athens – Workplace Navigator

I just got back from an eight city, seven-week escapade to Southern Europe. I’m moderately fluent in Spanish but besides that and a structured tour in Rome, I was on my own with my carry-on bag, backpack and my single pair of sneakers. The genesis of the trip was wanting to be in Rome on Christmas. Once I started booking things, it ended up that I was in Athens for Christmas and on a “Road Scholar” tour of Rome the week before. After talking to my world traveling friend Janine, I decided that Lisbon was the best place to start my trip as I recovered from jet lag. So, there it started, Lisbon, Rome, Athens and then on to Venice, Florence, Seville, Tenerife and finally Madrid. My route was set. Leading up to my departure, I started getting pangs in my stomach and started to wonder if I had an appendicitis or a burst gall bladder. I started to get nervous that I would land in Lisbon and then get rushed to a hospital. It was all for naught. I think it was just like getting nervous before a speech or running a marathon; it was all in my head. I decided it was psychosomatic and pushed through anyway. I’m so glad I did.

Here are the ways I did it scared:

Carry on only. I had to pack light. I had a trip a few weeks before to Seattle after my mother passed away and it was a test trip for packing extremely light. One pair (yes ONE) of shoes, three pairs of pants, one rain jacket, one puffy jacket with hood and 6 long sleeve shirts, 1 t-shirt and 10 pairs of underwear. I had booked apartments with washers except for the hotel in Rome. I purchased a carry-on suitcase that is both the lightest and fits in all European airlines and had two sturdy wheels (no spinners) so that I could drag it for miles on cobblestone streets. I always purchased early boarding so that I wouldn’t have issues with getting my bag on board. I have heard enough nightmare stories of lost luggage that I wanted to make sure I had what I needed once I got my feet on the ground. I could easily pick up my bag and put it in the overhead bin and my backpack was a lower profile so it could easily fit in under the seat in front of me. One snafu to carry on is that many of the airports I traveled to had a bus to the airplane which meant maneuvering the bags on the bus and up a set of stairs to the plane. All of this gave the assurance that I wouldn’t be stuck without my luggage.

Embrace the unknown. Each time I was going from one city to the next city I almost always ran into a cab or public transit dropping me off some half mile from my destination due to pedestrian only streets. I had not factored this in the first time it happened in Lisbon. By the time I got to Athens, I would set up the directions to the apartment by getting the walking directions from the airport in my map app. That way, when the cab dropped me off, I would start following the directions of my phone/watch. There were still snafus like the closed park in Venice that I had to circumnavigate and the sheer confusion of massive amounts of shoppers in Athens. I was always my most vulnerable when I had my luggage with me and just finding a space off to the side of a major thoroughfare full of people to get my bearings was intimidating. There is also the fact that elevators start on level 0. I went up and down elevators several times looking for what I though was the second floor on floor 1 instead of going all the way to floor 2. I really had to embrace just being lost and to be OK with circling the block several times to figure out where I was.

Figure out shopping. My first order of business once I found my apartment was figuring out what I was going to do for breakfast for the next day. I scoped out the coffee situation whether it was a Moka, electric kettle, Nespresso or Dolce Gusto machine. Off to the nearest Carrefour or Conad market I go with empty foldable backpack in hand. Most markets in Europe have self-checkout which is always interesting in a foreign language although sometimes you can select the British flag to get English. I never found oatmeal (Avena) until I arrived in Spain. In Portugal, Italy and Greece, I ended up buying Muesli (like granola) and milk. Fruits and vegetables almost always have a self-service station to weigh it. You can imagine how intimidating finding a fruit or vegetable is on a foreign scale system. I’m not sure I was accurate but I survived getting a scanner code and was able to check out. In addition, you scan or pay for each bag you use. I know some states have adopted this but taking along an empty backpack was handy. Every market payment system in Europe had a tap option so I didn’t have to figure out using what little Euros I had. Each time it was a new adventure. When I try to eat mostly vegetarian google translates by taking a picture of a product and was invaluable.

Travel on foot if possible. I ended up walking at least 5 miles a day during my travels. I never wore a headset. I try to be absolutely present and pay attention to the sounds and sights. It’s similar to walking a trail, I have to pay attention to each foot fall especially on narrow cobblestone streets. If something was wet, I’d walk slower. In retrospect the only place I saw folks with walkers and wheelchairs was in Madrid. The rest of the cities I traveled to had stairs, cobblestones and rarely an elevator. Complete handrails (from top to bottom of a set of stairs) was a rarity. When I solo travel, I really slow down and carefully move forward. I also got to experience each city from the graffiti to the smells of roasting chestnuts to the sound of church bells. Each time I was in a precarious situation I would think about how it could be worse, like climbing up to the Acropolis, well at least it’s not raining and it’s only 60 degrees. Amongst the throngs the week before Christmas at the base of the Spanish Steps in Rome, I thought, at least I’m not shopping or trying to get a cab. Being on foot makes me be present and appreciate each moment.

