrepair. The trip to the 2004 site was a brief couple of hours.
We then hopped back on the bus and rejoined our friend and colleague Professor Robert Pitt at the Greek archeological museum. Since we've been in Greece, we have heavily immersed ourselves in Greek archeology. However, unlike the museums we visited in Olympia, the things we observed today focused more on ancient Greek society in general. It was amazing to see how ahead of their time the ancient Greeks were. Many of the tools they would use in everyday life were on display here. We saw funeral masks and other elegant forms of sculpture that would depict the Greek gods and certain powerful figures. It is from these that we get the idea of how they lived back during those times. To anyone outside the field, they may not see the connection. After visiting both the museum in Olympia and the one here in Athens we see how sport has evolved along with the society. This has been one of the more enlightening parts of this trip.
Well, tomorrow is our last day here in Europe. Let's go out with a bang.
Your's Truly,
Mark Alken
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