Stories of A: From Warsaw to Santorini

Hey there! Finally, I had time to write this blog again. I know I know I've been so busy with school (as always) This year I haven't been anywhere outside Belgium. My last trip was last summer to Berlin. School life is hard and I really need an escape from my daily routine. So, let's book a ticket!

So I booked flights. And after that, I didn't really plan my trip until the last minutes. My routes were:

Day 1: Charleroi - Warsaw
Day 2: Warsaw - Athens
Day 3: Athens
Day 4: Athens - Santorini
Day 5: Santorini
Day 6: Santorini - Athens
Day 7: Athens-Charleroi

Day 1: Warsaw at night with a Vegan host

Let me begin to tell you about one day in Warsaw.

To be exact, I had only 22 hours in Warsaw. I arrived there at 10 pm and I had to leave the next day at 6 pm. It was really short visit. But I did enjoy Warsaw.

From Modlin Warsaw Airport, I took a bus, then a train to reach the city center. It took like one hour to get to the center. In the Warsaw Central Station, there was a lovely girl who is already waiting for me. I know her from Couchsurfing, and she hosted me for a night. From the tram on the way to her place, I could see Warsaw at night. Full of lights. Just like another big capital cities, typical skyscrappers, it reminds me of Jakarta though.

Palace of Culture and Science in front of the central station.

At my CS host place, we had a cup of warm tea and we had a convo about many things. My host is a vegan, and we shared our thoughts about what we see the world about eating less meat. She is also a hitch-hiker, and she shared her experiences. It was a lovely night. We stayed late until 1 AM. Then we went to bed.

Day 2: Polish Dumpling and Korean Bulgogi

In the morning, my host made me an oatmeal porridge as breakfast, served with a strawberry on top! Normally I don't really like oatmeal, but hers was good! After back from my trip, I even make my own oatmeal porridge!

After breakfast, we took the same tram to Old City. Her university is close to Old Town. She is cool, she is from Ukraine, and she studies at Warsaw University, and of course, she takes Polish courses. Her story is similar to me, a foreign student in her class. And she is just 18 years old. She is smart! And she has already a job as a translator. How cool is that?

Old Town Square

I needed to pee, so I needed to change the money.

In the morning, I explored the old town. It was a sunny day. And I did enjoy my dairy free muffin in front of this monument.

I brought some muffins on my trip.

My Polish friend recommends me to try Polish dumplings. Since I don't eat meat, so I ordered the mushroom fillings. It was super! I really liked them. Especially it served with melted butter. This become my favorite now! And I tried a glass of warming fruit winter exilir hibiscus and raspberry juice. It was good but too sweet.

You should try this!

After from the Old Town, I walked to the Warsaw University Library. My host recommended this place, so I checked that out. So at the rooftop of the library, there is a garden. And here you can sit and chill. And you can enjoy the view like this.

From the rooftop

After from the library, I walked again to try Korean food. I know. I know. Why did I choose Korean food? Because I just wanted to. I've been craving Korean food since ages. And I saw there is a good one. So why not I give it a try.

When I was eating my bulgogi, this guy was hitting on me :P

Here is vegetarian bulgogi at Miss Kimchi, Warsaw.

After having a lunch, I walked to Krowarzywa Vegan Burger. You just had a bowl of rice!! I know. I know. But I wanted a vegan burger for my dinner. Since I know the food at the airport can be expensive, why not I take away a vegan burger? I saw there are a lot of vegan options in Warsaw. I was quite surprised. They even have a vegan sushi bar! How cool is that?

Warsaw university

a reversed Indonesian flag?

So I went to the famous vegan burger in town, it costs like 3 euro for a burger. It comes in a big portion. I meant it.

I ate this burger at the airport and it tastes good!

My flight to Athens was at 6 PM. And I arrived at 10.45 PM. I took the bus to the city center. And walked to my next host place. It was around midnight. The next host is Spanish. He works as an animator. And he is a kind guy. He dances the tango very good!

Day 3: Acropolis and Greek yogurt

Here is my highlights:

Starting my day with visiting Acropolis museum for free :)

After the museum, I had my lunch. As a starter, I began with Greek salad, then the main course was soy pita. I never tried a vegetarian version of pita, and it was good!! I never find vegetarian pita in Belgium :( (so far). And the last part was greek yogurt. That was the bomb! I really liked it!

Visiting the Acropolis, again, for free. And I enjoyed my homemade muffin on top. The view from above was heaven!

Day 4: Baklava and red velvet

I would say the 4th day kind of random stuff to do, no plans at all. I had sesame sandwich and baklava as lunch. I sat at the cafe for hours, for charging my phone. Then I went to the park for reading a book that I brought. But it was raining after a while. And I looked for a shelter, I found a sweet one. I had a cup of warm cappuccino and red velvet there. After that, I went to the airport to catch a flight to Santorini.

sesame sandwich

Baklava and spinotaka

Chillin' in the Athens park

Reading session with Red Velvet

Day 5: Santorini! LOVE IT SO MUCH!
I was there around midnight. But there was an accident, that I couldn't reach the host. And after 2 hours wandering in Firostefani in the dark, I gave up. And the only place that still opened is a five stars resort. I know. I know. Not planning to stay there at the first place, but I guess for an emergency situation. What can I say? So little options did I have, and I was super tired.

And I woke up with the view like this in the morning. I feel blessed.

The view from the room.

It was so quite in the morning.

Then in the noon, I visited the north part of the island, Oia, it is famous with the three blue domes. The view is superb!

Then back to Fira, the big city on the island. I ate pasta.

the room was like this one

When in Oia

in Fira

In Fira

Day 6: Bye Santorini!

If the 5th day I explored the north part, this time I explored the most south part of the island. Akrotori. I climbed the cliff close to the lighthouse. The panorama from there was breathtaking. And I said to myself. I don't want to go back. In the noon, I visited the prehistoric town close to the lighthouse. Lucky me, it's free for a student. After that, I just visited beaches and small villages. And back to cloudy Belgium.