What I Discovered on My Fascinating Winter Trip to Northern Greece

In December, we traveled to some very picturesque locations in search of some northern Greece highlights for the holidays.

The first leg of the trip required a plane ride from Santorini to Athens. During winter, Santorini only offers flights to Athens and back due to it being off-season. There was a lot of space upon arrival to Santorini’s newly renovated airport and everything moved seamlessly.

Unfortunately, I started to feel that infamous scratchy feeling in the back of my throat after the quick 50-minute plane ride to the mainland. Within a small frame of time, I was hit with a nasty cold that would follow me for the next 2.5 weeks.

Despite the setback, we grabbed some Starbucks in Athens and were soon off on a northern Greece road trip to Meteora.

Meteora, is well known for massive rock formations that seem to defy gravity at first glance. The mountains in northern Greece are a work of art!

Autumn is my favorite season and I missed the fall foliage last year since there aren’t many trees in Santorini. However, exploring Meteora on this tour was filled with beautiful multi-colored hued leaves for as far as the eye could see.

The views of Meteora were breathtaking and filled with many natural wonders presented in their purest forms.

There also are monasteries in Meteora that are strategically situated on various rock summits. At first view, they seem to float on air and one would almost wonder how they’ve managed to build on such high suspensions.

Upon further glance, there are strong cables connecting from the monasteries to the main roads where items are loaded and distributed accordingly.

The monasteries are places of worship where you are asked not to take photos and you can go inside to observe and pray. Please also note, that if you are not Greek, or if you don’t appear to “look Greek” you will be asked to pay a fee to go inside. At first, I was taken back by this because it’s a place of worship and no one was asked to show identification, but rather judged by how they looked. This was just one of those small wake-up calls of not being home and being used to certain protocols being in place. After the occurrence, I decided to just take-in and appreciate the natural beauty of the area and forgo the monasteries. To each his own.

Collectively, Meteora does require a lot of cardio in order to really indulge in the scenery. There were plenty of small folks, including myself, that had to stop and really pace accordingly to reach some of the summits. Nonetheless, if you are not able-bodied, a car can still get you to plenty of highly desired areas while providing perfect photo ops along the way!

Hotel Theatro Odysseon is a fantastic nearby boutique hotel that offers gorgeous views of Meteora and top-notch service.

Upon entrance, the hotel has a striking wall adorned in images of classic Greek actors and actresses.

The rooms are also named after famous plays and musicals with related room decor.

So if you want a unique accommodating experience, filling continental breakfast, friendly staff, and unfathomable views, be sure to check out Hotel Theatro Odysseon when in town.

After Meteora, we traveled Kastoria which is one of a few villages that surround a circular body of water called Lake Orestiada or Lake of Kastoria.

Kastoria is a hilly hidden gem that has not been touched by the boom of tourism in Greece. Most of the tourists in Kastoria are Greek and they are simply traveling from other places in the country to take in its charming and simplistic offerings.
Kastoria also has rich history that dates back all the way to 5500 BC. There is a Neolithic settlement that displays old huts, pottery, carpets, baskets and a simplistic ancestral way of living.

The settlement reminded me of visiting the Lesedi Cultural Village in South Africa and exploring Native American culture at Bushkill Falls in the US. It was very interesting to see how vastly different concepts actually tie together.

The food in Kastoria was exquisite and provided smoke-free restaurant environments 👍.

My favorite dish was grilled mushrooms with olive oil, salt, oregano, and lots of lemon. Lemons take on a whole new meaning in Greece 😊

Rakomelo is mixed alcoholic drink that Greeks use to remedy colds and sore throats. It is served very warm and usually consists of honey, cloves, cinnamon, and other spicy herbs.

During the warmer months, this area of Nestorio turns into a large music festival called River Party. Over 50,000 guests from Greece and abroad are said to attend.

During the holidays, there is an attraction called Mill of Elves in Trikala.

Thanks for reading!