She's All Greek To Me

March 2025

My travels for this blog

Bye Bye 'Bania

What a pleasure it was to have Maria next to me on the bus. We were travelling from Tirana in Albania to her hometown of Thessaloniki in Greece, after she'd just been to visit her grandparents for a week, while she was on uni break.

Maria's grandparents are Albanian, and still live in their small village, a real haven for Maria after the busy-ness of the city. She showed me pics, it's green, full of trees and flowers, and beautiful.

Maria's such a switched-on woman. We talked about music, she's into lots of things, including hip-hop, both American and European, and some really good Greek artists. She said she likes hip-hop lyrics because they talk about what life's really like for the underclass, for the poor, for the people society leaves behind.

Not only leaves behind in fact, but exploits.

Maria also loves Latin music, jazz, and is one of the few people I've met travelling that actually knows what Afro-beat is. She loves Fela Kuti!

We talked about living in Greece, and how difficult it is financially, particularly for young people. Her words exactly mirrored those of Laura in Tirana, when her and I talked about life for people there as well, particularly for women.

In Greece rents are exorbitant, and good apartments are hard to get. Wages are crushingly low, and, if you're studying, your total part-time wages won't even cover your rent. So young people need to continue living with their parents throughout their studies, despite the fact that many of them desperately want to leave home and live independent lives.

There's a huge sense of frustration about the situation, and recently people's anger has exploded into huge protests in the capital, and in other cities, like this one.

Two years ago a huge train accident in the Tempe Valley killed 57 people, mainly young students from Thessaloniki, when the train they were on collided head on with a freight train. It was a complete tragedy, for, despite billions of Euros of infrastructure funds from the EU, the Greek government has underinvested in things like modern transport systems, and accidents like that have been the result.

No one has yet been held accountable for the accident, and it appears a massive cover-up of evidence occurred.

People say EU funds have just ended up in corrupt ministers' and businessmen's pockets, and the lack of change in the two years since the accident has led to a huge public outpouring of anger recently, the largest protests seen in Greece for many years.

I talked with a lot of people about it, they all say the same thing, and there's big protests planned again in a couple of nights.

Below, Left: In Tirana, Albania, strolling to my local bus stop in the early morning to get a bus to one of the main bus stations.

There was beautiful scenery for pretty much the whole journey to Thessaloniki.

And beautiful mosques, and murals.

We passed through some super interesting towns, whose industrial days are over, but the old factories and warehouses are all still there, becoming more and more decrepit.

Eventually we drove along the beautiful Lake Ohrid

Across the waters is the independent country of North Macedonia.

Above, Centre: We passed through this town, no bilisht.

Another young local guy on the bus, who called himself Billy to me, also chatted with us later on, and, due to a huge traffic jam coming in to the city (it was a public holiday, the end of a long weekend), it was dark by the time we got into the city, and they both walked me to the metro station and made sure I had a ticket. So sweet.

It was really inspiring meeting those guys, they're really interesting and super warm. Maria's another woman who's gonna make a great leader one day.

Above Right: Thessaloniki does have a new metro. At least that. It's all shiny too.

After getting off the metro I needed to take a local bus, and an old lady at the bus stop started chatting with me in German. Of all things. Mena lives in Thessaloniki, but worked in Germany for many years. She also made sure I knew where to go, and even gave me a bus ticket, after asking me how old I was.

"Sixty one," I said.

So she gave me a seniors bus ticket.

Age has many advantages.

Then I walked up the steep hill to my hostel, and was greeted warmly by Lemonja and Sofia, my hosts, who were cooking up a feast for the special holiday today, which they call "Cleaning Monday," the second last day before Lent begins, the 40 day Christian period of fasting before Easter.

It just so happens that Ramadan has just started too, which I'll experience first hand when I get back to my bike in Turkey.

My first night in Thessaloniki I also met Marta, a wonderful woman from Mexico. She's a doctor, and has been working in Germany for the past two years, but has finally, and very happily, left there. She's slowly making her way back home, via a few months of travel in Europe.

She's really missed Mexico, and is so looking forward to getting back there to her family, and her boyfriend. She says she'll miss her friends in Germany, because she made some really close female friends there, but she's excited to get back to her country and culture, and has a new job lined up there.

We stayed up late and feasted, and drank ouzo and raki, common Greek spirits that Lemonja's parents had produced themselves, back on their home island of Lemnos. Then we topped off the night by singing Latin songs and ballads and other songs - well, to be honest it was mainly me who sang, but at least got into it, and enjoyed it.

