Hellas in a handbasket

I've been in Athens for a few hours now, and I already have two stories capable of making my family cringe.

As soon as we got off of the bus from the airport, we lined up in front of the hotel to check in because the lobby was so small. As we waited, two men on a scooter pulled up across the narrow street. The guy on the back of the scooter got out, walked to the side of the car parked in front of the street and proceeded to attack it. First, he kicked out a mirror, then a fender, then he tried to kick in a mirror, then he moved around to the other side of the car and attacked the other mirror and fender in a similar manner. The pack of American law students across the street watched slackjawed as the car's attacker got back on the scooter and sped away.

And then there's the student unrest. Walking around after check-in, I stopped by what looked to be a takeover of an academic building (it's hard to tell what's a university and what isn't around here because every important building is neoclassical). They blockaded the front with desks, tagged up every exterior wall they could reach and raised the red flag (see above). When I stopped by, they were blasting punk rock from some unseen speakers. Undeterred, hawkers were selling jeans, scarves and shoes in front of the Metro station 50 yards away.

Welcome to Greece!