After pushing myself hard in my new role, synchronizing with the team, and absorbing all sorts of new things along the way, comparing myself to a battery running low might be a bit of a cliché, but a real vacation and disconnecting from everything was more than necessary.

We love going to Greece for the summer. While my wife and I visited various exotic spots during our younger days, now that we have a kid, we tend to travel to closer destinations. The most common choice for us is Halkidiki, as we travel by car. 🚗

A Minor Malfunction Before We Even Left

Speaking of traveling by car, we had a small technical malfunction right at the start. I had done all the usual checks and servicing before the trip, including replacing the front brake rotors and pads. However, I neglected the rear wheels since those pads didn’t look worn yet.

Luckily, just 30 km into our trip, one of the rear wheels partially locked up with a squeaking noise, so we decided to turn around. I immediately went back to the service shop, replaced the rear brake pads, and we resumed our trip the next day. It wasn’t a showstopper, but it’s definitely something I’ll remember for future road trips.

Psakoudia & Pension Nikos

This year’s destination was Psakoudia, a small fishing village near Nikiti at the beginning of Sithonia. It’s known for its long, shallow sandy beach – a perfect place for a kid to practice swimming and snorkeling without us having to worry too much.

Our typical choice for accommodation is a small house or apartment with a kitchen. This time, we stayed at Pension Nikos. It’s located right on the beach with a small tavern serving very decent, affordable meals where locals commonly eat. We didn’t sit in the tavern for every single meal (which is nearly impossible with a young child), but eating there a few times or ordering food up to the apartment was super convenient.

A summer vacation in Greece isn’t a completed mission for us unless we explore different beaches in every direction. Our farthest drive this time was to Babylon Beach, about 90 km from our accommodation toward Stavros.

Shopping & A Refreshing Stopover in Bansko

On our way back, we stopped by two outlet centers near Thessaloniki. Honestly, it wasn’t really necessary and turned out to be a waste of time. Shopping and aiming for tax returns felt redundant to me, as prices there are very similar to Serbia – which, as many know, is already quite an expensive country considering our lower average wages compared to neighboring EU countries.

Since I find any kind of shopping exhausting, I had pre-booked a stay at a hotel in Bansko, Bulgaria, for our trip back. We had never been there before, and breaking up the drive nearly halfway sounded like a great way to recharge. Driving in the summer heat, even with the AC constantly running, is a real battery drainer.

We aren’t winter people, we don’t ski or head to the mountains during the cold months (winter holidays are strictly for family gatherings for us), so visiting Bansko in the summer was a great decision. Even though it was a short stay, we got slightly familiar with the town, met a few local people, tried Bulgarian beer (which is really good), and I was pleasantly surprised by the hotel prices. A half-liter of domestic beer like Pirinsko or Shumensko was just €3 – roughly the same price you’d pay in any café back home, especially in Belgrade.

Bulgaria vs. North Macedonia

Taking the route through Bulgaria was a first for us, and comparing it to driving through North Macedonia, it definitely won us over:

• Petrol prices are similar.
• Border crossings: We only had to cross one border (which took us around 40 minutes).
• Paperwork: You don’t need an international Green Card insurance policy for Bulgaria; buying a one-month vignette costs roughly the same anyway.

In contrast, the roads in North Macedonia are in rough shape. As cars get closer to the Evzoni border with Greece, driving turns into an aggressive race to cut down potential wait times, making the trip feel unsafe. To make matters worse, some of our relatives spent four hours waiting at that border this year, just insane. 😵

Unplugging and Looking Ahead

All in all, the trip was great and truly refreshing. I brought my laptop along, but I didn’t open it for work at all, it was only there as a fallback if something urgent popped up, which thankfully didn’t happen. I didn’t even push an update for my WordPress theme that was being reviewed on the WordPress theme repository, so it’s back in the queue now. No big deal. 😀

My only slight regret is that we didn’t stay a bit longer. Although I took two full weeks off work, we spent 10 nights at our destination. We’ve already agreed to aim for 12 nights next year. Adding a couple of extra vacation days each year is a great practice whenever possible! ⛱