You're in the Army now
No Greek in his right mind is a big fan of the Army. Military service is compulsary for 12 months for every Greek man over 18 (and every single one of them has all too many stories to tell from that experience). Exactly 40 years ago, a group of colonels brought democracy to its fit and ruled the country for seven years and tortured and/or forced to exile thousands of people.
The Army has left us with one great thing though: the Army Park ("Parko Stratou" in Greek) in the Goudi district, very near the centre of Athens. This is a relatively big area, most of which remains wild, where there used to be kept military equipment and supplies, as well as where the Army bakeries were situated.
The Army Park is the closest to any decent European or American park you can find in Athens. It's surprisingly clean (no stray dogs and, consequently, no dog poo all over, for kids to touch and taste - ugh!) and very well kept. It is in fact so neat that it is irritating: it means that there are actually ways of keeping this city clean and we simply don't apply them! Anyway, there are some trees for a much needed shade during the hot summer months where you can enjoy a picnic, you will see children and adults with bicycles and skates, people jogging or playing soccer, kids playing at the see-saw or strollers and toddlers stumbling about. You can also see some old equipment - helicopters, tanks, airfighters - in an open-air mini-museum, each one labeled accordingly.
Two of the old military buildings are now renovated and host the National Sculpture Gallery, where you can see not only examples of ancienct greek statues but also masterpieces of the last 150 years (the New Greek State era), with top and foremost the works of Yannoulis Halepas. The cost is 6 Euro for adults and admission is free for children.
At the other edge of the park, you will find the Badminton Theatre, that is, the Badminton Courts which were built for the purposes of the 2004 Olympic Games, now transformed in a theatre which hosts major foreign productions (you can currently catch "Jesus Christ Superstar" there, go to www.ticketnet.gr for more information on tickets and availability).
You can access the Army Park very easily by metro. Just get off to Katehaki Station, go up to Katehaki Avenue for about 300m and you'll find the gates at your right. Parking is ample and free, in case you want to go by car.
