16-Jan-2024
Yesterday, Monday, was Day 51. It was moving day again, and we were heading for Thessaloniki.
Last Skopje Ibis breakfast. Last walk in the park:
Very cold in Skopje yesterday. Down round freezing-point all day
We met one of those tufty-eared squirrels that we kept seeing in Bulgaria. We'd only just been saying that we hadn't seen any squirrels, when along he came
Last examples of brutalism:
The shopping centre with the supermarket we've been frequenting
We like the Halkbank because they don't charge too much for cash withdrawals
Last treats:
A fabulously crispy white cheese pastry from Joy
Trilece. This is related to the tres leches you find in Spanish-related countries, and was also popular in Albania. Delish...
Then we're off to the bus station:
We were booked on the 1530 bus, which is a service run by the Greek company Simeonides. It's not a big bus, but there is reasonable leg room, and again we were lucky because it wasn't totally full. We bowled along, with no impediments except the border. That didn't take too long, and the driver took care of all the formalities. We were scheduled to arrive in Thessaloniki at 2030 (there's a one-hour time difference, so that arrival time meant the journey was expected to take four hours). Actually we got in at 1945, which meant it took just 3.25 hours. Bravo, Simeonides. We'd use you again.
It was just a short walk to our accommodation:
And there was even time for a quick shop...
Drinking to Greece
The view from our balcony this afternoon
We first set foot in Greece in June 2019. It was the first visit for both of us, and we were here for about two weeks. So, even though we've finished encountering new countries on this trip (about which there's always a special excitement), Greece is still a relatively unknown commodity.
We're changing pace for this next leg of the journey. So, after a morning's exploration of the city, we went to collect our hire car, which we'll use to do a couple of jaunts around the Thessaloniki area, and to transport us on to Alexandropouli on Saturday.
First up, though, breakfast, and what is apparently a Thessaloniki speciality: Bougatsa. It's made of really crispy filo pastry, which is sandwiched with semolina custard, dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon, and served warm. It's phenomenal, especially with a stiff espresso on the side:
Ours came from Bougatsa Bantis, and we even had a quick chat with the owner, who was impressed that we'd made bougatsa consumption our first to-do item in Thessaloniki
City walls next:
And then the waterfront:
Alexander the Mega
The Thessaloniki Holocaust Memorial grieves the decimation of what was once the largest Jewish community in Greece
No problems collecting the car, and piloting it through the thick traffic of central Thessaloniki. It's now in the underground garage awaiting tomorrow's adventures.
We, meanwhile, have been catching up on the blog-post and laundry backlog, cheered on by some good Greek food:
Real tsatsiki, two famous Greek cheeses (anthotyro and graviera), and pickled stuffed eggplant