Day 79 - The Ten Euro Beer

Well, my tourist experience is now complete. I have been robbed.

They didn't get much, and I am none the worse for wear. In a way, I'm happier to have the story and feel justified about being as cautious as I am than I am sad to lose a little money. That said, I was a total moron to get snared like I did. So I'm leaving the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It would be the biggest ancient temple of all time, but there's just a few columns left now. Even still, it's impressive. It's funny because so many people talk about the immensity of the Parthenon. Sure. It's big, but I'm standing at the edge thinking, "Get over it people! There's a bigger temple right over there!"

Anyway, back to the robbery. It was a social engineering robbery. Nothing fancy. Just the type I'm most likely to fall for, as well. A man on a bench said hello, introducing himself as a chemical engineer back in the states, but originally from Thessaloniki. He invited me to lunch, but as I don't eat meat, he invited me to a drink. I don't really drink, but this was the first person I'd met in Greece, so I figured it was worth the time and trouble of a beer. The girls were the first tip that something wasn't right. There were a couple women in the place, so immediately I figured he had taken me to prostitutes. When we went to the furthest back bench in the place and they immediately joined us, I knew he had taken me to prostitutes. He had just been talking about how much he hated working in Saudi Arabia with no alcohol and women around, so I figured he was just a lusty greek. They are known to exist. I made it clear I was not interested, but I didn't mind having a beer. I should have asked how much it would cost.

We chatted. They asked lots of questions. Too many, now that I know better. Then the bill came. Ten for my beer and one hundred and sixty for the champaign the "lady" was drinking. I said she could drink with me, not on me. (By that I mean on my tab. I suppose I should phrase my sentences more carefully when prostitutes are involved.) I looked at my new companions. Two fairly young women, the lusty greek, and the big greasy bartender who had handed me this bill. This was not a good scene. I don't even remember what happened next. I just remember putting one foot on the seat of the booth. Then I was out the door and running. I made it to a corner and looked back to see the bartender hoofing it after me. I took a corner, then another. I was sure he couldn't be positive of where I had gone. But then neither was I. I had a general idea of the direction I was headed in, but I also knew they knew enough about where I was staying and when I was leaving to stake me out. I stopped running. There was no safe way out.

I checked my map. I figured I could take a slightly further metro station. I might be able to avoid him that way. When I looked up from my map, he was coming around a corner. In a way, I was relieved. We were now in a public place, one on one. Greasy was breathing pretty hard. I was actually pretty impressed at the time he'd made. He seemed to know no english outside of "call police" and "pay your bill". He got his cell phone out. I challenged him to call the police, and he went back to "pay your bill." He touched me a couple times, but if he was trying to intimidate, he wasn't succeeding because I was still working by the american rule that touching a person against their will is assault, so him holding my wrist for a second just pissed me off. I'm proud to say I was not backing down. I'm also proud to say that when he said "pay your bill, ten euro" I was smart enough to realize I was getting out cheap and paid him off.

I talked to the police. They confirmed that I got off cheap. I realized later that it wasn't quite that cheap as I left my Rough Guide language book and umbrella that Mike gave me. Doh.

For other travelers, the place was called "New York Bar". But I wouldn't be surprised if they change the name frequently to keep ahead of the law and vengeful tourists. There's still a small possibility that they'll stake out the airport and try and get the 160 out of me. I'll try to be an extra hour early just to have police explaining time. I doubt they'll bother, though. In a way, I wish they would. I'd love to get a chance to beat them definitively, maybe even let them do the jail time they deserve. Who knows what would have happened if I'd been the kind of guy who actually did go out for hookers? Yay celibacy. :)

Other than that, the day was pretty uneventful. I went to the agora and keramicos, basically lots of ruins. Yawnsville compared to Rome. I snacked. I drank. I'm more glad than ever to be leaving.