Travelling to anyplace new is an experience. We are not strangers to the new in travel. Even our simple family fun Fridays are filled with adventures, but let me tell you this trip has been filled with adventure from the start.
Until we arrived I was not convinced this trip would even happen. Consider that in the past 18 months six other trips have been cancelled. So it really shouldn’t have been a surprise that our rapid tests resulted in a quick (possibly panicked) trip to Lebanon, Indiana to get a test result – negative.

Just getting out of Indy was a process. Nothing like getting to the airport early only to have your flight delayed by three hours – oh the horror of lost sleep to begin the journey.
Travelling in the new Covid World is unique. Vaccine cards, masks, social disctancing, and limited staff make for interesting scenes.
Landing in JFK was an adventure. No signage – no directions – and no one with answers as to how you get to the international gates. No wonder … it was like a ghost town.

Thanks to the wind our flight to Frankfurt, Germany was only 7 hours – a movie, dinner, and a long nap. We arrived just in time for breakfast. If you can call a beer and currywurst breakfast? The short answer is yes. Yes you can. YUM!

Our wait for our flight to Greece was interesting. Lets just say it involved three gate changes and eventually a short bus ride (really a tour) of the Frankfurt Airport. I mean why assign a gate to a plane when you can just load the plane for the end of the runway?

26 hours later (32 on the actual clock) and welcome to Greeece.

While unpacking and getting ready for our first day of touring, it became apparent that I was missing a key component – the battery charger for my camera – what is it about me and cameras?! Good news the hotel provided us a map and directions to a camera shop. They were most helpful and we are now ready to take pictures and wear out the batteries.
Thankful for helpful people and common places (camera shops) that allow a strange place to begin to feel like home.
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Quick observations
Not every where new that you go feels like home or is even welcoming. There are some places that are just so different from what you are used t0 (or expect) that you just struggle adjusting.
I can already begin to understand Paul. A Jew from Jerusalem finds himself entering Europe into a land that while ruled by the Romans is still very Greek. It is different.
Perhaps that’s why Paul (Acts 17:1) chose to spend time in the cities that had synagogues – there was comfort in the familiar.
I’m confident we will meet more people like our new friends who aided us in feeling welcome.
Tomorrow we explore a place were Paul discovered new friends and launched the church he most loved – Phillipi.
