ボルィスピリ空港Аеропорт Бориспільでお偉いさんと別れ、荷物検査場に向かいます。まあ良くある荷物検査でした。たまに靴まで脱がされるところがありますが、そこまでではありませんでした。また、やはりペットボトルの水は飲むか没収とのことで、ケチな僕は荷物検査場で全部飲みきりました。
次いで出国審査。全く質問なしでスタンプが押されて出国です。審査が終わって出たあたりがすぐに目的の搭乗口でした。
鉄道やバスの移動ばかりで初めてのボルィスピリ内部。それなりにお店はありました。フリヴニャを使っても良かったのですが、もしかするとまたウクライナに来るかもしれませんので無理に使わず、無料Wifiでメールチェック。
滑走路はきちんと除雪されています。まあ最近はどか雪は降っていないのでこんなものでしょう。
予定時刻に搭乗開始。エーゲ航空のA320。落ちないでくれ。
2時間20分のフライトですが、昼時なので飯が出ました。あとはソフトドリンク、コーヒー、お茶が別々に回ってきました。久々に食べたナス（或いはズッキーニか）がうまい。尚、後方の座席はガラガラで、僕もそうですが、3席を自由に使うことができました。
エーゲの島々が見えてきました！
ふ、風景がキエフと違いすぎる。温かに過ごせそうだ。
アテネ国際空港Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνώνに到着。着陸後、機内で拍手が起きました。タラップ使用でバスでターミナルに向かいます。
入国審査も全く無会話でスルー。まあこういうのって、変な言い方ですが、日本のパスポートがやはり偉大なのだからだと思います。先人たちがこの信用を作りだしたのですよね、「彼らは安全だ、信用できる」って。先人に感謝。
出口から出てすぐのところに両替所とATMあり。無料Wifiもあり。ユーロ圏はエストニアEesti以来。こちらのATMでユーロを下ろしました。
アテネの国際空港から市内まではバスやメトロがありますが、ネットで他人さまの経験談を読んでメトロを選択。実はここで失敗しました。
このような地図を事前にネットで落としていましたので、「単にメトロに乗ってとりあえずシンタグマΣύνταγμαまで行けばいい」と考えていたのですが、そうではなかったのです。ただ、他人さまの記事でも、この件についてきちんとお書きになっている方もいらっしゃったので、全く僕のミスでした。
とりあえず、「鉄道・メトロはこちら」の指示通りに進みます。
橋のようなところを動く歩道で進みます。
「鉄道・メトロ」のチケット売り場。ここで気づくべきでした。チケット売り場でまず目にした路線図に「シンタグマ」がなかったのです。しかし、左手の方にあった地図には出ていました。しかも窓口で「シンタグマまで」と言うと普通に切符を売ってくれました（10ユーロ。現金）ので安心してしまったのです。
反対側からの写真ですが、これに切符を差し込んで時刻を刻印してもらってからホームに進みます。
すぐに列車がやってきました。ラッキーと思い、乗車してしまったのが運の尽き。すぐに列車が来なければ、ホームでちょっと調べることができたのですが。
先に話しておくと、メトロだけの地図を見ると、シンタグマまで必ず行くことが出来るように見えますが、この駅には普通の近郊線も入っており、しかも途中まで同じ線路を共用しているのでした。
（出典「電車、バス、ふね、ときどき自転車」さん）
また、あとで調べると、他の方（「旅と街歩き」さん）もこのことをきちんと書いていらっしゃいました。しかもきちんとホームの行き先表示板の載った写真！これを読んでおけば良かった!折角の貴重な情報を拾えなかった僕は、やってきた近郊線に飛び乗ってしまったわけです。しかも地図にある通り、途中まではメトロと線路が一緒なので、駅も途中までは一緒。違う電車に乗ったと気づかず安心してしまった。
（出典「旅と街歩き」さん）
結局、ある程度行ったところで異変に気づき下車。近くにいた母娘に尋ねると、やはり間違っていたことが判明。ただ、彼らもプラケンティアスΠλακεντίαςまで行くとのことで、そこまで連れていってくれると言ってもらい感激。夕方のラッシュ時、デカい旅行鞄の見知らぬ男を案内してくれました。最後は娘さんのマリヤさんが地下鉄ホームまで送ってくれて、もうこの時はギリシア人が好きになりました（写真はマリヤさんとその母親と並んでベンチに座る小生がホームを撮ったもの）。救う神あり。
ところが、シンタグマに行くメトロに乗ったところ、今度は男女6人程度からなるスリ団（強盗団）に遭遇。空いているのに囲まれて押しくらまんじゅうの状態にされ、ポケットに手を突っ込んでくるという、スリというより強盗。しかし無理矢理そこから脱出。一応何も取られずに済みました。ウクライナのコペイカやフリヴナがポケットに少々入っていたのですが、それさえ取られませんでした（リヴィウでのイヤな思い出を活かして貴重品は完全防備）。彼らは他の客が見つめる中、次の駅でケラケラ笑いながら下車していきました。そしてともかくシンタグマで下車。ギリシア人の株は僕の中ではプラスマイナスゼロになりました。
シンタグマからはもう一度乗り換えて難読駅メタクスルギオΜεταξουργείοで下車。夕刻にホテルに到着。ともかく疲れました。とは言え、寒さは厳しくなく、一応楽ができそうです。
I was given some time off, so I decided to escape from the cold Ukraine and travel to Greece, which looked warm. I bought my ticket online. I received an email a couple of days before my flight, telling me that I could check in online, so I got a window seat.
