slothis · English

Surviving a Transit Strike in Athens, Greece

2017-06-04 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

The title of this post is already ominous. A strike. But experiencing it firsthand, the agony of a real strike is beyond words.

After a delicious meal yesterday and hitting it off pretty well, we decided to hang out in Glyfada. To wrap up my Athens itinerary and this entire trip in style down in Glyfada, I packed up all my bags, said a sad goodbye to my host and their dogs, and headed out. Thinking that I only had one day left here made the beautiful sunny weather look a bit gloomy.

A traveler wearing a backpack, hat, and sunglasses reflected in a street mirror.
Only one more day of wearing this outfit.

With this melancholy feeling, I headed toward the Acropolis station where we agreed to meet. Walking the whole way would take too long, so I planned to walk to Omonia and catch the subway. After walking for a bit, I started to notice an unusually high number of police officers out today. Then, as I got closer to Omonia, the police actually started blocking off the streets.

'No way...'

A police officer standing on a street in Athens with an ambulance, police cars, and a police line.
Traffic control... They even completely blocked off one side.

Then, from somewhere in the distance, I started hearing a faint roaring sound. I looked over, and to my surprise, it was the Greek protesters I used to see on the news all the time. Back when the economy was at its worst, Greece and Spain had the most severe economic crises and frequent protests, so global news programs constantly showed their demonstrations. I experienced a Spanish protest during a business trip the year before last, and this time it was a Greek one.

Protesters marching with banners and filling a road lined with buildings in downtown Athens.
The Athens protesters appear.

While the protesters I saw in Madrid blew vuvuzelas and chanted slogans, the Athens protest was just massive in scale. As the crowd got closer, I could hear a mix of shouting and the sound of breaking glass. I wanted to check if I was just hearing things or if it was real, but I felt like I'd get sucked into the mob if I lingered even a second longer, so I ran as fast as I could.

I was so startled that I ran all the way to Omonia, but even in the midst of all that, a bakery caught my eye.

A street vendor cart with a glass display case selling stacked sesame bread.
The gruff bakery owner.
A round ring-shaped bread covered in sesame seeds inside a brown paper bag.
Not bad for €0.5.

'Now that I'm at Omonia station, I should hurry up and go.'

The moment I thought that, an unbelievable sight unfolded right in front of me. The subway wasn't running. I come from Seoul, where a taxi strike is considered a major strike, and even then, citizens cheer because the reckless drivers are off the roads. Coming from that background, it was incredibly hard for me to accept the reality of a subway strike.

'So this is the European strike I've only heard about. How am I supposed to get there now?'

A passenger notice in English announcing a strike schedule with suspended subway and tram operations.
Unbelievable. It's not just for a day or two either. This truly is Europe, the continent of strikes.

How else would I go? I had to walk... So, loaded down with backpacks on my front and back, sweating profusely, I walked to the Acropolis station, nervously hoping I wouldn't run into the protesters.

I was already way past the meeting time, but I went anyway. Honestly, when something like this happens while traveling, it usually just means the end of the connection, but I had to get to Glyfada no matter what, so I came here just in case. Hoping to somehow get in touch, I went to another bakery! I bought a pastry to get access to their Wi-Fi.

A handwritten price tag for mini loukoumades (Greek donuts) with fried bread visible inside the display case.
A price tag for tiropita (cheese pie) reading 1.40 euros in front of baked pies in a display case.
A sugar-coated donut inside a white paper bag.
More bread! Bread, bread!
A bitten sesame bread inside a brown paper bag.
Bread, bread, bread! But it's so delicious.

Fortunately, I managed to contact the two of them before it got too late. Both seemed shocked by the strike and didn't know what to do. Since I had nothing but time, I told them to take it easy and walk over. An hour later, the guy, B, arrived, while the girl, A, said she was heading straight to Glyfada and then went off the grid.

But the real problem was that the tram to Glyfada was also on strike.

In a situation where we had no idea what to do, surprisingly, we felt even more relaxed. We decided to just stroll along, and I don't know why we talked so much about the strike. After suffering under the scorching sun for a while, we finally started to see the tram.

Numerous cars, including yellow taxis, filling a downtown road.
With the strike going on, it's a taxi paradise. The roads are completely blocked, and you can hear honking from all over the neighborhood.

Expenses

Total Trip Expenses 525,936 KRW + 47,999 RUB + $639.96 + €662.32