The trip to Greece was probably our biggest challenge during the entire trip. We faced delays, illness, and total uncertainty...but eventually we made it from Florence to Athens.
First of all, I continued to be sick. Leaving Florence, we normally would have just walked the 40 minutes with our backpacks to the train station. Instead we walked 10 minutes to the taxi station. A taxi finally arrived awhile later.
Every train we had taken thus far had been extremely punctual--within 90 seconds of the planned departure time. That was really good because sometimes our connections were only 6 minutes, and we never missed a connection. But, in Italy, we encountered our first delay. About half of the trains on the monitor were delayed, and we ended up leaving 20 minutes past the scheduled departure. Our connection happened to be 45 minutes in Bologna, so thankfully this wasn’t an issue at all.
Once in Ancona, we took a bus to the ferry ticket office near the port. A ferry from Ancona to Patras was free with our Eurail tickets, but you can only book at the port ticket office. You cannot book anything in advance (we tried travel agencies and contacting the ferry directly). The Superfast ferry was supposed to leave at 1:30pm, and we rushed to check in and buy tickets one hour in advance. That's when we found out that Superfast was not operating anymore that day (in direct contrast to the website and their ticket agent's previous email). The only other ferry departing Ancona for Greece was Minoan Lines. They were supposed to leave at 4:30pm but were delayed until 9pm. That meant we had about 9 hours to kill at the ferry ticket station.
I was physically exhausted from our travel that day, and I literally collapsed on the chairs in the ticket station...passed out for an hour while Chris bought the tickets. Afterwards, I moved to the floor in a corner and slept for another hour. I was the highlight of everyone walking by.
We left the Ancona port at about 10pm. My sinus infection migraine, flu hangover, and I enjoyed a 23 hour ferry ride to Greece.
We arrived in Patras, Greece at 8:40pm the next day, and rushed to find the bus headed to Athens. According to everything we had read (but, of course, couldn’t purchase in advance) the bus to Athens was just outside the port. Nope.
We thankfully ended up following 2 young Persian guys who were also headed to Athens. They had lived in Athens and knew Greek, so they asked people for directions to the bus station. After about a mile walk, we found the bus station. The 9pm bus to Athens was leaving, but sold out, and the next bus wasn't until 2:30am.
So, we spent over 5 hours hanging out at the bus station with Nemo and his friend. We talked about their time living in Greece and Nemo’s girlfriend in Athens that he was going to meet, and just enjoyed their company. We were so grateful to meet both of these guys along our journey. They were selfless and gracious, offering to help in any way—from snacks while waiting in the bus station to a ride once in Athens.
First of all, I continued to be sick. Leaving Florence, we normally would have just walked the 40 minutes with our backpacks to the train station. Instead we walked 10 minutes to the taxi station. A taxi finally arrived awhile later.
Every train we had taken thus far had been extremely punctual--within 90 seconds of the planned departure time. That was really good because sometimes our connections were only 6 minutes, and we never missed a connection. But, in Italy, we encountered our first delay. About half of the trains on the monitor were delayed, and we ended up leaving 20 minutes past the scheduled departure. Our connection happened to be 45 minutes in Bologna, so thankfully this wasn’t an issue at all.
Once in Ancona, we took a bus to the ferry ticket office near the port. A ferry from Ancona to Patras was free with our Eurail tickets, but you can only book at the port ticket office. You cannot book anything in advance (we tried travel agencies and contacting the ferry directly). The Superfast ferry was supposed to leave at 1:30pm, and we rushed to check in and buy tickets one hour in advance. That's when we found out that Superfast was not operating anymore that day (in direct contrast to the website and their ticket agent's previous email). The only other ferry departing Ancona for Greece was Minoan Lines. They were supposed to leave at 4:30pm but were delayed until 9pm. That meant we had about 9 hours to kill at the ferry ticket station.
I was physically exhausted from our travel that day, and I literally collapsed on the chairs in the ticket station...passed out for an hour while Chris bought the tickets. Afterwards, I moved to the floor in a corner and slept for another hour. I was the highlight of everyone walking by.
