Athens: An Ugly Duckling among the Swans of Europe

"Is Athens an Ugly City?"

I have intended to address this question, but decided to wait until I had a standard for comparison. Over the weekend I went on my first independent adventure: I traveled solo to Vienna, Austria.

Vienna is beautiful. Touring the rooms of the Hofburg and Schonbrunn palaces, in all their extravagence, made me want to be queen for a day. Vienna really does feel like an "imperial" city.

Several European cities, like Vienna, are known for their lovely streets and historical feel. History is visible everywhere, with monumental buildings mixed in with the modern ones. Athens is not an exception in this regard; we do have the Parthenon, after all, along with other classical and Byzantine structures.

It is the areas surrounding these things that are different. From the top of Lykavittos Hill, which I wrote about in February, the view of Athens is expansive. It is a great lookout point, but also brings into focus the ugliness of the city. Athens is a conglomeration of concrete. The layout is structureless. It is far from environmentally friendly, too - laws against building higher than the Acropolis mean that the tallest buildings cap at about 7 stories. The city thus grows outward, not upward.

It wasn't until I was in Vienna that I realized how much I miss parks. Trees. Grass to sit on. A place to walk. Houses. With yards.

Athens does have a lot to offer. While I agree that it is quite aesthetically displeasing, I feel bad that my city's good qualities are overshadowed by its homely reputation. I feel it is my duty to explain and excuse Athens' blemished appearance.

In 19th century Vienna, the royalty were eating off of silver spoons and porcelain dishes. Sigmund Freud was researching. Strauss was composing.

While Austria and other European countries were experiencing a renaissance, Greece was still part of the Ottoman Empire. They fought their war of independence in 1821... the same year that Beethoven composed Opus 111.

There was still potential to build an impressive city, but a rapid influx of immigrants circa 1920 caused spontaneous expansion in Athens. Buildings were constructed unlawfully; the government lost control over city planning. Unprepared to house a million new people, the city exploded. Chaotically.

I guess it's better to have a few ugly buildings than homeless refugees, even if it resulted in the blur of concrete Athens is today.

In Vienna, the Empress Elisabeth loved to read Homer and Greek mythology. Her husband Franz Joseph incorporated "Spartan discipline" into his life. Inspiration from Ancient Greece is apparent in Vienna's art and neo-classical architecture.

Ancient Athens produced great thinkers and wondrous art that the rest of the world has since replicated. But my poor city, perhaps the greatest inspiration to the western world, is visited today and simply passed off as "ugly".