Greece
Kalambaka

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • Day 2

      אתונה למטאורה

      September 3, 2022 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      היום נסענו מאתונה למטאורה, התחלנו את היום שלקחנו את הרכב המתוק שלנו. הצלחנו לצאת מאתונה העמוסה בהצלחה ועלינו על כביש האגרה המהיר צפונה.
      10 דקות לתוך הכביש המהיר יובלי כבר התחילה לנקר, כמו תינוק שברגע ששמים אותו באוטו נרדם 🥰
      לכל אורך הדרך, נופים מהממים ומלא חופים עם מים כחולים משגעים.
      אחרי שעתיים נסיעה החלטנו שהגיע הזמן לאטרקציה התיירותית האהובה על יובל- ללכת לסופר! סקרנו את כללל הסופר וקנינו גם ארוחת צהריים קלילה.
      לכל אורך הדרך אני ביחסי אהבה שנאה עם האוטו, מצד אחד קרוז קונטרול מפנק, ומהצד השני מערכת דמויית מובילאיי שמזיזה לי את ההגה ואז כועסת שאני עולה על קו בלי לאותת 🤦🏼‍♀️
      מטרת היום (מעבר לסופר כמובן) הייתה להגיע מוקדם יחסית למלון כי הזמנו מלון עם בריכה! למרות שיצאנו מוקדם, עדיין הגענו למלון באזור 17:30, מה שגרם לכך שהגענו לבריכה רק ב18, כשכבר לא הייתה שמש. זה כמובן לא עצר אותי מלהיכנס למים שהיו קצת קרים מדי בסיטאציה הזו 😅
      הורדנו דופק והתקלחנו ואז עלינו לנקודת תצפית בין המנזרים (יחד עם כל התיירים ביוון). וואלה שווה את זה, היה מהמם.
      Read more

    • Day 27

      Jesus take the wheel

      September 30, 2023 in Greece ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

      Today began at 2 Christian Orthodox monasteries perched on top of rock formations at Meteora. They were originally built by hermit monks living in the caves carved into the sides of the rock formations.

      The first we visited was used by monks, the other was nuns. These churches and locations were beautiful and as we left the final place we witnessed a priest and a bus driver get into a road rage incident outside the front of the monastery where the bus driver kept yelling 'give me a reason father, give me a reason you do this'

      After that enlightening stop we headed for Athens. This was a 4 hour drive with a stop for lunch. After lunch we stopped at the site of the hot gates, and took in another statue and memorial of King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans.

      We arrived back in the city and headed straight for the laundromat for some fresh socks.

      After our clothes were dried and smelling better we got a gyros for dinner and headed back to the hotel to relax as the first week of our tour was over, we now have tomorrow as down time before boarding the island cruise.

      Step count: 14k
      Read more

    • Day 103

      Kalambaka

      December 23, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

      Am Sonntag kam ich in Kalambaka (seit dem 10. Jahrhundert unter dem Namen Stagi bekannt) an. Und an diesem Tag hat es tatsächlich geregnet :) Ich erkundete trotzdem den Ort, besichtigte die Kirche Kimisis Theotokou aus dem 11. Jahrhundert und machte es mir im Hostel gemütlich. Außerdem schmiedete ich Pläne für dir kommenden Tage.Read more

    • Day 104

      Perfektes Wander-Weihnachten

      December 24, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

      Was für ein wundervolles Weihnachten.
      Dimitrios, ein griechischer junger Mann, lebt schon lange in Kalambaka und kennt die Wälder und Umgebung wie seine Westentasche. Er machte mit mir eine vierstündige Tour. Wir wanderten, meditierten und er erzählte mir viele historische und persönliche Hintergründe zu Kalambaka und Meteora.
      Wir erklommen ziemlich hohe Felsen. Nach dieser Reise bin ich mit meiner Höhenangst-Konfrontations-Therapie wohl ziemlich durch :) Ich bin sogar über eine Felsspalte gesprungen ;P
      Am Abend ging ich zu Feier des Tages essen. Am Nachbartisch saß eine griechische Großfamilie und hat mich die ganze Zeit mit einbezogen, so dass ich auch da nicht alleine war.
      Am nächsten Tag nahm mich Dimitrios mit dem Auto mit ins Nachbardorf. Die Griechen feiern nämlich am 25. Weihnachten. Weshalb von Kalambaka nach Trikala (von dort aus fuhr der Bus zu meinem nächsten Ziel Lamia) an dem Tag kaum ein öffentliches Verkehrsmittel unterwegs war.
      In Trikala verbrachte ich den Tag noch mit Kaffee- und Teetrinken und machte mich am Abend mit dem Bus auf nach Lamia. Die Griechen scheinen ihr Weihnachtsfest erst am Abend zu Hause zu feiern. Alle Cafés waren voll. Überall wurde gegessen und getrunken.
      Read more

