Country #90 - Greece Day 1

The Acropolis

I woke up a little later than I had planned but still got a pretty early start on the day. My first stop was, of course, the Acropolis! On my walk there I stopped by Areopagus Hill (also known as Mars Hill) to get a great view of both Athens and the Acropolis. I then bought my ticket and headed inside the gates. There is so much to see inside of the Acropolis that it was easy to spend hours there.

My first stop was the Theater of Dionysus and to walk around the bottom of that side of the hill. The theater was really interesting, as were the other ruins in that area. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which was honestly cooler than the Theater of Dionysus I thought! After finishing my walk around the base of the acropolis I headed uphill with my first stop being the Temple of Athena Nike. From there I visited the Erechtheion, and then, most importantly, the Parthenon! It was amazing to see the Parthenon in person. I was really glad to see that the scaffolding wasn’t too bad as when my brother visited last summer it was supposedly covered. Having been to the full scale Parthenon replica in Nashville (if you are looking for a fun tourist stop in Nashville I highly recommend going inside) it made it even cooler to see the real thing. I made sure to take plenty of pictures and then started to make my way to exit the Acropolis.

I walked just a few minutes from the Acropolis exit to the Acropolis muesum. It is a very modern building as the museum only opened in 2009. It was so cool! Not only did the museum offer amazing views of the Acropolis itself, but I learned and saw so much inside. I read a lot about the origins and lifespan of the Acropolis, and there were tons of artifacts from the Acropolis. My favorite part was the area about the Parthenon, which housed many of the stones and sculptures that used to line the top of the structure.

After the museum I walked around the city for a bit. I walked by a few sites that were close by, including Hadrian's Arch (which is literally just on the side of the road), the Temple of Olympian Zeus (which you can see entirely from the gate without paying the entrance fee), and Syntagma Square / the Hellenic Parliament. There were guards outside of the Hellenic Parliament guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which was interesting to watch. I continued my walk to head to get some much needed lunch. I found a spot that was supposed to be cheap and good, called Falafellas. It was right by my hotel so I took it back to my room and ate it on my balcony as the restaurant was entirely to-go. It was tasty but I discovered that I don’t love falaffel. I’m glad I gave it a try, though!

After lunch I walked through the Monastiraki Flea Market to see if a few other archeological sites were open. Unfortunately most everything ended up closing at 3pm during the winter, but it was okay because I at least had a good view of them earlier from my walk up to the Acropolis. By this point it was about 4pm and I had about an hour until attractions would start to close, so I decided to make the Panathenaic Stadium my last outdoor visit of the day. I also got very well aquainted with Athens’ public transportation over the next few hours. I took the metro and then a bus th the Panathenaic Stadium, which was so cool! It is the first Olympic Stadium of the modern iteration of the games, which actually includes games held all the way back to 1896! The stadium’s history goes back much further, though, as it was built as a racecourse in 330BC. I enjoyed being able to walk all around it and even inside of it. Unfortunately the gift shop was closed or I definitely would have bought some Olympic gear given my love for the games (side note, I was so pumped for the Winter Olympics and watched every night!!!).

After enjoying the stadium I took the bus to the National Archaeological Museum which was thankfully open until 8pm on Mondays. Most places are usually closed on Monday so this was quite the nice surprise. I really enjoyed it as there were so many more Artifacts from all around Greece, and it was a great way to spend a few hours inside out of the cold. Yes it’s Greece so it shouldn’t be very cold, but it is also January so it got pretty chilly at night. After the museum I made my way to eat dinner at a place called Lithos Tavern Restaurant. It was very near to my hotel and in a great area called Plaka. On my walk there I walked down a street that was filled with Christmas stores and was entirely Christmas oriented so that was a bit bizarre. I had a gread dinner that included kebabs, pita, and a free fruit plate for desert that I really appreciated! It was a very nice little spot and I really enjoyed it as a great end to my day in Athens.

After dinner I headed back to my hotel and went to sleep pretty quick to get ready for my very early flight to Rhodes, Greece tomorrow. I really enjoyed Athens and am so glad that I finally made it here, but I’m very excited to spend the next two days on an island!

90 countries down, 106 to go.

Read about my second day in Greece here.

To learn more about Attalos Hotel click here.

Country #89 - Albania

Day 1 - The Taxis

The rest of the bus ride from Kosovo to Albania included one shocking tidbit - there was so much trash literally everywhere! I had noticed this in a few spots in the Balkans, the large amounts of trash just everywhere in the countryside, but in Albania, it hit its peak. Literally, it was everywhere. At one stream, for instance, you could not even see the banks as they were just covered in plastic and trash. It was bizarre and just sad to see.

