Tour De Balkans Take 1

Thessaloniki, Greece to Tallinn, Estonia

My flight out of Thessaloniki was indicative of my time in Greece. 100 things drive me completely up a wall and then one nice little thing happens for me to think, "Ok, maybe this isn't so bad." For the first time since September, I wasn't flying Ryan Air and I actually got to choose my seat. I was all ready to settle into the window seat and crash, but there was an older couple occupying the middle and my beloved window seat. They gave me a bit of grief about me asking them to move (Ok so maybe me saying, " 'A' means WINDOW!" in that loud, you don't speak fluent English so I'll treat you like you're dumb kind of way wasn't the best way to win them over, but it had been a long 24 hours. More on that later.), but eventually we came to some sort of unspoken understanding.  I was fast asleep when the old lady pokes me in the arm to wake me up so I wouldn't miss dinner. (Airplane moussaka! Yum!) And then after her club soda exploded all over the front of her, I gave her my napkin. Damn it, Greece, just when I was done with you there you go redeeming yourself.

When I arrived, based on the travel guide, I was already anticipating being overcharged for a cab. I had mentally prepared myself for just such an occasion. At the airport, I got into a cab with a guy that, in another scenario, looked like he might have been a hit man. But the Phil Collins blasting from the radio put my mind at ease. We initially stopped at the wrong address and just when I thought he might leave me for dead in a dark alley at the wrong address, he realizes his error, makes me get back in the car and drives me the extra 50 feet down the street to the correct address. All for the bargain price of 10 Euros. Which is exactly how much Lonely Planet said it should cost sans rip off. So far things in Estonia are on the up and up. 

For the record, buying a one way ticket to Estonia may be one of the crazier things that I've ever done. Just wanted to put that out there. But the adventure continues...