The entry to Greece
After a one-week stopover in Germany, we continued our world tour and flew on September 9th from Dortmund to Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece. What should definitely be mentioned here is the absolutely crazy price we paid for the flight: 15€ each! Of course we had to pay extra luggage costs for our backpacks, but that was also very manageable. Like at the beginning of our world trip, the airport in Dortmund was relatively empty. So it didn't take long to check in our luggage at the counter. For our entry to Greece, as for Lithuania, we had to fill out a questionnaire in advance with information of the last places we stayed, our planned destinations in Greece, emergency contacts, etc. In addition, we also had to state whether we had typical Corona symptoms or had been in contact with a person who was tested positive. The difference to the form in Lithuania was that it had to be sent at the latest 24h before departure and we received a QR code by e-mail at 00:10 am on the day of our flight. We had to show this code at the check-in and on our boarding cards the note "QR-Code ok" was written and signed.
Our cheap tickets did not include seats next to each other on the plane. But that was no problem at all, because the flight was so empty that we could easily sit in an empty row after take-off. There were so few passengers on board that the row in front of us and the row behind us were also completely empty. The weather was really good and we had a calm flight. Because there were hardly any clouds below us on the whole way, we had a beautiful view of the Alps and could enjoy the almost three hour flight. Our pilot was also in a chatting mood and regularly contacted us with information about what we could see outside the window, so that we almost felt like on a sightseeing tour.
On our arrival in Thessaloniki we were welcomed by the sun in Greece - Wonderful! Every passenger had to show the QR code before entering the terminal, so this time it was really taken care of. But we thought that was appropriate. Depending on where you had been before or how you answered the health questions, it could have been that you had to take a test and stay in quarantine until the result was obtained. But we had nothing to fear and were allowed to continue immediately.
Our experiences in Thessaloniki
After we picked up our luggage, we went to the bus outside the terminal and drove to the city center where our accommodation was located. The closer we went to the center, the fuller the bus got. There was a mask obligation in the bus and that was a good thing, because the bus was finally full to bursting!
We spent the first evening with Giannis, a former work colleague of Tomek, who recently returned to Greece. We met in a bar, had a drink and a snack. All bars and restaurants had the obligation to close at midnight and so we were also asked to pay at midnight and then leave soon.
The next day we walked through Thessaloniki, first along the beach to the White Tower and strolled through the alleys and visited the Rotunda, one of the oldest churches in the world. The temperatures of more than 30°C awakened the summer vacation feeling again and it was wonderful to walk along the waterfront or to rest in the shade of pomegranate trees. Of course, a Cappuccino Freddo should not be missing, which the Greeks seem to drink here at any time of day or night.
We also found a bookstore that also sells English books and bought a LonelyPlanet travel guide of Greece to plan our trip a little better. Tomek has been to Thessaloniki before and I also thought that two nights there were enough for us. Again we were drawn towards nature and we wanted to go near the Olympus.
The complex system of public transport in Greece
We decided to travel through Greece by public transport. However, it was quite difficult to find information about bus and train departure times, let alone buy tickets online. We used the site "rome2rio", but even there we didn't get much smarter from the information. So on our second day in Thessaloniki we walked to the train station to ask for trains to Litochoro for the next day and to buy tickets there.
The complexity of the public transport system in Greece was only gradually understood: On the one hand there are trains, which are operated by TrainOSE (like the "Deutsche Bahn"). This provider has a website where you can have a look at the Greek railroad network, but you cannot buy tickets. Furthermore, there are buses, which are operated by KTEL. However, each region or state has its own KTEL company (e.g. KTEL Athena, KTEL Thessaloniki, etc.) and therefore its own website. Some of the pages are quite informative and can also be displayed in English (especially those of the larger regions), but sometimes there are no timetables at all and if so, then only in Greek. There is no comprehensive route planner, i.e. travel times when driving through several regions! The challenges that come up during our journey through Greece will always be a topic on our blog. Nevertheless, we have always somehow managed to get from A to B.
And so after two nights in Thessaloniki we went on by train to Litochoro in the Olympus area..
English 
German