Travel to Athens
September 18, 2023
My wife had some work meetings in Athens, so I decided to tag along and make a short adventure out of it.
Our flight out of Chicago got cancelled due to technical issues with the plane. Since this was a busness trip for my wife, she got rebooked onto another plane immediately. I was using miles and there was not room on her place, so I had to find another plane. We flew two different flights into Frankfort Germany (there were not any other direct flights available).
Her flight was supposed to leave an hour before mine. We were on the same connecting lfight to Athens, so she was planning on waiting for me at the gate. However, her flight was delayed and I arrived in Frankfort before her!
Once we arrived in Frankfort, the airport had issues with their Passport control systems, so all the passengers were routed to the opposite end of the terminal to the only working passport control station. The line was long and it took over an hour to get through. WE happen to find each other waiting in line.
Once we got through, we had to run to the opposite end of the terminal to catch our flight. I ran ahead and just make it to the gate when they closed the doors. They would not open it and let us on, so we had to wait for the next flight to Athens. That was in another hour and a half.
We finally made it to Athens late in the evening. We took a taxi to the Airbnb I rented for our first night. It was a rooftop apartment on the fifth floor of an industrial building located in the heart of Athens. Our Airbnb host greeted us and took our luggage up to the apartment. There was an elevator, but it was not working. He assured us that it was getting fixed the next day. It was a long climb to the top floor where we were staying.
The listing calls the apartment “The Comic House”, appropriatly named with all the comic artwork throughout the apartment. It had a large outdoor patio that overlooked Athens with a fantastic view of the Acropolis.
We were tired from the day of travel, so we decided to walk around the neighborhood and find a place to eat. There was a small cafe with people dancing to live music. WE ordered some food and wine. The wine was served in small tin pitchers. Very interesting.
We walked back to our apartment. I was able to pick up some wine at a local bodega and we enjoyed the sunset as we watched the Acropolis light up.