When the bus finally arrived in Tirana it was dark and the bus station was not really a station. There was nowhere to exchange money, no ATM, no one who spoke English, and no taxis. Some men attempted to “help” me but they were more overwhelming than anything else. One said he was a taxi driver but came back with his normal car so that was a no go. I decided to walk away when someone finally spoke English and found me an actual taxi driver. There ended up being more around the corner, but there is no sign of that where the bus drops off. It was a bit overwhelming but they really all were just trying to help. The language barrier strikes again!

Thankfully the taxi ride was not long at all, and the driver readily took Euros. I checked into my nice room at Diplomat Fashion Hotel. Their restaurant was closed but the nice girl at the front desk ordered me a pizza and it was so good. Just the perfect thing after a bit of a crazy day! I got a good night’s sleep before having a day to explore the city.

Day 2 - The Bunker

I had a great breakfast at Diplomat Fashion Hotel before heading out to see Tirana! I took a taxi to the city center where my first stop was the National History Museum. The museum was really quite big and I was able to learn a ton about Albania. The English translations were great in the beginning but began to dwindle as I made my way through the museum. I was able to learn a lot about early Albania, though! After the museum, I walked around the square that it sits on, Sheshi Skënderbej. It is a giant area in the middle of the city that was just filled with people. It is also home to the Et'hem Bej Mosque which was closed but very pretty outside, and the Kulla e Sahatit clock tower which was also closed.

After enjoying the square for a bit I made my next stop at a very unique museum: Bunk'Art 2. Bunk’Art 2 reconstructs the history of the Albanian Ministry of Internal Affairs bunkers that were used from 1912 to 1991, with the museum aspect focusing on the secrets of Sigurimi, the communist police state. It is such a unique concept - I really enjoyed it and learned a lot! The exhibits in Bunk’Art 2 are more focused on politics as opposed to art like in Bunk’Art 1, but I unfortunately did not have time to visit both.

After a really enjoyable experience at Bunk’Art 2 I made my way to the Resurrection of Christ Orthodox Cathedral. It was probably the most modern Orthodox church that I have seen and it was a really cool structure. Afterwards, I walked past Park Rinia and then to the National Arts Gallery. There was an extremely cool work of art outside that you could actually walk through! I had to decide against visiting the museum, though, as I was cutting it close on time and didn’t want to be late for my flight. My last stop, then, was Kambana e Paqjes, the Bell of Peace. It sits in front of The Pyramid, which is a worn down building that used to be a museum dedicated to the former Albanian dictator. The statue and its entire setup were quite unique. At this point, the rain was really starting to come down and I needed to be aware of the time so I took a taxi back to Diplomat Fashion Hotel.

From there I grabbed my things and took a taxi to the airport. There was a bit of traffic and instead of waiting in line people were literally driving on the sidewalk. It was insane how impatient people were being as we were so close to the airport, but I guess this is normal in Albania! I arrived at the airport which was nice and newer, and at the check-in counter, I was told that my bag was overweight and that I would have to pay thirty-five Euros. I don’t know how I did it, but I guess I just looked sad enough to get out of it because within a minute the very kind girl told me that she would let it slide. Thank goodness! I was relieved, to say the least, and really appreciated it.

I had a pretty short flight to Athens, which is somewhere that I have wanted to visit for a very long time! When I arrived at the airport there were once again people repeatedly breaking in line - it actually made me start to wonder if this is truly just a thing that Albanians do? Anyways, after making it through immigration I headed to the metro. I bought a twenty-two Euro pass that is good for three days (though I won’t need it for that long) to use all of the public transit in Athens. Considering just the airport and back would cost twenty, it was a good deal!

The metro was very easy to take to my hotel, Attalos Hotel. It was just a straight shot for about forty minutes and then a walk around the corner from where I got off! My room was nice and I was very glad to finally be in Athens. The best part of my arrival was realizing that I could see the Parthenon in the distance from my room’s balcony! Thank you so much to Attalos Hotel for sponsoring this night of my trip.

I had an enjoyable stay in Albania and am very glad that I was able to see the city, walk around, and visit some great museums. I’m very excited to be in Athens, though, and look forward to spending tomorrow exploring a city that I have always wanted to visit!

89 countries down, 107 to go.

To learn more about Diplomat Fashion Hotel click here.

To learn more about Attalos Hotel click here.

