Yep.. You read the title right.
Last week, me and four friends road tripped down through Serbia and Macedonia to Thessaloniki. We drove through Bulgaria and Romania on the route home. It's hard to describe the trip; it was spontaneous and amazing and something I never thought I'd get the chance to experience.
We left the night of Tuesday, Oct 22nd, because Oct 23rd is a national holiday, and our classes the following Thursday were canceled. When we left, we had no plans. No hotels/hostels booked - just us and the car. We drove through the night, driving through Belgrade, and we stopped in Macedonia to eat and recharge. Macedonia reminded me so much of the States.. Rolling hills and forested countryside. The restaurant we stumbled on was delicious and pretty cheap. So far, so good.
We continued on to Greece. The weather was perfect - hot and sunny the entire weekend. It was such a nice break from cold and often overcast Budapest.
We drove to Thessaloniki. [fun fact: my Greek heritage actually traces back to Thessaloniki!] I wasn't sure what to expect, but the city was pretty dilapidated. Many of the buildings were unfinished or crumbled, and the streets were dirty. It didn't matter to us though, and we drove along the water till we hit a small town outside of the city. We found a nice beach, spent the afternoon there, and decided that's where we would spend the night. Two slept in the car, and then three of us slept on the beach. It was pretty amazing, the only hitch being the packs of feral cats and dogs that would say hello to us every now and then..
Our main goal in Greece was to hike Mt. Olympus, which was about two hours from where we slept. We awoke, found some food and provisions, and headed to the mountain. Now, I'm not particularly fit or hiking-oriented, but a couple of the guys in the group are. So, I was a little nervous about making it up the mountain.. but obviously I still wanted to try.
The mountain is absolutely incredible. It is huge, and because of how large it is, I felt like I was experiencing all the seasons in one hike. The base is thick with trees, most of which are red and yellow, their leaves covering the trail/forest floor. Then, after some ascent, you enter a more evergreen level that's a bit more rocky. After that, you're in the process of passing the tree line, and are amidst the clouds, hiking rocks and boulders. The next level, which I didn't make it to, is above the clouds, and I think it's only rocks. All that, on one mountain, in one hike. I can see why the ancient Greeks believed Gods lived at the top.
^^ This picture is looking down into the mountain.
After that, we were all exhausted. I probably could've fallen asleep standing up. We drove from the base down to a little mountain town called Litochoro. What a great find. Litochoro is an adorable, romantic town with a lovely square and some good, cheap food. We found a hotel that could accommodate us, and we all split a room. Oh god did I appreciate that shower. I think I still had some sand in my ears from sleeping on the beach the night before.
^^ The gang in Litochoro with Mt. Olympus in the background.
The next morning, our plan was to drive to Sofia, but stop at a lake on the border of Greece and Bulgaria on the way. It was hard to leave Greece, because everything we'd done there had been so amazing, but we all really wanted to see Sofia. The drive from Litochoro to the lake was picturesque - we truly experience rural, Greek countryside. When we arrived at the lake we realized it wasn't actually that great of a place to swim, so we just relaxed in the sun for a while. Wild horses and goats wandered about..
We finally decided to leave Greece, and off we headed to Sofia. Before we got there though, we wanted to stop at a very cool national park in Bulgaria, Belogradchik. It was a fortress at some point in history, built there because of the naturally occurring rock formations.
Sorry for all the pictures, but as you can see it, the park is beautiful. And unlike in American parks, there are no railings or fences to keep people off of the rocks. We were able to climb out, possibly to our deaths, and see a fantastic view of the sun setting over the hills.
We made it to Sofia that night, found a hostel, and passed out. The next morning, we went on a free walking tour of the city. What a cool place! I really knew nothing about the city before arriving, but it's so rich in history. It dates back to before the Romans, and you can actually see some of the excavated Roman architecture. Each level of the city is from a different age, which is incredible. Many of the buildings are beautiful as well, often topped in gold. And of course, there's still remnants from the Communist era all around.
After seeing Sofia, we hopped back in the car and began the journey home. We drove through Romania but it was the middle of the night, and none of us really wanted to stay somewhere and explore that area the next day. We slept and drove, drove and slept through the night and were in Hungary by morning.
Five days, about 1500 miles.. Definitely a trip for the books. One of the most unique experiences I've had this semester, and easily one of the best.