Eventually I crawled into bed, super tired, and fell asleep quickly, with a warm and contented smile on my face.

What a beautiful first day in Greece!

Thessaloniki

My hostel's on a hill, and there's a stunning view from our balcony. The next day it was sunny out there, sunny but cold, so I took the opportunity to wash some clothes and hang them off the balcony, like everyone else does.

It’s amazing how good it feels to have your whole wardrobe washed. It makes no difference whatsoever that my whole wardrobe totals just a few items of clothing.

Yeah, the simple pleasures.

I went shopping, and then cooked up a feast of eggs and tomatoes, with fresh bread etc etc. Food prices at the supermarket were high here, way more pricey than Albania.

I've noticed that what you regard as expensive or cheap all depends on which country you just came from. It's all relative innit.

Above, Centre, Right: Heading up to the supermarket. Nice huh. The tower is called the Triangle Tower, and, with the adjoining walls, was built by the Ottomans when they captured this city in the 1420s, under Sultan Murad II. They ruled the region for five hundred years, until it became part of the Kingdom of Greece in 1912.

Eventually it was time to explore this great, interesting and quite large city, Thessaloniki, the second largest in Greece, with a population of over a million (Greater Athens has 3.5m).

Above: I headed down the hill, and enjoyed the views all the way down.

These walls are part of the city’s first Christian fortifications, built in the middle of the 5th Century. The walls follow the line of the earlier Roman walls, and formed a single defensive line around the city, reinforced at intervals by watchtowers.

Above: The Rotunda of Galerius, built in the early 4th Century, is an outstanding example of early Byzantine architecture, and is one of the first Christian monuments of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire).

The Byzantines themselves called their empire the Roman Empire, and referred to themselves as Romans. But historians created a new name for them so they wouldn't get all confused with the earlier Roman Empire, which was led from Rome, of all places.

During the early centuries of the Roman Empire, the western provinces were Latinised, but the eastern parts kept their Hellenistic culture.

Emperor Constantine I, who ruled the empire from 324 till 337, legalised Christianity, and moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople (which is, of course, today's Istanbul).

Below: This is the Arch of Galerius, also built around the same time as the Rotunda. Both monuments are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The carvings are amazing.

Above Centre, Right: This is part of Caesar Galerius’ holiday residence in Thessaloniki, which was known as his “resort.” I imagine he "resorted" to doing some pretty hedonistic things in there, if other Roman Emperors are anything to go by.

Below Left: The beautiful Holy Church of Panagia Dexia.

Below Centre: I went inside to have a peek.

Below Right: Greek Orthodox priest (or presbyter).

Below Left: Oh, wow, is that how you get happy? So easy.

Below Centre: I like this street, Dimitriou Gounari, it’s a pedestrian zone, with cool shops and cafés and places to eat and sit. Loads of ways to get happy.

Above, Right and Below, Left: The White Tower, which was built in the 15th Century to replace an old Byzantine fortification that the Ottomans reconstructed to fortify the city.

During the period of Ottoman rule the tower became a notorious prison, and the scene of numerous mass executions, most famously of the Janissaries (who were originally formed as the Sultan’s elite troops, but later became corrupted, and very unpopular within the Empire). Sultan Mahmud II eventually created a new elite army, knowing that the Janissaries would revolt against that idea, and when they did he massacred thousands of them.

The White Tower was known as the Blood Tower for a long time.

Below Centre: Eventually I made it to the ocean.

It's the Aegean, see?

Below Right: I sat here for awhile and wrote. I like writing, as you well know.

I ended up walking for kilometres along the coast. It was warm and beautiful. I could thaw out again, for the first time since Tunisia and Sicily.

Above, Centre: It was amazing. God was enlightening someone over the ocean, and I got to watch it happen.

Above Right: Typical Thessaloniki apartment blocks. They’re everywhere.

Below Left: The Aristotelian Theatre

Below Centre: Another stunning church.

Below Right: Eventually I took the backstreets.

Above Right: Spanakopita, an amazing pastry packed full with delicious spinach, and a little cheese. It was big, there must’ve been a kilo of spinach in there, it was the best.

I was shocked that it was only €1.50 too, considering the supermarket prices. The owner’s mum probably grows the spinach.

Below Centre: There’s cool historic buildings dotted all over the place.

Above Right: Even I wouldn't stoop so low as to name a café this. And that's saying something.