    • Day 14

      More monasteries in Meteora

      October 15, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      Since we hadn’t crammed all of the monasteries into one day, we still had two we wanted to visit. We asked at the desk for suggestions to round out the day, and presto, we had another great day. First, Nikolas suggested we walk, not drive, to the first monastery. We took the original centuries old stone walking path from about a mile away and hiked up through shady forests — a much nicer arrival than just pulling up in a rented car and parking!

      After visiting the two monasteries, we then took his tip to take a detour that would bring us to a place where we could see several more monasteries in ruins, as well as many hermit caves (occupied till the 1950s!). It was quiet, and kind of surreal — the caves still had wooden ladders dangling down outside of them, but no human habitation anywhere. A really nice way to end the day. We ran into one German family there, and we all remarked on how nice it was to get away from the tourist destinations for a bit.

      We have had excellent meals here — just going to TripAdvisor’s top rated places has served us well everywhere we have been so far. Here in Kalambaka we have been to numbers 3 and 5, and tonight we will drive to number 1! Lots of good vegetables, salads, yoghurt dips, grape leaves, we are eating very well.
      Read more

    • Day 13

      Loving the monasteries

      October 14, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      Meteora has six medieval monasteries all within an 11 km circuit from our base of Kalambaka. Bus groups leave early, forge ahead and get their visits done in time for lunch at a big taverna. We are lucky to have two days, and also to have brought snacks along for eating up there, so we had no rush to finish it all in one day before lunch. Not very efficient, I guess, but really lovely. Between 10 and 4 today, we visited three monasteries, climbed 60 floors according to my phone, and just pulled off to walk and enjoy the views wherever we were. All have chapels covered with murals, many of which could use a benefactor for restoration, but all of which just ooze with humanity and devotion.

      Just a totally great day, except for witnessing one uncomfortable nasty exchange between a French tourist and a nun who was insisting she put on a wrap around skirt before going into one monastery. I also think that it’s silly that men can wear pants but women have to cover their pants with a skirt they give you. But IMHO the monastery is the one that gets to call the shots and I was kind of amazed at this woman’s rudeness. Aside from that, the rest of the day was filled with a lot of peace, I even got to light some real (not electric) candles to think about my mom, the rest of my family, and my many friends with all sorts of health struggles.
      Read more

    • Day 12

      Travel day

      October 13, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

      We slept in a bit, since today was a travel day. We were headed north about 300 kms, to an area called Meteora, where there are six monasteries dating as far back as far as the 11th century, all of which are perched on rocks, high above.

      All started well, till our phone couldn’t give any directions. Turns out I hadn’t downloaded a map that went far enough north to get us to Meteora. As google maps gave out, and things were looking very complicated, I decided to go to a Shell station to ask for directions. The very wonderful Marieta from Bulgaria, who spoke perfect English, was working there. She couldn’t give me directions but offered me something better — Wifi!!! So I downloaded more Greece maps, and off we went.

      Our hotel has a “fitness center”, but I bet no one has used it in years or ever. Nothing was working, but after a lot of help from one of the maintenance people, the bicycle was sort of working. The elliptical, no way. Oh well, since I was in the same room as the indoor pool, I was sweating in no time!

