THESSOLONIKI – A MOUTH FULL

Greece- I started out in Thessoloniki up north– but had to leave after 4 days because for the life of me I could not roll Thessoloniki off my tongue easily.    In addition, my last minute planning and “winging it” landed me in a small hotel in the middle of the famous strip joints in Thessoloniki. There were 3 “female strip” clubs and two “male strip” clubs right outside my door. But it was safe and inexpensive. I did not go out at night for fear someone might ask me to fill in and dance.

Thessoloniki is a beautiful modern city on the water and home to so many shops and restaurants. I was there over the Greek Independent Day and was entertained by parades, music and large crowds. I even did a little shopping and became best friends with 4 different pharmacists. One young pharmacist had actually been to Cincinnati, Ohio.  He wore his Bearcat sweat shirt on the second day that we agreed to meet.

In Greece as well as Turkey you can walk into any pharmacy and they will check your blood pressure. And if it is elevated more than 5 days in a row they will give you medication, without a doctor’s prescription. I suspected an elevation in my blood pressure, hence the frequent visits to the pharmacies to have it checked. Once I stopped eating all the salty feta cheese dishes it came down a bit. I bought a Blood pressure cuff from one of the pharmacies to keep it in check.

One of Thessoloniki’s most noted visitor was the Apostle Paul who traveled throughout Greece to convert the people to Christianity. The letters written by the Apostle Paul to his church, known as 1 and 2 Thessalonians, provided a foundation of faith and instruction.  I wonder if Paul had trouble pronouncing Thessoloniki!

I left Thessoloniki after four days and boarded a 5-hour train ride to Athens. I can pronounce Athens! We rode through stunning mountains, 80% of Greece is mountains, and the view was dotted with small quaint villages and acres and acres of olive trees, and vineyards. I found a web site – World History for 6^th graders and have been using it to learn more about the Greek history. As Goldilocks would say – it is not too much info, not too little, but just right!

Interesting fact. The yo yo was not invented in China, as some would think, but in Greece. It is just one of the many things that was developed in Greece. My son and daughter who both work in theater can thank the Greeks for initiating theater, both drama and comedy. The first theater was back in 500 BC.  The Greeks established the foundation for medicine, philosophy, astrology to name a few. The first Olympic games were held in Greece. They made huge contributions to architecture, mathematics, physics. And we can thank them for the concept of democracy.

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle set the foundation for all of our western thinking.  I can’t leave out Homer who wrote the Odessey and the Iliad in 700 BC. And who has not heard of Hercules. They boast over 6,000 islands, which seems a bit impossible. I tried counting them on a large map, but gave up- too many. Mind blowing to visit all the ruins and think how long they have been there.

I met two Georges on my stroll around the city. One was just sitting on a bench, in the shade, in the park I was walking through. I noticed an unusually massive cypress tree and stopped to gaze at it. While I was standing staring at the beauty of it, George came up and began to tell me all about it- in Greek.  Greeks are very animated and George used hand waving and his voice hinted of his excitement about the tree. I listened attentively for a long time and nodded my head up and down. Then I told him, as best I could, I did not understand a word of it as I don’t speak Greek. We had a good laugh and he spoke a little English, just enough to ask my name and where I was from.

The second George I sought out. I was strolling in another park and heard screaming and yelling. I could not believe my ears so I followed the sound. I came upon two men, yelling, inches apart, hands flying in each other’s faces. There were several other men sitting nearby laughing and they told me they were talking about “politics.” I also had to chuckle to watch them and half wondered if they were discussing Trump and Biden and decided to video them.  At one point someone told George “Hey, that lady is taking a video of you.” He turned around and waved his arms at me, in a friendly way and posed for a photo.

Little Girl dressed in Greek costume for Independence Day

Bronze statue of Aristole – the big left toe is polished because everyone comes and kisses it!

One of the many ruins

Greek Orthodox Church I visited on Good Friday

Goerge number one

George number two