Splashed on the wall…

The bus gets me into Thessaloniki around 3pm. It’s the second biggest city in Greece and the terminal is bustling. I’ve got my bags, and it’s deathly hot out but for some reason I decide to walk to the hotel. It’s about 3km, but I stick to the shade as much as I can and it’s not so bad. As with most cities, the area around the bus terminal is not the most picturesque. By the time I get to my hotel, I’m dripping. It’s a big place, but I’m surprised to see that it has over 600 rooms. When I see the size of mine, I understand how they all fit. But I didn’t book here for the rooms. I drop off my stuff and head to the rooftop pool. It’s amazing. It’s transcendent. It’s cool and clean and leaves me feeling brand new. I have a greek salad and a few hundred mls of wine and soak for an hour or two.

I’m only in Thessaloniki for a day, but my flight isn’t until the next evening so I spend the rest of the day planning my attack. I walk all over, casing out the next day’s activities. It’s a sprawling city, but as long as one is within a few blocks of the water, there’s nothing but charming taverns, shops and markets. It feels like a Santa Monica or SoHo. For some reason I didn’t get any photographs of the bustling crowds, but here’s a pretty and empty one.

There’s a pedestrian walkway along the sea wall with stairways leading down to the water. They’re narrow and slippery and there’s no reason to walk down them, but I do anyways. There’s a definite rhythm to the crashing waves, but I misjudge and get soaked. It’s still hot out and the water feels great… even though I walk around for a couple hours looking like I wet myself.

I make my way over to Molyvos for dinner. It’s the highest ranked restaurant on TripAdvisor and it does not disappoint. I have an overwhelming dinner of wine, salted fish, and risotto. The fish are large sardines, split down the middle and grilled perfectly. I had a lot of fish like this in Japan, but found them too tough and salty. These were amazing. And the risotto with shrimp still haunts me. In a good way.
I walk far along the seawall, past the touristy section. I’m inline with my hotel and it’s just a few blocks to cross in an industrial area. I cross some train tracks and look down the rails stretching for miles; all the way across Europe. As I get closer to the main street where my hotel lives, I notice a pattern of flashing, rotating lights outside a number of buildings. Red lights. Brothels! I peek into one with an open door and get eyed quizzically by an aged Greek woman dressed like a mourner. I hurry away back to my hotel.
My flight didn’t leave until 6:30, so I left my bags at the hotel and had most of the day to wander and explore. I saw a few historical sites, but mostly I walked in and out of the open air market, trying to keep from seeing the flayed animal parts for sale next to the vegetables and seafood.

Lunch was again amazing, muscles and anchovies. The anchovies were a bit more rare than I’m used to, and dripping with oil. A little slimy. But when they were gone, I missed them. I sit for a while and watch people stroll by. My favorites are the Orthodox priests. They walk around in their black robes and hats, often with their hands clasped behind their backs, like Santa Claus at graduation.

Before picking up my bags and taxing to the airport, I take one last dip on the stairs of the seawall. I’m in my swimsuit, but I know there’s a good chance I’ll travel through the airport still dripping. But it’s worth it. There’s no other shelter from the heat of the day. And I know that it’s this same water, a couple hundred kilometers away that will be lapping at the shores of Santorini when I land.