They say third time's a charm. A year ago, a solo flight to Iceland was grounded by a freak snowstorm in Newark, New Jersey. Last November, Primera Air declaring bankruptcy meant a trip to London wasn't in the cards. This Spring Break, at long last, I went on my first solo trip outside of North America: to Santorini, Greece...Getting there was a bit of a trip on its own, as it involved 40 hours of flight time, including layovers, with layovers in Oslo, Norway; Berlin, Germany; and Athens, Greece. It may be cliché to say, but sometimes it is about the journey, in addition to the destination. With 16 hours in Berlin and 8 hours in Athens to explore, I was able to see some amazing sights, sample delicious food and drinks, and come to a few important realizations.
Berlin, Germany
Your perception of time changes after a 16-hour layover.
Directly outside Berlin Schönefeld Airport (SXF), there are bus stops for transit that connects to the city center. Ahead of time, I had downloaded BVG's FahrInfo app, available on both iOS and Android, and purchased a day ticket. The mobile ticket granted me access both to the aboveground buses and underground trains.
Once in the center of Berlin, I first made my way to Roamers, a coffee shop praised by the couple behind the YouTube travel channel Flying the Nest. Roamers serves third-wave coffee, which is artisanal coffee prepared with a focus on quality. Third-wave coffee succeeds second-wave coffee, the most widely-known example of which is Starbucks.
Although the kitchen at Roamers was closed for the day, I was still able to order an activated charcoal latte, which was pleasant and much more mild in flavor than the intensity of the drink's color would suggest. A few words of advice: The cafe does not accept credit cards, so be sure to bring along Euros if you stop by.
The remainder of the day was spent seeing the well-known sights in Berlin, including the East Side Gallery, Berlin Cathedral, and Brandenburg Gate.
Before returning to the airport, I made one last stop at Monkey Bar, Europe's best hotel bar, located on the tenth floor of 25hours hotel. Not only do they serve amazing cocktails, but if you order the drink Bini's Monkey Ponkey, you will help finance Bini, a female ape, at the Berlin Zoo. Consisting of vodka, amarena cherry syrup, balsamic vinegar reduction, fresh raspberries, and fresh thyme, the drink is hard to turn down. A cocktail and charitable giving? Sign me up.
Athens, Greece
There is fulfillment in not planning.
When I initially booked my flight to Santorini, the layover in Athens was only five hours, not quite enough time to leave the airport and see the Acropolis. As a result, I had no plan in place when the layover was extended to eight hours. Fortunately, directly across the street from the airport is a metro station with trips to the center of Athens.
I had expected there to be significant signage directing eager tourists from the metro station to the sights of the Acropolis, but there wasn't. Wandering the street adjacent to the station, I saw a number of people walking around with gelato...when in Athens, right? A quick Google Maps search showed that DaVinci Gelato had high ratings, and the dark chocolate and vanilla scoops I got confirmed those sentiments.
If I had had more time, I might have taken a guided tour up to the Parthenon, but I instead opted for taking in the sights of the Acropolis at my own pace while walking towards a spot for lunch. I chose Strofi, which amazed me with their Greek coffee, seafood salad, and view of the ruins. Afterwards, it was back to the airport for the final, very short, flight that would, at long last, take me to Santorini Airport.
Santorini, Greece
From the time I left to get to the airport in the U.S. to when I set down my bag at my lodging in Santorini, Greece, it was about 45 hours of travel.
My advice to someone with a bit more time: stay two days somewhere in between the departure and destination points to allow for a more relaxed pace of travel. Nevertheless, I had made it! Read about my time in Santorini here.