Greece should be prepared to declare itself insolvent if it cannot repay its debts, a director of the German central bank said in remarks published Friday, signalling a hard line against help for heavily indebted EU countries. Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin said that if Greece were unable to finance its debts, "it will have to do what all the indebted do, declare itself insolvent ... that would be the best warning example for other potentially weak...   more »

Greece underwent its own construction and real estate boom after the Athens Olympics in 2004, but it has finally come to a halt. Some 58 construction companies went bust last year, the highest number in a decade, and it has been estimated that there are 200,000 newly built apartments in Athens that remain unsold. Nevertheless, prices have so far fallen only modestly in Greece compared to other countries. Alpha Bank recently said that the prices of new prop...   more »

Prime minister George Papandreou stressed that Greece is not asking the EU for money, but rather for an "instrument" that can be used, if necessary, in statements to the European Parliament on Thursday morning in Brussels and in a later meeting with the Europarliament's Special (ad hoc) Committee on the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis (set up in October 2009) during the committee's "Public Hearing on European Economic Governance and EU tools for Econ...   more »

Bordeaux survived a second-half scare to grab a 2-1 win over Olympiakos Piraeus on Wednesday and give France a second team in the Champions League quarter-finals. Bordeaux, leading 1-0 from the first leg, went further clear through an early Yoann Gourcuff free kick and with the visitors down to 10 men from the 60th minute they appeared to have the tie firmly in hand. Not so. The Greek side levelled through Kostas Mitroglou in the 65th minute and Bordeaux...   more »

Greece has unparalleled ability to deploy Concentrate Solar Power, but it must act quickly to harness the energy of the Cretan sun. Bellona Europa’s six recommendations to the new Greek government. No Greek plan for low-carbon energy supply CO2 storage in Greece - an insurmountable obstacle? Greece is considering its role in the fight for carbon capture and storage. With Zervos appointment as PCC’s CEO, Greek energy will have unique opportunities for CCS a...   more »

The contemporary dance ensemble Cedar Lake is coming from New York to conquer the Athens public on 17,18 and 19 March at the "Megaron" Athens Concert Hall. Cedar Lake is an exceptional dance company based in New York. Its artistic vision and the group's aim is to showcase new choreographies by talented choreographers not only in the United States but at major theatres throughout the world.   more »

A look at the past, through a collection of haunting present-day photographs of the sites of exile for political prisoners during the 20th century in Greece, have been captured by the camera lenses of photo-journalists Orestis Panagiotou and Leonidas Dimakopoulos in a book titled "Places of Exile - A Glance Today" that has just been released. The photo essay, published by Alexandria publications, is a poignant journey in tribute to the tribulations suffere...   more »

The founder of Prague's Black Light Theatre, Jiří Srnec, is bringing the Flying Bicycle performance to the "Megaron" Athens Concert Hall in Athens, Greece on 9 and 10 April. The work is presented in 10 scenes. It is the love story of an inventor who, during his efforts to build a flying bicycle, discovers love for the time in his life. The work is considered to be an autobiography of Black Theatre developer Jiří Srnec. It is a performance with retrospectiv...   more »

Invited by the Hellenic American Union and Katoptro Publications, Nicholas A. Christakis, Professor of Medical Sociology at Harvard Medical School will deliver his first public lecture time in Athens, on the occasion of the Greek publication of his new book, "Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives. " In 2009, Nicholas Christakis was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. In the sa...   more »

A large early Christian Basilica (1st to early 4th century AD) and an important late Byzantine period (1204-1430) building were unearthed at a same number of Thessaloniki metro construction sites over the recent period. Part of a three-aisled, 50-metre-long basilica was unearthed during earthworks for the construction of the Sintrivani station and according to archaeologists it belongs to a cemetery. An important building with centuries-long but undeterm...   more »

The 5th Athens Xclusive Designers Week will take place from 3 -6 April at the Conference Centre of Ethniki Asfalistiki. The legendary Vivienne Westwood presents her famous collection. The “Queen” of punk chic, the woman-legend that is considered to be a vital part of Fashion history will be presenting, for the first time, in Greece her collection in the context of the 5th AXDW. Emanuel Ungaro the famous French Haute Couture Designer will be presenting, for...   more »