Country #88 - Kosovo

The Snow Storm

I woke up to a fresh snowfall in Pristina, Kosovo! I had gotten a great night of sleep and then had a much-needed omelette and buffet breakfast. I did not have an early morning for once and definitely took advantage of it. I really appreciated the great view from my room, especially with the snowfall. The snow kept me from seeing the city as it was really coming down and I wouldn’t have enough time to go out and see anything. The cab ride back to the bus was nice, though, as I was able to see a few highlights of the city such as the National Library of Kosovo building which, to me, looked like a bunch of bubbles!

Something that I immediately noticed about Kosovo was how many newer buildings that there were and how much recent development had taken place. Another surprise was how good everyone’s English was. I wasn’t expecting it but it was very nice! The most surprising part about Kosovo, though, is that many people don’t yet consider it a country. In fact, Kosovo is the only country that I am visiting that is technically not considered a country by Guinness.

So technically I am visiting just for fun as I do consider it a country and it isn’t essential to the record-setting part of my travels. But, I am very glad that I made the stop! It was very interesting to see and learn about. Everything about it felt like its own country. For example, it had its own currency and border controls. Here’s to hoping one day it is considered a country!

I made it to the bus station a bit early for my bus out of Kosovo where I was headed to Albania. The bus ride was quite the adventure. Last bus ride, craziest bus ride you might say. Driving through the mountains in Kosovo in a snowstorm was an ordeal to say the least! The bus passed by countless overturned cars yet kept on going. It was a very slow task to make it through what only yesterday had no snow whatsoever. But man was it crazy today! Snow was piled up everywhere and I was truly amazed that the bus made it through without issue.

I talked to a guy from Albania for a bit who was nice and liked talking about different English sayings. It was a nice change of pace during the snowstorm drive. The rest of the bus ride I watched Netflix and eventually, the bus made it out of the mountains. It was only a few more hours once entering Albania to make it to the capital, Tirana.

88 countries down, 108 to go.

To learn more about Hotel Sirius click here.

Country #87 - Montenegro

The Sleeper Train

I slept surprisingly very well on the train! Like, almost nine hours. I was amazed. I, of course, woke up pretty often but it was overall a very pleasant experience in a sleeper car. The Montenegro border guards finally came around 7am, which was when the train was supposed to be arriving in Podgorica. So we were running at least a few hours late from what I could tell. They didn’t stamp my passport for some reason which was annoying but I didn’t realize it until no one ever came back to stamp it. The sun started to rise by this point and so came the best part of the train ride: the truly incredible views!

I had read that this was the best part of the trip and it definitely was. The train was up high in the mountains and the views were incredible. The mountains were stunning and just the entire landscape in Montenegro was so beautiful and breathtaking! It was the second great morning of beautiful views in a row. I just sat and looked out my window for two hours until we finally arrived, almost three hours late, in Podgorica. Thankfully I had built in a five-hour cushion as I took into account that a night train might run late, so this left me with two hours to spare.

The train station was literally not a train station. Like, I walked out of the train and then walked out to the road. It was pretty bizarre! The bus station was thankfully right next door as it had started to rain. I had to use the bathroom really badly (the one downside of the train was the bathroom was too gross to use), and so I had my first experience with a squatting toilet. I have definitely seen them before, especially in Central Asia, but this was the first time it was my only option. So I had to make due!

I then stopped at the bus station and bought my bus ticket to head to Kosovo in two hours. I found witnesses surprisingly easily (with a little help from Google translate) and then ate a very inexpensive meal at the cafe by the station. It wasn’t the best food ever, but it was also about two euro for an entire meal. I had planned on going to walk around the city but the three-hour delay and pouring rain quickly got in the way of that plan.

One of the most shocking things to me about Podgorica, at least what I was able to see of it, was how not aesthetically appealing that it was. I think it was just such a shock to see so many eyesore buildings after having been through such a beautiful country on the train and seeing how pretty the country really is. I don’t quite understand why Podgorica is so displeasing to the eye, but it definitely was. Everything else about my time in Montenegro was really nice though, especially the beautiful train ride and the people were very nice as well.

After an hour more of waiting, I headed to board my bus to Kosovo. It was just me and one other guy on an entire bus. And, for once, there were no stops! We literally went straight from Montenegro to Kosovo and actually arrived ahead of schedule. The drive was nice and after driving winding roads around a pretty lake it was actually pretty straight for once. I had a short stay in Montenegro but I’m very glad I was able to at least experience the beautiful landscapes of the country!

I arrived in Kosovo after dark and went ahead and bought my bus ticket for the next day. I took a taxi to my hotel, Hotel Sirius, which was such a great place to stay! I was greeted warmly by the front desk and given a great room with a view of the city. Thank you so much to Hotel Sirius for sponsoring this night of my trip! After a busy few days of travel, I was very glad to just have a few hours to relax in the hotel room and work on things.

