Apart from the various year-round offerings around the city, one of my favourite theatre events is the annual ‘Hellenic Festival’ – also called the Athens & Epidaurus Festival (www.greekfestival.gr/en/) which happens every summer. The festival offers a great range of classical and modern theatrical masterpieces and musical performances at the stunning Herodeon and Epidaurus theatres.

But back to winter reality… I often drive or walk by a place called ‘Chytirio’, in the Gazi/Kerameikos neighborhood. It’s an unassuming little building with performance adverts posted outside. I’ve often wondered what goes on in here… So the other night I bought a couple of tickets (a steal at €8 each) to a show called ‘Aires de Argentina’ at the Chytirio.

Chytirio means ‘foundry’ – and I’d like to believe the building was once, perhaps, a foundry. It is styled as a ‘Theatre / Art Café’. In any case, the venue is rather interesting: direct entry into an outdoor garden space set-up for summer shows, a small indoor bar/café, and a small (150 person) theatre, with exposed stone walls and a ‘small space’, intimate feeling. Athenian, to be sure.

This was a musical performance more than theatre – a ‘trip around Argentina’ through music and dance. (Has anyone else noticed that Athens seems to be in love with Argentinean music and dance??) It was a very pleasant evening – nice music, relaxed and easy, like a private performance by a group of friends – complete with wine served to you during the show.

Chytirio seems to have something for everyone – music & theatre, local and not-so-local. Worth a look to see if anything catches your eye!

Muy bien!

Chytirio (Χυτήριο)
Iera Odos 44, Kerameikos
210 3412313
www.chytirio.gr (Greek only)

Until next week,

Jack

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…

Its modern ski resort, its close proximity to Athens, and its breathtaking mountainous landscape are the strongest reason why. Apart from the mountain activities, Aráchova is also famous for its bustling nightlife!

Must visit: The Byzantine churches of the village with their well preserved frescos.

Activities on offer: Get involved in outdoor activities such as hiking or ski down the slopes of Mt. Parnassós at the biggest downhill ski resort in Greece. The mountain’s high altitude offers ski lovers long-lasting snow cover at the peaks.

Hot tips:

• Discover the traditional character of the village by taking leisurely walks through its narrow cobblestone streets. Enjoy hot and sweet or soft and fruity drinks in cafés, or traditional kafeneia (coffee shops).
• Stay up all night and enjoy the village’s bustling nightlife. There are a plethora of bars and clubs up and down the streets of Aráhova.
• Visit the nearby archaeological site of Delphi.

Accommodation: Various elegant first-class hotels or traditional guest houses offer luxurious accommodation.

Famous local products: Aráhova offers a memorable gourmet experience; taste local specialties: kontosoúvli (big hunks of pork skewered and put on a rotisserie with onions, tomatoes, peppers and seasoned with salt and pepper, garlic and oregano), kokorétsi (the intestines of the lamb stuffed with offal), sarmádes (stuffed grape leaves), traditional pies, handmade trahanás (pasta soup, can be sweet or sour), and hilopites (egg noodles made in linguine-sized strips, cut into small pieces).

Aráhova also produces the famous cheese “formaéla”, a sweet smelling hard rind cheese of with a relatively mild flavour that you should definitely taste!
Have a sip of the divine Parnassós local wine, the red “Mavroudi”, which achieved Protected Designation of Origin status in 2006. The “Black Aráhova vine” is a full-bodied prolific variety that produces wines of a deep red hue with a high alcohol content.

Complete your meal with traditional “spoon-sweets”, or even better, try yogurt with honey, a dessert served compliments of the house. Before you leave Aráhova, pick up some hand-made beautifully coloured woven carpets (flocati rugs) and textiles to take with you as a going-away present.

Karpenissi

Where: A mountain village situated in Evritania, Greece.

Why: Towering snow capped mountains; deep ravines; fast-flowing rivers and lakes; impressive gorges; Byzantine monasteries and tiny mountain villages make out an form an alpine landscape that promises to offer the ultimate winter experience!

Must visit: The most popular sights of Karpenissi: The Byzantine Church of Agia Triada in Karpenissi, the Church of Panagia in Fousiana, Agia Paraskevi in Vraggiana and Proussos Monastery, the Library and the picturesque squares of Markos Botsaris and Katsantonis, both famous heroes of the Revolution.

Activities: Trekking along winding mountain paths; canoe-kayaking in Kremaston Lake; kayaking and rafting down the Aheloos, Tavropos and Trikeriotis rivers; horse riding; canoeing through the gorges of Viniani and Vothonas; jeep safari and skiing at the modern ski resort of Karpenissi, one of the biggest and most popular in Greece.

Follow scenic routes and admire the undulating natural surroundings. Two suggested routes are: Karpenissi - Gorgianades - Korishades - Klausi - Voutiro - Nostimo - Megalo Horio - Mikro Horio - Palio Mikro Horio – Proussos and Karpenissi - Viniani - Kerasohori - Marathos - Monastiraki - Epiniana - Agrafa - Tridendro - Trovato - Vraggiana – Agrafa.

Hot tip: Visit the beautifully preserved district of Korishades and tour its fascinating museums such as the National Resistance Museum; visit restored manor houses, Byzantine churches, schools transformed into museums and the arched bridges of the area, wonderful examples of local architecture.

Accommodation: Choose from among family run pensions, welcoming guesthouses or luxurious hotels!

Famous local products: Taste fried trout and mushrooms (morchella) in red sauce. Other exquisite local products on offer include Katiki, which is a Euritanian goat cheese, feta cheese, yoghurt and butter, local meat, beans, noodles, pasta, chestnuts and walnuts, berries, black cherries, crab apples, figs and kumquats, honey and superb “spoon sweets” as well as wine, tsipouro and liqueurs. Don’t forget to buy folk art products, like handmade rugs and woven fabrics of exceptional quality.

To read more, please see visitgreece.gr

Among others, the letter is signed by economists James Kenneth Galbraith of the University of Texas at Austin, Stephany Griffith-Jones of the Columbia University in New York, Jacques Sapir of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, psychiatrist Gerald Epstein of the American Institute for Mental Imagery and philosopher/sociologist Dominique Meda of the Universite Paris-Dauphine.

The full letter in English:

We the undersigned call on the governments of Europe, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF to respect the decision of the Greek people to choose a new course and to engage the new government of Greece in good faith negotiations to resolve the Greek debt.

The government of Greece is correct to insist on new policies because the previous policies have failed. They have not brought economic recovery. They have not brought financial stability. They have not brought jobs or foreign investments. They have stressed and damaged Greek society and weakened Greek institutions. There is therefore no value in that approach and no progress to preserve. We urge Greece’s European partners to accept this reality, without which the new government would have never been elected.

To read more, please visit greekreporter.com

By Aggelos Skordas