After I got back from Mount Olympus, I spent a couple of days hanging out in Thessaloniki, Greece's second city. I had heard good things about it from my Greek friends, so figured I'd give it a shot.
I ended up couchsurfing with a Greek guy called Aris. He's a playground-equipment designer by day and a musician by night. Both he and his apartment were effortlessly cool in a way that I'm not, but I can still appreciate. Here, a corner of coolness:
Aris' apartment was a neat top-floor pad with a wrap-around balcony that offered great views of the neighborhood. I spent a couple of afternoons on the balcony reading, eating and sleeping. The view:
The town of Thessaloniki itself is also nice, but not in an overwhelming way. That was fine by me, since I'm just about hit my limit of churches, castles, mosques and firepits by this points in my trip. The town has some very nice parks and a promenade along the water.
A park near Aristotle square:
The waterfront with Thessaloniki's famous "White Tower:"
I did almost nothing during the days there. In the mornings, I went to the market and bought some fruit, bread and water and ate it at the apartment or in a park. I also had quite a few good Greek pastries.
Thessaloniki has some good food and drink. I had never eaten souvlaki before, mostly because I thought it consisted of steamed squash and eggplant. Turns out it's actually a delicious meat-bread-and-sauce thing that tastes incredible. We also went out a couple of night. Below, Aris, his girlfriend and me at a local bar:
Overall, I found Thessaloniki an interesting city. I'd like to come back here at some point.
Next up: Macedonia, Albania and maybe Montenegro
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