Through the publicity offered by the Athens biennial, Klassenfahrt was advertized as a unique educational/artistic experience designed by the famous BlueOwlTravels agency. Curious artists and art goers applied online at BlueOwlTravels.com to book a seat on the Klassenfahrt bus. Though the webpage did not include any info regarding the content of the tour or the actual destinations, the bus was soon fully booked for the entire duration of the project. International visitors were picked up from Omonoia Square, downtown Athens, the bus tour’s departure location. An experienced architect/urbanist was appointed as their tour guide and led the group to each location of interest. The three hours bus tour included sightseeing through typical and non-touristic neighborhoods of Athens and its suburbs, a quick meal and three unexpected destinations.

First stop was at a small green hill close to the city center where the participants visited an open air amphitheatre unexpectedly showing up through the hill’s vegetation. The guide asked the participants to occupy the stands and told them distorted stories about the role of theatre in the social life of Ancient Greece, mimicking the fetishization of Ancient Greece through Documenta14’s restless referencing of classical Greek antiquity. A strange passerby sprayed the stencil of an owl on the amphitheatre’s ground, which was actually designed as a big-scale chess-field.

Next destination was an abandoned villa at the Northern suburbs of Athens. This derelict sight used to be the setting for the shooting of many Greek movies during the ’60s. In those past times, this luxurious villa, and the garden around its pool, used to function as the spectacle of a dynamic modern bourgeoisie admired by the emerging middle class. In recent decades, the building would be abandoned and looted. The architect/urbanist narrated the story of the villa and spiced up the actual events with rumors of “sexual scandals” and “mysterious rituals”. The visitors would notice the strange presence of a guy pointlessly cleaning the empty -now fool of dirt and debris- swimming pool. Some would notice the owl tattoo on his left arm.

The final destination was the most unexpected one. The bus reached a rural area, with some agricultural structures, small family industries and houses – a kind of no man’s land. The bus suddenly stopped. The narrow street was blocked by a dark figure sitting on a sofa. A Mexican Satanist, an Indian, a pink gorilla and two kids blowing a musical organ entered the bus and made irritating noise. The bus driver and the guide explained that the bus cannot proceed further. The group debarked and followed the strangers. Walking through a rural area, they soon reached an open field hosting a small village. The tents were inhabited by this strange community of excited locals. The Mexican Satanist and the Indian were roasting vegetables. A teacher was delivering drawing lessons. An ominous dark figure holding a skull came out of its tent and prepared to attack. A tennis coach delivered loud orders. The female “head of the tribe” welcomed the visitors and asked them to sit around her. She started saying stories about a community of autochthonous people that used to inhabit various locations in Attica. According to the story, the people on the field are the progeny of and the indigenous athenian community of the Atticani. According to her story, the Atticani decided to abandon their land in the center of Athens, in early 20^th century, when Athens started being urbanized and industrialized. They realized their own exodus towards the rural suburbs in order to “maintain their traditional lifestyle and values.” Two blind twins were singing local songs and presented photos of their ancestors and their original land’s.