Somewhere over the Adriatic

Marco Polo has got to be one of the least efficient airports I have ever been through. They've got almost 60 different check in counters set up, but still funnel everybody through one person to check all of the boarding passes, and only four security lanes. By "Your flight will begin boarding at 13:00<" they actually meant "Maybe you should start thinking about walking towards your departure gate at 13:00." And by "Your flight will depart at 13:30," they really meant that "Maybe, if we get around to it, we'll start getting you boarded at 13:30." It was actually about five minutes after that we finally started boarding, and didn't take off until 14:00. Hopefully customs in Greece is quick, because I really don't feel like trying to find my hostel in the dark.

20:12 - Athens, Greece

Athens better be a pretty damned awesome city. Laundry at the hostel, but €10? I wish I didn't care about not being stinky. This is also the point where I found out that my money is running out much faster than I'd hoped, thanks in large part to my plane ticket home... over $800, compared to $425ish to get over here. And that was for round trip tickets, which for some reason were about $200 cheaper than a one way ticket. WTF, mate?

20:51

Man, that laundry system is slow too. Good thing I didn't have anything planned for tonight, eh?

I'm definitely saving all my medicine boxes, so I can figure out what the fuck I've been taking all this time The antibiotics I picked up in Munich definitely improved things, but I've still got my stuff/runny nose & sore throat despite those & some other medicines. I'm really looking forward to getting home & being in one place for awhile... I think that will help. Being sick takes a lot out of you, and really cuts into what should be a completely awesome time.

So, plan for tomorrow... the Acropolis? I'm really not sure what else there is to see in this city, sadly enough. Hopefully the hostel staff will be able to point me to things that will keep me occupied, or I may be regretting the extra night I booked here. That was because I was originally catching a ferry out to Rhodes (didn't run on Mondays), but that turned out to be too much of a hassle & I ended up booking a flight instead.

So, while I'm waiting on laundry, a few thoughts on what I'd do differently if I could plan it all again, in no particular order.

• Packing: no long pants, more socks & underwear. I'm getting really tired of having to do laundry every 4-5 days. Also, more medicines from America, since I'm really not sure what half the things I'm taking now even are.
• Destinations: 1) Skip Oban. As much as I loved it, it was a pain to get to & from there; also, it required me to go through Glasgow, The Worst City in the World. -2 nights. 2) Skip Paris. It was cool to see the sights & that's where I had the most fun w/ other travelers, but the Parisians themselves weren't very friendly. -3 nights. 3) Add Berlin. I've heard lots of good things about it, and some good day trips may have been possible from there. +3/4 nights. 4) Munich: spend more to get one quality hostel for both nights. No change in duration. 5) Athens: 3 nights instead of four? We'll have to wait & see on that one, but right now I think that would have been a better plan. -1 night. Total change in duration: -4/5 nights, which hopefully would have allowed me to make it to Istanbul. Or, at the very least, I'd have more money left when I got home.
• One site: Take advantage of places w/ a kitchen/fridge. If you can stock up for a few days, grocery store food is much cheaper than eating out.

That's all for now, but I'm sure I'll come up with more later.