Greece Part 1: From the Greek border to Rhodes

We are writing this blog looking at olive trees and the broad skyline around our temporary home here in Patara in South Turkey and we return with our thoughts to October and our month in Greece. Despite spending 30 days in this wonderful holiday destination, we don’t have that many vivid memories compared to our time in Croatia or Albania. Maybe because we haven’t cycled that many kilometers and didn’t follow our desired route? We didn’t see as much of Greece as we liked and spent most of our time on islands. Without the COVID-19 restrictions we would have seen more of this country and maybe it would then have left a more lasting impression. But let’s start at the beginning, let’s go back to our autumn in Greece.

We reached Greece on a cloudy day on October 6^th and landed directly on the highway, as there was no other road. The friendly staff at the toll gate just smiled and also told us that this would be the right way.

A peculiar feeling driving on a highway and we wanted to exit as soon as possible and took the first junction to the right, which was a mistake, as we landed on a dirt track in the middle of nowhere. And exactly here, in a shady and damp location was a refugee camp. There was nothing around, no stores, no infrastructure, just swampy meadows and a couple of sheep with hostile shepherd dogs. We quickly left, because we didn’t want to cause any agitation and didn’t want to appear like spectators or maybe our appearance would have been a welcome change? We continued cycling and asked ourselves once again in what kind of world we are living in, where opportunities and privileges are so unequally distributed. We are able to just observe this situation for a moment and then continue wherever our bicycles lead us, and what about the people that have to live in this refugee camp? It doesn’t seem right.

Our thoughts often revolve around these questions as we have a couple hours each day to just think while we’re cycling, a rare luxury. In our opinion inequality is not inevitable, it is often a political choice. We are digressing a little here, but this is also part of our trip, what we see leaves a lasting impact on us and as we continue further East those impressions will get more intense as we are slowly cycling out of our comfort-zone.

Our first impressions of Greece: Cats, Water Buffaloes and Pelicans

As you can guess from the title, our first impressions of Greece weren’t the white-washed and blue painted houses perched on a steep cliff over the ocean from the postcards. On our first day we cycled along the mountain range bordering Bulgaria and our first town was New-Petritch. We immediately noticed that there are drinking fountains everywhere to fill up our water bottles. It’s always good not to have to rely on buying plastic bottles. And of course, there were cats all over that would become our faithful companions throughout Greece (and Turkey…and?).

The growling of our stomachs couldn’t be ignored any longer and we asked in the main square for a Taverna and were guided by local to a hidden lane where Olympia and her husband treated us with lunch, Raki and stories. καλως ηρθες στην ΕΛΛΑΔΑ – welcome to Greece!

We stayed overnight in the small hamlet Kerkini on Lake Kerkini. This spread-out village had a couple of restaurants, a supermarket and a special flair. Lake Kerkini is a popular excursion destination for ecotourism-lovers and ornithologists, as many migration birds spend the winter here and Kerkini is the most important wetland in Europe and also home to water buffalos. On the shore you get to see those grazing giants slowly moving around. We missed the local specialty though – Greek Yogurt from buffalo milk.

We stayed in a bungalow and as it turned out, our next door neighbor was an Iranian musician that lives near Zürich in Switzerland and currently visits a dentist in Thessaloniki. That was an unexpected surprise. Early next morning we took a chilly sunrise boat ride on Lake Kerkini and enjoyed the magical morning calm and saw Pelicans and Flamingos in the distance. Kerkini is the kind of place where you end up staying longer than planned, renting a place to write a book or to paint. Well, at least that was our impression.

Thessaloniki – a charming harbour city

Two days later the sun came back and we arrived in Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece (population 360'000 and in the metropolitan area even 1.1 million) and our biggest city on this trip so far. After many days in the countryside and staying in or near smaller towns we really enjoyed urban life and the possibilities of a metropolis.

Unfortunately, Dario wasn’t feeling too well and stayed in the hotel with a cold while Lisa discovered the city by herself. A special feeling to stroll around by yourself after spending months together 24/7. Thessaloniki definitely got flair with a great mixture of new and old. In the middle of the modern center you can find old churches, mosques and the remains of a Roman imperial palace. The city has a youthful energy and the many hip cafés and bars were crowded with people enjoying the great weather and the ocean view. Thessaloniki can easily be explored on foot and you can buy a sesame bagel or a cold coffee on every corner, what more could you need?

On the wonderful Kapani Market, the oldest open market in the city, you feel as if you are already in Turkey with the big display of dried fruits, dates, nuts and tacky flowery wallpapers. Many of the vendors here have inherited the business from their family and work together with local producers from the area. Make sure to make time to sit in one of the small traditional tavernas and try some meze with ouzo. You can see the Ottoman and Jewish influences in many places and Thessaloniki was even once called the Jerusalem of the Balkans. Until today it remains a melting pot of religions, nationalities and languages and you can see that each neighborhood has its own atmosphere.