I wandered over to the main railway station to buy a bus ticket. Strange but true.

Below,mCentre: A memorial for the victims of the train disaster in March 2023.

Below, Right: The light oranged up as sunset approached, and I headed back to the coast.

Above Left: The Maritime Museum

Above Right: Every man and his dolmades, and every woman and her kataifi, was out walking at sunset time.

It’s been raining here too, and it’s been winter, so people were so ready for some sun.

Above: Unbelievable who you meet. This sheila lives in Greece now, but her parents are Aussies.

Suddenly it was dark and quite late.

Greece is an hour ahead of Albania and most of Europe. I’d forgotten to change the time on my phone, as I do it manually because sometimes I’m out of range when I cross borders.

The fact that it was an hour later than I thought it was almost made me miss my bus the next night.

I visited some more beautiful places the next day. Thessaloniki is quite a large city, and is also the capital of the Greek region of Central Macedonia (not to be confused with the independent country to its north, North Macedonia).

Below: The beautiful Hagia Sophia church, another UNESCO site. The present structure was erected in the late 7th Century, its design based on the (more famous) Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which is now an incredibly huge and beautiful mosque.

When the Ottomans took Thessaloniki the Hagia Sophia church became a mosque, called Ayasofya Camii, but then reconverted to a church in 1912, when the Greeks accepted the Ottoman surrender of the city. It's Greek Orthodox, a mostly autonomous branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

It was quite warm today, and I really soaked up the sun.

I strolled through the Kapani Market, there were heaps of delicious things in there.

Above: What a range of halva. And teas. And creamy sweets.

Above Left: Ahhhh, the olives are good! I've already had so many.

Above Centre: Protest posters

Above Right: Another beautiful Byzantine construction. Ho hum.

Above: No wonder this Anel Underwear shop went broke. No one covers their anes anymore.

Below Left: So many varieties, not enough stomach space.

Below Centre: There's really a lot of graffiti in this city, I love it.

Below Right: The city has many grand views

Above Left: KFC was virtually empty.

Above Centre: The local Greek place right next door was packed.

It seems that Greeks have taste.

Below Centre: PHARMACY. I'm starting to get the hang of the Greek Alphabet. For example, Thessaloniki is written as Θεσσαλονίκη. There's actually not that many letters that match the Latin ones, it's only mainly the vowels.

Below Right: Walkin' the back streets back home

Below Left: Amazing sunset from the hostel. What a treat, to watch the sunset over the ocean.

As I mentioned earlier, there was a protest planned for tonight, at 7pm, and Anton, a Berliner friend who's also a person, planned to go there with me, before my overnight bus to Istanbul.

But actually, even though I thought it was 6pm, it was actually 7pm, and we raced down to the protest, and then I basically had to sprint to the bus station (quite a difficult feat with a backpack, and carrying a guitar).

Below Centre: Desperate for an espresso

Above Right: There was a huge turnout at the square for the protest, but I couldn't stay, unfortunately.

I got to the bus station just in time, but my bus had already gone. They'd changed the departure place due to the protests, and had been trying to call me all day. The woman at the counter berated me for awhile for not answering my phone, but after my sincere apologies she calmed down, and grabbed a taxi for me, and accompanied me to the new departure place, which wasn't that far actually.

The bus was still there, waiting just for little ole me. So kind.

Yes, it's been a short stay in Greece this time, but I'll be back here soon enough.

I plan to ride back this way.

Back To Turkey At Last

It's been ages since I've been away from this country. I left in mid November, and here it is early March, over three and a half months later. Already!

Of course there's a method to my madness.

Just like I did last winter, I stored my bike during the cold months, as it's absolutely no fun at all riding and camping in the depths of winter, when the winter is actually real, and the temperatures are freezing. Of course I'm not talking about winter in the tropics.

The thing is, it's actually still winter here in Turkey, and it's pretty cold, sometimes below freezing at night, and sometimes bitterly cold while I'm riding. But it's definitely getting warmer.

I took the overnight bus from Thessaloniki to Istanbul. It was a long trip, made infinitely longer by the border crossing from Greece to Turkey, which not only took forever getting through passport controls on both sides, but took even longer while passengers shopped forever in the duty free shops on either side.

Below Left: The Mens

Below Centre: Yeah, because the Duty Free shopping hour is nearly finished

I hung around the bus station in the Turkish capital for a bit, and then bought a ticket for Bolu, where my bike is, for an 8.30am departure.

