Day 18) Athens

Route: Sofia-Thessaloniki-Athens

Unfortunately, the drafts of the last two days were deleted before I could post them, and I couldn't find the motivation to rewrite them. In short: Sofia is a very beautiful city where the old and the new live together harmoniously.

Yesterday at 3:20 PM, I boarded the train to Thessaloniki. The journey through the Rhodope Mountains was incredibly beautiful. Bulgaria is definitely the most beautiful country I've visited so far. I met an American backpacker on the train who is travelling through Europe for 3 months. In 2 weeks, I will also show him Switzerland. We discussed the differences between European and American politics throughout the journey, and I told him about European history. As a result, we almost missed the sensational mountain view from the train. At the border, we actually had to transfer to a bus to Thessaloniki. But that was not a problem because we arrived in Thessaloniki more than an hour earlier than scheduled. In Thessaloniki, I witnessed Greek bureaucracy. I asked at the information desk for a reservation for the train to Athens and got it for free. The lady at the counter told me that this was the last train that would run until July 12th. After that, only buses would be available due to strikes. According to the schedule, the train was supposed to depart at 10:22 PM, but the reservation stated 11:00 PM and the lady at the counter told me that the train would only depart at midnight. We finally left on time at 12:30 AM. Greece is off to a good start...

With an hour and a half delay, I arrived in Athens at 6:30 AM. I was actually glad about the delay because what can you do in Athens at 5:00 AM? Of course, I went straight to the Acropolis. The regular entrance fee is 20 euros, but for EU students, admission to all state museums and archaeological sites is free. Great thing, and so far no one has noticed that I'm not an EU citizen.

The Acropolis is simply stunning and beautiful. You can feel that the temples are over 2000 years old. The Acropolis is truly one of the best things I've seen so far.

In the afternoon, I wanted to go back to the hostel, but since the morning, my accommodation had turned into a huge bazaar. You could wander through the streets for hours and buy all sorts of things. From band shirts to antiques (my favorite: a noodle roller from the Greek army from the 60s) to the usual souvenirs and fake branded items. In the afternoon, I visited the Olympiacos Piraeus Stadium, the port of Piraeus, and finally a great viewpoint hill with a great view over the entire city. I really like Athens.