We left the Ancona port at about 10pm. My sinus infection migraine, flu hangover, and I enjoyed a 23 hour ferry ride to Greece.
We arrived in Patras, Greece at 8:40pm the next day, and rushed to find the bus headed to Athens. According to everything we had read (but, of course, couldn’t purchase in advance) the bus to Athens was just outside the port. Nope.
We thankfully ended up following 2 young Persian guys who were also headed to Athens. They had lived in Athens and knew Greek, so they asked people for directions to the bus station. After about a mile walk, we found the bus station. The 9pm bus to Athens was leaving, but sold out, and the next bus wasn't until 2:30am.
So, we spent over 5 hours hanging out at the bus station with Nemo and his friend. We talked about their time living in Greece and Nemo’s girlfriend in Athens that he was going to meet, and just enjoyed their company. We were so grateful to meet both of these guys along our journey. They were selfless and gracious, offering to help in any way—from snacks while waiting in the bus station to a ride once in Athens.
We made it to Athens at 4:58am, 2 minutes before the taxi drivers had their mandatory 5am strike. They hungrily asked everyone for business. But, because they couldn't work the whole day, they were inflating their prices significantly. Nemo and his girlfriend spoke to a taxi driver to confirm directions and a lower, negotiated price. They were amazing people. It would be so easy--and, well, American--to just say "good luck" and leave. They wanted to make sure we were in good hands and took their handoff seriously. We were very lucky to meet Nemo, his friend, and girlfriend, who all helped ensure we made it to our destination safely. It's nice to know there are good people in this world willing to help others out.
A family with a puking baby joined us along the taxi ride, but we finally arrived at the destination address with no problems.
We were staying with my family friend, Ephi, and 63-year old Athens native. Like most other Athenians, she lives in a condo building. I walked up to the front door where the last names of residents were listed. I didn't know Ephi's last name, and this was the final test to our Athens journey. I selected the one that I thought looked right, crossed my fingers, and hit the buzzer at 5:30am.
Holding my breath, when I heard the answer, I said "Ephi???" I received a "Katie, you're here?" in response. That was the most beautiful sound ever. Chris and I both let out a huge sigh of relief and climbed the 3 floors of stairs to Ephi's place.
She kindly received us and had our bed ready. I can't even begin to explain how we felt, after 48 hours of traveling, when we finally arrived at Ephi's house in Athens. We had a bed, a bathroom, and a very hospitable host who wanted to cook for us. It was AWESOME.
That experience was stressful and really tested our sanity a little bit. We laugh about it now. But, there were times—usually when we were just waiting for hours without a feasible end—we questioned if we were ever going to make it to Athens. I’m pretty lucky, though, to have a supportive man friend, the blessing of goodhearted people, and the fortune of an incredible journey.
A family with a puking baby joined us along the taxi ride, but we finally arrived at the destination address with no problems.
We were staying with my family friend, Ephi, and 63-year old Athens native. Like most other Athenians, she lives in a condo building. I walked up to the front door where the last names of residents were listed. I didn't know Ephi's last name, and this was the final test to our Athens journey. I selected the one that I thought looked right, crossed my fingers, and hit the buzzer at 5:30am.
Holding my breath, when I heard the answer, I said "Ephi???" I received a "Katie, you're here?" in response. That was the most beautiful sound ever. Chris and I both let out a huge sigh of relief and climbed the 3 floors of stairs to Ephi's place.
She kindly received us and had our bed ready. I can't even begin to explain how we felt, after 48 hours of traveling, when we finally arrived at Ephi's house in Athens. We had a bed, a bathroom, and a very hospitable host who wanted to cook for us. It was AWESOME.
That experience was stressful and really tested our sanity a little bit. We laugh about it now. But, there were times—usually when we were just waiting for hours without a feasible end—we questioned if we were ever going to make it to Athens. I’m pretty lucky, though, to have a supportive man friend, the blessing of goodhearted people, and the fortune of an incredible journey.
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