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Be Still My Beating Heart
Literally! Summer brings visitors, and last week was a case in point: 2 visitors, South American, traveling around Europe, with 'I love Athens' goggles firmly implanted. Until Saturday late afternoon, after a full day of hiking around town in the heat, we found ourselves at the top of Lycabetus, on what must have been our 5th coffee of the day.
One of our group started to have heart palpitations, rapid heartbeat, trouble breathing. This lead very quickly to him being flat on his back on the ground, breathing rapidly, heart racing, arm numbness, panicked.
He was travelling with full traveller's health insurance, so we called his provider and were told to go directly to the Henry Dunant Hospital. Twenty minutes later, we were there.
Fortunately, my friend was perfectly fine: not enough food, dehydrated, sunstroke and an overdose of caffeine. His heart was over-taxed, but eventually settled.
But the treatment we received at the emergency section of the hospital was great.
My friend was seen by a nurse, a cardiologist and a neurologist, each of whom did a thorough exam and diagnosis, in English. We were there for an hour in total.
The whole experience was efficient, professional, competent. Which is, I suppose, what an emergency room visit should be. OK, it's a private hospital, but the whole process was flawless: speed of admission, 'trust' & bedside manner, English language service, medical explanation and prescription, discharge process. I have been in only a handful of hospitals in my life, but I could find no fault in this visit.
Lesson 1: Eat properly, don't spend all day in the sun, and take it easy on the caffeine.
Lesson 2: Sometimes things aren't as bad as they could be.
I know that many of us have had bad experiences with the Greek healthcare system; I have heard endless horror stories and reasons to complain - from both the public and the private hospital system. Last weekend, I had the opposite experience - and it's important to share that too.
Until next week,
Jack
Hospital "Henry Dunant" (Νοσοκομείο "ΕΡΡΙΚΟΣ ΝΤΥΝΑΝ")
107 Mesogion Ave.
Tel: +30 210 6972000
www.dunant.gr
In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…
Temple Of Apollo At Bassae
The magnificent ancient temple visible today was not the first to stand on this rugged mountain site. Excavations have shown that the foundations of the Temple of Apollo reused blocks from at least one Archaic predecessor. Artifacts from the 7th, 6th, and 5th centuries have been discovered, including some terracotta decoration. Votive offerings of many periods have also been uncovered, dating all the way back to Geometric times.
History
The present Temple of Apollo Epicurius was built sometime between 450 and 400 BC, around the time of the Parthenon in Athens. Its style seems to indicate a date prior to the Parthenon, perhaps designed 450-440 BC with a completion date around 425 BC. (Other sources date it to shortly after the Parthenon.) The ancient writer Pausanius attributed the design to Iktinos, architect of the Parthenon, but so far this has not been independently confirmed.
The temple's isolated location and unusual dedication (epikourios means "helper" or "protector") have kept scholars occupied for over 200 years. One explanation is that the villagers of nearby Figalos prayed to Apollo for protection from a plague and built the temple in gratitude for his assistance. Another theory is that Apollo was considered the protector of the Arcadians, especially mercenaries, who funded the temple.
Whatever the reason for its construction, the Temple of Apollo Epicurius was no modest, back-woods shrine. It is built on a grand scale with great precision and architectural creativity. Its combination of Doric and Ionic orders in a single structure was quite daring, and its Corinthian capital is the oldest known example in the ancient world.
The temple at Bassae remained well-preserved over the centuries, thanks primarily to its isolation. All but forgotten, it was too far up in the mountains for looting of materials to be practical anyway. The ancient ruin was not rediscovered until 1765, when the French architect Joachim Bocher stumbled on it by accident.
In 1811-12, British and German antiquarians poked around the ruins a bit and brought the metope sculptures back to their own countries. The cella friezes were bought by the British Government for £19,000 and placed in the British Museum, where they remain today.
The Greek Archaeological Society restored the temple from 1902 to 1906, re-erecting some fallen columns and restoring the cella walls. Another renovation was carried out in the 1960s, during which some fragments of the frieze were excavated.
A "temporary" protective tent was erected over the temple in 1987 that still remains in place today. It keeps out the extremes of the mountain weather, but obscures much of the architectural beauty of this celebrated Classical temple.
To get there
• Address: Off Rte. 76 and then up a 1-lane road, Bassae, 27061
• Phone: 26260/22254
• Cost: €2
• Hours: Daily 8:30-3
Source: Sacred-destinations.com
TUI To Cooperate With Local Hotels
Leading European tour operator TUI is moving ahead with the creation of more than 10 hotels in Greece in cooperation with local hotel chains Grecotel and Atlantica, with which it has a long history in the joint development of hotel units, according to sources from TUI Hellas.
This reflects the growing tourism interest of the group in Greece.
This year TUI brought more than 2 million tourists into the country in cooperation with 2,800 hotels across Greece.
To read more, please visit ekathimerini.com
By Stathis Kousounis
To Tip Or Not To Tip In Greece
I read a recent blog in the Economist about tipping rules for hospitality services in the US – and I nearly fell off my chair. According to the piece, the ‘Gratuity Guide’ of the American Hotel & Lodging Association suggests up to $2 per person for the driver of the shuttle bus from the airport to the hotel; up to $5 per bag for porters; door staff should get up to $2 for hailing a taxi from the queue outside; and housekeeping should be left up to $5 a night. The lucky concierge should get $5 for making a restaurant reservation and $10 if he has something more difficult to do, like find a tricky theatre ticket. This 'culture of tipping' is being questioned in parts of the US, where a number of restaurants have started to apply a 'no tips' policy.
So, I’ve suddenly paid more in tips than I have for my hotel room. What are the comparative ‘rules’ for Greece?
According to WhoToTip.net: In Greece, it is customary to tip the porter/bellboy, around €1 per bag. Tip the housekeeper €1 per day, leaving the tip on the bedside table or bed. You can tip the concierge a few Euros if he provides excellent service. In restaurants, tipping is expected for good service, especially if you are a tourist. Some restaurants in Greece will round up the bill, so you should check this before tipping. You can tip between 5% and 10% and you should leave the tip on the table, give it to the waiter directly, or tell the waiter you don’t want change. In some restaurants, the owner does not allow their staff to keep the tips. You may want to ask if this is the case, because if they don’t, you are just paying more for your meal. Taxis don't expect a tip, but you may round up the fare (+/- 5%) if you wish.
And so on… So many rules that I wasn’t aware of…! My Greek friends say “Bah, round up the bill or leave a couple euros for good service – that’s all you need to know.” (Then again, is it great service when they ask you 10 times if you need something else, or when they leave you to enjoy your coffee in peace??)
In the end, I think that tipping is a personal choice – but one that I always encourage. Especially in a city like Athens that should know how to treat visitors, to provide good customer service, and a culture that apparently dishes out ‘filoxenia’ as second nature. When someone gets it really right, I am generous. What’s more, a generous tip normally comes with my verbal appreciation of their great service – as in “We really appreciated your great service today – you were great.” Maybe this is more valuable than one or two euros, and encourages more of the same? Perhaps. In any case, I tend to fall on the side of generosity, and put it in the category of ‘karma’… ;)
So, tip or don’t tip, but do show appreciation for someone who goes beyond their sub-minimum-wage job description to make your hour-long coffee stop more pleasant.
Until next week,
Jack
The Economist – Gratuitous Expense
WhoToTip.net – Tipping in Greece
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