For the second part of my post grad travels, I flew from Rome to Athens to meet up with my mom! We booked a Greek cruise that embarks and disembarks in Athens and ports at some of the most beautiful islands. Here are some of my favorite moments from mainland Greece, featuring the meaning of the city name.
Athens- “the city of Athena”
On our first day in Athens, we took a group tour of the Acropolis, one of the seven hills of Athens. It’s incredible how the Temple to Athena Parthenos, is still standing after thousands of years! Parts of the temple were being reconstructed, and our tour guide pointed out the original building and new additions. Even though we visited early morning, the site was full of tourists and cats!
At the base of the hill, there was a plaque commemorating the place where St. Paul preached to the Hellenists in Acts 17:16-34. Again, I was blown away at the historical significance of Greece, and the strength of the early Church.
We also saw one of the stadiums of the 2004 Olympics, visited many Greek Orthodox churches, and toured the Temple of Hephaestus. (I was happy I could still use a student discount, haha!) The Plaka neighborhood is a beautiful place to meander around and window shop. This was the cleanest area of Athens that we saw, and it was near the Temple of Hephaestus. We also hiked Lycabettus Hill to watch the sunset over the city (the tallest hill in Athens).
Saturday evening, I rode two stops on the metro from the hotel for a Mass in English. The church was old and beautiful, but I was shocked to see a projector displaying lyrics during the hymns. It was odd to hear contemporary church music in a church where I’d expect to hear Gregorian chanting and organ music. It was a practice of patience and humility for me to set aside my expectations of the liturgy. 🙂
Thessaloniki- “Victory of the Thessalians”
Our first destination on the cruise was the second largest city in Greece, Thessaloniki. Mom and I split up because she was interested in an excursion about Alexander the Great. While she toured the Greek countryside to visit iconic places of Alexander the Great’s history, I slept in and spent the day in the city center. I like to fill my days when I travel, but today was nice to relax without an itinerary.
I first walked to the Holy Church of St. Demetrius and intruded on a baby’s baptism. It was fascinating to see a baptism in the Orthodox church- it is so different than what I’ve seen! The Orthodox liturgy had incense, chanting, and marching around the baptismal font, which is not common in the Roman Catholic rite. I watched the liturgy for about 30 minutes, and it seemed the sacrament would continue much longer than I had time for. St. Demetrius is an important site for Greek Orthodoxy. Here, early Christians built a church around the well where the Romans disposed of St. Demetrius’ body after his martyrdom. From his crypt, sacred myrrh can still be collected. Visitors to the church could pray at his crypt and bless themselves with the myrrh oil. I bought my brother, Dmitri, an icon and blessed it with the holy myrrh.
On the way back to the ship, I stopped by the White Tower, the Arch of Galerius, and the Rotunda. I bought a new journal and Greek pastries for Mom and I to try some local favorites.
Meteora- “suspended in air”
After the cruise, we took a four-hour train ride to the incredible rock formations and monasteries at Meteora. It was Mom’s idea to visit Meteora on our last day in Greece, but I wasn’t too excited about sitting on a train for most of the day. But like most things, Mom was right- this trip was a highlight for both of us and worth the eight-hour train ride.
Scientists believe the rock formations were formed 60 million years ago. Greek Mythology teaches that these formations are where Zeus buried the titans after he conquered earth. In the Byzantine times, hermit monks lived in the caves of the rocks. Over time, 30 monasteries were built, but only six of them are active today. Our van tour drove us all around the rock formations and we toured two of the monasteries open to the public. This day trip to Meteora was the best way to end our trip in Greece! I’ll share in another post about the other destinations on the cruise. 😊
kira vesta 
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