Another post about this trip from nearly 5 years after it originally happened.

My visit in Ohrid came and went quickly enough and it was time to begin making the trek back to Athens for my return flight home.

Wake up. Bus ride to Skopje. Train Ride to Thessaloniki. Stay the night. Train ride to…. nowhere. Oh great. A train strike.

With limited time to spare, I was able to track down the bus station with a direct route to Athens. The bus ride ended up being quite a bit faster, however it left me at the bus depot somewhere on the outskirts Athens.

Luckily the city in huge so finding my way to my hotel was easy. Actually, it was terrible, but oddly enough worked out…

I hopped on a city bus headed toward the city and was completely unsure of where to get off. While wondering what I was going to do, I literally looked out the window and spotted a sign for “Ilion Hotel” – the exact hotel I was staying at. The next stop was a couple blocks away an I was checked in within a few minutes.

One of my favorite memories from the trip came when I was seating the the hotel bar trying to leech wifi off the hotel next door. The man I took to be the bartender asked me whether I wanted a drink a couple times. I politely declined, but he insisted and said it was on the house.

Not wanting to pass up that opportunity I pulled up a chair at the counter. The ‘bartender’ ended up being the hotel owner. He introduced me to the Greek drink Ouzo and we talked for several hours and enjoyed a nice dinner together.

It has been a while since I was there and I have absolutely no idea what I did the last day. I assume I walked around a lot as that’s my go-to activity when traveling. And with the trip winding down, my budget likely dwinding, walking is an inexpensive way to see a city.