Upgrading to first class on international flights is the best! Unfortunately, there was only one upgrade available on the Chicago to Munich flight so Keely graciously gave it to me. Even though it was an old plane, the seat laid down flat, I had a large screen tv to watch movies and there were ice cream sundaes for desert! Best wife ever.

In Munich we spent some time in the club lounge before boarding our flight to Athens. We had great visibility to see the farms and farm towns on the outskirts of Munich (future sabbatical to Germany and Austria perhaps?!) and then great views of the snow capped Bavarian Alps. We flew over most of the city and swooped way over the Mediterranean before landing at the Athens airport on the far outskirts of town.

After landing, we took a 45 min train ride from the airport to downtown. The train went from nearly empty when we boarded to overwhelmingly packed by the time we got to our stop. We started above ground but as we got closer to Athens we moved below ground.

We walked the last block to our hotel - Hotel Grande Bretagne. Upon checking in, we found out we were upgraded again to a suite (love that Marriott rewards program)! One of the perks of the suite is a butler. They showed us to our room, made dinner reservations for us and hooked us up with a power adapter.

After FaceTime with the boys, we headed out to walk to dinner at Athinaikon. Keely had a delicious pork skewer dish and I had the beef cheeks orzo. Excellent recommendation from the butler!

We took the long way back walking through town and observing the tourist areas of the city. We also explored the hotel a bit and checked out the spa area. More to come on that I’m sure!

Tomorrow we really start to explore the city and the history here. Our tour guide picks us up at 8 am tomorrow morning.

Kevin