At Borispil Airport, I said goodbye to the important people and headed for the luggage inspection area. It was a fairly standard luggage inspection. Sometimes they even make you take off your shoes, but it wasn't that bad. Also, as I expected, they said that I would have to drink or throw away the bottled water, so I drank it all at the luggage inspection area, being the stingy person that I am.
Next was passport control. I was stamped out without any questions and left the country. As soon as I came out of passport control, I found the boarding gate I was looking for.
This was my first time inside Boryspil, which is only accessible by train or bus. There were some shops there. I could have used hryvnia, but I didn't want to spend it unnecessarily, as I might come to Ukraine again, so I checked my email using the free wifi.
The runway had been cleared of snow. Well, it hasn't snowed much recently, so it's probably about right.
Boarding started on time. An Aegean Airlines A320. Please don't crash.
The flight was 2 hours and 20 minutes long, and as it was lunchtime, we were served food. Soft drinks, coffee and tea were also served separately. The eggplant (or zucchini?) I had after a long time was delicious. Also, the seats at the back of the plane were empty, and I was able to use three seats freely, as was the case with me.
The Aegean islands came into view!
The scenery is so different from Kiev. It looks like we'll be able to spend a warm time here.
We arrived at Athens International Airport Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών. After landing, there was applause on the plane. We used the gangway and then took a bus to the terminal.
We also passed through immigration without speaking at all. Well, it's a strange way of putting it, but I think this is because Japanese passports are still so great. Our predecessors have created this trust, haven't they? “They're safe, they can be trusted.” Thanks to our predecessors.
There is a currency exchange and ATM right outside the exit. There is also free Wifi. This is the first time I have been in a Eurozone country since Estonia. I withdrew some Euros from the ATM here.
There are buses and the metro from Athens International Airport to the city center, but after reading other people's experiences online, I chose the metro. In fact, I made a mistake here.
I had downloaded a map like this in advance from the internet, so I thought “I'll just get on the metro and go to Syntagma for the time being”, but that wasn't the case. However, there were also people who had written about this matter properly in other people's articles, so it was completely my mistake.
For the time being, I'll follow the instructions “Trains and Metro are here”.
We move along the moving walkway over the bridge.
The ticket office for the “Railway/Metro”. I should have realized this here. The route map I saw first at the ticket office didn't have Syntagma on it. However, it did appear on the map on the left. Furthermore, when I said “to Syntagma” at the ticket counter, they sold me a ticket as normal (10 euros, cash), so I felt relieved.
This is a photo from the other side, and after inserting your ticket and having the time stamped on it, you can proceed to the platform.
The train came along soon after. Thinking I was lucky, I got on the train, but that was the end of my luck. If the train hadn't come along right away, I could have done some research on the platform.
To tell you the truth, if you look at a map of the metro alone, it looks like you can always get to Syntagma, but this station is also served by regular suburban trains, and they share the same tracks up to a certain point.
(Source: “Trains, buses, boats, and sometimes bicycles”)
Also, when I looked it up later, I found that someone else (from “Travel and walking around the city”) had written about this properly. And it was a photo with the destination sign on the platform! I should have read this! I didn't pick up on this valuable information, and so I jumped on the suburban train that had arrived. And as the map shows, the metro and the train share the same track until a certain point, so the stations are the same until that point. I didn't realize I was on a different train, and so I felt relieved.
(Source: “Travel and City Walks” )
Eventually, after going a certain distance, I noticed something was wrong and got off the train. When I asked a mother and daughter nearby, it turned out that I had taken the wrong train after all. However, they were also going to Plakentias, so I was very grateful when they offered to take me there. They showed me the way during the evening rush hour, despite the fact that I was a strange man with a large suitcase. In the end, Maria, their daughter, took me to the subway platform, and by this time I had already grown to like the Greeks (the photo shows me sitting on a bench next to Maria and her mother, and I took the photo of the platform). There is a God who saves.
However, when I got on the metro to go to Syntagma, I encountered a pickpocket gang of about six men and women. Even though the train was empty, I was surrounded and pushed around, and they stuck their hands in my pockets, so it was more like a robbery than a pickpocket. However, I managed to escape from them. At least nothing was taken from me. I had a few Ukrainian kopecks and hryvnia in my pocket, but they didn't even take those (I was completely prepared for valuables, having learned a lesson from my unpleasant experience in Lviv). They got off at the next station, laughing and giggling as other passengers looked on. And anyway, I got off at Syntagma. My Greek stock had become plus-minus zero in my eyes.
From Syntagma, I changed trains again and got off at the difficult-to-read station Metaxourgio. I arrived at the hotel in the evening. I was exhausted. However, the cold wasn't too severe, so I think I'll be able to relax for the time being.
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