Day 74 - Greece Is The Word

I got into Skopje (pronounced scope-ya) at midnight, a full hour and a half after I was supposed to. Since the first train to Greece was at 3:20, and I'd napped on the train, and I'd only found two expensive hotels scouring four or five different online booking sites, I elected to push forward. So now I'm in Thessoloniki, northeastern port city, with about three hours to kill before my train for Athens leaves. Let's review the recent happenings of the last day (and night and day). You'll excuse a bit of punchiness.

• Belgrade. I got up around ten and, knowing my train didn't leave until two, headed for the market. After provisioning with lots of cookies, water, and a bit of yogurt for breakfast, it was off to the train station. Getting back to the train station by day was much easier than getting to the hostel by night using a 1999 map I found online. For some reason Mapquest has no data on eastern european cities despite the fact that maps are available at any airport or train station (during the day, that is).
• Train Station, Part 1. I found a bench and ate my yogurt. It was probably my favorite yogurt I've ever had in my life. It wasn't really flavored, just sweetened enough to keep it mellow, but not at all cloying. Perfect. Too bad I'll never find it again. :P Then I ate some chocolate covered wafer cookies. The box I bought was way too big and they were way too melty. Then I wrote in my game journal for a while. Finally I realized that with two hours left before the train came, I should probably do at least a little sight seeing. My 1999 map showed a giant castle. Stuff like that doesn't tend to move around much.
• Belgrade Castle. I made my way through some convoluted streets to the river and, eventually, the castle. Belgrade is really run down. Even Berlin's sixty year old war damaged sections seemed nicer. The castle itself was largely a ruin, as well. I got a few pictures and climbed around a bit in an area I'm not sure I was supposed to climb around in, but there weren't any signs. I was beginning to cut into my safety buffer, so I high tailed it back to the station. On the way back, I made one of the classic rookie explorer mistakes and took a different route back than the route I'd gone out on. I still made it, but there's that sinking feeling you get when you're losing faith that the way back you're taking will actually work. That's a bad feeling.
• Train To Skopje. As late as it was, the train ride to Skopje can only be described as magical. It started by sparking a lot of nostalgia. Southern Serbia reminded me a lot of the central valley. Some granite deposites, hills, and changing flora suggested the Sierra foothills. Something about the farm equipment was similar to home. I think it's that the south of Serbia just has better equipment than the north. Also the smell of animal farms after dark brought back memories of family trips on I-5. When you're getting nostalgic over manure, you're definitely homesick. :) Then the ride took a sharp left turn into the magical. It had gotten dark, and we were moving through the hills. I turned out the light, trying to get some shuteye, when I saw that there were dozens of fireflies outside. The train's flourescent lights were also casting a pale bluish green glow on the plant life outside. It made the plants appear to be an unnatural shade of gray, and as the train moved against the swaying fern-like trees, often at a snail's pace, it often felt as though we were travelling underwater. The fireflies became little flourescent fishes at the bottom of the sea. And when the moon came up, it was as full and orange as I've ever seen it. Last, but certainly not least, when we finally did catch sight of Skopje, I swear it looked just like Tulare. How the heck I know what Tulare looks like, I don't really know. I vaguely remember visiting my uncle there once, but even that seems more like a dream than a memory. All in all, it was a bizarre and wonderful ride.
• Skopje Station. I knew I'd be able to pass the time in the station when I walked down the stairs and was immediately face to face with the Pepsi Insomniac Pro Gaming Center. Thirty or so Macedonian youth were playing Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, and Warcraft 3, among other things. Unfortunately, they were also smoking up a storm, so an hour of that was about enough for me. I took a few pictures, foolishly tried to change my Serbian money, and waited for the train. I'm probably lucky. Changing Serbian money in Macedonia is probably only a stones throw from trying to cash an Israeli money order in Syria. Stupid tourist.
• Train To Thessoloniki. Between lapses into unconciousness, I saw some beautiful mountains and lots more familiar agricultural terrain heading into Greece. It occurred to me that I've seen an awful lot of corn. Then I realized that corn syrup is the cheapest sweetener known to man. Between the rapeseed and the corn, it's no surprise the world is getting fatter.
• Thessoloniki. Since my train for Athens doesn't leave until two, and I got in at eight, I decided to wander a bit. I could smell the ocean, and that's always a big draw. Athens isn't costal, so this would be my only chance the entire trip to see the sea. It gave me a worthwhile surprise, too, as it was full of jellyfish. I hope my photos turned out. It's not always easy to get a camera to focus on translucent shapes under a reflective surface. :P I wandered a bit more, seeing very little of interest, and headed back to the station, finding this internet cafe along the way. I knew the parental units would be concerned, so I was very glad to find it. It's almost noon now. I want to double check that the train station I'm leaving from is the same one I came in from. I'm done with rude surprises like that. Once that's sorted, I think I'll grab some lunch. I've still got a box of cookies for the train, but I need something healthy. Just grabbing an apple from a produce vendor on my walk today felt like a major victory after the number of chocolate covered wafer cookiers I'd eaten. As much as I often disregard my body, I do value it. It conveys my head to interesting places.

All right. I'll take a quick peek at where I want to stay tonight in Athens. I'm thinking I'll splurge on a decent hotel for the last few days. Air conditioning in Athens is more than just a luxury.