Mainland Greece: Hermes Watch Over Us?

From Podgorica (in Montenegro) we caught a night bus to Skopje (in Macedonia), which unfortunately went through Kosovo and meant far too many passport checks at hours of the morning that we didn’t even know existed. Grumpy, we arrived in Skopje faced with the challenge of how to get to Greece by the cheapest means possible (our Eurail passes ain’t valid round these parts). Surprisingly, the answer was a taxi ride. Nove the Macedonian taxi driver drove us the 230km to Thessaloniki for the same price as a bus, only he drove faster and engaged in better banter than any bus driver would. To save money on petrol he turned the engine off in the queue to cross the border, and got us to push the car over into Greece. If ever anyone needs a taxi driver in either Macedonia or Greece, Nove’s your man.

We only spent one night in Thessaloniki, and didn’t really get up to a whole lot other than cower in fear in our air-conditioned room, afraid to step out into the 40 heat (by the fire of Hades!).

The White Tower, possibly the most famous symbol of Thessaloniki (though nobody has actually heard of it, we think it might be a museum?). The waterfront seems like the place to be, especially if you like frappés: people drinking frappés sitting down, people drinking frappés standing up, people drinking frappés on a boat, people drinking frappés with a goat.

 Pigeons rule the streets in Thessaloniki. Keep yo kids on a leash, they'll get 'em.

 
Our next destination was Trikala, a small town in the centre of Greece, very close to Meteora. Meteora is possibly one of the most underrated destinations in Greece, one that doesn’t feature in many tourist guides (Hermes be praised) but should probably be one of the wonders of the world. Words won’t do it justice, but we hope the pictures might:

 We met some pretty cool peeps at the hostel and had the most beautiful picnic just below this rock. Thanks to Jowe for her amazing camera and photography (and amazing singing!). And thanks Apollo for the beautiful sunshine.

 Meteora has 7 of the most epic monasteries you will ever see. They're all perched on top of enormous rock formations, and the only way up is via steps which wind up along the sides of the cliffs. Or via the pulley system...

 Monks and nuns gotta take time off to enjoy the panorama and be tourists too!

Of course we couldn’t visit Greece without staying in the mighty capital of Athens. Greece (and Athens in particular) has received a lot of bad press in recent years about the effects of the recession. Sadly it did seem to be the case in some areas with lots of abandoned buildings, graffiti everywhere and people on the streets, but it seems the tourist industry has not suffered much at all, if the crowds at the Acropolis were anything to go by.

After getting lost in the 'burbs of Athens we managed to meet up with some of Phoebe's family for a delicious Greek meze dinner! Lots of food from the sea, nom nom.

Behold how she sprawls, the mighty city of Athens! A messy city, but definitely worth a visit. If the history doesn't fascinate you enough, surely the gyros will win you over - they're cheap, delicious, fatty and filling, and sometimes make you want to vomit after them. We can't speak for the nightlife, but from what we've heard it's probably best to head to the Islands for that.

Gazing upon the Parthenon was probably worth it in the end, but by the power of Athena we had to wade through a lot of tourists to get there. It's times like these where owning a cattle-prod would be fantastic.

Next time: Across the Aegean Sea!