Two Nights in Thessaloniki

Our gracious friends offered us a couple nights and some touring of one of Mediterranean Europe's oldest cities, and we said yes! Saturday we said goodbye to Mesohori and Peliti. We boarded a train to Thessaloniki, only to realize half way through we had mistakenly sat in first class. Oops! As no one checked our tickets or asked us to move, this did not prove to be problematic.

The boys and I enjoyed beverages in the dining car, and before too long we arrived at the train depot in central Thessaloniki. From here we took the number 3 bus to Aristotle Plaza, the old city center right on the Med. We stopped at a small bar to wait a short while and people watched. No shortage of that here.

Soon we arrived at the home of our friend Vasillis in the neighborhood of Kalamaria. This is some distance from the center of the city in what used to be an old fishing village 50 years ago. Now it is quite built up with all manner of shops and apartments everywhere. The first floor apartment is spacious and our hosts, native Greek speakers with no English, were more than hospitable.

We feasted our first evening on traditional moussaka and Greek meatballs. We then headed out to catch a late movie on the beach: Inception. Then on to gyros at a local late night spot. All this within walking distance.

The next day brought breakfast sweets, Greek coffee and a tour of Thessaloniki from a native resident. Starting at the archeological museum, which was incredible, we walked our way to the old Byzantine section of the city. Now alive with shops of all kinds, and still preserving the ancient ruins. We saw several churches old and new, and stopped in a very lively sidewalk cafe for refreshments.

After a bit of time resting, we continued down the waterfront to the White Tower. A relic of the Ottoman Empire. Further along we saw many statues, the most impressive was the one of Alexander the Great and Bucephalus. We continued walking on the waterfront quite a bit more before we threw in the white towel and rode the rest of the way in a bus.

We were treated to a delicious dinner of grilled sea bass and Greek salad back at home. We went to bed early because we were so tired after a long day of sightseeing.

A bit of a whirlwind trip.

Thessaloniki has much to see and offer. It is a busy city too, with always something going on. We liked it a lot. It is clean, well laid out and has frequent cheap buses. Good nightlife, shopping... basically everything you could ask for from a big city with the added bonus of the beautiful Med right there. Check it out sometime, and if you please, say hello to Katarina and Nicos! Efkharisto poli!

Up next: Possidi, Helkadiki beach, and off to Bulgaria!