48 Hours on Ύδρα (Hydra)

In late March I (David) took a solo trip to Greece to take a Greek language class as part of my work towards getting Greek citizenship. I arrived in Greece on a Friday morning before classes started on the following Monday. To do something new I made my way directly from the airport to the port in Piraeus and hopped on a 90 minute ferry to Ύδρα (Hydra) for the weekend. Hydra is known for its historic preservation requirements that keep it looking like a late 19th century village. There is a small port, a town with a couple thousand people, some beaches (mostly accessible via boat) scattered around the island and a monastery 2/3 of the way up the mountain. The best part of Hydra, in my opinion, is that there are no cars! Travel through the town is solely by foot or donkey.

Departing from the Port in Piraeus. 

Right off the boat into Hydra.

While waiting for the boat in Piraeus, I figured I'd flex my Greek muscles and try to get a sandwich from a little περίπτερος (peripteros - a food/drink kiosk). I pick my items, walk up to the counter, handed the items to the woman after giving a friendly καλησπέρα (good afternoon), and then when she asks how I want to pay "με tarjeta" is what comes out of my mouth. Greece 1, David 0. On the boat, they played the most dramatic video for a ferry service I've ever seen...and thanks to YouTube you can see it too! Enjoy the award winning short film "Η μαγεία ξεκινά με το ταξίδι" (The magic begins with the journey).

First thing off the boat I needed to locate my AirBnB. There were some hotel options in Hydra, but they were pretty expensive. In general, Hydra was expensive compared to prices I've paid in Athens or other parts of Greece. All that charm isn't cheap, I guess. My AirBnB host actually prepared a video showing the way to the unit. I'll include that link below. It gives a good sense of the scale of the town. On the walk up to the AirBnB I paused in a little courtyard filled with orange blossoms - the smell was incredible. I spent the next nearly 48 hours making sure I walked through that courtyard every time I was in the area - bonus cats to pet were always in the courtyard.

After finding my AirBnB, and despite being very jet lagged and tired, I wandered around the island for a couple hours and found some dinner at a taverna that good reviews (Παραδοσιακό). While eating dinner at the taverna, I got to try out a bit more Greek... in general people were willing to try to speak with me in Greek, even though I'm still a beginner. While sitting there one of the first Greek songs I ever really liked (Ο Προσκυνητής - the pilgrim), which was introduced to me by my Greek tutor Mary, was playing - which made the experience feel serendipitous. Props to Mary for helping prep me for this trip! She's the amazing Greek tutor I've been working with since last Fall. Link to her Preply page here if you are interested in taking the leap into learning Greek. Feel free to play the song while you read the blog. It'll put you into the Greek mindset.

The island was not very busy. The weather was poor (windy and cold) and many people day trip to the island from Athens on the weekends. There'd be more people when I was leaving on Sunday, but the island was mostly tourist free in late March on a weekday.

Winding up the stairs towards my AirBnB.

View from my balcony. The weather wasn't the best but it was still beautiful.

Back at the port.

The main port area. Hydra wasn't busy at this time of day.

The famous old pharmacy.

Dinner at the taverna: χόρτα (boiled greens) and feta/cream chicken with fries. There are almost always fries with taverna meals in Greece whether you think there should be or not.

After dinner, I wandered back to my AirBnB and passed out for nearly 11 hours. Traveling overnight across and ocean is always exhausting. The next morning, I set out for my main purpose of visiting Hydra, climbing Mount Eros and visiting the monastery along the way. Mount Eros is the highest point on the island at around 1,900 feet above sea level and I was starting at around 0 feet elevation...fun. Before hiking up the mountain, I went down to the town center and got a croissant for breakfast and a spanakopita to take up the mountain for a snack. The man at the bakery said καλημέρα (good morning) to me, and I responded in kind. When it came time to order he realized I didn't speak Greek well then proceeded to apologize for saying καλημέρα and explained what it meant. Greece 2, David 0. The croissant was good though...

Pistachio croissant.

After packing a backpack with water and my spanakopita, I set out for the top of Mount Eros. The walk was wonderful. There were lots of flowers, trees, birds singing and great views back down to the sea and the town. It took maybe 90 minutes to get to the very top, including the stop at the Monastery to look around briefly. This was really the highlight of the trip to Hydra. On the way down, I spoke with a few different groups of people - all were tourists from other places in the world.

I made a lot of cat friends in Hydra, just like my trip to Greece last fall.

Part of the path up to Mount Eros.

Great day for a stroll - less windy and warmer than Friday.

Some part of the path had been recently improved.

The monastery about 2/3 of the way up the mountain. There was a little shop run by the monks with souvenirs (on the honor system of payment), free filtered water and a toilet.

Looking back towards the sea from above the monastery.

