Thessaloniki

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Today I said goodbye to everyone. Debbie took me out and brought me shoes as a gift from Thia Katirina and Thio Soutiris, and then we ate lunch together back at the apartment and i packed my bags. My backpack was so full and heavy I had to put it on while laying down. Debbie and I laughed as she also tried it on. I dont know what im going to do this is only the begining of the trip still. living out of a bag can be a little limiting and frustrating but its the price im willing to pay for such an experience.

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Hara and Thia Vassou caught a cab from Fiki to see me off in Trikala. Thio Sourti met me at the bus station and i drove off on a three hour trek to Thessaloniki with Themis, Thia Fannies son. he is 32 and a poet,photographer and carpenter. He only speaks greek I only speak english, but understand a little Greek. I took a dictionary to help us comunicate. It was fun. I think I could see Mount Olympus in the distance but i couldnt be sure.

We arrived in Thessaloniki and Fanie picked us up and took us to a castel with a beautiful view of the big city whos ocean kisses the hilly landscape upon which the city the size of adelaide lays. There is a wall that surrounds the city, remains of a fort that exisited once for protection against outsiders. We witnessed the most beautiful sunset and Themis managed to capture the colours and the feel on his fantastic camera. Beautiful Thessaloniki, drapped in white washed apartments buildings no smaller than 5 stories high, shops and atmosphere everywhere. i had returned to city life. the city is serene.

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The next day I walked through the main streets of Thessaloniki with Fanie and Themis, there were amazing wide roads, designer clothes shops everywhere, atmosphere everywhere. Everyone here dresses even bettter than in Trikala. The men and the women alike. They dress elegantly, finishing off outfits with tailored jackets, and women with scarves, stockings and boots. So beautiful.

Again people sat all around at cafes chatting and sipping their frappes. We sat at a cafe with the ocean 3 meters from us, situated across the road. There is no beach and sand, simply a port, side walk that drops off into a sea filled with boats and a distant sillouette of an island.

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When sitting at the cafes, lined up next to eachother with no real divisons, one blends into the next, with a modern decore of lighting and couches and furnishings. Many africans walk passed offering black market music cds and dvds. When I was warned about this I thought maybe one or two would come up to you but it seems that every five mintues there was another person hassling you at your table to make a purchase. I was also shocked to see young children playing bouzoukia at your table in exchange for money and some criples begging for money (gypsies aparently). This is something I am not used to. I am slightly unempathetic towards people having to purposely act pittiful in order to make a living. Im happy to help people in genuine need but it is hard to tell what is real and what is an act when you are approached like that.

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Nicole joined us at the cafe with her boyfriend Stephanos. It as funy because the three of them fanie nicole and steph all speak greman and greek to eachother, they spoke to me and themis in greek and I communicated in english. The fun and power behind language.

So many people, everywhere. I was astonished. I reaslied that while Thessaloniki is the same population of Aelaide, the areas are more condensed due to the multistory apartment blocks they reside in. This means wherever you walk the streets are filled. They dont have small width malls like Adelaide the mall width is 50 m wide. And it doesnt feel empty, there is activity everywhere. The atmosphere felt like Paris. Churches blended in beside apartments old and new, some designs of buildings and churches you could see were rumbled and historic, contrasted with new designs and new materials nextdoor.

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We sat down a sidestreet , alley paved with cobble stones and filled with cafes resturaunts woodwork and jewllery shops with beautiful vines and flowers creeping between the walls and across the alley, decorated stars and shapes dangling from some of the vines. We ate a huge meal at a taverna, it was similar to melbourne in that people from rsturauts hassled you as you walked through to sit at there place and offered free wine with the meals to entice you. Fanies boyfriend also joined us for food. They ordered too much for us, calamari, octopus, fish, cheeses, salads, fried eggplant, rice with spinagh, tsatsiki. I ate sooo much! and then to finish they ordered a platter which was shared with scoops of valina icecream forming a border around cream puff pasteries, the entire dish covered with trickles of chocolate fudge.

After we went to Fanies boyfriends apartment for cocktails, we talked, laughed listened to music looked at photos and played wii on the tv. Fannies boyfriend also sat and told me the history of greece which was facinating, modern history that i was more than happy to learn about.

Thre greeks were occupied by the Otteman empire for 200 years, they managed to break free wth their culture preserved, the fights to regain constantinopal and the greed to take over over that lead to their loss. I started to piece together my history and how it was that we ended up in australia. i realised that on my dads side this war is what forced my great grandma and her family to run from their homes in the now turkish side, and become refugees leading them to australia. and was how my now deceased grandma eneded up being one of the first greeks to grow up in adeliade.

then there was the world war where the italians and germans entered greece and fights occured all over, this was during my grandparents era, they were children. Aparently the struggles that crete put up against the germans led to delays in the invasion that forced the germans to travel through russia in the winter which lead to their downfall. after this era thee was great poverty and civil war brothers forght against brothers. You couldnt tust anyone. This is when my grandparents fled to australia in search of work and freedom. There was military rule here for many years. There were assasinations and distrust and it wasnt until the 1980s that the greeks broke free from all this. This explains a lot about the culture and liefstyle and attitudes of the people. i was glad to hear this poit of view.

I was also told that greek inflences still exist in some countries today including as far as pakistan where there are mountain villages who speak greek and dress like the ancient greeks and follow that lifestyle. i found these stories facinating but a little funny

I really like the lifestyle here in Thessaloniki, city life with a Greek blend of enjoying the present, appriciating your surroundings, and socialising with friends. I hadnt planned on visiting the city but I am  glad I did. I could easily live here.