Athens

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Getting to Athens was an adventure in and of itself, which involved a 36 hour train ride through Romania, Bulgaria ... an over night layover in Thessaloniki Greece, and then another 6 hour train ride to Athens. From Paris to Athens, I think successfully milked every last dime I could out of my 30 day train pass. And Ive found that there isnt an alarm clock invented that will get you from sound asleep to up and spry faster than an East European customs agent beating on your sleeper car demanding to see your passport and what's in your backpack with a machine gun pointed at you. Another interesting facet of this train ride is that I assumed that there would be a food car on the train, since there has been on virtually every other train Ive taken in Europe ... but no. And making this assumption I didn't bring any food with me, which led to an impromptu 36 hour fast .. which didn't exactly help the time fly by. But it wasnt all hardship. I had an entire sleeper berth to myself, which was basically a hotel room on wheels. I traveled through Transylvania at dusk, and its not hard to see how it could inspire stories of Nosferatus ... it does have eerie dark forrests and ominous jagged mountains. Also, I doubt many people get the opportunity to read Steinbeck's East of Eden in one sitting. Adding it all up, I actually enjoyed the trip. At least I didn't have to walk.

Ive had several people ask me if I can notice the economic slowdown while traveling, and I really cant because I have nothing to compare it to. I do notice a lot of empty restaurants and street cafes. And I was able to book a 4 star luxory hotel room for 37 Euros a night in Athens online, which I assume isnt commonplace. I cant tell if its due to the economic downturn or whether peak travel season hasnt quite started yet or a combination of both. Im more than happy to take advantage of it though. I took a 2.5 hour batch just to get 2 months worth of grime and dirt off of me. I think a haircut is definitely a future high priority. Athens involved a lot of walking to see the sights, and a trip to Acropolis.

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