87 countries down, 109 to go.

To learn more about Hotel Sirius click here.

Country #86 - Serbia

The Balkan Barrier

This morning involved another early morning departure (6am), and another long day of bus riding (7 hours). This bus ride was thankfully a little straighter (though still not anywhere near riding on an interstate), and also had fewer stops. Also, thankfully, the sweet hotel staff at Hotel Story packed me a nice lunch to go! The best part of the bus ride came at the very beginning, with the jaw-dropping sunrise that I was able to see. The bus was going through the snow-covered mountains, through these giant, beautiful trees and the sun started to rise and it was truly magic looking! I tried to take some pictures but they just don’t do it justice. It was so great that I was even glad that I had woken up so early if only to see it. And it was completely unexpected, to boot!

I watched a few movies, took a nap, and before I knew it I was in Belgrade, Serbia. I walked from the bus station just down the street to the train station where I bought my ticket for the sleeper train tonight to Montenegro. I wasn’t convinced that they sold me the correct ticket, but I also had made it as clear as I could what I wanted to buy. I decided to go out and see the city and deal with it later as my train was really late and I would have plenty of time then. My next task was to store my luggage which was, of course, much harder than it sounds.

I knew that there were luggage storage facilities, and there were even signs to follow, but they kept taking me to a dead end. I asked multiple people who spoke broken English and they tried to help to no avail. After walking around the train station and its surroundings I finally found it. Literally right outside of the ticket office, and in the complete opposite direction of where all of the signs point. It was a rough start to my time in Serbia, and a reminder that English in the Balkans is common but not as easy as Europe has spoiled me to expect.

Things only continued to be not exactly great as I was then overcharged by a taxi (not too much but not enough to argue over) and then couldn’t convince the Belgrade tourist office to sign as my witnesses. They were so interested in my trip but refused to sign for some bizarre reason that I still don’t know. Luckily I found witnesses at the Serbia tourist office around the corner and a shop next to that. All in all, it took me a few hours to do a few things that normally take a tenth of the time. Luckily, things really only went up from there!

I had a great traditional lunch at a great spot called To je To. I had meat with some bread and a special sauce, which was described to me as what butter is a copy of. So trust me when I say it was really good and I’m sure very unhealthy. My next stop was to walk down Skadarlija, a unique street in the heart of Belgrade. From there I walked for a while to Church of Saint Mark which was very pretty both inside and out. I then walked a little farther down the street before taking one last long walk to the Temple of Saint Sava. The outside was stunning but and very unique, but in something that I have never seen before, the entire inside was under renovation yet it was still open to the public.

After having walked myself almost to death I decided to take a taxi across the city to the Belgrade Fortress. It was a really cool open fortress that was huge! It was also very spread out so it didn’t really feel like a fortress when walking through the middle. I spent upwards of an hour walking around and seeing the area around the chapel in the fortress called Saint Petka. By this point, the sun had gone down and it was very cold so I started to head back towards the train station with a few more stops on the way. I stopped by another church which was small yet beautiful and a service was going on inside which was very interesting to watch for a few minutes. My last stop was to walk up the busy Kneza Mihaila street, which is basically the main heart of the city. There were so many people! It was a really nice area and I walked along it for a while before taking a taxi back to the train station.

When I arrived I decided to deal with the ticket situation. I was pretty sure that, even though I had specified that I wanted a one person compartment, I was given one bed in a six-person compartment. I figured this out for sure once I found what the price was supposed to be was significantly more than what I was charged. I was able to communicate with one of the ticket staff in okay English but still, we were effectively communicating what it was that I wanted. Finally, somehow, it clicked and she figured out exactly what I was asking! She refunded my earlier ticket and put me in a two-person compartment because it was half the cost of a one person. I would have a full bed and plenty of space for only about twenty extra dollars, and am so glad that I took the time to get my ticket situation straightened out as it is a very long train ride!

I still had a few hours to wait so I decided to eat at a nice looking place outside of the station called Stanica 1884. I had a much needed hot chocolate and a small bowl of pasta. I then headed to pick up my bag and waited for another hour before boarding my train. The compartment was older but good and the bed was very comfortable. I had the bottom bed and waited for the second person to come. And I kept waiting. But get this, no one ever showed up! So I had the entire compartment to myself for the entire night, and it made me very happy that I hadn’t paid the price for a one person compartment. I went to sleep very soon after departing and look forward to waking up in Montenegro tomorrow!

86 countries down, 110 to go.