We skipped class to get tear gassed...

So as many of you may or may not know, in Greece there was a general strike of all public jobs.  Basically everything in the city was shut down, just imagine Superbowl Sunday in Green Bay during the game... For most of the morning Jamie and I had been volunteering at a Catholic center for refugees near Omonia square, a short metro ride or walk from where we live in Syntagma square.

This map gives you an idea of where we live (Syntagma) and where we were volunteering (Omonia).  When we walked out of the doors we were immediately drawn to the cheers and jeers of the crowds that gathered in Omonia square.  Naturally our curiosity got the best of us and we followed the noise to find thousands of people gathering and preparing to march to Syntagma (Athens main square at the foot of Parliament).  Here is a picture looking into Syntagma square up towards Parliament.

So what do we do?  We joined the masses and followed along with the peaceful protest to Parliament (the blue line on the map is the route we took).

The closer we got to Syntagma the more we began to notice the dress of the people began to change and we knew this was going to be something we needed to see...

Definitely not this guys first rodeo...

Once we reached Syntagma we were greeted with a scene unlike any other we have ever witnessed.  Over 40,000 protesters converged on Parliament chanting and yelling for the resignation of the Prime Minister.  This is where I saw my first Molotov cocktail get launched through the air.  Over 95% of the protesters are peaceful, it is the 5% of anarchist that mix themselves in with the protesters that cause problems...Since we came to Greece under prepared and by under prepared I mean without gas masks, we had to improvise and use our scarves to breathe through.

Jamie in action getting some great pictures.

On the steps of Parliament protesters started getting testy and throwing rocks at the riot police...

It was like a mini war zone, unlike anything I have ever seen...

A policeman on his bike took a straight Molotov cocktail hit, this is in the center of Syntagma square...if you want to read more about the policeman and this firebomb check this link (it has better pictures) ----->

Policeman gets firebombed

Looking down one of the busiest streets in downtown Athens...

 

 And then came the tear gas...

So what do the crazy anarchists' do when the tear gas is shot?

They throw it back...

When we had our fill of adventure we went back to the apartment to recover, only to return a couple hours later.  By this time all of the worker protesters had dispersed, leaving only the students and anarchist.  I was amazed at how destructive they were.  We walked into Syntagma only to see people taking hammers to the marble steps picking up the newly formed rocks and throwing them.  They were also ripping up the benches around the square and burning them in the middle of the street.

The scene we were greeted with when we came back approaching Parliament.

 

Ripping up the benches...guess they needed more firewood...

Blurry shot, but this is in the middle of the street in front of Parliament.  The fires fueled with park benches...

 All in all it was a pretty crazy day here in Athens, it will definitely be one of the memories from here I will never forget.  Don't worry we are prepared for the next one...