After leaving Athens, I was headed north by train to Kalambaka in central Greece. Kalambaka is the town nearest to the sandstone towers known as Meteora. While the geologic formations are worth seeing on their own, these are extra special in that they are home to six monasteries. The region and its many natural caves have been used as a religious retreat for ascetics and monks since around AD 1000. Many different monasteries have been built atop the peaks throughout the years, but only six remain. I was lucky enough to make it inside two, but was able to see all six throughout my time in the town.

Overall, I spent 3 nights in Kalambaka, but spent only one day exploring the monasteries as I arrived late one day and decided to take a day of rest and relaxation at the end. Naturally, the middle day was filled with plenty of walking and hiking. I think it was somewhere near eight miles, but really, who’s counting? Every cathedral was very impressive to see, and were probably extra impressive due to the hard work it took to get to them.

A few things made this town extra special. One was the delicious chicken kebap I was able to enjoy a couple times. Another was the fact that, besides myself and a few others, there were hardly any tourists staying there. Most people seemed to bus in directly to the monasteries and then leave, which worked out for me as I enjoyed having the town basically to myself.

One funny thing that happened was when I was strutting down the main street enjoying my gelato (strachiatella) with my tiny spoon. Given that the trip had gone so smoothly up to that point, I was thinking myself to be a very manly traveler when I came across a bar that seemed to have every elderly local man there sitting outside. As I passed they all watched me while they enjoyed their pints of Mythos with a long smoke. My manly gelato moment ended immediately. Pride cometh before the fall I suppose.

Also, my room was tiny. Enjoy the pictures below.