CityExplorer Athens | Episode 7
from Rollerblade® on 15 Oct 2014
CityExplorer is a video project in which Jeremy Suarez (26) from Belguim and Timmy v. Rixtel (27) from Holland are exploring 7 cities on their Rollerblade Maxxum’s, while meeting up with friends and seeing what the cities have to offer. There last and final CityExplorer will be in Athens, Greece.
Athens is a city with the most glorious history in the world. It is a city worshipped by gods and people, a magical city. The enchanting capital of Greece has long been considered a birthplace for civilization. It is the city where democracy was born and most of the wise men of ancient times have lived, such as Socrates and Plato.
Athens is located just a few kilometers from the port of Piraeus, the central commercial port of the capital, and the shores of southern Attica making it easily accessible by the sea.The city is surrounded by mountains and the sun is shining over Athens all year round. The climate here is one of the best in Europe. With its mild winters and very hot summers it is a wonderful place to skate and an ideal location for the CityExplorer crew to pay a visit.
While in Athens, in addition to the “must do” stops such as The Acropolis and Parthenon, the crew visited an old abandoned airport, which proved to be the perfect place to skate. Opened in 1938 and closed in 2001, Ellinikon International Airport was replaced by Athens International Airport that was built for the 2004 Summer Olympics Games. During the Olympics, however, Elinikon was given a second life as parts of the airport were used for canoe/kayak slalom, field hockey, baseball, and softball events. One of the hangars even got refitted to become the main fencing venue and one of the larger indoor basketball arenas.
Given the current economic crisis in Greece the airport most likely will remain abandon with no hope of economic redevelopment in the future. Maybe opening it up to skaters could bring in a little extra money?!
Check out what is left of the airport and all that Athens has to offer in the last CityExplorer video.
We hoped you enjoyed the CityExplorer episodes as much as much as we had fun living them!