Each time I plan my travel adventures; it feels like some long-lost dream until it’s behind me. I put a plan together and hope it all works out and figure if it doesn’t, I’ll just stay home. Fear is a fickle thing cropping up at inopportune times and I try to remember to bring curiosity and optimism. Mostly, I’m just grateful to have the opportunity to work remotely, see the world and do it scared.

I took my first trip to Greece at Christmas time in 2024. I had just been to Lisbon and Rome for a week each and some of these observations are a comparison to those two cities. After leaving an immersive trip to Rome, I didn’t have high expectations of Athens but Athens did not disappoint. I flew into the Athens airport and then took an Uber/Taxi to my place in the Monastiraki neighborhood of Athens. The cab could not drop me off at the door since it was on a pedestrian thoroughfare. It was a wide and very busy pedestrian thoroughfare the Saturday before Christmas and it was bustling. So, there I was with my carry-on suitcase and backpack, completely lost and confused for about 15 minutes until I found the entrance to my flat. It was in the front of a small store, next to an arcade and ice cream shop. I cannot tell you how relieved I was when I finally dropped my bags and got my bearings. I can cope with being lost but when I have my luggage, it’s especially disconcerting when surrounded by foreign sounds and smells of a totally new city.

Here are 10 things you should know about Greece:

Language. The language is very hard. I was on a tour to Delphi and we had lunch with our tour guides. I was showing them my Duolingo app and the Greek alphabet. The sounds and letters are completely the opposite of English (and other Romance languages). So P’s are like R’s, X’s are like Ch, and so on. At one point I ridiculously said “Greek is Greek to me”. One of the guides said she could teach the alphabet in one day…I humbly disagree. On the upside, most folks in the service world speak English so my brief vain attempt to learn Greek came to a quick halt.

Coffee. I saw several large coffee urns while walking the pedestrian thoroughfares of Athens. They had strong bitter coffee inside. In my opinion it could only be drunk with at least a few teaspoons of sugar. Think about percolated coffee that’s been sitting all day. That’s Greek coffee. You’ve been warned.

Cats. There are cats everywhere in Athens, Delphi and everywhere in between. Most seem pretty healthy and on the heavier side so I don’t think they are without food. It’s so random you will see one sitting atop an ancient stone in the acropolis or walking down the street of a ski town high in the snow covered mountains of Arachova. There will be cats.

Church Bells. I was half a block from the Agia Irini Church. I could not make sense of when the bells of that church would ring. Sometimes it was 6:53 AM or 2:25 PM or 10:36 AM. It made absolutely no sense to me. Too early for a service and never, I mean never on the hour. The church bells befuddled me.

Stores. There are hundreds of stands and souvenir shops in the area I w staying which is adjacent to the ancient shopping area called Plaka. Every time I looked at a souvenir or pair of earrings, the vendor would tell me it was 50% off. Never a price, just that it was 50% off. The street vendors in particular would only take cash or paypal. So, if you want souvenirs in Athens, you are in luck, they are 50% off.

Guards. The changing of the guard in front of the Parliament Building is a free and unusual event that happens every hour on the hour. The costumes alone are worth the trip. They wear a red hat, and white billowy skirt and sleeves, and a huge pom pom on the end of their shoes all while holding a rifle. The exaggerated steps and movements are captivating. Check out the changing of the guards.

History. This place is deep in history. The National Archeological Museum has items dating back to the Mycenaean Period (1750-1050 BC). Statues from 750 BC in remarkable shape for being close to 3,000 years old. I thought Rome was old but Athens is an ancient city and with remarkably well-preserved artifacts including a bronze statue of a jockey on a horse that is still intact and the centerpiece of the museum.

Mythology. I knew about Poseidon and Zeus and Apollo but there seem to be hundreds of Gods and even more myths with each and everyone. It’s fascinating with stories of how the Milky Way started by the jealous goddess Hera (wife of Zeus) sprayed milk across the sky. It was truly fascinating.

Get out of town. I took a tour to Delphi and it was terrific to get out of town and into the countryside for the day. The pace and crowds of the city are left behind and there were red rock caves, snowcapped peaks and endless orchards of olive trees. Greece is not just Athens. Get out of town.

Ruins. Go to the ruins whether it’s the Acropolis or Delphi or Temple of Poseidon. There are way too many uneven steps and many without handrails, but it’s completely worth the journey to see where Athens started as the oldest city in Europe. The statues in the Acropolis Museum are a testament to the ancient Greek artisans who made them up to 4,000 years ago. It’s amazing to see what humans can accomplish.

When I planned this 7-week trip to Europe, I thought about starting in Athens. I’m glad I didn’t. Lisbon was a great starting point since it’s much easier to maneuver with everything focused on the waterfront. Athens is built around the Acropolis high on the hill top and the language is complex. It’s definitely worth the visit, I’m glad I was able to ease into it instead of it being my starting point.