Unfortunately the bus broke down. That's 3 out of 4 Turkish bus breakdowns this trip so far. Not a good average is it.

I had to wait a whole two and a half hours at the Istanbul Eslener station before they put me on another bus. And the staff weren't at all interested in telling me what was going on, despite knowing I could communicate with them using Google Translate. Other passengers in the same position as me were way more friendly and understanding than the grumpy bus counter man, and they filled me in.

Below Left, Centre: We did the bypassing of Istanbul city thing, where buses drive way outside the city, cross the Bosphorus River way up north, and then drive all the way back in to the city on the other side.

The red pin is our departure bus station. Bolu, our destination, is due east of Istanbul. But we headed north (blue dot), then east, then south, then west, almost back to the river, before turning east again and heading towards Bolu.

I thought it was to avoid traffic, but actually Sagun told me that buses are now banned from certain roads and bridges in Istanbul, and are required to go around the whole city.

Above Right: There were loads of tunnels, as usual

It took forever. Twice we were stopped by police checkpoints, and they came through the bus checking identity documents. They took their time, but at least one of them returned my smile. She was nice. All the others were grumpy. I sorta don't blame them.

The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is paranoid about security, and it's so annoying for everyone.

We stopped for a snack, and a lovely young woman from Yemen, whose actual name is Islam, offered to help me buy some food. So kind. I had a potato gözleme thingy, basically a rubbery folded pancake with potatoes inside.

Islam is super nice, she told me she's from Sanaa, the Yemenese capital, but has left to study abroad, as the country's been devastated by a multilateral civil war since 2014. The war has resulted in at least 350,000 deaths, and although the war is officially between Yemenese political groupings, it's become a proxy war between arch enemies Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The two countries and their proxies are fighting all over the Middle East actually, including in Syria (well, until the Iranian backed Basheer Al Assad was recently deposed), and also in Bahrain, Lebanon, Qatar and Iraq.

Islam also let me hotspot her, as the bus wifi was dead, and I didn't have time to buy a SIM card. I needed to contact Yetiş, my Turkish friend who'd stored my bike for me.

Eventually I made it to Bolu, and walked to Yetiş' flat, he arrived a little while later, and then, finally, I was reunited with my beloved Black Bewdy, my trusty bicycle, who has carried me here all the way from Bali, in Indonesia.

Above Centre: Waiting for Yetiş

We have a nice connection, Yetiş and I, although he's quite shy and doesn't speak a word of English. He also seems to be super busy.

I headed off to get a SIM (they're stupidly expensive for tourists in Turkey, but I need one, and unfortunately my phone isn't compatible with e-SIMs.

It was nice to be back in Bolu.

I shopped at my favourite grocery store, then at my favourite fruit and veg store, then cycled off to Yetiş' cabin, which, I discovered the next day, isn't his at all, but is owned by his parents, who use it to help with their market garden business.

I settled in, ate, then Yetiş turned up for a short time, gave me a loaf of fresh bread, and we chatted about Turkey. What a sweetie he is. He didn't stay long though, which I wasn't totally unhappy about, as I was absolutely trashed.

It was freezing in there (no power and no running water), so I crawled into my sleeping bag, fully clad in my downs and my woollens, and died a very solid sleep death.

A Free Ride

Yes! Tomorrow I'm off on my bike again, to continue my long journey from Australia to Europe.

It's been epic so far, and I've actually been out of Australia for two and a quarter years already. Wow, that went quick.

Well actually it did and it didn't, you know how it is.

But I've also had two whole winters of not riding at all, as well as some breaks from riding while I travelled for a couple of weeks here and there with family or friends.

I can't count the number of incredible people I've met on this trip so far, there's just so many of them, and each has been important to me in their own way - some I was with for longer periods, and some just briefly. But each has touched me in some way.

I've gotta say that if you ever have doubts about the goodness of humanity, I suggest you grab a bicycle and start riding - because as soon as you get on the road you'll be swamped with generosity, hospitality, and good will. It'll restore your faith in the inherent goodness of people.

And it doesn't matter where you are.

And sure, it hasn't been perfect, everywhere. But the number of situations where people were deliberately nasty to me, in order to get something, is minimal. I could count them on one hand. On less than one hand. Sure, there's places where a few locals seem to make a career out of trying to rip off tourists, but those places are rare, and are generally not on my route anyway.

So now it's time to continue on this beautiful journey..

It's time to head west again.

And to leg it❤️

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