Back to the Same Place

We went back to Meteora in May. We even stayed at the same apartment as in 2021. Same view, too. Except rainy.

 

Empty Border Crossing

After the long wait at the border crossing last year, we decided to try a different one last May. This is the Florina crossing. It's close to Lake Ohrid, and as you can see in the photo, it was empty at midday on a holiday weekend. This worked out well for us, as we were going to Edessa.

 

Medium to Far Views

Some medium to far views of the temple of Poseidon. It must have been magnificent when built.

 

Temple of Poseidon

This is the farthest south point of the Greek mainland, so the ancients built a temple to Poseidon on it. It's beautiful, but looks forlorn there.

 

Thermopylae

Thermopylae is just off the highway on the way to Athens. It's definitely worth the stop. They even have a replica stone. And there were a bunch more people than 300. Those were the Spartans. The Thesbians were there too. 700 of them.  There is a monument to them and a whole museum to the battle.

 

Walking in Port Litochoro

Took a walk around our hotel, since it was light so late. Found the beach and a set of "luxury suites."  Also got views of Mount Olympus.

 

Port Litochoro Food

We did the drive to Athens over two days both ways, as Andreas hates being in the car all day. The hotel in Port Litochoro was pretty bad, but the little cafe we went to for dinner was awesome. Here's what we had.

 

More Crowded

Our visit to Athens was our second visit to Greece of the year. The border was a -lot- more crowded than in May, right after Greece opened its borders to tourists. In May, we were the only car. Certainly not the case in July.  Crossing still took only half an hour.  And a view of Mount Olympus after a few more hours driving.

 

Last of the War Museum

Another giant frieze, a diorama of a massacre in Ottoman times, and a couple of outside displays.