Alexandroupolis...the end of the EU

After passing Geveglija on the border between Macedonia and Greece I soon got to thessaloniki, the second biggest city in Greece. Here I arrived around 21.00 CET, but in Greece its an hour later! I quickly went to refresh in the stations toilets and get changed. The weather in Thessaloniki was hot, even at that time of the evening.

It was a funny feeling being in Greece, a country I had always wanted to visit and I was also feeling proud of the fact i had just crossed the balkan where only 13 years before a bloddy war was fought. At the station i had an espresso and a quick snack and took a taxi cab to the busstation where I had to take a bus to Alexandroupolis. I was in Greece but not yet at my destination, i still had 7 hours of bus to go in the middle of the night, i hoped i could get some sleep in an unconfortable bus. Fortunately i did, after our first toilet stop at Kavala i could finally fall asleep. We stopped at a bar near Kavala along the Aegean sea and i had one of the most beautiful views ever...the moon was shining bright over the Aegean and the refelxion created a magical atmosphere. The bus continued, i slept and finally after travelling for 35 hours non-stop i got to my destination: Alexandroupolis.

This isn't the most touristic place in Greece, probably the least touristic one but i guess that makes it even more exciting...no annoying tourists around and people speaking your own language...finally the feeling of really being away. My friends were waiting to pick me up at the busstation, then we took a cab to my friends place where we had some snacks and some champagne to celebrate my arrival and then to bed. I was going to stay in Alexandroupolis for 5 days and wanted to see things but also to relax at the beach.

The first day thats exactelly what we did, we went to the beach of Alexandroupolis...and i have to say that it isnt exactelly the most beautiful beach i have ever seen, it was rather dirty and the colour of the sea was a bit yellow-ish. It had been on the news some toxic waters from Bulgaria came along the river towards Alexandroupolis and poluted the sea a bit. They also said there was no risk when swimming in the sea and that after one day the yellowish coulour would have disappeared, which it did. Here at the beach we relaxed, worked on my tan, which I already had a bit since i had been in Portugal just before this trip. Greek beachbars are the best though, great dance music, beautifully decorated and great drinks... here i spent quite some time enjoying the greek sun during these 5 days. But it wasnt only beach, i wanted to explore the area as well.

That evening we ate Pita Gyros and headed into town for the clubs to get drunk...one thing i wasnt really used to, all clubs are outdoors here in summer and all along the coast/beach. There we were drinking and dancing to greek dance music under the near full moon shining on the Aegean sea, it was like magic....

Next day we headed to the seaport of Alexandroupolis to catch a boat to Samothraki, one of the most beautiful and unspoilt greek islands not yet discovered by mass tourism. We took a quick boat there and in hour and a half we were there. It was extremely hot this day, we kept looking for shade to recover from the heath all the time. We took a small bus to a beautiful white sand/stone beach with crystal clear water and behind us the vulcano of Samothraki...it was like being in a dream. Here i swum, sunbathed and enjoyed the views. We spent most part of the day on the island and took the last boat back to Alexandroupolis, a bigger but slower one that would take three hours to get to the city again with pretty uncomfortable chairs but with seats on the deck so we could see the full moon which was that night. It was a special full moon because this would be the closest the moon had been to the earth in a few hundred years and it was true, the moon looked enormous and shined bright in the cloudless sky over the sea. It was great to be able to see that from the boat in the middle of the Aegean.

We got back to Alexandroupolis, went home to refresh and ordered some pizzas. Then we started drinking wine and decided to head into town again to go to another open air club where again we danced the night away!

Next day in the morning i decided to go and get some groceries at a supermarket around the corner but forgot that nobody spoke english so i got myself into some hilarious situations trying to ask for Feta cheese but not from goat but from cow milk...it was a funny situation. Then my friend rented a car and we drove to Soufli on the border with Turkey and an old important town on the silk route where europe's only silk museum can be found. It was a small village and it looked as if there time had stood still. We saw the river with Turkey on the other side and drove back to Alexandroupolis. Then we went to have dinner at a greek tavern in the evening where we drank a lot of ouzo, had great greek food and all this outside at the seaside under the moonlit skies. After this we went clubbing again!

The rest of my time in Alexandroupolis I wanted to go to the beach so i ended up getting a great tan and relaxed before my big trip back to Ljubljana and then home. Then the day arrived i had to get on a night train to Thessaloniki to be there in the morning to be able to catch my train to Ljubljana. I said my friends goodbye, got on the train and found out i was in a coupe with an old fat stinking guy and i was not going to survive that trip. Thank god bribing is the way to do it in these countries and i gave € 15,- to the conductor of the train to get me a seperate room and i got one so i could sleep the night and the trip away till Thessaloniki. Here i got in the morning and got on the train to head for Ljubljana and sit those 24 hours all the way back again! But i felt good, i had had a great holiday and was totally relaxed.

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