Thessaloniki, Greece

When I planned my second trip to Greece, I honestly wasn't too thrilled about how long my brothers wanted to stay. So, I planned out a way to make the most of our stay.

I had already been to Athens, Greece once before. While I love Athens and all that comes with it (The Parthenon, The Panathenaic Stadium, etc.), I did not want to spend too much time there again when there are so many other great cities to explore.

Enter Thessaloniki, Greece. My family members wanted more time in Greece so we agreed to a compromise. Thessaloniki. Not the easiest name to pronounce, but worth the visit.

Thessaloniki is located on the complete opposite side of Athens. It's in the Northeast section of the country compared to Southwest Athens.

There were numerous budget airlines heading there every day. We simply found the one that fit our itinerary best and set off.

It's a quick 40 minute flight. Getting into the actual city itself is a little more complicated. I'm used to flying into bigger cities and taking the metro. Thessaloniki is unique in that it isn't large enough to warrant a metro.

We took the bus. It's easily located just outside of the airport. We were able to plan out our stop before traveling there, as the map is online.

I didn't mind taking the bus, it was just slightly more complicated trying to figure out where we were with the bus.

Once you get into the city, you'll notice that it's just like most any other European city. One main difference is the hill. The whole city is perched on a hill. We had to do a bit of climbing to find our Airbnb.

We didn't stay too long in Thessaloniki - just a couple of days. Which was more than enough time.

It gave us a general sense of the charm of the town without leaving us wanting more for too long.

There are ancient crypts to explore, castle ruins and enough Greek food to keep most happy for a few days.

I will forever remember Thessaloniki, however, from the coastline. We didn't find any great beaches there in the city itself, but from the picture above you can get a sense of the majestic nature of the sea bearing down on us.

I remember seeing a ship out on sea that looked just like a pirate ship. That, combined with the cloudy and rainy skies, is the image I'll always remember of this great little mostly tourist-free getaway town in Greece.