Short trip to Rhodes

After it suddenly became possible for me to take my 2 days of remaining vacation and a friend I wanted to visit canceled, I unexpectedly found myself with 5 days off in a row, completely out of nowhere. It took less than 2 seconds for the idea to hit me to travel during those days. This would be my first and only vacation this year! That very evening, I started looking for flights from Leipzig to somewhere. The cheapest flights went to Kos and Rhodes in Greece. Since it seemed like there were only strange bed bunkers in Kos, I decided on Rhodes, also because there were some nice little accommodations there. Well, the search turned out to be more complicated than it sounds, as either the flights were not available during my free days, or they were super expensive, or the times were terrible. Moreover, many hotels were already booked, way too expensive, completely not to my taste, or too far from the airport. It took several hours to research everything, and then I still hoped for positive feedback from a colleague, as I had to work for 2 hours on the only sensible return flight date. She stepped in. So I could book everything - first the flight and then quickly the accommodation, so it wouldn't be gone.

So off I went on Friday, the 13th. Was that a bad omen?

In my excitement, I apparently skillfully ignored that the outbound flight was at 6 in the morning. Since it would have been a bit complicated to get to the airport at that hour, I took a taxi. I arrived at the airport much too early but was able to check in right away. Since I had booked Business Class, the number was done in just 5 minutes. By the way, Business Class was not much more expensive than Economy, but everything was included: luggage, drinks and meals, access to the airport lounge, etc. Sometimes it's worth checking. And in hindsight, I was really glad that I had booked Business because my flight was delayed by 2 hours, which ultimately turned into almost 4 hours. Luckily, I could stay in the lounge, where there were free drinks and food, and we were regularly updated on the latest developments. The announcements outside were rather confusing, and nobody really knew why we were waiting. In between, the kind soul of the lounge brought me a warm meal, having noticed that I hadn’t eaten much. Well, it was 6 in the morning after all. And he had noticed that I was at least vegetarian, so he had prepared something vegan especially for me. So sweet.

After a short time, we knew who else was in Business on the flight and chatted here and there. Besides me, there was a couple and two solo male travelers. With Gunnar, one of the two men, I decided to have a gin and tonic on the flight. He told me that he loves flying so much that he was traveling to Rhodes just to fly and would return right after landing. Exciting.

When it finally started, it was announced that Business Class should board first. But it seemed no one cared, as everyone just wanted to get on the plane quickly. When Gunnar and I walked past the queue, we were first scolded. I somehow hadn’t imagined it like that. I was so excited to enjoy a few small advantages and amenities, as this was my first time in Business Class, and then I had to experience the assumed dissatisfaction of others. Well. But Gunnar was very considerate and let me go first. On the plane, I immediately dozed off, especially since we were served a sparkling wine right away, and sleepiness hit me hard.

After the chilly layover in Munich - because the crew had to be changed for rest reasons - we finally continued to Rhodes.

There was a small breakfast, Gunnar and I drank a gin and tonic, and the remaining two and a half hours went by quite quickly. However, I decided not to drink alcohol on the return flight, as it had temporarily energized me and then made me even sleepier than I already was. With almost 5 hours of delay, we finally arrived in Rhodes.

Ifigenia, the owner of my accommodation, picked me up from the airport, and after about 15 minutes, we arrived at the Drolma Ling Camping. The accommodation is located outside the village of Theologos, on a hill in the middle of the forest. Besides Ifigenia's own house, there are 3 small huts and an area for tents on the property. Everything is surrounded by pines and firs, providing a beautifully quiet and peaceful atmosphere. There are 3 dogs and 5 cats, a place for meditation and yoga, nice seating options in the garden, and a common area with a couch.

After my arrival, I rested briefly and then set off towards the restaurant and supermarket in the village. Stavrov, the owner of the supermarket, was super friendly and tried to teach me Greek right away. I bought a few things for breakfast and snacks because my hut had a small kitchen. Loaded up, I hiked back uphill towards my accommodation. On the way, I went into the only restaurant in the actual village; the others are located outside on the main road near the beach. There, I got my food rather quickly but was then very noticeably ignored. Maybe the waiter didn't like me very much, perhaps because I was rambling incoherently due to fatigue, partly in Spanish. In any case, I waited an eternity for a container to pack my leftover food, as it was way too much for one person. By the way, I didn't have much choice, as everything in Greece is very meat-heavy, and vegan seems to be rather a foreign word. Dead tired, I dragged myself the rest of the way up the gravel path to the accommodation and fell into bed rather exhausted shortly thereafter.

The next morning, I wanted to take it easy. I leisurely drank coffee on my terrace, petted the cat that visited me, enjoyed my breakfast, and lounged in the hammock. Thus, the morning passed, and I became lazy. So I decided to walk to the beach and just go with the flow. Since my accommodation was about 2 kilometers away from the beach, I took the shortest route down what seemed like an endless road. Without any shade at 30 degrees, it was quite exhausting.

