CouchSurfing adventures in Athens

It’s just after midnight in Athens and we’re just arriving. We spent the last sixteen hours sitting at the Cairo International Airport and then we hopped on a very short two hour flight from Cairo to Athens. We’re exhausted!

We pass through immigration, snatch our bags from the luggage belt and find our way to the public bus which will bring us to Dafni. Dafni is bus station and also a metro station that is very near to where we’re staying tonight. The last time I spoke with our soon to be Couchsurfing host, she said she would meet us at the Dafni bus stop. Fifty minutes later we find ourselves at an empty bus stop. There’s not a soul in sight. It’s 1:00 AM and my mobile has no credit left on it. We’re two foreigners with oversized backpacks full of gear, and no backup plan. Plus, right about now we’re looking like the perfect targets for a robbery, something that happens quite often in Athens. Especially at night.

A car pulls up and two men jump out. I cross the street and ask one of them if I can borrow his mobile to make a quick call. Within 15 minutes our our host Roxani shows up and we begin our walk to her flat which is located about 10 minutes walk from Dafni station.
When we finally arrive and drop our bags, our host quickly offers up her bed to us and she says that she will sleep on the couch. We try to decline but she is persistent. We’re not in the mood to argue right now and getting to sleep in an actual bed tonight is pretty hard to pass up.

The next morning Roxani cooked us up a delicious Romanian Omelet and before we know it we’re on our way to explore Athens!

Roxani took us to the Parliament to see the guards, through Syntagma Square and all of it’s shops and then to a traditional Greek cafe where we spent two hours drinking coffee in amongst the locals.

Marios, a friend of Roxani picks us up from the cafe and takes us to a mountain that offers a three hundred and sixty degree views over the city. The views were incredible to say the least.

From the top you could see the port of Piraeus, the original stadium where the first ever Olympics were held, The Acropolis, the American Embassy, and more.

We stayed with our CS host Roxani for three nights before departing to Santorini and it was hard to leave her. She was one of the best hosts we’ve encountered as of yet. If you’re heading to Athens as a couple, don’t hesitate to look her up on Couchsurfing. We were Roxani’s first CouchSurfers and we hope to cross paths again in the future. Thanks Roxani!

For more photos from Athens, check out our Athens Photo Album