This morning dawns dark and dreary. It is cold and rainy, so no walking in our morning plans.  And easy morning, finalizing the bags and then grabbing an Uber around 8:30 to get to the airport Express bus.  Surprisingly, we are able to catch the 8:55am bus.  We didn’t think we’d make it on as we only arrived a few minutes before scheduled departure time, but there were plenty of seats and an uneventful ride to the terminal. (Except for the sneezing, sniffling guy sitting in front of us that is – but we are always mask-prepared, so not a problem!)

Once at the airport it is, big sigh, too early to check in!  Argh. Even though everything says to be there at least 3 hours in advance, SkyExpress desks don’t open until 2 hours before the flight.  So annoying.  Ah well, time for coffee – which we finally get to have at Coffee Fellows (ok, that was my obsession for some reason – I just loved the name and the logo).  Then we sat…and watched as others stood in line for an hour. Turns out that was probably the right move as we ended up being way back in the line by the time the desk finally opened.  We had purchased business class tickets – because once all the fees were added to the economy, business didn’t add that much more – and while there is a Business only desk, it isn’t open for this flight, so stand in line standing it is.  We make it through fairly quickly, and through passport control and security, arriving at the lounge with enough time to grab a quick snack and drink.

Departure time arrives and once we are safely ensconced on the plane, we see why the Business desk wasn’t open in the terminal – we are the only 2 in business class – which is just the front of the plane 3 seats with the middle empty, but still nice!  The flight itself is smooth – even with the threatening skies on take off.  Soon we are soaring up above the green fields of Germany and on into the clouds, eating our nice snack of prosciutto wrapped cheese and shrimp and spanakopita – all accompanied by my favorite Greek wine, Moschofilero.  Yum.

A few hours later we are winging our way across the northern part of Greece, seeing for ourselves why Greece is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, and soon after, circling over the water making our approach into Athens. 

Passport control, bag pick up, transfer driving waiting for us as planned – all goes without a hitch and we are deposited at our penthouse apartment a little before 6pm.  It is an adorable little place, great spaces and comfy – but the real sell here is the rooftop patio – it is literally the whole roof!  The space stretches all the way out to the end of the building facing the harbor where we have gorgeous views across the sailboats and yachts docked here in the Saronic Gulf.  Perfect for our 3 night stay. Dumping our bags, we head immediately to the grocery store for supplies, then to the corner Gyro place, Volcano, where we order huge Pork and Chicken Gyros with a side of pork skewers.  So much food, and so good – plus you can’t beat the atmosphere as we take it all home and eat out on the patio overlooking the water. An excellent way to end our short and quick travel day.