Greece: Spending Ash Monday in Athens

Greek Ash Monday

My second visit to Athens, the capital city of Greece recently also landed on a public holiday.  Greek Easter is one week after the Christian Easter and although has some differences there are also some similarities .

To celebrate Ash Monday (in the UK we have Ash Wednesday to start Lent) in Greece many people flock to their local seaside or beach to fly kites. My fellow blogger friend Nayna and I landed in Athens on a Sunday and checked into our city hotel – The Kubic Hotel.  The following morning we went with friends to the beach just outside of Athens known as the Athenian Riviera.

Scores of locals flock to the beaches to fly kites, have picnics and just enjoy the atmosphere with family and friends alike.

Everywhere we looked there were kites of all sorts of shapes and sizes flowing in the wind trying to catch elusive wind currents to stay alive and up in the air, each kite attached by a very long string to a person on the ground!

The day we were there it was fairly windy so the kites had no difficulty flying high into the blue skies above.  We stood there transfixed watching them dance and bob on demand.

I think it is so interesting to be in a foreign country when they are having a celebration different from anything you would have at home.

Read here about my trip to Athens when it was ‘Ochi Day‘ in October.

I was not required to write a positive review of my trip to the beach.  As usual all opinions and photographs are my own. No photographs may be reproduced in any form without my written permission.