I haven't vacationed in Greece since 2021. Then I went to Halkidiki, Afitos via Thessaloniki.
Anyone who followed my posts could see that for the previous trip in June, I visited Barcelona and Costa Brava.
It was supposed to be a summer trip, but the weather conditions, the rain that fell for days, ruined that plan. As the Spaniards told me: "Unbelievable for this time of year..."
Yes, it is incredible to spoil our vacation like that🙂
But it doesn't matter, the rain probably pleased the agricultural crops, the vegetation, but also the inhabitants, to cool them down a bit.
Well, for this reason - rain and low temperature - I was denied swimming in the sea.
And that had to be compensated...
And where?
Well, the closest is in Greece.
We thought of repeating one of the accommodations on Kassandra or a location on Sithonia where we had already stayed, but the prices, which have increased more than twice compared to the trip in 2021, turned us away from that part of the coast.
When we vacationed in Halkidiki before, we always made trips to Thessaloniki, and that city always amazed us.
Shopping, food, promenades...
We decided to choose that city, Thessaloniki, for our vacation this time.
We found a hotel (B&B) where we stayed before when we were taking a break in Thessaloniki before traveling to Corfu, Lefkada or Halkidiki.
The decision to choose Thessaloniki was the price of the hotel compared to the price of the apartment in Halkidiki.
Two to three times the price range is enough reason for the decision...
Since we came by car, the least problem is to drive 20, 30 km to one of the nearby beaches.
So this Wednesday, we went to Perea, a place close to Thessaloniki, where the residents of Thessaloniki go to the beach.
Beautiful beaches, with bars, restaurants, and taverns on the beaches, warm water, and a long promenade, the right location to start the #wednesdaywalk
When we returned to the hotel after half a day spent on the beach, we freshened up a bit and headed towards the city center, looking for a restaurant where we could have lunch and continue sightseeing and enjoying the walk.
We walked through the main Aristoteles Square, went down to the shore, and reached the plateau in front of the White Tower with a long walk.
I remember Thessaloniki 15 years ago, as well as 2021, when we were in Thessaloniki for the last time.
Even then, some bars were permanently closed, some streets were messy, you could see a homeless person on the sidewalk, but the city was alive, it was crowded, you couldn't cross the street because of the number of vehicles and you bumped into passers-by on the sidewalks. , who were carrying a lot of shopping bags in their hands.
There were also unearthed streets, with construction sites for metro stations, which have been under construction in Thessaloniki for the last quarter of a century...
Today, the situation is totally different.
First, during the day, we noticed that there was no traffic jam. There aren't even those subway buildings, it seems as if they are bringing it to an end...
The only question is who will this metro serve, since it seems to me that Thessaloniki is totally empty.
In addition to the promenade and large city squares, (tourist destinations), the rest of the city seems somewhat ghostly.
There are many closed bars, in the buildings only a few apartments have lights on, which means that there is no one in the apartments. It wouldn't be strange if the streets were full, but there are no people on the streets either...
It made me a little sad, I remembered it as a very lively city, but today it is half-empty, dirty and neglected.
Even that will be enough for us for the 10 days we will spend there (i.e., just sleeping in a hotel in Thessaloniki), but the question remains, how do the residents of Thessaloniki feel, who have watched their city deteriorate and sink into desolation in recent years.. .
Maybe today is the day before the big holiday that the Greeks have tomorrow, the 15th. August is celebrated as an important church holiday, the reason for the empty city, but I still think that is not the case and that the city is half empty...
Regardless of the state of the city, I enjoyed today and walking around Perea and the city centre.