I loved how variable the path was. Here felt like a mountain goat trail.

On the top of Mount Eros looking towards the West. You can see the end of the island and the sea all around.

Eating a spanakopita atop Mount Eros. Does it get more Greek? Can I have my passport now please?

So many flowers in both Hydra and Athens.

Another sleepy cat friend.

Sunlight streaming through the alleyway back in Hydra town.

It was late afternoon by the time I came back down the mountain. So I stopped by the AirBnB and rested a bit and refilled my water bottle. Later that afternoon I walked along the sea for a while and did some souvenir shopping. Souvenir shopping became a great way to practice Greek through this trip. Eventually, I found a place for dinner (Μικρά Αγγλία) and had fish, fried feta cheese balls and bread. 

On the way back to the AirBnB I popped into a small bakery and asked for a few κουλουράκια (Greek cookies that are typically not very sweet and can be flavored with a variety of things) and some baklava. I'm never able to find κουλουράκια like my mother and γιαγιά make except for in the Peloponnesus region of Greece, and this trip was no exception. Side note, the γιαγιά that sold me the cookies put in twice as much as I asked and charged me full price...so if you see an old lady selling cookies in Hydra watch yourself. 😜

Apparently I ordered a half liter of Aperol Spritz. But after walking 30,000 steps up an down a mountain who's counting calories?

...which is also what I told myself when I ordered fried cheese balls.

... and buttery delicious bread with a creamy spread.

Fresh fish with χόρτα underneath. This was intimidating, but the fish was fileted underneath.

My bag of twice the amount of κουλουράκια I requested.

The next day (Sunday) my ferry back to Athens departed at noon, so I wandered around town a bit more grabbed some more breakfast pastries and then packed up and left for Athens. Overall, Hydra was an amazing place for a short stay. It's cute, quiet, and on a very human scale. I can imagine coming in the summer would find the place more crowded with visitors but still lacking the noise and hustle of cities like Athens. If you're looking for a place to spend a few nice days, do some hiking, exploring, swimming or to just get away from traffic and cars do come to Hydra.

Goodbye Greece: 36 Hours in Athens

Continuing our Greek road trip, when we were looking for attractions to stop at on our way back to Athens we saw an odd site on Google Maps that wasn't far out of the way - the Church of Agia Fotini Mantineias just north of Tripoli. This church is literally an amalgam of materials from other churches and sites in a mish-mashed style that was both impossible to look away from while being obnoxious to look at. Oddly, it was built between the 1960s and 1970s. While we were here, we made a dog friend that followed us around the church grounds (there was no one here) and also when we walked across the street to the archaeological site of Mantinea (another set of ruins of a classical era Greek city that is mostly gone at this point). While we were looking around the site, our dog friend waited patiently at the gate and greeted us as we walked back to our car. We gave him some snacks from our trunk. 🐶

Interior of the Church of Agia Fotini Mantineias.

Little bit of every possible style in one column.

The phrase "tone it down" clearly meant nothing to the people making this church.

Our dog friend eating a cookie.

The archaeological site across the street - Mantinea.

Not much left, but cool atmosphere/vibe to this abandoned site.

After leaving Mantinea, we drove directly to the Athens airport along the very nice toll highway, and returned our rental car. We put 1,392km (865 miles) on the car during our road trip - how very American of us! To get to our AirBnB in central Athens, we took the M3 train into the city, which is convenient but unfortunately only runs every 30 minutes since it operates more like a commuter train. Luckily, we only had to wait about 10 minutes. We checked into our AirBnB in the Psyri neighborhood, then had dinner at the nearby Bandiera restaurant, sitting outside on the narrow street. David had sea bass and Paul had stifado. The Psyri neighborhood is bustling with tourists; a big change of pace from the leisurely and un-crowded Peloponnesian road trip portion of our trip. There is no shortage of bars and restaurants in this area of Athens.

That evening we walked around, including going up the Aeropagus Hill for some great dusk views among the tourists crowds. Athens has developed a reputation as a great cocktail city in recent years - with 3 or 4 of the globally top 50 rated bars in Athens as of 2025. So, after sunset we grabbed a cocktail at Bar in Front of the Bar (yes, that's the name of the bar) and then at Baba au Rum. Most bars in Athens aren't quite our (middle-aged) style because they are cramped and loud, or if you sit outside you're bound to be surrounded by smokers.

Our AirBnB was great. We has planned on getting a hotel but the prices were astronomical.

Our neighborhood.

Grilled veggies and cheese.

Sea bass at Bandiera.

There are classical Greek and Roman era ruins throughout central Athens.

We love a  nice graffitied metro car running in front of the Acropolis!

Evening views.

David made a Kenyan friend.

Woo! Athens!

Looking out to the Lycabettus Hill.

Panoramic views.

