Let's see if I can give a bit of background, and then try to start at the beginning...
It's my understanding that when (in the 60's?) they started building apartments buildings all over the place, they were supposed to leave the first floor for parking. That just didn't happen. Instead, the first floor is usually leased out for businesses, or in less business-y areas the first floor is just empty space - used simply for the entrance to a building. The only time we drive downtown (where it can be the worst) is to visit my mother-in-law.
Because of the lack of parking for the ~5 million people in the area, parking rules tend to be kind of lax. This benefits those parking, but pedestrians are a second thought at best. Double parking and parking on the sidewalks is common practice. Although excited to have a reason to push a stroller around town, I know it will be a pain in the ass to navigate the streets. Sidewalks are not stroller friendly, hell - they aren't even people friendly many times. As noted in a previous post, there are some areas you don't mess with - such as the entrance/exit to parking areas for homes/apartments/etc. Ok, understood.
What happened, you ask? Obviously this story ends with us getting a ticket, but let me take you through it. All the levels of insanity of it.
We went to The Mall to see Wall-E (it just opened here). Yes, The Mall. As it is the only mall in Athens, it can rightfully hold that name. With the exception of one time, we only really go there to see movies, and only if they aren't playing at the other cinema we frequent. The other visit will an ill-fated, last minute idea of mine to try to buy a new dress to get married in at City Hall the next day. The only thing I came away with was further proof that my then husband-to-be is awesome. Everyone, he patiently followed me into every store in that 3 level mall that I thought might remotely have something I could try on. Never once complaining or seeming bored or put out. Boy do I love that guy!
Back to the story. Mall parking is available, but expensive and one (with determination and willingness to walk a bit) can usually find street parking in the area. When we can, we take the motorcycle as that makes parking much easier. Having driven the car this time, we were doing some searching. Finally, we find a spot and joined the other cars parked on the short bridge over the freeway. No surprise to you, dear readers, there was a ticket upon our return (same with the other cars). Evidently, you aren't supposed to park on a bridge.
There are a few irksome details to this.
#1 With the crazy parking that happens everywhere else in this city, this is the last place I would have figured it to be enforced. I so often see sidewalks blocked and cars sometimes trapped behind others. No ticketing there. We weren't blocking anything or anyone. It wasn't even residential. Here on the bridge, there was more than ample sidewalk space on both sides of the road, plenty of room for two way traffic (which is also uncommon), and no visible No Parking signs.
#2 The one No Parking sign we could find (from the direction we approached the bridge) did not make it evident it was for the bridge, but seemed more to indicate the road the bridge intersects with.
As I brought up all of these items with Vasilis, he said it's simple. The owners of the mall parking area complain to the local police that not enough people are using their parking and utilizing city streets instead. The police being a different animal here, they respond to such heavy handed complaints (I'm sure there's some power connection involved) and start ticketing where it makes the least sense in all of Athens.
So not only do they not bother elsewhere, where pedestrian and vehicle traffic flow could be positively affected, but they spend their time based on the indignant calls of someone who isn't making as much money as he'd like. As my husband puts it, "assholes". I tend to agree.
Irksome detail #3. To make matters worse, I went to pay said ticket today. 80 Euros, but we can pay 1/2 if paid within 10 days of ticketing. Sadly, the employee at the Post Office noticed something that kept me from closing this issue today. Lucky us, the sh*thead who issued the ticket dated it Aug 19 and not Sept 19. So tomorrow I have to go to the police station for that area and wrangle with them a bit. What fun.
UPDATE - I went to the police station this morning to straighten this out and hopefully pay only the 40 Euros. After filling in a bit of paperwork, and waiting a while, they told me "it's on us, it was our mistake". We don't have to pay at all now! Maybe I like the sh*thead after all...
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