Blogs from Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece, Europe - page 8

A pile of Christmas lights lie lazily in the corner reminding me of where my festive tree once stood. All around the city lights and decorations have disappeared. Only the occasional forgotten Santa or star still hang from balconies acting as a similar cruel reminder, that the nice part about having cold whether is over. Christmas time has always held some of my favorite memories. From the anticipation of opening my presents when I was young to the togetherness and security of my family as I grew older, the cold whether and bright lights have always been something I look forward to. Replacing my normal anticipation this year was Kaitlin coming for a visit. I knew from the moment i landed all those months ago that i would have to find all the best things around ... read more

Dag 211. Billettkontoret for togene aapnet kl. 08, og i gaar kveld satte vi vekkerklokken paa 07.45 for aa komme oss tidlig avgaarde. Da klokken ringte slo Eirik den av, og vi sov videre til 09.30. Vi gikk direkte til billettkontoret, og forste toget gikk kl. 11. Det ble litt for knapt for oss, siden vi verken hadde pakket eller sjekket ut fra hostellet. Vi kjopte derfor billetter til Thessaloniki, med avgang 13.20. Vi gikk tilbake til hostellet, pakket og sjekket ut. Sekkene vaare hadde vi paa oppbevaring der mens vi gikk for aa spise frokost. Etter aa ha hentet sekkene vaare i 12-tiden, gikk vi til T-banen i Sindagma. Ikke langt fra hostellet blir vi tilsnakket av en gammel gresk dame. Hun spurrte om vi snakket gresk, og Jane svarte nei paa gresk til henne. ... read more

We farewell the old 2008 year and will soon welcome in 2009. On Christmas Day, George, Michael’s brother came around 11am to pick us up and take us to his house for Xmas lunch. He initially took us out to his work place where he fed the dogs there. Then when he was driving back down the street from his work place, he noticed the stray dog which hangs around another factory. So he went back and got some dog food for the dog, as it was Christmas and George has a soft spot for animals. On route he went and showed us where the Tram Museum was located, as Salonika used to have trams as their public transport till about 1950’s. Work started on the underground Train Metro in 2006, but it is very slow ... read more

Less than 10 days before Christmas. The supermarkets have stocked all the Xmas Decorations and Xmas goodies . I put up some Christmas Decorations in the house and also made a Christmas Laurel for the front gate, using some cyprus branches and Christmas baubles. Mama had some friends over for coffee this morning and had bought some biscuits that were suitable for people fasting before Christmas.( no meat, eggs, milk) This household is not undertaking such fasting this year. We visited Michael's friend for his name day last week and he has a steel construction factory and he is finding things difficult economically with reduced orders. We go to the local street markets and buy the fruit and vegetables there, but I guess the supermarket is where the money goes. Dairy products such as milk ( ... read more

Here are some photos when we went into Salonika's city centre near the waterfront to see the switching on of the Christmas Lights. It was like Moomba, with ten thousand people, with one of the main roads closed for pedestrian access. The Real Christmas tree 22 metres high had 80,000 lights on it. Fairy floss sellers, popcorn, souvlakias, hot drinks in a trolley on wheels with coals underneath. Xmas hats with flashing lights and helium filled balloons and finished with a wonderful display of fireworks. We had 2 hot chocolates at a swanky hotel right next to the action ( Electra Palace Hotel) Cost was $22 Australian for the 2 ( most expensive chocolate or coffee for that matter) Michael's work had given him some money to have some Coffees in Salonika, so we took some ... read more