A few streets further west from the Kapani Market you arrive in Ladadika, the port and nightlife district with colorful houses and many bars and restaurants. On the old port “Dock A” you can visit the photography and contemporary art museum in an old warehouse or the popular Kitchen Bar (especially at sunset). Below the famous landmark White Tower you see couples cuddled up on picnic blankets and teenagers balancing on slacklines. Pirate ships invite visitors for a free 30-minutes boat ride on the harbor with a great view of the promenade, the heart of the city. Of course, consumption during the boat ride is highly requested.

Tsimski Street is the place to go on a shopping spree, but more interesting is to walk under the Arch of Galerius and continue along the former Roman hippodrome to the Rotunda. This stunning circular dome served as a mausoleum, a mosque and a church. When you enter this building you hear classical music and suddenly you feel very far away from the city bustle.

When Dario felt better we explored the city together and visited the Byzantine Church of Agios Dimitrios, a UNESCO World heritage built upon a Roman bath. It’s a destination of pilgrimage, as the church is dedicated to the protector saint of Thessaloniki, Saint Dimitrios. Of course, this temple was also turned into a mosque during the Ottoman rule. An impressive underground crypta was exposed during renovation work after the great fire of 1917.

From here we walked up many stairways to the old town Ano Poli, a quaint part of the city with fantastic views over the metropolis and the sea. The difference between the modern and the old part of Thessaloniki is striking, as the mass of white concrete in downtown gives place to stone-paved streets, colorful houses and traditional Ottoman architecture. It’s a pleasure wandering around the narrow streets in this quiet neighborhood that is not as touristy as you might expect. On top of the hill you can still see parts of the old city wall, the citadel and the towers of the fortress. The castle Heptapyrgion served as a prison for political detainees until the late 70s.

Thessaloniki is definitely worth a visit and we can highly recommend our accommodation The Caravan B & B, a centrally located hotel with the largest breakfast selection we ever experienced and very helpful staff. We were able to leave our luggage and our bicycles in the basement during our trip to Rhodes and could also use the hotel as our shipping address for the parcel with Dario’s new tire.

Rhodes: a trip to an island in the sun

When we planned our cycle trip months ago we considered Rhodes as the ideal place to visit us in autumn. Of course, back then we thought we would arrive with the ferry to Rhodes and then continue directly towards Turkey from there. But as mentioned before, all the ferry services between Greece and Turkey stopped running and Lisa’s parents had already booked their flight to Rhodes. Consequently, we booked a direct flight from Thessaloniki to Rhodes and visited this sun-drenched Dodecanese island from 11.- 20.10.20. It was a strange feeling sitting in an airplane and leaving our bicycles behind. It somehow felt wrong, but at the same time, we were very excited to see Lisa’s parents and to spend some leisurely days on Rhodes.

We spent 9 days in an apartment very close to the beach and enjoyed swimming in the warm Mediterranean Sea, eating Greek food and discovering the touristic village of Lindos, the butterfly valley and the beautiful Old Town of Rhodes.

And we must say, we haven’t been that impressed by a city since Dubrovnik. The old town of Rhodes is an absolute highlight and being there feels like walking through a medieval time capsule. You can see traces of the lively past everywhere with relics and ruins from the Byzantine, Ottoman and Italian heritage entangled in a maze of twisting lanes. Through the sturdy city walls we entered one of Europe’s most well-preserved medieval cities. You can also walk on top of city wall and enjoy a great view over the UNESCO-protected old town, the narrow alleys and the patios of the houses decorated with flowers. A must-see is the street of the knights, the most intact medieval street in Europe, that runs from the gothic Palace of the Grand Master to the city wall on the harbor. During medieval times different inns of the order of the knights were located here and you can still see the various coat of arms on the facades.

In front of the turquoise sea you find old windmills on the old Mandraki port, but what we didn’t find was the Colossus of Rhodes, a huge bronze statue for the Greek sun-god Helios. It belonged to the seven wonders of the ancient world and collapsed during an earthquake. We spent a couple of hours exploring this historic city and sometimes stopping for a cold coffee or a bite to eat.

After a few days we all had our morning rituals in Rhodes: Lisa did her morning run to any possible hill with a monastery on it, while William read the guide book with his morning coffee and Susanne and Dario went swimming. Then we would all get together on the beach and make our plans for the rest of the day. We always saw the same local pensioners sitting in the water chatting loudly and drinking a cold coffee. The big excitement of the week was, when one of them caught a crab with his bare hands. Must be nice to spend the retirement this way.

Even though it was the end of the season there were still some tourists enjoying the sun and it was quite a special sight for us, as we haven’t seen that many tourists since Rovinj in Croatia. All the restaurants, bars and shops were open. We will miss that vibrant life soon enough as the next lockdown was lurking just around the corner.

Our family get together was wonderful and we enjoyed talking about the different day-to-day life we’re having right now, we cooked together, laughed and watched videos of our trip. We intended to work on our website and our blog, but spending time together had priority and we truly enjoyed it. It was the right decision for us to fly to Rhodes and we were lucky again, because Greece was one of the few countries where traveling to was still possible from Switzerland without quarantine. Saying goodbye was difficult, because we didn’t know when we would meet again. Maybe in Georgia next spring? We hope so.