Syntagma Square & the Changing of the Guards

Our hotel in Athens, Hotel Astor, was just a couple blocks away from Syntagma Square, the building of Parliament. Before the start of the trip, this was a bit unsettling, considering the constant discussion of protests going on there on the nightly news in the States. Luckily, as the news often does, this was quite a bit of an exaggeration. On our second day of the trip, Roula took us to Syntagma Square:

Syntagma (or Constitution) Square

Her timing was impeccable, because just as we arrived, we were able to witness the changing of the guards! The guards at Syntagma Square, who wear very interesting traditional garb, take their job very seriously! A man in military uniform even stood by to keep watch and make sure they kept focused (I was unsure of whether or not the military man would appreciate me taking a picture of him, but here's a picture of the Parliamentary Guard!):

Parliamentary Guard- with the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the background

As the intimidating military man kept watch, we witnessed the Parliamentary Guard do an interesting, traditional drill routine of sorts. I'm tempted to call it a fancy dance, but I'd rather not disrespect this tradition (and MAYBE I'm a little scared of the military man... just a little).

After the Guard finished their routine, we were allowed to take pictures with them. The military man walked up, and explained that if we are to opt into taking a picture with the guard, that this is serious business.

NO TOUCHING THE GUARD
NO MAKING FUNNY FACES
NO SALUTING
this is some serious business!!!

The rules we were told to obey made some of us unsure... Were we allowed to smile? How close is too close to the Guard? Do we say thank you, or are we not allowed to speak to them either? If we ask the military man these questions, will he just see as disrespectful Americans who take this all as a joke?

Clearly I didn't get into trouble, so I guess in the end it wasn't that dramatic of a situation lol. Either way, this interaction (if I can even call it that) definitely stood out in my mind, so I thought it deserved a nice little post :)