Following three sell out English language Digital Photography Course held in and around Kifissia and Glyfada, XpatAthens are now taking bookings for a course in the centre of Athens starting on Arpil the 17th. The course is very hands on and involves spending part of two sessions in the classroom but mainly out and about taking photos with the expert guidance of our professional photographer. The emphasis is on learning the basics of what your SLR camera c...   more »

Join us to play with words to create stories you have always wanted to tell.Together we will cover different elements of Fiction: Setting, Character, Point of View, Dialogue, Plot, etc. This workshop is designed to motivate the writer in all of us, and its focus will be to help each of us discover our own writing voice and style. The aim of the workshop is for each participant to draft one substantial piece of writing by the end of the workshop term. Wor...   more »

Friends' Corner, a non-profit club for foreign and Greek parents of preschoolers will have an Easter bazaar on Saturday the 20th of March between 10a.m.and 2p.m. On sale will be home baking, home-made playdough and crafts, baby to kid clothes and other items. Donations of food, clothes and other sellable items are most welcome. Come to shop, socialise and relax amongst our friendly interntional members in our beautiful club house at Archipelagous 14, Ano G...   more »

This week XpatAthens brings you another great free offer. The fantastic Vari Sports Club has very kindly offered all XpatAthens.com users free access to their club during the weeks of the 22nd to 28th of March and the 7th to 13th April. During these two weeks you will have full access to the wide range facilities and be able to take advantage of a free consultation with one of the fitness instructors.   more »

The village of Kilcoulins Leap was once a thriving spa town, and was home to a famous Holy Well, but now offers little by way of employment for its people, and its decline seems inexorable. When local Postie, Podger Byrnes, comes up with a plan to hijack a consignment of Viagra, and sell it on the open market in Amsterdam, his friends are desperate enough to try it. Not counting on the muscular response of Viagra's makers, the boys panic and hide the lorry...   more »

A widower embarks on an impromptu road trip to reconnect with each of his grown children only to discover that their lives are far from picture perfect. Frank Goode lives by himself in Elmira, NY, a recent widow with heart trouble. In the summer, each of his four adult children bails on a reunion, so, against doctor's orders, Frank decides to surprise each with a visit.   more »

When a successful British ghostwriter, The Ghost, agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang, his agent assures him it's the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start--not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang's long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident. The Ghost flies out to work on the project, in the middle of winter, to an oceanfront house on an island off the U.S. Eastern ...   more »

Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is a fourteen-year-old girl like any other. She's trying to get along with her family, wondering whether a boy at school has a crush on her, and trying to figure out who she is and what she wants. And then, unexpectedly, she is brutally murdered. Trapped in an "in between" world that is neither life nor death, she watches over her family -- and her killer -- from heaven. Susie can't rest until her killer is found and punished. ...   more »

If war is hell, why do so many men choose to fight? In an age when armies consist not of draftees but of volunteers, and men willingly thrust themselves into military action, sometimes the rush of battle is a potent and alluring attraction, even an addiction.   more »

The Cranberries, reunited in 2009, will be in Athens for a one-night performance on Wednesday, 14th of July. The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989 under the name The Cranberry Saw Us, later changed by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan. The Cranberries rose to international fame in the 1990s with their debut album, "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?," which became a high commercial success and sold over five million copies in...   more »

After his great success at Synch Festival ‘09, Mulatu Astatke, "the father of ethio-jazz," returns to the Fuzz Club in Athens, Greece for an explosive live show on 17 April. Mulatu Astatke is one of the most important and influential African musicians of the 20th century. He is considered the "father of ethio-jazz," as his music combines jazz and Latin influences with traditional Ethiopian music. His album with the Heliocentrics, Inspiration Information, w...   more »

Just a few months before their scheduled live appearance at the Fuzz Club in Athens, Greece on April 14, the British band Editors from Birmingham released their third album, In the Light and In This Evening. They consider this new studio album a new chapter. The Editors have decided to enhance their sound with more electronic elements without deviating from the personal style that has earned them so many fans. Enjoy the Editors live at the Fuzz Club in Ath...   more »

Kim Lenz, the boisterous singer, composer and guitarist with the orange-brown hair has established herself as a very modern, rockabilly vocalist with two albums that have both received rave reviews and with appearances in Europe and the US that left audiences ecstatic. Enjoy Kim Lenz and the Jaguars at the Half Note Jazz Club in Athens, Greece from 9 to 15 April. Rolling Stone wrote this about Lenz: "If Elvis had been a woman, he might have had the same so...   more »