Finally reaching the beach was rather disappointing. There really wasn't a beach, as the waves crashed directly against the edge of the artificially created gravel path and gradually eroded it away. So I sat down on a bench at the gravel path where tourists walked back and forth and cars drove around. Not very cozy.

A bit further away, there was a bit more beach in both directions, but these were directly in front of hotels or crowded with sun loungers. So I decided to walk towards the industrial facility, which was visible from afar and seemed interesting. I stopped at a kind of canteen by the beach and ate the (almost) only vegetarian dish: a grilled cheese without any side. The Greek salad would be for 2 people, the waiter told me. Since I couldn't go directly along the beach to get to the industrial facility, I had to go back from the beach along the main road. Somehow it became eerily desolate and strange, and I got lost several times, so I decided to turn back. Additionally, I had been exposed to the full sun for too long, and I noticed it wasn't doing me any good. For the return journey, I took the road through the village, longer but much more pleasant to walk. I briefly stopped at an old temple site and then treated myself to an ice cream at Stavrov's supermarket.

As soon as I sat down in the shade to eat my ice cream, I was surrounded by several cats. Afterwards, I bought another and then wandered back through the village to my accommodation. After a pleasantly refreshing shower, I went to the common area to see who else was staying there and to use the Wi-Fi. However, only one girl was sitting there who didn’t seem very talkative. But I wanted to write my blog anyway. Then I met Olga, a woman my age who was vacationing here for the third time and who seemed quite pleasant. We chatted a bit, and then I made myself comfortable in bed and watched a series for a bit.

As I only had 3 days in Rhodes, I was torn between activities and relaxation. As I do not have a driver's license, I can only get around by bus or on foot. However, the bus system is a bit unclear, and since there are no hiking trails, one can only struggle through the streets in the glaring sun through the hilly landscape. So I started the day again relaxed with coffee and breakfast and planned to continue writing my blog in the common area. There, I met Olga again, and we chatted for hours about all sorts of things, so I didn’t really get around to writing my blog. But she is a very interesting person who has been through a lot in her life and spoke very openly about many things. Thus, the day flew by, and Olga and I decided to do something together the next day.

In the morning, I went to have breakfast in the common area to not be quite so alone. At first, no one was there, but at least some of the cats and now and then a dog visited me.

After breakfast, I wrote my blog, chatted with Olga, and relaxed a bit. In the afternoon, we wanted to go on an outing together but had to wait, as we didn’t want to leave Ifigenia alone. She had two guests for months who hadn't paid for their stay and didn't want to leave either. After numerous reminders, she wanted to throw them out that day. Odd story. But Olga felt more comfortable waiting until Ifigenia's son returned, and I did too. Luckily, her son arrived shortly after with a friend. The couple who hadn’t paid came shortly after, and there was a big discussion. I was a bit worried that it might escalate and kept in the background. I had nothing to do with it, but Olga felt somewhat responsible and involved because she had been there a few days longer and knew all parties. Luckily, the couple left, so Olga and I could finally set off shortly after with a slight delay. We initially wanted to hitchhike to the Butterfly Valley as it was nearby but a bit far to walk. However, since it was too late for that now, we took the bus to Rhodes Town. We had to hurry because the walk through the village to the bus stop took about 30 minutes, but we only had about 20 left. So we had to walk faster. Fortunately, it was downhill. Upon arriving at the bus stop, we then waited 15 minutes, as the buses here never seem to be on time. But that was okay. Olga and I chatted the whole time and weren’t bored. By the way, Olga is Russian-American, having lived in both countries but now resides in Istanbul. A super interesting person. The bus ride took an hour and passed by in a flash because we somehow had so much to talk about. In Rhodes Town, we went to one of her favorite restaurants, 10 minutes from the bus station. Since she also lives vegetarian, she knew where you could eat well. The place was a kind of doner shop like the ones everywhere in our country, so there was also falafel and halloumi. After eating, we headed back toward the bus station, checked out a shop here and there, and briefly walked toward the Grand Master's Palace, but ultimately didn’t see it because we had to turn back due to time constraints.

The last bus left at 21:15, and we had to catch that one. We were lucky and snagged a seat in the somewhat crowded bus. The return journey was also very entertaining. Olga and I listened to our favorite music, sang along, and somehow felt a bit tipsy, even though we hadn’t had anything to drink. I think we hyped each other up somehow. The return walk to the accommodation was also amusing and reminded me of moments I had as a youth with friends. We stopped at Stavrov, who seems to always be open, and I bought myself an ice cream. In front of the supermarket, I met my cat friend from two days ago again. Often, the cats there just want to be petted for hours. When we returned, Ifigenia’s son was still sitting with some friends in front of the house, and the new volunteer seemed to have arrived during the day. Olga and I chatted a bit more, and then I went to bed. As I had to get up relatively early, because my flight back to Leipzig was scheduled for the next day around 11:30 AM.

Even though I was only in Rhodes for a few days and saw little of the surroundings, I still had some great experiences and encounters.

I really hope that I will have more vacation next year and maybe can take a bigger trip again.

Thank you for reading ❤️