If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us all, it is the importance of people. The situation has led to the world remaining locked down, without visiting family and friends. And this, also became an opportunity for one 20-year old, who stepped out of his comfort zone to meet his parent. A Greek student was stuck in Scotland, unable to go home. However, he found a new way to re-unite with his parents. Here’s his journey.
On that note, did you know- Six Passengers Test Positive After Taking Emirates Flight To Australia.
Stuck Miles Away From Home
Little did 20-year-old Kleon Papadimitriou imagine he would not go home for his summer break this year. A student in Scotland, Kleon was stranded after flights were suspended to curb the spread of the pandemic. He booked three flight in March, despite the situation. Unfortunately, all the flights got cancelled, leaving him with very little options to head back home. On that note, Here’s How A Dubai Resident Got Home From India After Travelling For 40 Hours.
Taking The Road Less Travelled
Since flights were not available, Kleon decided to take the longer route or rather the road less travelled. He decided to bike down 2,175 miles to reach home. The journey took him 48 days and he had to cover 5 countries before making it home. Kleon did his research about the route, how long it would take, and slowly began to understand his journey.
He began to stock up on food, medicines, essentials and soon he was good to go. When his friends and parents heard of his decision, they at first thought Kleon would never venture into something of this sort. His father eventually agreed reluctantly on the condition that an app would be set up to track his movements. Finally on May 10, Kleon began the journey began. Also read this story of Dubai Residents Who Returned Home With AED 50,000 Bills After 105 Days In Maldives.
The Journey Back Home
Although Kleon had taken part in a race in 2019, he had little knowledge about biking. The journey back home, therefore was not an easy one. He had to cycle through the day in order to cover long distances. He took breaks and rested where he could and kept a track of his progress. Kleon went through England, Netherlands, Germany and Austria before finally reaching Greece.
The journey taught him a lot about his strength, and weakness. Kleon also hopes his journey inspires others to step out of their comfort zone and try things they’ve never done before.
Re-united With His Family
On June 27, Kleon reached his home in Athens. Seven weeks of toil finally bore fruit when he reunited with his family. “It was very emotional. Coming from a family from two parents that were very adventurous in their younger years, seeing me kind of follow in their footsteps, I think is very emotional to them and obviously gives me a lot of meaning. But I think if anything, they felt relief,” Kleon said.
On the flip side, Until you can fly again, here are some weird virtual tours that you can take from across the world.
First Published: July 21, 2020 10:44 AM