Twelve dancers and eight musicians of the Mevlevi Whirling Dervishes, the oldest Dervish regiment, are coming to Athens, Greece for an evening of mysticism on 27 March at the "Megaron" Athens Concert Hall. The Dervishes, an authentic expression of Islamic mysticism through a centuries-old dance ritual, seek to purify the human soul. Through the dance, they transmit their experience of ecstasy. Don't miss this compelling performance at the "Megaron" Athens ...   more »

Edodi is a gastronomy theatre with its nature morte live presentation of the dishes with their ingredients, and we like it! The baroque style mentored by Claus Fogierbach seals Michael Litrivi's cuisine. Distinguished dishes the fish with orange and saffron, the little rooster with crabs and bisk sauce, the rabbit with sweet pumpkin pie and apples or the lobster with spinach and parmesan. And of course, the wonderful desert collection: marinated red fruit,...   more »

During the previous years the restaurant was beating at the gates of the "Toques D' Or" with no luck, but this year, the gourmet restaurant of Park hotel enters the golden list! Erve Pronzato has included several Squirrel dishes and the team in the kitchen manages to get really close to the Chalkidiki high standards. They stand out for their politeness, the asparagus ravioli, truffle, jamon and idiazabal cheese. Super delicate sardine dishes, rice with wil...   more »

If something characterizes Sotiris Evagelou cuisine, chef at the Premiere at the Intercontinental, that would be stability and consistency towards the style that the restaurant represents. The extremely competent chef has an interesting presence at the gastronomic scene of Athens with Lycabetus hill, the Acropolis and the lightened city designing the perfect background to a cuisine with French references and intense Mediterranean components. What stand out...   more »

Finally, a restaurant that stands on the shadows of the Aropolis and farely represents Greek cuisine! At Electra's roof garden George Venieris designs a menu based on classic Greek recipes while also using techniques that add more style. The "minute" mousaka with lamp is an excellent dish, a version of the traditional dish that will blow your mind. Very good frumenty with spearfish, oregano and olive but also the juicy labrus that's accompanied by barley a...   more »

On Wednesday the 17th it's St Patrick’s day and the Deli Bar are celebrating with a fun Guinness Promotions. The Guinness promotion team will be at the bar with lots of promotional gifts and the bar will be providing FREE IRISH STEW to soak up some of the black stuff. So, why not head down to the bar after work and enjoy the party between 7pm and 9pm.   more »

"Spetses is both cursed and blessed by its assets; being too pretty and too accessible have made it too popular. The last of the Argo-Saronic islands that include Aigina, Poros and Hydra off the northeast coast of the Peloponnesos, Spetses was so green in antiquity that it was called Pityoussa – covered with pines. Cruel winds rarely buffet it, yet every midday in summer a delicious breeze springs up to cool it. Although it has to import water, bougainvill...   more »

The island of Rhodes is located at the crossroads of two major sea routes of the Mediterranean between the Aegean Sea and the coast of the Middle East, as well as Cyprus and Egypt. The meeting point of three continents, it has known many civilizations. Throughout its long history the different people who settled on Rhodes left their mark in all aspects of the island's culture: art, language, architecture. Its strategic position brought to the island great ...   more »

Underwater robots can help study the world’s shipwrecks, a trove of information about the past, more easily and cheaply. A SHIPWRECK is a catastrophe for those involved, but for historians and archaeologists of future generations it is an opportunity. Wrecks offer glimpses not only of the nautical technology of the past but also of its economy, trade, culture and, sometimes, its warfare. Until recently, though, most of the 3m ships estimated to be lying on...   more »

Greece has been added to the US Visa Waiver Program, allowing its citizens to travel to the United States for 90 days at a time without a visa, the US Homeland Security Department said Tuesday. The announcement from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, which came as Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou visited Washington, adds Greece to a list of 35 countries whose citizens can visit the United States visa-free. The waiver will go into effect in...   more »

Sidirokastro (Greek: Σιδηρόκαστρο, Bulgarian: Валовища or Демир Хисар) is a municipality in the Serres Prefecture, Greece. It is built near the fertile valley of the river Strymonas, on the bank of the Krousovitis River. Sidirokastro is situated on the European route E79 and the main road from northern Greece (Thessaloniki) to Bulgaria. It has interesting sights, such as the medieval stone castle, Byzantine ruins, natural spas and beautiful nature. Sidirok...   more »