After yesterday’s incident, I was left feeling a little beaten up – mentally that is. My initial instinct was to retreat into the hotel room for the next four days, but that was never really an option. The older I get, the more conscious I am of that big old clock counting down the days…
I left Thessaloniki knowing that I hadn’t fully taken advantage of my two short stays there. I made a mental note to come back in the near future. While I don’t know exactly when that will be, I’ll let the ideas tumble around in my head until I can turn it into a concrete plan….
Ancient Pella and Aigai and the Acropolis of Thessaloniki – Sans Photos! Today, I will return to Thessaloniki for a couple of days. I finished the tedious chore of packing and then headed out to take one last walk around Sochos village. The contrast between the craziness of the Clean Monday festivities and this morning…
The morning of Clean Monday began with a light smattering of snow that settled on the hills above Sochos. Here in the village, the flakes melted as soon as they hit the ground. Such is the early March weather in Northern Macedonia. Today is the finale of Carnival. Clean Monday or Kathara Deftera marks the…
Sunday morning brought with it a bout of light drizzle. The overcast sky did not feel very “Carnival” to me. From within the church, the solemn tone of the priest’s chanting reminded all that now is a time for Christian worship. The Pagan revelry will come later. There were very few signs of life outside,…
Friday 28th February was a day of national strikes and a time to remember the 57 souls that were tragically lost during the Tempi rail disaster. Speak to any Greek and they will call it murder – most certainly not an accident. To show respect on the 2nd anniversary of this horrific event, all carnival…
I had dropped a small clue on where I would be spending the tail end of Carnival and Clean Monday in my video of the Thessaloniki parade – though ever so subtle. It was a pure coincidence that I was in Thessaloniki at the time of the parade. As magnificent as it was, this fairly…
Day 2 in Thessaloniki was a wash out. So was half of day 3 and the whole of day 4. Anyway, on day 2, the day after the carnival, I headed out into the expansive city of Thessaloniki to see what I could see. Thessaloniki is named after the daughter of King Philip II of…
During the bus journey from Edessa to Thessaloniki, just as we approached the city, from my window seat I saw something from the corner of my eye. Although the bus was going at a pace, I could see a collection of old trains set back from the roadside. I could also see people there, which…
On Sunday morning I left Edessa on the 11am bus to Thessaloniki armed with a bag of snacks from my lovely host Maria. The journey took 1 hour and 45 minutes and I arrived back at Thessaloniki Intercity Bus Station where my journey had almost begun. There was a ready waiting queue of taxis outside…
I can quite honestly say that Edessa has more than exceeded my expectations. Edessa hadn’t been on my bucket list – unlike Florina which I chose because of its reputation as being the coldest place in Greece. I saw Edessa as a stopping-off point on the way back to Thessaloniki and would see what I…
During my five days in Edessa I’d more or less exhausted all the key attractions so yesterday I decided to visit the neighbouring town of Naoussa. Naoussa is famous for its vineyards and winemaking. In the past it also had a thriving wool industry and many households in Greece would have had a blanket made…