Day 1 Sydney to Berlin

Quick trip to the airport with Uber John and Udi. Singapore airlines upper deck and upgrade to full exit row to myself was perfect. Scoot in silence from Singapore was fine though their insistence onLes mer
Day 2 Berlin with jetlag

Arrived 7:30am in Berlin, tired but as the day went on I became more and more interested in this city. Coffee and scrambled eggs in the sun at a french cafe, then Check Point Charlie, GendarmenmarktLes mer
Day 3 Berlin

Slept 8 hours last night but only problem was that it was from 7pm till 3am. Had excellent Hotel Select The Wall breakfast at the unheard of hour of 6:30am.
9am appointment for Reistag glass dome withLes mer
Day 4 Berlin

Still waking early so 6:30 breakfast in the hotel again. It was the first day of the 3 day museum pass so went over to the Gemeralderie past Potsdammer Platz. Renaissance and middle ages - LucasLes mer
Day 5 Berlin

Slept in till just after 6 this morning. Take away coffee and grainy seedy roll with the last of the tomatoes and speck.
It was a rainy half hour walk to my new lodgings at Frederics Hackescher Mkt,Les mer
Day 6 Berlin

Walked further into the depths of the east to discover friendly bakery and supermarket. “Activ” roll, tomatoes and a white mozarella in my sunny south facing room for breakfast.
It was opening dayLes mer
Day 7 Berlin

Another sunny breakfast coffee in my quiet apartment over looking the tree filled jewish cemetry.
It was a sunny warm (low 20’s) Saturday and everyone was out enjoying it in trendy Prenzlauerberg.Les mer
Day 8 Berlin

Change of pace today with Spree River cruise from East Side Gallery to Charlottenberg, authentic snitzel lunch with glass of Sav Blanc billed as best SB in Germany and probably the world in a beerLes mer
Day 9 Berlin

Potatoes, sausage and 3 poached eggs at Factory Girls, then the re-constructed old Berlin area (very twee). Afternoon street art tour chiefly in Kreuzberg was fun though the 30 yo made too manyLes mer
Day 10 Berlin

Spent a great day in Potsdam - magnificent palaces galore, goegeous gardens and a nice town with a quaint dutch quarter as well.
Main attraction is the Schloss SansSouci which was well managed withLes mer
Day 11 Berlin to Corfu

From a drizzly morning in Berlin to brilliant sunshine and the blue-est ocean in Corfu! And the people are so much more friendly and relaxed.
Easyjet was smoothe, sat next to the only germanLes mer
Day 12 Corfu

Greeks invented the word chaos - the main square in Corfu town where the buses stop defines the word.
Bought a spanakopita and bougatsa from Thessalonikas Bakery as recommended by Angie and GiorgioLes mer
Day 13 Corfu

Fun day even though the cruise ships were in. Bought 2 excellent small spanakopitas and walked early up to the new fort and the old fort for spectacular views over the town and sea. Decided againstLes mer
Day 14 Corfu to Ioannina

I was glad to leave the cave behind though only scratched the surface of Corfu. It took me the 3 days to work out how not to get lost in the old town - it was a surprisingly big town and with a carLes mer
Day 15 Ioannina

Ioannina is famous for pies and breakfast at Its Kale Hotel was an excellent example - chicken pie, cheese pie, spinach pie, bougatsa plus cooked to order omelette, rice pudding, meats, cheese, coffeeLes mer
Day 16 Ioannina to Kalambaka

After a quick breakfast at the lovely Its Kale the rain forced me to take a taxi to the bus station. The EU funded Egnatia Highway has cut tunnels through the Pindos Ranges so it was just over a 2Les mer
Day 17 Meteora

Five hour hiking tour from 8:30 this morning was very good despite two loud canadians from Montreal (their french sounds really odd). Also chatty gay Portugese guys, girl from SFO and delightfulLes mer
Day 18 Kalambaka - Thessaloniki

Two trains to get to Thessaloniki but what a sensory impact this city has !
Very byzantine feel, chaotic but get off the main Via Egnatia and its quiet but interesting.
The Blue Bottle Hotel staffLes mer
Day 19 Thessaloniki to Nikiti

Nikiti is as expected Little Moscow and/or Bulgaria so my plan was to walk 6kms to the nicer but less touristed beach of Vourvouras. The plan failed as after a few kms the road went through theLes mer
Day 20 Nikiti

Weather was a bit cloudy and the forecast not great so I had breakfast omelette, toast and jam and nasty filter coffee in the hotel. Lucky Friday is market day in Nikiti back up on the main road. ItLes mer
Day 21 Nikiti

I’m just not into Nikiti - I’ve given it a chance but this is the first time I can recall I am leaving the coast early. 8:30am bus tomorrow morning back for an extra day in Thessaloniki. Feel badLes mer
Day 22 Escape from Nikiti

Apart from ktel bus being the usual half an hour late turning up, the trip was easy.
The Blue Bottle Hotel staff are so nice - welcome cappuccino, croissant and a chat. So had such a nice day exceptLes mer
2 June Dinner in Thessaloniki

Thought this worthy of its own footprint.
All the streets look a bit dodgey with graffiti, plumbing and motor bike repair shops, junk on side of road yet they hide excellent eating places.
This is ELes mer
Day 23 Thessaloniki

Fun day visiting 4 churches, 2 museums and had my nails done.
Enjoyed Blue Bottle breakfast of spanakopita, bougatsa, boiled egg, yoghurt and berries and good cappo.
Agios Demetrious (roman remainsLes mer
Day 24 Thessaloniki to Athens

Pleasant 4 hour trip in first class with two paramedics from Hobart (doing the self guided Vikos Gorge walk) and a couple from Thessaloniki going for holiday to Hydra and Spetses. Apparently myLes mer