A Night To Remember
By Don Miller, Staff Writer

Our group of six had checked into the Athens Backpackers Hostel.  The rooftop bar had a great view of the Parthenon, the subway station was just one block away and the Plaka (tourist district) was a three minute walk.  The location could not have been better.  Our third room floors were quite spacious and a balcony overlooked the street in front of the hostel.  Our room included four bunk beds which meant as a group of six we shared our room with two other individuals.  One was a young lady from Argentina and the other a young woman from San Antonio who had just completed her military service.

Fatigue frequently results from travel.  Hopefully this somehow explains the series of events to engulf our unsuspecting group in a just few hours.  Five of us had enjoyed (endured?) two days of extreme hiking in Vikos Gorge and Meteora before arriving at the hostel.  Steve had just spent 24 hours flying around the globe to join us in Athens.  Everyone was tired but we recognized our need to eat.  Although the hostel was adjacent to the Plaka, wear your walking shoes.  It consists of twisting cobblestone streets and has hundreds if not thousands of restaurants, shops and bars.  Whether it was the excitement of being in Athens with the illuminated Parthenon looming over us, a sense of adventure or hunger, we must have walked five or six miles, had dinner and consumed more than a few liters of wine.  Our exhausted group of travelers finally arrived back at the hostel.

Courtesy and consideration for your roommates are the two primary rules of hostelling.  Steve, fatigued from his long trip and the large quantities of wine, immediately climbed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.  Obviously affected in a different way from the wine, Wade decided to ignore the first two rules of hostelling and began hitting Steve over the head with a pillow.  Tara was quietly rummaging through her backpack and could not find her pajamas.  Normally calm, organized and serene, she had an emotional meltdown for about ten minutes.  Amazingly, our two roommates slept through all this fun and frolic.

Finally, quiet descended on the room, and just as everyone was about to fall asleep, a deep, chainsaw like rumble filled the room.  Much to our chagrin, Steve had started to snore.  Being as we were in different parts of the room, most of us were not terribly bothered by the sound.  Kim, on the other had, was on the top bunk of the bed she shared with Steve and could not doze off due to the noise and vibrations of the bed.  Hoping to hit Steve with her pillow and cause him to stop snoring, she leaned over the side of her bed and began swatting at him.  Unfortunately, her sheets slipped, and she tumbled with a loud crash onto the concrete floor.  Everyone, except Steve, awoke to find Kim on the floor with a dislocated clavicle and a mild concussion.  After a careful examination, Carol (wife, mother and paramedic) determined Kim was not in danger of imminent death and made a comfortable bed for her on the floor.

Once again, peace and quiet blanketed the room and everyone fell back into a deep sleep.  Nevertheless, only a few minutes later, a shriek filled the room, as our new friend from San Antonio yelled “What are you doing?  Don’t throw my clothes off the balcony.”  Wade was sleepwalking and had stumbled onto the balcony where her clothes were drying.  The poor girl was freaking out as Wade dangled them over the railing looking like he would drop them into the street.  Thankfully, he set the clothes down, turned around and streaked out of our room, disappearing into the hostel. As we didn’t know where to look, no one could find him.  Finally Tara located Wade sound asleep in an empty bunk in a room full of seven girls who were in a frenzy over the strange guy dead asleep in their room.

Meanwhile, during the chaos of the Wade situation, Kim, who was dazed and confused from her fall, wandered down the hall to use the bathroom.  Due to her concussion, she momentarily fainted in the bathroom and eventually struggled back to what she believed was our room.  Knowing she was really sick, Kim pulled herself up to the bed where her mother should be sleeping except she had also inadvertently wandered into the same room where Wade had recently taken up residence.  Pulling on the arm of someone she believed to be Carol, all poor Kim could say was “Mom, help me”.  Their room was in a total uproar after unexpected visits from Wade and the Kim.

Throughout this ordeal we constantly apologized to our roommates who were unbelievably concerned and understanding.  They were very worried about Kim and even asked about Wade.  The hostel staff also deserves credit.  They assisted in the Wade search and were tremendous help in contacting a physician, providing directions to the hospital, canceling plans we had made for the next day and generally being helpful.

Sometimes such strange occurrences happen that make a day or night unforgettable.  The next day other guests at the Backpackers looked at us with awe (can you believe what happened in their room?), fear (glad they are not in our room) or pity (what a bunch of American idiots!!!).  All’s well that ends well.  Kim’s trip was not ruined by her fall and she is recovering well.  Wade did not fall off the balcony and down any steps.  Now everyone laughs when we retell the events of the evening.  It certainly was A Night to Remember.

If You Go

Backpackers Hostel in Athens

12 Makri Street

Makryanni

Tel: +30 2109224044

Email: info@backpackers.gr

Contact: Elspeth

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