As night fell, the sites lit up.

Lots of great cute streets in the Plaka area near the Acropolis.

Great street scenes in central Athens.

Holy Metropolitan Church of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary. Greeks aren't short-winded when it comes to naming their churches.

Inside the church.

Bar in Front of the Bar. Yes, there was another bar inside it so the name technically makes sense.

Our exes were probably not here yesterday, actually.

Back in Psyri - it's hard to miss Little Kook with its over the top holiday theming. You should see their Christmas set up!

On Friday morning (our last full day in Greece) we started with coffee and a pastry at Third Space, then we parted ways until lunch. David set off for an appointment at the immigration lawyer's office. Meanwhile, Paul walked to the Parthenon museum. This museum wasn't open when we first visited Athens in 2009, but David visited with Janice and Peter back in 2019. So David didn't feel any FOMO about skipping out on the museum and it was Paul's first time. It's a very impressive modern museum, an appropriately grand site to house the treasures of the Parthenon. Now if only the Brits would return those marbles!

Paul then walked around a bit and took the bus to meet with David, but his meeting was running long and he had to go to the notary to sign over power of attorney for immigration issues. So instead Paul walked to get a cocktail at Line, which is ranked as one of the top places to get a cocktail in Europe. Early in the day it was delightfully relaxed, and Paul enjoyed sitting in the small courtyard and having a unique cocktail with coffee, beetroot, and caramelized whey. 

Morning in Athens with the pigeons.

Guard in front of the parliament building in Syntagma.

Walking through the National Garden.

More random ruins.

Marbles at the museum.

Overview of the main central hall/stairs in the museum.

The museum is built atop ruins, and you can go below to see them.

More of a normal Athens neighborhood.

Interesting mural.

Decoration on a random church.

Paul came across a neighborhood farmer's market.

Cocktail time!

The relaxed courtyard of Line.

Meanwhile, as we mentioned in our opening Greece post of this trip, David was meeting with his immigration lawyers to talk through next steps on acquiring citizenship by descent. We aren't planning on fleeing America (yet), but a Greek passport would open doors and lead to potential retirement plans in Greece and the European Union in general. While meeting with the lawyers, they came to the realization that since he was there, it made sense for him to run to the notary to sign over power of attorney for immigration paperwork filing. The last appointment was soon approaching, so David had to jump on a bus then a train back to the AirBnB to grab his passport and then book it to make it on time to a scary looking old building in central Athens to meet an interpreter and the notary. Mission successful!

After David wrapped up his immigration work, we met up for a late lunch at Bouka. After navigating a confusing ordering system at the counter, we had some nice avgolemono and moussaka. We then planned on going to the National Archaeology Museum but, unfortunately it closes early (3:30pm) so instead we went to the Benaki Museum, which is a museum of Greek culture housed in a former mansion near Syntagma. David visited the Benaki Museum back in 2019, but was happy to go again and it was Paul's first trip.

Avgolemono & moussaka for lunch.

Interior of the Benaki museum.

Paul loves a good Fayoum portrait! These are Egyptian/Greek funerary portraits.

Room in the Benaki Museum.

Exterior of the museum.

A funny little add, "Roquefort" and "comfort" are similar in Greek.

Athens has a lot of murals.

After doing a lot of walking all morning and into the afternoon, we decided to head back to the AirBnB and relax a bit before our dinner reservation at Aleria. This was our splurge restaurant in Greece - the food was very delicious but the tasting menu took around 3.5 hours and we were exhausted by the end. David got the tasting menu that included meat and Paul got the vegetarian one and we shared the food. We were seated in a small Florida-room style area of the restaurant along with 3 other couples - one of the couples was from France and on their way out they told our waiter to "please provide our compliments to the chef, we are French and we love gastronomy and this was good food" (not word-for-word but you get the gist). So, high praise for the food at Aleria, but they need to tighten up the service - it's fine for good meals to take a while, but there was too much waiting between courses.

David at Aleria eating his amuse bouche.

Tomato with sorbet.

Another veggie dish.

Fish with a pumpkin sauce.

Reimagined pastitsio (this was delicious).

Lamb and fava bean puree.

Squash sticks.

A little palette cleanser before dessert.

Desserts - chocolate and hazelnut.

Another dessert. The stick on top was like a candy cigarette.

After dinner we walked back to our AirBnB (it was around midnight) and went straight to bed. We had to get up early the next morning to grab the train back to the airport to head home.

All-in-all, this was a really great trip! From Istanbul's monumental architecture, to the relaxing small-town vibe of Greece's Peloponnesian towns, the 800 cat friends we made, the 5 lbs of feta cheese we consumed, and more archaeological sites than you can shake a stick at. This region of the world is full of fun and interesting things to see and do. We're already planning our next trip to Greece!