Μετέωρα

Sometimes the worst days can turn in to the best!  This was the case when I tried to head 6 hours north and take a trip to Meteora.  It is a beautiful little town with Monasteries literally placed on top of these huge rocks jetting out of the ground!  In fact Meteora means "suspended rock."  It was beautiful, but the trip started out a little rough.  There were 10 of us planning to go and take the train up there.  We decided to get at the train station super early to get tickets for all of us.  That was an epic fail.  Some were late meeting at the bus stop, which made us late to the train station.  Once we got there we learned that the tickets were all sold out.  So we had to run 3 km to the bus station in order to catch the bus to Meteora.  Once we got to the bus station we had to wait about an hour for it to actually arrive.  I decided that since we had a long 6 hour trip ahead of us, I should use the restroom, so I went and found the "water closet," where they insisted I paid for toilet paper.  I decided to just grab a napkin instead.  Once I actually got inside I realized it wasn't a normal toilet, but instead it was a hole in the ground.  They wanted me to pay to squat and pee in a hole!  OHI!  

After getting over how gross the bathroom thing was, the bus finally came.  Not even an hour into the trip we pulled over to the side of the highway.  We broke down. 

 The driver is under the bus literally banging and hammering things trying to get it going again.  Great!  After a solid 15 min, he somehow fixed it and we were on our way again.  After another 4 1/2 hours we pulled in to another bus station where we had to catch a connecting bus.  Because of the break down we were late getting there as literally as soon as we were pulling in, we saw our other bus pulling out!  We had to wait another 2 hours before another bus would come.  It was a mess!  Luckily the bus stop was somewhat clean so we sat on the couches and ended up watching domino competitions.  It was actually kinda neat.  I didn't know domino stacking and knocking them over could be so intense, but it was!  

Our bus finally got there and we got on it ready to head to Meteora.... finally.  But of course that wasn't the end to our adventures.  We knew how to get to the hotel from the train station, but we weren't at the train station.  We wondered around forever trying to find it!  But once we found our hotel and got settled in it was totally worth it!  It was beautiful!  It was a little bed and breakfast with fireplaces and quaint little rooms.  It was so nice!  Such a good break from the apartments here in Athens.  I mean I actually slept in a comfortable queen size bed with a fluffy pillow!  It was awesome!  That night we went and got dinner at a little taverna and just walked around looking at the stars!  We could actually see stars!  So pretty!

The next morning we woke up bright and early and had a somewhat

 American breakfast made for us!  After that we jumped in a taxi and headed up the hill to the monasteries.  It was beautiful.

Absolutely breathtaking.  The monasteries were literally perched on top of these rocks and some where even built within the rocks.  The fall colors just lined the horizon and it was a blanket of red, yellow and oranges.  I was just awe struck in God's beauty.  What an amazing sight!  Words don't do it justice.  Pictures for that matter don't do it justice!  It was beautiful.  We just walked the windy road taking in the  beauty around us.  Along the path there were monasteries in which we would stop and check them out.  The first one we went to was small, but beautiful!  We were giving skirts to wrap around us and then proceeded to the church.  It was so small, but it was filled with the smell of incenses that is particular to the orthodox

 church (a smell that I am going to miss!)  Not only did incense fill the room, but also beautiful frescos!  From floor to ceiling it was covered in frescos that depicted scenes from the bible.  It was beautiful.  And 

it overlooked the entire valley of Kalabaka.  I have never seen anything so beautiful.  

We moved on to the next monastery which was much larger than the last.   We climbed up the many, many steps to get to the top of the rock where it was located (the priests who have to go there everyday are hosted up in a net/ cage thing so they don't have to take 15 min climbing steps everyday....) After getting to the monastery I was overwhelmed with its size.  I literally got lost when trying to find my way through.  It just kept going.  But it was so beautiful.  Courtyards bordered the rooms and the churches.  It was like a little city up there.  It overlooked the entire valley and I was speechless!  I was in awe of the splendor and beauty!  It is so different than Athens.  Fall was truly setting in and it was evident in the trees.  Fall just come and brushed the entire valley with its vibrant colors.  I was so content with just walking down the windy road back to the small town.  It was evident that God's fingerprints are all around us.  It was so good to get some 

clean air and take in all His beauty!  I mean God had to do a little dance after he created Meteora, it was that good!  The best part was that God created it for us to enjoy, and I definitely enjoyed it! It was incredible!  A bad start turned into one of the greatest

 weekends here in Greece!