Wednesday 10 May 2017

Day 28-30: Greece



I was in Greece several times before, but usually on the southern coast line. When i crossed the border at "Sagiada", I cheered: 23°C in the sun and blue sky. That's how I know Greece!


I thought they were joking :D
On the highway, I laughed about the snow-warning signs. Unfortunately, the conditions changed. I drove through a long tunnel and on the other end, I could barely see 15m because of dense fog. The fog ended shortly ahead of Meteora, the famous monasteries on the rocks. Right before darkness, I could visit the first of the six maintained monasteries. For the night, I stayed in the hills. The morning sun greeted with an amazing view on the monolithic pillars.



Two hundred meters further, I had some French/Spanish neighbours. The couple was on the way to Mongolia with their beautiful Renault expedition truck.



The Monasteries are nice, but the spirit of ascetic solitude is mostly lost. I met a Australian family with Greek and Russian roots. Together, we visited the other abbeys. Unfortunately, the one in the James Bond "For your eyes only"/"In tödlicher Mission" was closed due to restoration works.

Nick and Anastasia with their lovely family

I drove on to my next destination: Kavala. The city is known for its castle and the aqueduct, but there is also a nice bar scene. Even during the week, the pubs are busy. So I set priorities and started with discovering the bars. The next morning, I got up early and visited the castle, which offers a great view over the city and its at least 400 year old aqueduct. 


Too early for some inhabitants of Kavala... meooow
The famous aqueduct of Kavala
Kavala is a lovely city, but as a friend was waiting for me in Istanbul, I decided to go on.