“Please mind the gap between the train and the platform”

Waiting for the tram

I can drive a car, I will drive a car, but for the moment it’s easier to take the bus, trolley bus, tram or the metro…

Since living in Corfu I can’t say I used public transport, very rarely and the only option there to use is the notorious Green bus or to the Greeks; the Ktel, which is basically a bus connection to and from villages to the main town. A crazy journey of about 1 hour, up and down the villages, spiralling over the mountain and racing towards the finish line to the bus station… Not a journey for the faint hearted. I learnt to drive at the age of 19, since then my car became my only mode of transport and my freedom to travel wherever I liked, whenever I desired.

Athens is a different kettle of fish. On my first days in the capital, staying in the centre I literally walked everywhere, returning to the hotel in the evening to rest my poor swollen feet. I had no idea that a few metres below ground the metro was zooming through the stations making the public commuting so easy. Taking my first trip on the metro was mesmerizing, buying a ticket at the automated machines, validating my ticket, taking the escalators down to the station, boarding the train and actually seeing the map of the lines where the train journeys. My biggest concern was: would it be on time? The electronic boards point out how long until the next train but I was wary of the GMT (Greek Maybe Time!!). Honestly I was worrying over nothing, the train came on time, all boarded and off we went. Since then, the metro has been my favourite and easiest option to travel around the centre, it saves a lot of time too.

Metro station

My next experience was the bus. I wanted to take a short journey of around ten minutes to a neighbourhood a little further away to meet a friend. I had the option of three different bus lines to choose from so obviously I picked the one that came first. It was an easy journey, it lasted about 25 minutes (longer than I thought) but the problem I had was to guess which stop I had to get off, it turned out I made the wrong decision and had to walk back down the same road. So basically if you don’t have any idea where you’re going my best advice is to ask someone on the bus to get an idea of your destination. My second trip with the bus was definitely unexpected and surprised me. Travelling from Piraeus to Syndagma at about one in the morning, a journey I expected to take over half an hour took only 15 minutes. It was one hell of a ride. The driver was speeding down the road (he must have been late for his rendezvous!), people were holding on for dear life, but we arrived safely which was all that mattered.

The most recent encounter of mine was the tram. A line which runs from Syndagma to Piraeus and vice versa, a line going from Piraeus to Voula (the south suburbs of Athens) and another going from Voula to Syndagma. It was a Sunday, I had nothing else to do and I was on my way home so instead of taking the metro I had a spur of the moment idea to take the tram back to Syndagma to waste some time. In my opinion it wasn’t anything special, it took about three quarters of an hour but the great thing about it is you get to see the heart of the city from a different view, whereas on the metro you don’t really see much. After that I decided to take a trip to Glyfada to check out the numerous beaches along the southern coast to get an idea of the areas, you could call it detective work! Again it was definitely an enjoyable ride with lots to see but again it took a while.

Tram lines in Glyfada

A new jaunt of mine had me visiting a very close friend who lives in Halkida, about a hour’s drive away, but I didn't drive so how did I get there you ask... Well, I took the train! Not the metro or the electric railway, the train. This journey was one of a kind, it had its up and downs but I am now aware of the way things should be handled. 

My first problem was buying a ticket, after queuing at the wrong desk I found the correct one hiding in the left hand corner. The guy behind the desk asked me how old I was, my first thought was: isn’t it rude to ask a lady her age? Well, he was asking because being under the age of 26 I received a discount! I'll have to make sure I look under 26 for a long time!! Overall the journey took around an hour and forty five minutes as we sat for ten minutes at a station, according to the driver there was a lot of traffic, traffic on a train line, is that even possible?!?! Anyway I arrived at my destination safe and well. 

The return journey wasn't as pleasing, I had a two hour wait at the station as the schedule times had changed and I had to change trains about half way into the journey. Again this took longer than stated on the website, four and a half hours later I finally arrived home. For my future trips I will make sure I note the correct times to be certain I’m not waiting around, it’s definitely an alternative and cheaper way to get out of Athens centre for the weekend.

Overall I think that the public transport in Athens centre is great, without a doubt it makes your commuting much easier than taking the car and sitting for hours on the congested roads. A considerable “bravo” to Athens Public Transport for making my life easier, thank you.