With the decision to take the train, I still needed tape. With the supermarket near the train station, I walked down to the train station to evaluate the 600 m walk before shopping at the market.
Readily finding tape, I thought to see if I could make the walk easier. I bought strips of plastic to put along one edge, to protect the edge and perhaps make it slide better (formerly a bendable ruler). I also found a trolley for only 9 euro. Dubious quality, but I only needed it for the walk to the station. I returned to the hostel to complete the packing of the box.
Only the train ticket remained, a problem for later. I left the hostel for wandering Athens via Metro. I could get used to having a Metro. I’m certain the locals have all sorts of reasons to hate it, but being able to descend, quickly hop on a Metro, and ascend close to where I want to be is fun.
I’m running out of places to visit on my multi-site ticket. I visited the Ancient Agora and the Roman Agora, with mixed emotions. Ancient historic Greek sites look to me more like rubblethan something recognizable and noteworthy. But it’s 2000 year old rubble. Both sites reemphasized how these sites lasted – well below ground level.
I ran into Vasily upon my return to the hostel. Given we’d been talking about my “to the airport plan” (which I obsess about), I showed him a picture of the bicycle with the trolley attached. His response was along the lines of, “But what about the long walk from the train station to the airport?” Umm, what? I’m taking the train primarily on his recommendation, so that might be a critical piece of information? After some back and forth the long walk is the Metro; the airport train station is at the entrance to the airport.
I realized the hostel stored my bicycle safely behind a locked door for luggage storage (which I keep finding intermittently unlocked, a different problem). Reception opens at 10:00 am. My flight departs 10:25 am. Some wrangling back and forth and my bicycle was stored where I could get to it in the morning.
Not much now but the waiting. Thunder and lightning ripple across Athens.
