Northwest Greek Odyssey -- Thessaloniki

The view from our balcony

I had just returned from the USA, an almost four-week journey filled with friends and family. My time in the states was full of the joys of friendship, and of seeing my son. It was also punctuated with sadness at the pervasive sense of anger and division I felt in my former home. After but a few days back in Vienna, it was time to repack the faithful Deuter backpack for a new journey, a trip to Northwestern Greece. My Heart had remained in Vienna whilst I was in the USA, and she was yearning to travel. And so we set out. It was a short ride on the miraculous Vienna public transit system to the airport, and a short flight to Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece.

 

Thessaloniki Façade

Thessaloniki sits on the Northwest corner of the Aegean Sea, at the end of the Thermaic Gulf. It is a vibrant city, busy and bustling. Thessaloniki reminds me of Napoli, my favorite city in Italy. It is vibrant, lively, and worn hard around the edges. Thessaloniki is a modern city laid over a tangle of history that dates back to the Byzantine Empire, when it was the co-capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The history of the city is much older than that, as is the case with most Mediterranean towns. Founded in 315 BCE by the Macedonians, Thessaloniki has been host to the usual cast of characters down through the epochs. The Romans followed the Macedonians, then the Byzantine Empire, Crusaders and the Latin Empire, then the Ottomans. The more modern history of the city is a complicated affair, including the early Balkan Wars, two World Wars, and the Greek Revolution. The city has a diverse religious history as well. Paganism, Orthodox Christianity, Christian Zealots, Judaism, and Islam have all flourished here.

We made our way from the airport on a cramped city bus, standing up the entire way. Thessaloniki is a hot, sunny city. It is also a city that climbs the steep hills from the long port-side promenade. The bus deposited us in the center of the city, and we reconnoitered our route to our digs. Shouldering our rucksacks, we set out on our walk, climbing under a bright sky and hot afternoon sun. We walked, we climbed, we walked and climbed, until we were running with sweat. This is September, the shoulder season, when many of the tourist have departed. Yet it is still 32 Grad, or about 90 Fahrenheit. I cannot imagine why anyone would want to go to a Greek city in July or August, when the heat soars higher, and crowds of tourists are melting everywhere. Three-quarters of an hour of steep climbing brought us to Neapoli, a vibrant neighborhood far above the city where a pair of wandering travelers attract studied glances.

Vibrant Café Nightlife

The streets were quiet under the hot afternoon sun. The smart Greek folks were sitting in the shade of the many small cafés, drinking thick coffee. The soft click of worry beads could be heard at the tables occupied by groups of older men. If there was an Olympic event for best café sitters, I think it would be tough competition between the old guys from Italy, Turkey, and Greece. No self-respecting Greek business is complete without two or three men hanging out in front of the door. They sit at a rickety table in the shade, click their worry beads, and watch the world go by. A simple "YAH-soos" as we pass produces smiles and nods all around.

Climbing a last hill up a small street, we found our digs and, after a bit of calling and searching, we found our host. Thessaloniki is proud of the hotels down on the promenade, the narrow flat part of the city. A traveler can expect to pay 100 Euros a night for a room. Up here, in the hills above the city, we found a spacious apartment for 50 Euros. That is the price of sweaty walk. A cool shower amended everything, followed by a well-earned cigar on the shady balcony. Refreshed and hungry, we were ready to sample what the evening had to offer.

When the sun goes down the streets come alive. A cool breeze off the Aegean Sea brings folks thronging to the cafés and eateries. It seems that no one wants to sit at home in a stuffy apartment when they can be sitting at a café or bar table. We tucked into a Gyros (pronounced "Gee-Ros") joint for some cheap eats. Dinner and drinks set us back seven Euro. Then it was off to a lovely sidewalk café for coffee; a long, slow, leisurely affair. It was street theater on a warm evening, and we the only foreigners in sight.

Street Art

Morning came hot and bright. One of my greatest joys in life is a walkabout in a new city. Thessaloniki is a great walking town, as long as one doesn't mind steep hills and hot weather. The hillsides above the narrow strip of the center are a tangle of crooked streets and lanes, each one climbing or falling as the cityscape dictates. We made out way down to the train station, inquired about trains for the next day, then set out across the long southeast strip of the main city. The promenade runs from the busy port at the northwest end of town out past the iconic White Tower at the southeastern end. One can walk along the water for a good bit more than two miles. During the heat of the day, there are a smattering of tourists, a few fishermen, and not much more.

Turn left, away from the water, you will find yourself amongst the storefronts and cafés that crowd the tight grid of streets. At intervals, there are several wide boulevards that lead away from the water and into the city itself. Some of these are lined with a mix of modern and period hotels. Others are the broad remnants of the imperial roads, leading to Byzantium ruins. Scattered amongst the grid of streets are squares with the squat stone rotundas of orthodox churches, some of which were transformed to mosques, and back again, as the empires changed. 

Add frequent breaks for thick, sludgy Greek coffee, more pauses for fresh Greek salads, and the heat of the day becomes a very bearable presence. There are churches to explore, ruins to inspect, and plenty of museums for the culturally inclined.

One of many churches

One excellent way to cool off and soak up a bit of art and culture is a detour into one of the many Orthodox churches. The icons are worth the time spent, not to mention the shady coolness inside the stone sanctuaries. It is a good idea to be mindful that the churches are places of worship and the Orthodox folks are conservative. Tank tops and shorts are frowned upon.

The iconic White Tower

The iconic White Tower rises where the seaside promenade doglegs to the south. The Ottomans built the existing tower upon the foundation of an even more ancient Byzantine fortification. During the Ottoman rule, the place served as protection for the harbor, as well as a prison and a place of execution for the unfortunates who ran afoul of the Sultan. Today, the tower serves as a nexus on the promenade. It is a busy evening gathering place to enjoy the evening breeze off the bay, let the children run wild, and just generally hang out.

Neighborhood Cafés

A hard climb above  the narrow strip along the sea will bring one to the remains of the city walls. There are some great little neighborhoods tucked above and below the walls, clinging to the steep hillsides. We discovered one such enclave on our way back to the apartment. The cool of the evening found us walking back down a section of the hill for our evening meal. It proved to be well worth the hike.

Splendid Eats

Walking and climbing the city under the hot sun left us with some serious appetites. Our hosts did their best to satisfy. We indulged in the full Greek meal of starters, Greek salad, and main dishes. we dug into creamy, garlicky tzatziki, chewy bread, stuffed eggplant, grilled octopus, and roast lamb. All the while the local cats vied for tidbits. To dine out in Greece is to get used to street cats. Small sweets are almost always included at the end of the meal. Our total bill for this huge feast was 27 Euro.

Graffito Train to the West

The next day we enjoyed a leisurely morning of coffee and watching the world. Eventually, it was time to move on. We sweated our way, downhill this time, to the train station. Our next destination was southwest, along the coast, to the fabled slopes of Mount Olympus. I was glad that we would be returning to Thessaloniki for another night before our return flight. This was a great city with which to begin our travels in Northwestern Greece.