Reroute to Greece
Greece Prequel
G and I traveled to Greece for the first time last year. We had an incredible time. One of our good friends had married a Greek woman and we got to join them for their wedding celebration and gender reveal party for their soon-to-be (spoiler) baby girl. We met her friends and family and really enjoyed our time together. We spent time in Naxos, cruising around the Cyclades, and Athens. We even met up with fellow Nebraska travelers, Nicole and Kyle (www.nebraskanomads.com), at the Acropolis. It didn’t take long for us to decide Greece must go on the “definitely will return to” list. Greece has so much natural beauty, rich history, friendly people, amazing food, and the bluest water I’ve ever seen in my life. When planning our second attempt for the big trek, we found out our friends were going back to Greece for their parental leave, so we rerouted when Greece would go in the itinerary to meet up with them again during part of our stay.
Greece Global Trek 2.0 - In and Around Athens
While we didn’t feel ready to leave Copenhagen, we were more than ready to go to Greece. We had been thinking of the food for a few weeks by now. When our plane was landing, we saw a long, thick line of smoke from a large wildfire that had broken out. Over the past few years, the wildfires in Greece have gotten worse. Fortunately, it didn’t prevent us from landing. Since we pack light, we made it off the plane in no time and our taxi driver remarked that we were the fastest clients he’s ever had meet him after deplaning. He was worried about some of his friends who lived near the fire. We didn’t have any issues driving into Athens though part of the drive was dark due to the smoke. After about 45 minutes we arrived at the apartment we were staying in for the next 5 nights, the longest we’d stayed in one place since we left. Most of our days in Athens were spent catching up on the blog, doing laundry, and relaxing, then getting drinks with our friends in the evening. It was lovely seeing them and their family again in Greece.
One day we took a day trip to Delphi, a sanctuary dedicated to Apollo. 10/10 would recommend. We booked our tickets with the local bus leaving from the main station in Athens. If you’d rather not go on a tour, this option is cheaper and allows you to explore at your own pace. We booked our tickets here: https://www.ktel-fokidas.gr/en/delphi/delphi-athina-delphi. The website wouldn’t allow us to buy round-trip tickets so we bought two one-ways and didn’t have any problems on the bus. It’s required to print the tickets. We took an Uber to the bus station. If you don’t speak Greek, don’t be intimidated by all the signs for bus destinations that are in Greek. There is one that says “Delphi” in roman characters. Look for that one and you’ll be set. The bus ride took about 3 hours. If you go, wear shoes with good traction and be prepared for a small hike. Delphi is situated high in the mountains on Mount Parnassus. Its setting is stunning and we could feel the significance of the site as we walked around it.
Another day we took a high-speed ferry from Athens to a nearby island, Aigina, with our friend’s dad. We rented a car and he drove us around much of the island, to a neat monastery, the Temple of Aphaia, and back down to the harbor where we ate lunch before returning to Athens. Aigina is known for its pistachios and they make so many products from them like liquer and pistachio butter, both of which are delicious.
Later that evening, he drove us to the Temple of Poseidon followed by dinner and drinks with him and his friends at a harbor. The Acropolis where The Temple of Athena is, The Temple of Aphaia, and The Temple of Poseidon are considered the Greek Triangle. So G and I have officially completed the triangle!
On our last day in Athens, our friend’s dad prepared a delicious lunch. One of G’s favorite memories from our first time in Greece was being the sous chef and he was delighted to be rehired for the position.
Greece Global Trek 2.0 - Crete
That night, we took the overnight ferry to Crete, where we would be for the next 9 days. Let’s rewind back to our covid quarantine in 2020 when we had to cut our original trip short and lived with A and E in upstate New York. We befriended their neighbors E and D. Neighbor E is half Greek and she still has family in Crete. Her father lives in the US but has a beautiful house in Crete that has been in the family for centuries. They arranged for us to stay there during our time in Crete and it was truly magical. We even had a pet cat. As soon as we walked in the backyard, Luna, the Greek cat, greeted us. She’s a very friendly kitty who is especially talkative. She visited us every day. We fed her breakfast and dinner and sometimes she’d hang out with us by the pool.
We got to meet some of their friends and family who were all so warm and welcoming. One night we ate dessert with them as we watched the sunset over Chania and on our last night they cooked us a fantastic meal.
We rented a car and spent most of our time visiting many beaches or relaxing at the house. Crete has our favorite beaches of anywhere we’ve been so far, including the Caribbean. Every single one is picturesque and yet different. We even got to explore caves at one of the beaches!
If you ask a local where they recommend going for beaches, they’ll tell you, literally anywhere. And they’re right. The furthest we ventured while in Crete was to the most southern point in all of Europe on the island of Gavdos, where Odysseus was captured for 7 years by Calypso. I thought I had already seen the bluest of blue water, but Gavdos proved me wrong.
We squeezed in visiting The Palace of Knossos. If you’re limited on time, and need to choose between Delphi or Knossos, we’d recommend Delphi. Although Knossos was definitely still impressive.
The time in Crete came to an end way too soon and before we knew it we were back on the ferry to Athens where we’d leave the following day. Greece is a country we plan to return to again and we feel we need at least a month in Crete.
If you’ve made it this far, please enjoy all these pictures of scrumptious Greek food.