      We have two full days here, and we will take it at a relaxed pace. It is an amazing site.
      Read more

    • Day 9

      Hot, hot, hot

      July 19, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 39 °C

      Much of yesterday was taken up by the heat. With time to kill before my train and stuck with all my luggage, I found myself stationed outside a bar in the small town of Kalambaka watching the temperature gauge climb on the pharmacy sign across the town square… 36..37…
      Kalambaka by all accounts should be swarming with tourists given the multiple tour company offices lining the streets but it’s dead.
      …38…39. My guide the night before had told me that they usually had more tourists around this time. ‘Maybe because of the heat’ he shrugs and waves a hand vaguely.

      Before the gauge can hit 40, the waitress comes out and motions me inside. I join her and another older local woman as they close the shutters and turn the aircon on. I thank them, glad for a reprieve from the heat and the older of the two smiles and tells me ‘not for you. For me too.’

      They speak very little English and I speak very little Greek but we manage to communicate somehow. I ask if this is a usual temperature for this area and they tell me it’s significantly hotter. Sweat is running off all of us and my arms have taken on a milky colour thanks to my suncream mixing in. We turn on the news to footage of Athens literally in flames. Wildfires have consumed homes, towns and forests at the Northwest of the city.
      Europe’s experiencing a heatwave, another year of record breaking temperatures and watching the impact of it today sat in 40 degree heat, just 200 miles away from the fires of Athens, it feels a little apocalyptic. As temperatures rise year upon year, it’s hard not to feel some despair and maybe a little regret that perhaps some of this could have been avoided.

      My time in Greece has been short and sweet but I feel like it’s a country calling for change. Even out here in the foothills of mountains and thousands of years of monastic traditions, political graffiti and anarchy symbols line the walls of the train station. When I change at Paleosfarsus again, I spot more slogans etched into the underpass. ‘No police, no nazis’. ‘Dead men don’t rape’ and ‘EU Sh*t’. While I appreciate the Circe-esque twist on the usual train station graffiti, it makes me quicken my pace.

      Given that Greece is the birthplace of democracy and politics as we know it, I shouldn’t be surprised by how political the social climate is. It feels like the younger generation are screaming for change in a system that is not doing them any favours. Having been hit hard by the soaring cost of living despite signs of Greece’s economy starting to stabilise over the past two years, Greece stands to lose a lot in the climate battle given that a fair chunk of its economy still relies on agriculture and tourism, and if temperatures keep rising, both industries will be impacted. I can’t help but wonder where Greece is headed as the discontent bubbles just under the surface.

      As I leave Greece to cross the border into North Macedonia, I think of the kind people that I met as I traversed the country, and I can’t help but feel a little twinge of sadness as I ponder what comes next for Greece.

      (P.S- no signal once I cross the border, might be MIA for a day or two)
      Read more

    • Day 468

      Die Meteora Klöster

      June 15, 2023 in Greece ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

      Spontan reisten wir mit Nina und Jay weiter zu den Meteora Klöster.
      In der zerklüfteten Landschaft schweben die Klöster zwischen Himmel und Erde auf schwarzen mächtigen Felsnadeln. Wir waren schwer beeindruckt von der Architektur und fragten uns immer wieder, wie und weshalb die Mönche schon im 12. Jahrhundert die Klöster dort errichtet haben.
      Früher waren die damals 24 Klöster nur mittels Seilwinden und Strickleitern zu erreichen. Heute sind sie Dank Strassen und Treppen einfach zu besuchen und die sechs bewohnten Klöster können alle besichtigt werden.
      Wir waren jedenfalls schwer beeindruckt und können einen Ausflug nur weiterempfehlen.
      Read more

    • Day 6

      Meteora

      May 31, 2023 in Greece ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      Unglaublich! Ist das wirklich echt?
      Die Meteora Felsen mit samt ihren Klöstern wirken absolut unwirklich.
      Die Felsen ragen bis zu 400 m in die Höhe. Bereits im 9. Jahrhundert bewohnten erste Einsiedler die natürlichen Höhlen. Ab dem 12. Jahrhundert wurden erste Klöster erbaut, welche bis heute von asketisch lebenden, griechisch orthodoxen Nonnen und Mönchen bewohnt werden. Von den insgesamt 24 Klöstern sind heute nur 6 für die Öffentlichkeit zugänglich. Alle anderen sind schwer zu erreichen oder verfallen.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Kalampáka, Kalampaka, Kalambaka, Καλαμπάκα

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android