Scholar of Rhodes
After a quick day stop-over in Birmingham, UK where I watched Toy Story 4 (skip it!), I hopped on a flight to Rhodes, Greece. I had a late flight, arriving just before midnight. Since I was acutely aware of the number of days I had left in the Schengen Area, I opted to loiter for 15 minutes before heading through passport controls. This meant I didn’t waste an entire day Schengen day just because I arrived at 11:45pm. I had a taxi there waiting to take me to my hostel since public transportation had stop running.
When I awoke the next day I set out to orient myself on Rhodes the way I normally do: by walking. I walked out to the water and got my first glimpse of the Mediterranean from Greece. The color of the water was so blue it looked artificial, like the toilet bowl cleaner water. That’s probably the most inelegant description of the Mediterranean every committed to the written word, but I stand by it.
Rhodes is surrounded by an impressive set of 14th-century walls, which were fairly effective in thwarting my attempts to get inside for a while. I eventually found my inside after walking around in the 90+ degree heat.
I was again struck by how the old, medieval part of the city had been converted into a playground for tourists. There were plenty of overpriced and scammy restaurant-bars throughout. That being said, there were plenty of really nice places as well. You need to either get a local to make a recommendation or to check the reviews online. On restaurant in the area continuously runs a scam where if you ask for a big beer they come out with an entire boot and then charge you £20 for it. If you protest they will claim you are in the wrong for not knowing what you were ordering.
Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes
Located within the old walled part of Rhodes Town is the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. I imagined a Monty Python sketch where someone kept having to say, “It is I, a knight of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes!” It’s has that kind of sound to it. Probably the biggest attraction in all of Rhodes Town, it’s a gothic palace built on top of a temple dedicated to the sun god Helios. It was originally a Byzantine Citadel in the 7th century before getting converted in the 14th century by the Knights Hospitaller to be their administrative center Rhodes. If you thought that wasn’t historical enough, some have theorized that the site itself was the location of the Colossus of Rhodes. Mussolini vacationed there and had it renovated with mosaics pilfered from other Greek islands. Little of this information could be gleaned from the site itself, because the descriptions and history were pretty lacking.
Archaeological Museum of Rhodes
Not too far from the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhode is the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes. It’s included in the combo ticket you can buy for €10. It had a lot more outdoor parts than I bargained for in the oppressive heat. Its set-up allowed for exploring artifacts from Rhodes and its neighboring islands.
Stay Hostel
The hostel in Rhodes, STAY HOSTEL, was really the nicest hostel I’ve ever stayed in. There’s a movie theater, full bar, and even a modest gym. The design was impeccable as well. On my second night I met a group of several Australians who were staying in the hostel for a night before heading over to a luxurious villa for the week. Even by hostel-standards this was a lot of Australians. We ventured out to old town for a quick evening walk. It cooled down quite a bit.
Yes that’s the disco ball light
I noticed a few nods to The Pink Panther in Rhodes, including a children’s ride. Naturally I thought I should try to squeeze inside.
Anthony Quinn, Kallithea & Traganou Caves
At the harbor in Rhodes Town there were a ton of different boats docked with hawkers selling different excursions. There were options to take a day trip to nearby Sifnos or Lindos by boat or explore the nearby bays. I found a reasonably-priced tour company called Half Price Tours and opted to book a full-day boat trip to Kallithea Bay, Anthony Quinn Bay, and Traganou Caves. For a full day on a sail boat with 8 other people that included lunch and drinks it was a good price at €60. I’m not sure how the company operates because I talked to other people on the boat who paid €80.
The other passengers included two American couples who didn’t know each other but were nonetheless on the same Norwegian Cruise ship docked in Rhodes, a pair of British girls on holiday, and an older German couple. The captain of the boat was a handsome Greek guy in a Toronto Raptors jersey.
I was very curious to hear about the experience of the Americans on their cruise ship. They talked about how bad but plentiful the food was. They compared notes with each other on the different packages they got and where they were on the boat. The couple from Illinois mentioned that one of their neighbors had some kind of bathroom flooding issue but were forced to stay in the room because the boat was completely full. As far as I could tell, you couldn’t design a better form of torture.
The British girls and I listened on in horror as we heard the living conditions of the people on the boat. I mentioned that the only time I had been on a cruise was in college with 40 of my closest friends. We had smuggled in alcohol in Listerine bottles and much less successfully, sunscreen bottles. My friends registered me in a hairy chest contest, which ended in me getting lifted up on their shoulders like the end of the movie Rudy (Or so I hear, I’ve never actually seen it) when I inevitably won. I still have the little trophy they gave me.
We stopped to swim at the various bays and beaches on the itinerary. I spoke a lot with the British girls, Ash and Rachel, about travel and Brexit. Both were extremely worried about the situation and trying to figure out what their own options were should the worst happen. Both were tasked at work with developing all kinds of contingency plans depending on the severity of the Brexit.
When the day was over Ash and Rachel came over to the hostel to enjoy happy hour and live music (I’m telling you, it’s a NICE hostel).
Lindos
About 45 minutes from Rhodes Town is the picture-perfect town of Lindos. I booked a bus ride there, which included a non-consensual trip to a pottery store for a pottery demonstration. I hate the back-deals that result in tour companies dragging their customers to pottery or carpet stores.
The first thing I noticed when I got to Lindos was the uniformity of the white buildings. I would later see similar structures in Mykonos. The town was full of donkeys offering to carry passengers up to the top to visit the Acropolis. I was told by There was a beautiful turquoise beach that I glanced at before walking up to the top of the hill to visit the Acropolis at Lindos.
The Acropolis in Lindos is striking from a historical and archaeological perspective, but the best part is gorgeous panoramic bay views. I made the fatal error of wearing long pants and there wasn’t a lick of shade at the top. In these kinds of places in Greece it’s common to see young women simulating poses they’ve seen on instagram as they stand in front of these grand structures. Lindos was no exception. I witnessed a girl’s straw hat fly off after a huge gust of wind hit it. Beneath us there was a graveyard of straw hats that had similarly flown off of would-be influencers.
My last day in Rhodes I went back to the beach in Kallithea with Jacob, a local Greek guy I befriended. He showed me some of the beaches in Rhodes that were beautiful, but rocky. This particular spot was sandwiched between two larger beaches in Kallithea that had the amenities and sand you might associate with a beach. We put our towels down and laid out in the sun. There were barely any other people, apart from the random snorkeler.
I spent the rest of the day watching the Women’s World Cup match (USA! USA!) back at the hostel in its movie theater. I had a late flight to Athens to meet up with my friend Gabby. I crammed myself into a bus for the excruciating ride over to the airport, but was happy to save the €20.
A must for history junkies