Ελλάδα!

I once thought of die from drowning is the worst thing in the world. It all changed when I got on this Europe trip in the beginning of the summer. Sitting on bus for "days" is the worst thing in the whole world I have now concluded.

Our summer study abroad group and I left Kiev last Saturday morning at 8 am to go to Greece. We literally spent days on the bus. We were stocked in traffic in Kiev (who'd thought there could be traffic on a Saturday morning...) for three hours before we could head south. We had to pass through Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria. By midnight we barely reached Moldova. Of course we had to sleep on the bus all night. I was on the brink on killing someone by the time we got to Greece. Katerini is where our hotel located for the entire week. We finally checked in at around 11 pm. We actually could have been there a lot earlier but the driver couldn't find the hotel. Needless to tell you how frustrated we were. Shouldn't the bus driver knows where he is going? This is not his first time coming here right? Don't they have a GPS and a map? After our first trip to Italy I kind of have a feeling of what to expect and I really do try to keep a very positive attitude. But there are always surprises jump out to you.

I have not met a lot of Greek in life. In fact, I can only remember eating at this Greek restaurant across from the community college I used to go to in California. The next day I encountered more Greek and realized they look pretty similar to Italian as well as their languages.

Our hotel is right by a beautiful beach. A quick 3 minutes walk we arrive one of the most spectacular view I have wanted for a long time:

beautiful day at Katerini beach

We dedicated out first full day at this beach. Went there three times, got some real serious tam, ate some real good Greek food, played in the water, and just relax. It was well worth it. Though for a single guy like me, going to a beach all day everyday is probably not a very good idea. There are some real attracted ladies there as expected. What I did not expect is some nudity. All I am going to say is this is not good for my mental health.

Gyro: pronounced e-ro. Typical Greek food.

an Orthodox church nearby

night life

In some essence this reminds me a lot about my home country Taiwan. Good food and shops along the streets, very hot and humid climate so people are more incline to come out at night, friendly people, and lots of fun things to do. I took a couple of walks already in the few days that I have spent here and bought some souvenirs in the process. 

Day 2 at Thessaloniki (Salonika): second largest city in Greece

Tour around the city on the bus. I had to give my seat to the school children

Historical city walls

Arch of Galerius: built in 298 a.d. 

The Rotunda: it was connected with the arch and other buildings in the ancient time

The interior of the Rotunda