Meteora

Autumn Interrail 2024 — Story #3

Taken directly from my travel journal

Theme song while reading this entry: 🎵 Tussen de Liefde en de Leegte by Stef Bos (or check out the DAAN version)

We woke up early in Ioannina, where the morning air smelled faintly of lake water and drifting Greek coffee. We packed our bags, stretched our slightly-abused spines (I was still recovering from the ukulele-and-backpack bus-acrobatics of previous days), and headed to the bus station to catch our ride to Kalampaka, the gateway to Meteora.

While my travel buddy, Job, slowly assembled his consciousness, I jumped into a couple of work calls, taken right there on a wooden bench between bus announcements and the suspicious stare of stray cats and a couple of Greek grandpas.
Interrail life really is the art of switching from “professional adult” to “travel chaos goblin” in seconds.

On the bus, we slept a bit. And then – Kalampaka.

The moment we arrived, we were greeted by the towering pillars of Meteora, rising above the town like ancient stone giants. But nothing prepared us for the apartment.

Our accommodation was 136 square metres of pure luxury.

4 bedrooms
7 beds
2 balconies (one for sunrise, one for overly dramatic sunset reflections)
2 bathrooms
A massive kitchen
A living room the size of a small wedding venue
And a front-row view of Meteora

All for 40 EUR.
Which was 2 euros more than the nearest hostel bunk.
Honestly, we should have been arrested for theft.

After dropping our luggage, we climbed up to a tiny chapel on a hill, overlooking the entire valley. The sunset washed Meteora in orange, pink, and gold – a scene so stunning it made us both shut up for a moment, which is rare.

Back at the apartment, we performed our daily pilgrimage to the sacred ritual of watching Belgian TV show De Mol, then made burritos in our luxurious two-floor kitchen. We fell asleep on the couch afterwards.
And truly, I felt at home – like the universe handed us a little pocket of comfort in the middle of nowhere.

The Next Day — Turbo Mode Time

We woke up early again, repacked our lives, and went straight to rent e-bikes. For 23 EUR each, we got four hours of riding – with TURBO mode, basically a legal superpower.

The road to the monasteries is steep. Not “hmm, this is a hill” steep – more like “monks must have had unbelievable calves” steep. But the bikes made it feel like floating through a myth.

We cycled through:

Gigantic stone pillars
Shadowy cave openings
Monasteries perched on cliffs like they were hiding from taxes

We stopped constantly just to stare, because Meteora hits you emotionally before you even realize it’s happening.

At one viewpoint, a German grandmother admired us and said:
“Hats off for biking all the way up here.”
We nodded bravely.
She did not need to know about turbo mode.

Tourist buses arrived in waves (mostly German, for some reason!), cars parked everywhere, but we kept biking deeper into the quiet corners of Meteora – the parts where it felt like the world paused.

And then came the downhill.

At one point, my bike reached 58 km/h.
Wind in my face, adrenaline in my throat – I felt wildly, deeply alive.

Grateful to be human.
Grateful to be here.
Grateful for brakes, also.

We eventually got a bit lost (as is tradition), but found the shop again. The rental guy was so sweet he showed us to the bus station so we wouldn’t get lost a second time.

We caught an early bus to Trikala, waited two hours and then headed to Thessaloniki, where I slept on the bus.

Thessaloniki — Spontaneous Hospitality

We arrived around 22:30 and decided to stay with our friend Georgia, whom we’d met in Italy in 2023. She decided to host us spontaneously. Only interrail logic can explain such decisions.

At her place, we met her brother Peracles (legendary name, literally), and discovered that our bedroom was actually their living room.
Very interrail.
Very Greek.
Very us.

We took a late walk to see the Kamara Arch, soaked in the lively Thessaloniki night atmosphere, and ended the day with pasta.

Another chapter lived.
Another one waiting.

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